Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingScot
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...
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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.