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Lost Hiker in WMNF Found Dead

billski

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My sympathies to the family. Sometimes the risk you take is not just you, but it's the loved ones you leave behind.
I have to agree with F&G, this was crazy weather to go above the treeline, with or without companions.
 

dlague

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I don't understand why someone would hike that alone especially with the winds we were having. And.... her husband dropped her off. I would have said hell no! I feel bad for her family and the discussions they may be having with the husband.
 

thetrailboss

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I don't understand why someone would hike that alone especially with the winds we were having. And.... her husband dropped her off. I would have said hell no! I feel bad for her family and the discussions they may be having with the husband.

With all due respect to the family and the deceased, I think that this just shows that she did not appreciate the risk she was taking or the real dangers. So many folks think that if they wear an expensive jacket and carry a safety beacon (like she did) they are all set. I'm not in NNE anymore, but based on my discussion this weekend with family members and what I am seeing and hearing on here and online about the weather, this was NOT a good day to be outside, let alone in the Northern Presidentials alone and above treeline.
 
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thetrailboss

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Wow, I can only imagine what it must have been like for the rescue teams:

10996823_10155200557335442_6101366885644003650_o.png
 

Puck it

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I would like to know what the reason for going for a hike alone was in those conditions. And the husband must be a no idiot too.
 

Abubob

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I would like to know what the reason for going for a hike alone was in those conditions. And the husband must be a no idiot too.
Gotta wonder if these high powered NYC tycoons would try to sue NH Parks for not rescuing her. Obviously it would get thrown out but money knows no reason IMHO.
 

o3jeff

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Have to give thanks to the search and rescue teams(which I think are volunteers) for going out that Sunday afternoon in those conditions and then again Monday.

Couple of quotes from one of the SAR guys on the team that found her from one of the facebook hiking groups "We climbed up, got tossed around in the frozen winds up there, literally having to crawl at times to conduct our search, but we did recover the missing hiker. Unfortunately, in those conditions, "rescue" is unlikely. This is extremely sobering. Many of us shared deep feelings about it all afterward. It's scary, sad, and unfortunate in how unnecessary it all was. Another day, a better forecast, and better results. To my fellow hikers, please use your head and be safe out there."

"Update, we found the hiker about .5 from Madison Spring hut, down the hill SE of Star Lake, well off the trail. Sadly, she wasn't alive when we finally located her. We did recover her body. The winds up there were completely off the hook, we got blown over and at times we literally had to crawl to conduct the search. The hiker was pretty experienced and decently prepared, including lots of electronics(one of which helped us find her), but the one thing she did wrong was go up despite the weather, and solo no less. My condolences to the family."
 

thetrailboss

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I had jsut read this story yesterday. Sad. She looked like she had mountaineering experience .. but still, Solo, during a Storm, to Mt Washington? Everyone knows that's a bad idea, experienced or not!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/nyc-hiker-found-dead-n-h-mountains-article-1.2118000

I was going to say that based on information I had seen today that she was indeed a serious climber and it looks like this was a training run of sorts. If what the NY Daily News says is accurate, then her plan to hike from Route 2 up over the Northern Presidentials to Washington and back in one day was overly ambitious on a summer day and simply absurd in these conditions. It looks like she really did not understand the terrain or the real challenge that laid ahead. It just shows that the Whites can kill even those that have experience hiking higher peaks.
 

AdironRider

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So this chick thought she was going to the entire Northern Presidential range in a day hike?

That's a tall order for someone in shape in the best conditions during the summer. Assuming she didn't do a loop from Pinkham (which if memory serves is 11 miles or so just out the the Madison Hut), its still like a 20 miler.

Anyone who thought that was even possible already had a death sentence.
 
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