It’s autumn, but at higher elevations, it’s as good as winter.
New Hampshire Fish and Game officers and mountain responders are again trying to drive home that message amid a flurry of recent rescues and incidents.
Sunday evening, search and rescue crews were dispatched to a hiker from Rhode Island who was caught in windblown snow near the summit of Mount Washington. Fish and Game reported that 20-year-old Owen Strommer was “absolutely unprepared for the conditions that he encountered above treeline.”
He was located safely, and managed to hike up to the Auto Road, guided by the truck headlights of a Mount Washington State Park employee.
At the time, the temperature at the summit was 21 degrees, with a wind chill of 3 degrees.
Mount Washington saw a number of hikers unprepared for the winter conditions this past weekend. Dozens of hikers were brought down the peak by the Cog Railway, WMUR reported.
Fish and Game officers were also called out Saturday to help an injured hiker on the Old Bridle Path in Franconia. Joined by members of the Pemi Valley Search and Rescue team, they helped the 17-year-old hiker from Sudbury, Mass., get safely to the trailhead at 1:25 a.m. Sunday. The hiker injured his leg after slipping on a wet section of trail. Over 20 rescuers participated in carrying the litter down.
“Everyone venturing to these areas are highly encouraged to plan for winter conditions,” Fish and Game announced in a press release, which also highlighted Hike Safe resources, “your life may depend on it.”
The Mount Washington Observatory has forecasts for higher elevations, as well as regional forecasts for New Hampshire. In October and November, the temperatures can vary widely from the base to the summit, at 6,288 feet above sea level. At midday Monday, for example, it was 22 degrees at the summit, and 43 degrees at the base of the Mount Washington Auto Road at Route 16.
