Quote:
Originally Posted by fatlazyless
In the Boston Globe's Feb 20 front page story on this Mt Washington rescue, it says that the 22-year old hiker made it to the cave ..... aka the dungeon ..... in the foundation of the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. The report says he was so cold that had he not been rescued by Fish and Game that he still would have froze to death despite being inside the dungeon. This refuge room has six wood bunks, walls made of stone and an unlocked heavy steel door with a gate style latch. It has no source for heat like a wood stove.
He's still alive unlike a few other recent hiking deaths so paying a Fish and Game rescue bill of $7500 or something will be a low price to pay, all things considered. If there was a helicopter involved probably the rescue bill would be a much higher $30,000-price or something.
At the end of the day, he's still alive with what sounds like minor frost bite on his feet according to the Globe report.
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That room is no warmer than outside and, though it helps to shield from the wind, the stone—if someone doesn't have an insulating layer—will just pull heat from your body.
Ty Gagne ([emoji38]) goes into the nature of convective and conductive heat loss in The Last Traverse—his belief is that the man who perished on that hike might have survived had he had an insulating layer between him and the rock slab he slept on overnight. James Osborne, the survivor, was insulated by his companion.
I've been interested in how aggressive the F&G and Observatory posts have been lately—they are clearly frustrated with the number of unprepared hikers putting themselves, and rescue workers, in danger.
I hike a dozen or so times in winter, but with my (teachers) hiking group and always with careful attention paid to the weather. We also typically choose more popular trails as, even though we appreciate solitude, the number of hikers on the trail in winter is much reduced to begin with.
Finally, we pack for the worst possible needs: overnight gear, a stove and tealight candle to melt snow for water/start a fire, headlamps and batteries, emergency shelter, etc.
It can be done, but preparation and good decision making matters.
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