Tragedy in Franconia Notch

[MichaelJ]

A sad reminder that the mountains do carry dangers, even if the odds are terribly small that anything like this would happen, and at the moment someone was hiking by.

My deepest condolences to the family.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...2008/05/09/mass_hiker_28_hit_by_boulder_dies/

Mass. hiker, 28, hit by boulder, dies
May 9, 2008
FRANCONIA, N.H.
A Massachusetts woman is dead after a boulder fell on her while she was hiking in New Hampshire with her family yesterday. Shu Qin, 28, of Wellesley was hiking Falling Waters Trail in Franconia when the 5-by-3-foot, 20-inch-thick boulder broke off a ledge and fell about 40 feet and struck her, according to Lieutenant Todd Bogardus of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Bogardus said Qin suffered severe head injuries. She was taken to Littleton Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. (AP)

 

[SkiDork]

oh man... talk about luck of the draw... condolences...

 

[deadheadskier]

A sad reminder that the mountains do carry dangers, even if the odds are terribly small that anything like this would happen, and at the moment someone was hiking by.

My deepest condolences to the family.

times 2

extremely tragic

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Things like this remind me to enjoy every day...because you just never know.what tomorrow will bring..

 

[MichaelJ]

The Union-Leader indicates Cloudland Falls as the site of the accident.

The trail goes to the left up a steep embankment on the side of the falls here. Here's a photo of the area from my own album.

 

[MichaelJ]

The official press release from New Hampshire Fish & Game:

HIKER DIES IN FRANCONIA NOTCH, N.H.; HIT BY FALLING ROCK

CONCORD, N.H. -- In a tragic accident, Shu Qin, age 28, a woman hiker from Shanghai, China, was killed after being hit by a boulder on the Falling Waters Trail in Franconia Notch in New Hampshire's White Mountains on Thursday, May 8, 2008. Qin had been staying with friends in Wellesley, Mass. She was hiking with her husband, brother-in-law and sister-in-law on the trail, which passes three waterfalls and leads to Little Haystack Mountain.

Qin and her brother-in-law were ahead of the other two hikers and had reached the third waterfall, Cloudland Falls, about 1.5 miles up the trail, at 2:30 p.m. yesterday. A large rock broke loose from the waterfall and struck and killed Qin, who was on the trail.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department was notified about 3:45 p.m. A member of the hiking party had hiked to the trailhead to make the emergency call. Fish and Game Conservation Officers responded to the scene, assisted by members of Pemigewasset Valley Search & Rescue and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Qin was carried out and transported by ambulance to Littleton Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART) also assisted in the effort.

"This was a tragic and unfortunate accident - a most unlikely thing to happen," said Lt. Todd Bogardus, Fish and Game Search and Rescue Team Leader. "Our deepest sympathy goes out to this young woman's grieving family and friends."

No further information is available at this time.

 

[from_the_NEK]

I believe that Spring is the most dangerous time to be hiking around exposed rock cliffs. The freeze thaw action in the mountains during Spring often dislodges pieces of rock. This is the same time of year the Old Man fell down. Still, the odds of the falling rocks actually hitting someone are so small. Terrible tragedy :-(

 

[Mike P.]

Very sad, my prayers are with her family

 

[severine]

Things like this remind me to enjoy every day...because you just never know.what tomorrow will bring..

Agreed.

How sad for her family.

 

[Trekchick]

My heart goes out to friends and family.
To quote Weems after the death of his son this Winter,
................. Enjoy each day on the slopes! Their spirit demands it!

 

[Robert Goulet]

Wow, didn't see this post earlier. yes it was cloudland falls. loose rocks on top of soil perched on top of a cliff. We had recieved a bit of rain and melting and water was cascading off the top of the cliff, probably undermining soil that supported the boulders on top of the cliff. A bunch of debris at the bottom of the cliff. Don't think it was really a freeze thaw issue, though I thought it could be at first. Just a lot of runoff. Saddest thing I ever saw.