Out of bounds
 

Sympathy for tinnitus, comedy for another death in the White Mtns. Another new low. How low can you go?

R.I.P. Emily Sotelo.

She lived her life on her own terms.

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/15951...jpg&name=small

and recognition for the rescuers please!
 

When an incident occurs like this in the White Mountains there is a battalion of rescuers, both paid and volunteer, that risk their own lives to try and find the person that (often times) has gone hiking without the proper precautions or experience.

For whatever reason, people don't believe the incredible and swift changes in weather that can occur up there... starting with the first hiker death in 1849... almost 200 years and people still think that they won't be another one.

These brave rescuers put their own lives on the line for others, going out in the worst of the worst conditions. A few years ago, one of them died in an avalanche trying to find two woefully unprepared 17 year old's (both of them found alive four days later, although lost limbs to frostbite).

This 20 year old losing her life is very sad indeed, but let's not forget the rescue squad that tried to have it turn out to be a happier conclusion!!!

It continues to be a beautiful week on the island, ice will be coming in soon enough (hopefully) -PIG

While it's important to acknowledge the harm that rescuers risk, it's also a fact that ALL people are subject to certain tendencies of the human mind (hubris, psychological biases, impulsivity, etc.), and that the brain isn't fully developed until age 25, which explains in part why teenagers can have poor judgment. Anybody here who hasn't made a major error of judgment at some point? I sometimes make such errors even after gathering a lot of information and thoroughly analyzing a problem. Some mountain accidents are just plain dumb. Others happen in less blameworthy circumstances. Hopefully we will learn more about how and why Emily Sotelo died.

Here's a trail description ...... http://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/ne...dge-trail-loop ..... that makes it seem easy-peasy to do it.

It is unknown what her actual trail route was. Did she go up the Falling Waters Trail and come down the Old Bridle Path, or did she go up the Old Bridle Path on Mt Lafayette and turn around due to the cold and wind and descend back down the Old Bridle Path?

My friends and I hiked up Mt Washington back in early June of 2012, up the Ammonoosuc trail, down the Great Gulf Trail to check out the views and then doubled back to the Jewell trail to head down. There were 6 couples, all the guys carried a pack with a ton of extra gear in it (and a special bottle of Jack Daniels so we could share a shot at the summit in honor of my Dad who had passed away a week prior)

We got hit with a storm while above treeline on the way back that just started absolutely hammering us with hail. Luckily it was not super cold, maybe in the 40's, and we were able to throw on rain gear and quickly navigate below treeline.

With all the stories associated with that area I can't imagine going in there ill prepared, especially this close to winter. It was early June for us and we made sure to have cold weather gear just in case! Sorry for the family in this one, very sad.

The Tuesday, Nov 28, 2022, Laconia Daily Sun has a report, "How to stay safe outdoors in winter" by Jon Decker that speaks a lot about Emily Sotelo's most unhappy experience while hiking the Franconia Ridge on Nov 20.

It's a lengthy report and here's some quotes:

"Without proper equipment, it's easy for hypothermia to set in. Once that happens, it's easier to make even more mistakes."

"We're trying to make sense of something we would do when we're nice and warm, not hypothermic in a different frame of mind, reflected Eastman of Sotelo's situation. "Your hands and feet don't work the way you want to, you're panicking. She could have been in a bad spot before she hit the dogleg. The reason she got into the position she was in was because she was poorly provisioned, didn't have lights, means to start a fire, means to get out of there." ..... quote from Capt Mike Eastman, NH Fish & Game
...........

"How Does a Person Freeze to Death? "....... what happens? ..... http://www.livescience.com/6008-pers...eze-death.html ...... Jan 30, 2019

Something to ponder while totally warm and comfy, indoors on a cold wintry night......... yuuuh! ......... :eek2:

Give it a rest...Stop making a mockery out of this poor girl's death.

If you have been emotionally moved by this tragic cold and windy weather, November 20 or 21, 2022 hiking death catastrophe on Mt Lafayette, white mountains, New Hampshire ..... https://news.yahoo.com/family-seeks-...235600792.html ...... your donation to one of the search and rescue teams is encouraged.

Another hiker dies in the White mtns.

RIP

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/us/hi...ire/index.html

This one is at the other end of the spectrum--a completely prepared hiker putting his foot in the wrong spot. A good time to remember than the view from 10' away from the edge of the cliff is just as good as the precipice

Cog Railway employee
 

Bad things happen to good people

Well prepared seasoned boaters crash
Mountaineers make mistakes, unwittingly.
People lose their lives in the lake and the White Mountains every year.

Risk in most everything even going out to dinner.
Another family tragedy compounded by the season, hopefully not a moment for stand up comedy dissection.

