Mt Moosilauke (1999) - Winter Rescue
". . . Benton, N.H. - Three hours after gaining the summit of Mount Moosilauke Saturday afternoon, two Massachusetts hikers began a battle with the elements, which, one rescue official said, they almost lost. "They would not have survived the night without proper gear," said Fish and Game Lt. David Hewitt. "It was fortunate that the conservation officers and the volunteer hikers were able to reach them under very difficult circumstances."
Hiker #1*, 26, of Cambridge, Mass., and Hiker#2*, 25, of Methuen, Mass., began ascending the 4,802-foot summit about 10 a.m., Hewitt said, planning a dayhike to the Dartmouth College Outing Club's Ravine Lodge, via the 4.4-mile Gorge Brook Trail. "They reached the summit at 2 p.m.," Hewitt said. "By then, there was blowing snow and whiteout conditions and they lost the trail."
The two, who later told officials they "were over their head" in tackling the mountain, spent several hours trying to find the trail. "They had no sleeping bags, no compass, no change of clothes," Hewitt said. "They admitted they were in over their heads."
At 5:30 p.m. Saturday, one of the hikers used his cell phone to summon help. The initial call requested a helicopter rescue, Hewitt said. "They reported that they were lost - had no idea where they were, but that they were crawling on their bellies in thick underbrush," he said. "Every time they tried to stand, they broke through the crust." Their idea was that they would shine their flashlights skyward, he said. But the weather conditions - blowing snow, darkness and 50 mph wind gusts - precluded that type of rescue. The two were told to retrace their steps to the summit.
Meanwhile, Fish and Game Sgt. Craig Jewett and conservation officers Fred Olsen and Tom Daiki set off for the summit via the 5.1-mile Carriage Trail on snowmobiles at about 8 p.m., a laborious trip compounded by crusting snow and blowdowns along the trail, which is not used by snowmobiles. Just below treeline, the conservation officers ran into a party of five hikers who were camping on the trail. "They had seen the two earlier in the day," Hewitt said. "They volunteered to assist us." The five - Paul Glaze-Book; Robert Juckins, Matthew Wigniewski and father and son James and Brian Matherson - were all from Holden, Mass.
"They all got to the summit at 9:45," Hewitt said. "By then, the temperature was in the teens and there wind gusts of 50 mph, creating a whiteout. The eight people spread out for a line search - they had to be close enough to see each other's flashlights." Hikers 1& 2 were located about 10:30 p.m. near the foundation of the old Tip-Top House. "They were standing in there - they were out of the wind," Hewitt said.
The two were transported down the mountain via snowmobile, where they met their parents, who had traveled up from Massachusetts, at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday. "If they had not had a cell phone, they would not have made it," Hewitt said. "They did not have the proper equipment - they were over their heads. The lives of the COs and the volunteer hikers were in danger in this rescue, due to severe weather conditions. . . ."
*Hikers names removed
From "Day Hikers Rescued on Moosilauke" by Lorna Colquhoun, Manchester Union Leader, January 18, 1999.
