Mt Washington Hiker
 

Monday morning, 5:25-am, November 21, 2022: Mt Washington summit weather reported to be -9.4 degrees with wind at 69.1 mph, making it both the coldest and windiest place in the United States, at this time according to the weather page on this website.

Supposedly from WMUR news, there's a missing hiker, a 20-year old woman, somewhere on the Mt Lafayette, Franconia Ridge area with rescue teams out there, trying to locate her?

May she be found safe.

Yes, let's hope the hiker is found safe.

Two interesting topics here, but these are very separate issues. The weather atop Mt Washington is dramatically different than her route. This may be the biggest reason people die on Washington--they dress for Lafayette

I believe she will/would turn 20 until Wednesday.

It's not looking great—the only thing I've seen in relation to her preparedness is that she was wearing a "brown coat and exercise pants."

I just dissected this with my students using Ty Gagne's "The Last Traverse" and "Where You'll Find Me" books and that the route she is on has much potential for missed turns. If she missed the Flume Slide cutoff (if she even reached there) and kept on Osseo, the extra mileage and remoteness would make the rescue that much more difficult.

At least read, a Blackhawk is scheduled to head up, but I'm not sure if the winds will cooperate.

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Hey there, here's a 8:26 video ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPQ4v9Q97YY ..... made by 'Taylor the Nahamsha Hiker' hiking the Glen Boulder Trail to Mt Isolation, which is a NH-4000'er that's south of Mt Washington. This video was posted today, Tuesday on November 22, 2022, and it is unclear on the actual day of this hike but it is my guess that it could have been on Monday, Nov 21, 2022 which would be the same day as the missing hiker from Massachusetts, age 19, started her hike up to the Franconia Ridge?

And Taylor, she called it off, turned around, and returned to the car partially due to the cold and wind which seems like a smart move especially when out there, hiking alone. Is better to wait for a more warm and less cold day for hiking the relatively isolated, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Isolation, Mt Isolation.

As the A.M.C. poster used to say: "Don't Die on the Mountain, Wait for a Better Day!" because the mountain will still be there, some other time ...... like today, Tuesday with a warm 40+ degrees and strong sunshine.

Am I the only one that thinks that something doesn’t seem right? I don’t understand a mother dropping off her daughter dressed the way she was to go on a three mountain hike in the bitter cold. It’s one thing for the daughter to have a lapse of judgment but the mother says she watched her walk away. It just makes no sense to me.

You are not alone with your thoughts. Thinking she may have met up with someone and used the hiking as a excuse to be dropped off. Sneakers? Gym pants in November? Mommy didn’t question why she was dressed the way she was for the hike? But, have heard nothing on her cell phone or social media. We all hope she is found safe.


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This is getting interesting especially if, instead of finding a frozen dead body of a 19-year old women somewhere up the mountains, she's actually been soak'n in a 104-degree hotel hot tub, somewhere, drinking a beer, and hanging with a boyfriend who did not sit well with her Mom, and all while the big helicopter search is happening ...... ?

https://www.facebook.com/pemisar ...... Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team

Seems like a possibility, and time will tell ...... Oh well, all things considered, is better to be guilty, face the music, pay the penalties ...... than to be dead ...... especially at age-19.

https://vanderbilthustler.com/2022/1...new-hampshire/ ..... Wednesday, Nov 23 ..... a sophomore at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee with a biochemistry and chemical biology major who turns twenty, today, on 11/23/22.

It seems like we have a real mystery on our hands.
It does not seem out of the realm of possibilities that she is hiding somewhere, or maybe I’ve just been watching too many LMN movies.😂

A few things have been clarified. She wore thermal under the yoga pants. She did have on hiking shoes. She planned out her hikes for the week with her mother. Each stated on 9 news


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A not unexpected outcome, but terribly sad nonetheless. The chopper with her body is landing in Concord as I type this.

https://twitter.com/WMUR9/status/159...Xg3jNeM1ZVJadw

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More details. Guys, this is so depressing because it looks like she was hurting early—where they started finding her stuff is not far into the hike. What a horrible tragedy.

* Update to the update: it appears the mom may have had the route wrong and that Emily was going up Falling Waters across to Old Bridle Path. If that's the case, she may have been close to finishing, which is perhaps even sadder. The discarded possessions, by the way, maybe a sign of hypothermia.

