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Winter Hikers Take Note!
First, it is important for all hikers to remember that they are responsible for their own safety in the mountains at all times of the year. The RMC, NH Fish and Game, USFS, and the AMC all work together to educate hikers and others about responsible and safe behaviors in the mountains. The website www.hikesafe.com, sponsored by NH Fish and Game, which coordinates rescues, and the USFS, is clear and very informative. Many trailheads also have an information kiosk for hikers and there are many publications and websites devoted to good hiking practices.
Third, accidents usually result not from a single bad decision, but from a series of seemingly smaller choices that combine to produce a bad situation. Experience helps prevent some of these, but even experienced climbers can get into trouble, as many of our Board members acknowledged from personal experience. There is no substitute for good judgment. Mentally rehearsing what might go wrong and how to extricate oneself from the most likely problems is part of good preparation for hiking and climbing in challenging situations. Fourth, many RMC members are active in the local search and rescue organization, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR). They participate as individuals who care about other climbers and are willing to help them, even in very difficult, sometimes life-threatening conditions. The main responsibility of RMC caretakers is to protect RMC facilities; they also help inform people who stay at the camps about responsible conduct in the mountains. The RMC, like other similar organizations, is not responsible for hiker safety or for providing rescues. Hikers who assume they will be responsible for rescuing themselves in case of an accident are likely to exercise better judgment than those who assume somebody will help them when they need it. So, enjoy the beauty and exhilaration of the White Mountains in winter, but know the risks and prepare mentally and physically to contend with them.
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Last
winter, RMC members Al Sochard and Mike Pelchat, experienced
participants in the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue organization
founded by Mike, rescued two hikers below Thunderstorm Junction
at the top of the Great Gully. When another of our RMC members
asked what might help prevent such near-tragedies in the future,
we thought it might be useful to discuss the issue briefly here.
While it is impossible to prevent all accidents, the RMC believes
that the key to preventing many future accidents lies in hikers
educating themselves about conditions, risks and responsible
behaviors in the mountains.
Second,
hikers should not rely on weather forecasts, cell phones or caretakers
to provide reliable weather information. Cell phone reception
is notoriously bad in the White Mountains. Forecasts are not
always available or reliable. Winter weather in the White Mountains
is probably the harshest and most unpredictable in the Lower
48 states. The Mount Washington Observatory has kept weather
data for decades (see table), and I recall that when I was receiving
the Observatory Bulletin with daily weather data for each month,
over half the winter days had peak winds over 75 mph sometime
during the day. While Mt. Washington data will be extreme, when
the winter weather is bad on Mt. Washington, it will be bad everywhere
above treeline.