Sad.... Seems by all accounts that he was a great guy! Just goes to show 1 misstep could be life changing.


Woodsy

Iphone 14 Satellite
 

Well - that didn't take long for this new feature to to come into play:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/iphone-em...194918337.html

Don't know much about the beacons mentioned as I'm sure they are good/powerful tools to have but a phone upgrade to the 14 that can do this for the causal hiker seems like a no-brainer...

Really a shame, from all accounts sounds like an experienced hiker and good guy. I wonder if we'll get an account of what happened eventually from his wife, did he back up taking a selfie, did he just slip at the edge? I know it really doesn't matter but I'd still be curious to know.

When we hike this weekend it will be the first time out with spikes this year, quite a change from a week ago.

This page from https://yaktrax.com/traction.html shows twelve different types of traction attachments with different hardware at different prices to grip the ice, slush, snow, and steepness for supposedly safe winter walking and climbing.

For $19.95 I've had good use with going through about three pair in two years with the el cheapo $19.95 Yaktrax walk traction device named the Yaktrax Pro ... until the stretch rubber breaks apart ..... good for woods and hill walking ..... is somewhat similar to tire chains plus they are low price .....not too good for ice climbing at .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC9_NL-YLFs ...... at Frankenstein Cliff just down the Crawford Notch, Rt-302 road from the very popular hike up Mt Willard.

From my personal experience, Yaktrax suck. They break, fall off, only fit certain footwear well. I much prefer Kahtoola Microspikes. Yes they cost 3 times what Yaktrax cost, but when I'm 4 miles in on a winter hike I'd rather have the quality product. They have several different options with more and less aggressive spikes.

Walking devices with spikes or points are good for the steeps, but their pitfall is catching a spike while walking and falling down. The $19.95 Yaktrax Pro is similar to smooth tire chains and good for intermediate traction.

This Yaktrax link shows them at $34.95 but you can find them in Ebay for $19.95 ...... in July?

The Hillsound Trail Crampon is my choice—a tad longer spikes and a Velcro strap that goes across the top of the foot to prevent them from falling off. I often see lost Kahtoolas hanging in the trees.

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I just took a look, nice looking product. Similar in design to Kahtoola with the addition of the strap. I haven't had a microspike fall off yet, quite a few miles of mixed hiking. Funny your comment about hanging in trees, my last pair of Yaktrax I was hiking Tecumseh when I noticed one foot slipping, looked down and it had fallen off. I started back down and a hiker said they saw one that someone hung on a branch, so I was able to retrieve it, nice that they did that. After it fell off multiple times I ended up lacing it in place to finish the hike.

Yeah, Yaktrax are useless for anything beyond driveways.

Tecumseh is lame except for one thing: its proximity to Benton's Sugar Shack.

Any hikes planned? I did North Pack with my teacher friends last Saturday, which was great. My goal this year is to (finally) bag Waumbek and Starr King.

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For your driveway and smaller local trails: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...TF8&th=1&psc=1

They last a lot longer than the ones with the little studs. The rubber and the spikes are tough.

I know what you mean about Tecumseh but I still enjoy it, easy to get up high on days when a longer round trip doesn't fit.

We hiked Waumbek for the first time this summer, really enjoyed it. Lately we've been doing 4-7 mile stuff, preferably loops, like Cardigan and Welch-Dickey. Also hike the Belkaps at times, Percival-Morgan, etc. I'd like to finish off the 4000's but have to allocate more time to do that.

We did Major a few weeks ago, coming from the back side starting at Precipice West—what an awesome stretch.

Roberts may be my favorite in the area, The Bonds and Baldfaces my favorite overall.

How many 48's you have left?

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We did Roberts a few months ago and loved it, what a great hike and the views are amazing.

I've done around 30, maybe 32. So 2/3 of the way there. How about you?

I'm not really paying attention, but I think somewhere in the high 30's.

My problem is that on most occasions I choose better hikes over bagging peaks. For example, I've headed up to bang out the Kinsmans three or four times...and have always ended up on the Ridge!

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You'll like Kinsman, I wouldn't put those 2 in the peak bagging category. A bit of a haul though. I thought Waumbek might be a slog but we ended up really enjoying it.

I've been waiting for Waumbek for winter—it's supposed to be a nice one in the snow. Pretty far ride from the south, though.

Happy trails, friend!

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"19-year-old hiker who died in New Hampshire remembered as caring, determined" ...... http://www.wmur.com/article/new-hamp...tuary/42329440 ...... published Dec 23, 2022

She started her hike on Sunday, Nov 20 at 4:30-am, and her frozen dead body was found on Wednesday, Nov 23, 2022 at 11:15-am on the north west side of Mt Lafayette.