Missing Massachusetts Hiker Located Deceased, Mt. Lafayette
Franconia, NH: Just after 11:00 AM searchers located the body of Emily Sotelo on the northwest side of Mount Lafayette, in Franconia. Emily had departed on a solo hike of Franconia Ridge on the morning of November 19th. When Emily had not returned at the planned time a family member notified NH Fish and Game. Due to the harsh weather conditions a search commenced Sunday evening and thru the night. Searchers were hampered by high winds, cold temperatures and blowing snow. Searchers spent the next two days looking for Emily and Tuesday afternoon tracks and items belonging to Emily were located at the headwaters of Lafayette Brook. A plan was made to concentrate the search effort in this area on Wednesday when ground searchers located her body at 11:15 AM. A NH Army National Guard helicopter was able to help with the extrication of Emily to the Cannon Mountain Ski Area.
Many groups and agencies assisted NH Fish and Game Conservation Officers during the search to include: Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team, Mountain Rescue Service, Lakes Region Search and Rescue, Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team, New England K-9, NH Army National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and the White Mountain National Forest. NH Fish and Game would also like to thank AT&T First Net and NH Homeland Security & Emergency Management for their support.

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I don't understand this at all...
 

...This is so sad and I don't understand this at all. I am trying to comprehend how this girl and/or her family could be either so irresponsible or so naive to tempt fate and go out on this trek alone. A guy I used to work with died in the White Mts in March of 2021, and he was an accomplished mountain climber for many years; having climbed Kilamanjaro, Denali, and other major mountains around the globe. He was extremely experienced, had the proper gear, and he tempted fate by going out alone and he did not come back. And he knew what he was doing.

So tragic and sad...

I was hoping for FLL‘s outcome, sitting in a spa in 104° water. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It should not have happened.

It’s bad enough that the mother let her go off totally unprepared, but she had her daughter’s route wrong. This certainly lowered her chances of being found, I would think.

Such a sad loss of a young life may she rest in peace.

More info ........ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-tribute.html ....... Thurs, Nov 24, 2022

This was my first thought as well. Her mother described her as an experienced hiker but said she didn't have much winter hiking experience. I believe that an experienced hiker intending to do 3 mountains in November would be fully equipped for the possibility of spending a severe winter night in the White Mountains in November. If she had been equipped with a tent and sleeping bag she could have just stayed put until morning.

So I too wondered why her mother didn't make sure she had the right clothing and gear or check the forecast. Perhaps her mother didn't understand the gravity of what her daughter was doing, and perhaps Emily didn't convey that to her. An experienced backpacker at the View from the Top forum commented, "If she, the hiker, wasn't knowledgeable enough to know she was ill prepared for that hike on that day, her parents most likely would not have known either."

While many people do this same hike solo, this young woman did not have that capability.

Without knowing all the facts, my impression is that this incident was caused by the young woman's psychological pressure to climb all 48 4,000 footers by her 20th birthday, which was coming up in a couple of days. This emotional pressure to reach the summit is the cause of many fatal mountaineering incidents. At VFTT there seemed to be some agreement that she took a wrong turn on the way down.

This story is heart-breaking. It's not hard to imagine what she went through that night, how much she must have suffered physically and mentally, how afraid she must have been. A YouTube video described the conditions in that locale on that night: "Chest-deep snow, temperature around zero, wind chill minus 30."

This newspaper article ...... https://www.concordmonitor.com/hiker...-lost-48938126 ...... 11/23/2022 ..... suggests to me she was wearing either a small day pack or a trail running, mini pack that's used for trail running as opposed to a larger backpack?

She was hiking/running the Falling Waters trail, going up, and the Old Bridle Path trail, coming down, a summit loop over Mt Little Haystack-4760', Mt Lincoln-5089', and Mt Lafayette-5260', starting and finishing from the Old Bridle Path trail head parking lot off Route 93 within the Franconia Notch Parkway.

So, what's the distance and elevation gain and elevation loss for this trail hiking loop? About 8.8-miles ..... https://www.northeasthikes.com/littl...onia-notch-nh/ ..... elevation gain and loss ..... you go do it!

When they found her body she was barefoot with or without socks(?), maybe, so could be she lost her trail running shoes while moving through some deeper dense, wind blown snow plus maybe being very cold, freez'n cold and maybe very scared-to-death.

