Mt Washington Hiker

[Susie Cougar]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

Yes. I had not thought of suicide, which you seem to imply. But it is very hard to understand how an inexperienced person is not so overwhelmed by the cold that they turn round after just 15 or 20 minutes

My son, who is no slouch when it comes to hiking, said the story just doesn’t make any sense. He didn’t leave until 11:00 AM with only five hours of daylight for an 8 hour hike. He heard that the hiker was a student at MIT. I know the Chinese are especially hard on their children educationally and maybe he wasn’t making the grade.
Both the stories of the 19 year old and now this 28 year old are just heart wrenching. I did read that they had put up an additional hundred or so signs on the trail heads warning people of the conditions on the mountains.

[DickR]

Originally Posted by Susie Cougar

... He didnÂ’t leave until 11:00 AM with only five hours of daylight for an 8 hour hike.... I did read that they had put up an additional hundred or so signs on the trail heads warning people of the conditions on the mountains.

I really doubt that Li's death was anything but just another case of a lone hiker unfamiliar with the terrain up on the ridge in winter conditions, in the extreme weather up there that day, and lacking some essential equipment for such a hike. Of critical importance, ultimately, was his not having any light source, such as a headlamp, for descent in darkness. From this source: https://www.boston.com/news/the-bost...f-lone-hikers/, “He was wearing goggles, but… we could not find any kind of a light source that would’ve aided him after dark. Simply just finding the trail markers without a light in pitch black is next to impossible.”

The popular Lafayette-Lincoln loop takes you up the Old Bridle Path (3 miles to the hut, 1 more to Lafayette @5260 ft), south along the ridge trail, over Lincoln (5089 ft) and on to Little Haystack (1.7 miles totally exposed). At LH, not on the 48 list despite being at 4760 ft, there are trail signs, including one for taking the Falling Waters Trail down to the highway (another 3.2 or 3.3 miles). From the top of Little Haystack, the trail drops down almost right away into the trees, affording a lot of protection from the winds.

Given where Li was found, in a ravine between Lincoln and Little Haystack, most likely he ran out of daylight, came to the shallow col between those peaks, and mistakenly headed downward rather than continue on to the trail junction at Little Haystack. Even then, without light, he perhaps would have missed the signs and kept heading down the ridge toward Mt Liberty. If he only had light, by starting the hike at 7-8am rather than 11 or by bringing a headlamp along (an essential item), he might well have finished the hike alive.

Also noted in the article is this: "While tragic deaths of young hikers have drawn more attention in recent years, officials said, there has not been an increase in fatalities. Li’s death marked the 21st hiking fatality of the year for New Hampshire, making 2022 consistent with the past four years, which saw an average of roughly 22 fatalities per year, officials said."

Further information on the trailhead signs is here: https://www.mountwashington.org/abou...ckcountry.aspx

Many hikers continue hiking the White Mountains through the winter. One good source of trip reports is here: https://www.newenglandtrailconditions.com/nh/

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by DickR

I really doubt that Li's death was anything but just another case of a lone hiker unfamiliar with the terrain up on the ridge in winter conditions, in the extreme weather up there that day, and lacking some essential equipment for such a hike. Of critical importance, ultimately, was his not having any light source, such as a headlamp, for descent in darkness. From this source: https://www.boston.com/news/the-bost...f-lone-hikers/, “He was wearing goggles, but… we could not find any kind of a light source that would’ve aided him after dark. Simply just finding the trail markers without a light in pitch black is next to impossible.”

[/url]

No matter how you cut it, there is no obvious explanation. On the specific point you raise--it would have been very unusual for him to not have a smart phone with a flashlight in his pocket.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

No matter how you cut it, there is no obvious explanation. On the specific point you raise--it would have been very unusual for him to not have a smart phone with a flashlight in his pocket.

I thought I read he was being tracked from China with his smartphone but that it ran out of juice.

Also, in terms of weather reports, there are two other sources everyone should check (if hiking in the Whites):

https://www.mountwashington.org/expe...-forecast.aspx

https://www.mountain-forecast.com/

Sent from my SM-G990U1 using Tapatalk

[LikeLakes]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

No matter how you cut it, there is no obvious explanation. On the specific point you raise--it would have been very unusual for him to not have a smart phone with a flashlight in his pocket.

He had a smartphone, was navigating with it, it died, which was what prompted his family in China to notify authorities. So no phone light. And a phone light would be sketchy at best for finding trail signs, better than nothing but not very effective.

We walked on a few very local trails both yesterday and today, left around 3:30 and walked until after dusk. We each had our phones and I had 2 flashlights in my pocket. That's just me. On hikes I have 2 flashlights and spare batteries, plus a phone charge cord and power supply that can provide a full charge. Not saying I'm a genius, just these are minimum required items for safely dealing with mishaps.

[mowtorman]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Lost souls on the verge of suicidal winter hiking without adequate warm clothing and a serious wind breaker, face mask, hat and large mittens would defer freez'n to death, up the cold mountain, when they can go rethink their life ending plan while enjoying a good hot coffee and a yummy old fashioned sugar donut. There's no yummy sugar donuts down there in Hell

So presumptuous, and so many assumptions. I guess you were on the trail that day?

So irreverence is your gig? Is it a gas? Does it give you a good kick?

Regular laugh riot over the hardships of others.

I knew 2 people that died on Washington. One an expert skier who fell into the rocks on the left gully. The other a rescuer that died in an avalanche chasing after people that put themselves in danger.

Unforeseen events have always happened on Washington. Never in my 6 decades have I encountered someone taking such perverse pleasure in it. The Reaper will be in your backyard one of these days hope you will have a good laugh with him when he comes for you.

BTW stopped at HOJO'S many times while skiing Tuckerman's in April and May. The drive up window must have been closed because at that time the sign at the scale at the bottom where you weighed in displayed the pack in pack out policy. No Burgers were being grilled, no soda fountain and the AMC pack mules ran up and down to trail with heavy packs loaded with supplies.

I really admired those guys they were as rugged as the mountain itself.

Your rants must be good for advertising or something.

[fatlazyless]

Getting back to the Cog Railroad engineer who fell to his death, sliding off the icy summit outlook cliff while hiking Mt Willard in Crawford Notch with his wife on Saturday, December 10, 2022, 10:20-am.

https://nhfishgame.com/2022/12/12/up...rawford-notch/

Believe this film clip by a 2022 Appalachian Trail thru-hiker includes his brief explanation to the thru-hiker, briefly explaining his job on the old Cog steam locomotive ....... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adB93tGMXqQ&t=164s ...... by him, the late Joseph Eggleston, age 53 ...... "yuh, I'm the engineer! ........ "

..... is just so sad! ...... https://www.wmur.com/article/willard...death/42218835 .... published Dec 12, 2022