....... such a tragedy ...... rest in peace .....(whatever that means?) ....... Emily Sotelo

Another fatality on the Ridge: https://www.wmur.com/article/man-fou...-hike/42335679

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Mt Washington Hiker
 

Read the story. His family in China was in communication with search and rescue. They located his body a 2am this morning. Risking their lives in sub zero temperatures. On one of the great holidays away from their families. No words for there sacrifices. Have many words I will keep to myself about these selfish winter hikers.


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Agreed, though I'm wondering if the person wasn't local given the China tracking thing.

I just finished "Critical Hours, Search and Rescue in the White Mountains." It wasn't awesome, but it's a solid reminder of SAR's dedication.

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Unfortunately a life was lost, but...

Why Christmas eve?

Why on an extremely cold day that followed rain and or snow?

Why do this with a lack of experience and possibly a lack of proper equipment?

My sympathy goes to the search party, not the deceased.

At what point do they just say "It's too risky for us tonight"?

Seriously…..

“ The hiker's family said he was inexperienced and they did not know which equipment he had, New Hamsphire Fish and Game said”.

One of the members on this forum has a signature that says “You can’t fix stupid”. How appropriate.

www.nhfishgame.com/category/general-news ..... perusing the headlines for 2022, the headlines mention these year-2022 deaths.

1. 1/31/2022: Mansfield, Massachusetts Man Dies in a Snowmobile Crash

2. 2/07/2022: Fatality in the White Mountains

3. 6/06/2022: Berlin Man Killed in Single Vehicle ATV Crash

4. 6/20/2022: UPDATE: Hiker Rescued from Gulfside Trail Near Mt. Clay Dies

5.8/1/2022: Hiker Dies on Jewell Trail

6. 8/22/2022: Hiker Dies on Cannon Mountain

7. 8/26/2022: Canadian Man Collapses and Dies While Hiking Mount Washington

8. 9/06/2022: Hiker Dies after Suffering Medical Emergency on Bunnell Notch Trail

9. 9/09/2022: Drowning Victim Recovered from the Connecticut River

10. 10/24/2022: Massachusetts Man Dies While Hiking in Lincoln

11. 11/08/2022: Untimely Death in Pittsburg

12. 11/23/2022: Missing Massachusetts Hiker Located Deceased, Mt Lafayette

13. 12/12/2022: Hiker Fatality on Mt Willard, Crawford Notch

14. 12/25/2022: 28-year old male hiker, somewhere off Falling Waters trail (from WMUR)

So it looks like 14 deaths, so far in 2022 with twelve men and two women (death #8, #12) from the NH Fish and Game general news headlines.
...................

Say hey ...... they don't call New Hampshire ...... the 'Live Free or Die' state, for nothing! ..... plus all these Fish and Game jurisdiction deaths make for a very happening tv show ..... www.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Woods_Law. You know that Maine is called 'The Pine Tree State' so it's no surprise that North Woods Law got moved from Maine to New Hampshire in 2017.

And, death #9, 9/09/2022, was an Appalachian Trail thru hiker, a 45 year old man from Mississippi who hiked all the way from Georgia and supposedly tripped and fell, drowning into the Connecticut River in Norwich Vermont, across from Hanover NH.
..................

Did you know ....... "If a person has a current New Hampshire hunting or fishing license, current Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle or snowmobile registration, or current boat registration, they receive the same benefit." ..... as a $25 NH Hike Safe card.

'Never Seen A Coyote Here, But...
 

'Think I'll stay home...:eek:

Nineteen-year-old hiker killed by coyotes:

https://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Mus...singer.killed/

Study showed why first case in North America developed:

https://www.cnet.com/science/biology...human-in-2009/

Be careful out there...

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

That's the main point.

I think I've talked about this before, but ... when I winter hike, I've got the right equipment, plus spares of critical items. My planning method is to think about sitting down in the snow or rocks or whatever, and have to stay there for 6-8 hours or even overnight, whether because I'm injured or weather or having to help someone else. Might not be comfortable, but would be safe, no frostbite. I've done enough of this to be confident but also very cautious.

Nobody should be winter hiking alone without experience. Period. And nobody should be winter hiking unprepared, or ill equipped. Put the 2 together and it's not a remote chance of dying, it's a distinct possibility. And those dedicated, hugely capable rescue crews had to spend a family holiday searching. This has to stop.

For anyone who has not seen this, an article by Ty Gagne about a man who went up to Washington to kill himself and was saved by a good samaritan. This is the basis for the movie Infinite Storm.

https://www.outdoors.org/resources/a...tional-rescue/

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We watched the movie a few months ago. Definitely a few differences in the movie, but such a difficult story from the all angles.