More than likely, her possessions were scattered because she'd become hypothermic and no longer able to make rational decisions.

There's no doubt she had decided on fast and light, which a bunch of people do every day. The outcome of hiking on that threshold, of course, depends on the hiker's overall skill set and familiarity with the terrain.

The turn that people are speculating she missed is a well-known fault-point that has been identified in the past through other rescues. If that is accurate, it's an even more disappointing outcome as she may literally have been one turn off.

I do my best to avoid judgment in circumstances like this because the reality is that hiking, especially in winter, comes with inherent risks...many of which are unable to be controlled for.

In this scenario, however, the victim was woefully unprepared starting with the fact that at 5AM, almost two hours before sunrise, she was navigating by cellphone flashlight.

There is no consolation in that, of course, but a grim reminder of the importance of preparedness.

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Hypothermic people often take off their clothes in delirium, so it "makes sense" that she was barefoot.

One thing that does not make sense is the explanation that she did not dress properly because she lacked winter hiking experience, although she had summer hiking experience. Those who have hiked 4000' on anything other than a few lucky days in July know that she was woefully underdressed from the start. So sad and senseless...

If there is a correct turn and an incorrect turn, would it be reasonable to improve the markings to make the choices more obvious?

I hike with a few women who dress exactly the same as Emily was...but they carry layers for emergencies.

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It's not a turn so much as a bend in the trail that, in certain conditions, can be deceptive.

Some of the discussion resulting from this event revolves around what level of signage is reasonable. There are a ton of such areas that are potentially difficult to navigate—the split at Old Bridle Path and Skookumchuck, which is just above the one we're discussing, being another.

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She had already hiked almost all of the 48 4000 footers. In that case, it's hard to understand why she wasn't better prepared---the AMC guide is very explicit about conditions in the White Mountains. I too feel that she was doomed from the start and the only thing that could have saved her was good judgment (turning back)---something 19-year-olds aren't particularly good at. If you go off the trail, at some point you realize you're in deep snow in trail shoes and you turn back---unless your thinking is impaired. Had she been hiking with another person, perhaps they would have made better decisions together.

Unfortunately you don't know what you don't know. And sometimes that will kill you.

RIP to the young lady. I honestly don't know how to prevent people who don't know from doing this. But it seems to happen every so often.

Since no one has mentioned it, I have to wonder why anyone would venture out on a hike like this (especially alone) without carrying an emergency personal locator beacon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TXQYTTN...gencybeacon-20

June 18, 2022 ........ 53-year old, experienced male hiker freezes to death on the Gulfside Trail below Mt Clay, close to Mt Washington ...... http://www.nhfishgame.com/2022/06/20...-mt-clay-dies/


November 20 or 21, 2022 ...... 19-year old, experienced female hiker freezes to death on the Old Bridle Path trail descending Mt Lafayette ...... http://www.nhfishgame.com/2022/11/23...d-mt-lafayette


So ...... attention everybody ....... so, here's my big question ..... with hindsight being 20-20, what would have kept these two different experienced hikers from Massachusetts alive and still able to go hiking, here in New Hampshire again today, if they had both done something different on the day they got froze to death hiking the White Mountains in New Hampshire?

Answer: Don't die climbing the mountain, turn around and go back, and wait for a better weather day. Warm and wind protective clothing, warm mittens, a warm hat, good food-drink, a headlight flashlight, sturdy wooden matches and fire starters in a small plastic bag, a compass, a good quality whistle, a sleeping bag and insulated sleeping pad and your own CAUTIOUS approach to cold weather hiking will go a long way to getting you there and back, safely, while doing a winter day hike.

And, how come their smart phones did not save either one of these two dead hikers from freezing to death in June, and November, 2022?
...............

p.s. ..... shouldn't this thread's title be corrected to "Mt Lafayette-5260' Hiker"....... and who the heck was the Marquis de Lafayette? .....

She obviously was not prepared on any level. We may never know exactly what happened but I believe the story started before she even got to the parking lot. Too many things just don’t add up.

I agree with this.

But, wouldn't her cell phone signal show where she is at assuming three things; A). It's turned on and B). Battery strength was fine and C). Cell service was available.

The outcome is sad. Let's hope this unhappy ending proves to be a valued learning curve for a future hiker.

