# Hiker found dead near Mt Washington **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 18, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975 "2015-02-18T04:06:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/1 "2015-02-18T04:06:21Z")
What the hell? So many questions. I’m not a hiker, nor do I play one on TV, but I’ve read a few books written by hikers in the Applachains and this makes no sense. Hiking alone? Sub-zero temps? 100+ mph winds? During a known blizzard? Suicide? Homocide? Darwin Candidate? Arrogant? [http://www.wmur.com/news/rescuers-search-for-missing-hiker-near-mt-adams/31294362](http://www.wmur.com/news/rescuers-search-for-missing-hiker-near-mt-adams/31294362) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/2 "2015-02-18T04:31:26Z")
I’m with you – what was she (and her husband) thinking? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/3 "2015-02-18T05:02:48Z")
Possibly one of those “I need to challenge myself to do the nearly impossible” types. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/4 "2015-02-18T05:32:10Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > Sub-zero temps? > 100+ mph winds? > During a known blizzard? At this time of year, you could scarcely find a more hostile US location east of the Rocky Mountains. I doubt this was suicide, but it was definitely suicidal. I wonder whether her personal locator beacon might possibly have contributed to the problem. She may have thought of this as a way to escape trouble if conditions got really bad (as they did). But in that sort of weather (impossible for helicopter rescue operations), when the alarm goes out at 3:30pm, there’s almost no chance help will arrive sooner than mid-morning the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/5 "2015-02-18T05:58:00Z")
I found [this link](http://nealpinestart.com/2015/02/18/a-young-climber-perishes-on-mt-adams/), with much more detail. She was an experienced mountaineer, nominally qualified to make the hike she’d planned. But the forecast was horrific: > [@](#): > > White out conditions. High temps dropping to -20F. Winds NE shifting NW 45-60mph rapidly increasing mid-morning to 80-100mph with gusts up to 125mph. Wind chills 65-75 below zero. Another article said that on Monday morning, the Mt Washington observatory at the summit recorded its highest wind gust in 7 years. Even for a well trained and equipped mountaineer, this is at the limit for survival. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/6 "2015-02-18T07:33:58Z")
Without reading about this particular tragedy, my guess is that a lot of these type of deaths happen to people who haven’t really experienced any major adversity in life so they develop a sense of invincibility and lose a healthy fear of nature. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/7 "2015-02-18T13:46:30Z")
We’ve been hearing about this for the past couple of days. Even without knowing about it, I figured it must be an experienced hiker (I can’t imagine even a suicidal newbie venturing out into this), but it seems stupid for all sorts of reasons. The biggest of these is that after her disappearance, a lot of searchers had to go out into the blizzard looking for her. It’s unbelievably selfish not to factor that in when you’re risking your neck. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/8 "2015-02-18T14:12:49Z")
On local news here (ME), there’s a video showing the rescuers being thrown around (literally) by the winds. Someone in the comment section said, “She was from Siberia and very skilled.” Not all that skilled, I’m thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/9 "2015-02-18T14:44:50Z")
Skilled, yes. Wise, no. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/10 "2015-02-18T15:02:33Z")
I could see this happening to my wife. She is an experienced hiker and mountaineer who climbed and hiked all over the former USSR. She seems to have an inexplicable belief that cold and wind just aren’t as severe here. She has been criticized by members of her hiking club for having a tendency to turn outings into death marches. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/11 "2015-02-18T15:56:30Z")
I just have tremendous respect for that rescue team that went up and looked for her. I can barely make it out to my bird feeders right now. I’ve done hikes in that area and even in clement conditions, it’s a grueling climb. The distances are deceptive, because the White Mountain trails are typically quite steep without switchbacks. Climbing it in snow gear on snow shoes would be brutal. Doing it in 100mph winds and subzero temperatures – I can’t imagine how fit you have to be in order to do that. But yes, I’m guessing that she got herself in some kind of “To Light a Fire” situation where she was just too cold and tired to make shelter in time. That’s why you bring a buddy. Or stay home with the hot chocolate when conditions get like that. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/12 "2015-02-18T15:59:59Z")
Oh c’mon. Hitler died years ago, in Argentina. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/13 "2015-02-18T18:47:51Z")
Do they make clothing which can handle these kinds of temperatures? (For example for use in Antarctica?) ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/14 "2015-02-18T18:57:52Z")
Good God. I’m sorry for this woman, of course, but she should have known better. You can get into trouble on Mt. Washington in the summer, never mind January or February. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/15 "2015-02-18T19:10:27Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Good God. I’m sorry for this woman, of course, but she should have known better. You can get into trouble on Mt. Washington in the summer, never mind January or February. There is (or used to be, at least) a sign at the start of one Mt. Washington trail warning you that people have died on the trail _in the summer_. I suspect that anyone going out in the winter wouldn’t be deterred by such a sign. I’m sorry for her, too, but this seems insane in many different ways. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/16 "2015-02-18T19:13:28Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Possibly one of those “I need to challenge myself to do the nearly impossible” types. What some people will do for a golf-clap on GMA before the segment with today’s recipe… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/17 "2015-02-18T19:19:54Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Oh c’mon. Hitler died years ago, in Argentina. Glad to see I’m not the only one that thought it said Hitler ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/18 "2015-02-18T19:53:02Z")
I wonder if it’s possible it is some sort of addiction. I hike a bit, but almost never in very cold temperatures. And Im certainly not anywhere near the level she was, but there was a couple times when I got home after a cold hike where it just gave you a pretty neat feeling. Hard to describe, but I didn’t really know where I was. I mean intellectually I knew, but if I closed my eyes I had no sense of space. Felt kinda good. Not so good I’d wanna try any thing like that. It’s pretty easy to pile on in situations like these - so I’ll refrain. The fact she was from Siberia - I wonder if that played any part. That kinda beats anything you hear around here with regards to “I’m from XYZ and so I know how to handle snow.” Will you always get frostbite before you “freeze to death”? The reason I ask is if she had been out in conditions that were worse than what had been predicted there (obviously not there since that was a record) - and did not get frostbite or otherwise suffer ill effects - is it possible to then die under other less severe conditions? Or I guess another way of asking is - can you have been close to having frozen to death and not realize it? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/19 "2015-02-18T19:54:50Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Glad to see I’m not the only one that thought it said Hitler You know who else set some seemingly impossible goals for themself? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975/20 "2015-02-18T20:12:03Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Do they make clothing which can handle these kinds of temperatures? (For example for use in Antarctica?) Look at what the rescue team is wearing for an idea of the appropriate dress for the conditions. You can always throw on more layers and more R values, but there’s a weight and mobility tradeoff if you’re going to be doing strenuous hiking in the clothes. When you’re hiking, you actually generate serious amounts of heat. A lot of winter hiking gear actually has “pit zips” and other vents that you can open and close to shed heat as needed. I’d be a bit surprised if it turned out to be insufficient clothing that was the problem, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that some normally minor inconvenience turned into a fatal situation under the prevailing weather conditions. For example, maybe she took off a glove to fix a zipper or add a layer and it blew away. Hands froze, zipper wouldn’t go up – it doesn’t take much in those conditions. Then again, apparently hypothermia is pretty insidious, so she might just have gotten so far and realized that there was nothing left in the tank. Even with the best insulation, you have to be able to replace the heat that leaks out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiker-found-dead-near-mt-washington/712975.md?page=2)