Well to start, a very good understanding of weather and where to find the pertinent information. Looking at the MSN icon on your phone is not a proper weather briefing for a hike like this, especially in or near the winter. You need to understand that the adiabatic lapse rate is about 3 to 5 degrees per thousand feet elevation. ( so sea level to 4000 feet is about 15 degrees less at altitude than at sea level) This does not account for other conditions such as fronts, inversions, etc. Wind generally increases at altitude, as a cold front goes through and especially after a cold front goes through the wind can go from calm to crazy in minutes.

Cell phones don't work in these areas, this means maps on your phone too, unless you have made preparations ahead of time.

You need to map out your route and make sure someone knows it. Write it down.

As the webmaster noted, EPIRBs are very inexpensive now and can have rescue crews to your location quickly. Get one. In fact I probably will get one for snowmobile season if we get any snow here.

Hike with a buddy. For so many reasons it's a bad idea to hike like this alone, especially this time of year.

Dress or carry clothes that will allow you to survive really cold weather for the night, or more.

This is common sense to me. But a young person just may have not done the research.

There are many hobbies that are just not forgiving of missteps or negligence, as innocent as this girl's mistake probably was, she paid the ultimate price. Hopefully others can learn and not repeat the mistake.

Kate Matrosova had a PLB, but it didn't save her life. Although they can be useful, in her case it pinged off different towers and led to different location signals. Most likely it was because it was still in her backpack and not oriented correctly.

There's also the reality that the user has to be in the right frame of mind to use it.

The reality is that all the safety gear in the world reduces the risk but does not cancel it out altogether.

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I have to think her phone was dead long before she got in trouble given 1. She used it as a flashlight, 2. She wasn't carrying enough gear to assume she had a charging pack, 3. It was too cold for a battery to survive a day unless she had the right insulation, which she clearly did not.

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iPhone 14 Family
 

As sort of an aside - I believe the new iPhone 14 has the ability to send an SOS if needed on any network like the older models but this particular version (14 family) has the ability to send such an SOS via satellite if no cell signal is present. An impressive feature especially for those going off the beaten path and may end up saving some lives.

I just read a little about Kate. Her accident chain began when she decided to go hiking in spite of a blizzard warning. Then apparently she wasn't carrying the equipment required to survive should the blizzard hit. She probably thought she could beat the weather. Unfortunately weather doesn't always follow the forecaster's schedule. I fly small aircraft and this happens a lot.

The PLB issue was unfortunate, but apparently the first signal pointed very close where she was found. Newer PLBs use gps for location and transmit to satellites. They are supposed to be very reliable. I've never owned or used one though. I hope I would not put myself into a situation like this, but I'm sure these ladies didn't think they were putting themselves into a situation like this when they started their hikes.

It's very sad.

Of course--what she was wearing was entirely appropriate. It's what she did not have in her pack that is the issue

Thanks! I have not hiked significantly in the past few years, but my plan has been to resume this spring. I hiked alone often before these were so inexpensive, but never considered one due to cost. I will buy one in April :)

Risk
 

Federal lawsuit over risk warning and responsibility in wilderness areas 25 years ago in 1994. She rode past her friends who had stopped and right over the headwall on a tube or plastic toboggan. Family sued either NH or the federal government.

My hunter friends carry a Garmin GPS that brings them back to their car/truck.

LINK


On a completely different note. Garmin makes GPS units for dogs.
LINK

Emily Sotelo froze to death on either Nov 20 or 21 or maybe 22. Her body was found on the 23rd at about 11-am.

Her problem was that she kept going when the weather turned cold and windy, plus she didn't have any warm clothing.

Whether she had a backpack, day pack or trail running mini-pack is unknown so could be she had only the clothes she was wearing.

Wednesday, Nov 23 would have been her 20th birthday so she will be forever, age-19, and some legend myth will arise seeing her ghost running that Franconia Ridge trail for the next hundred years.

I think I just saw Emily ........ there she goes! ...... up that steep, rocky trail! ...... there goes Emily! ......

http://theswellesleyreport.com/2022/...ite-mountains/ .... Former Wellesley public school student dies while hiking in White Mountains

...... "Sotelo had been a musician, a cross country runner, and a talented writer acknowledged by a Scholastic Art & Writing Award."

Sick
 

Your demented, you know that….