Good movie!

For those who enjoy mountaineering movies, I also recommend Free Solo and Into Thin Air

Was it good? If I recall correctly, the reviews were awful.

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The movie can be found on Youtube

We don't have YouTube premium, but looking at the ratings—hovering in the 5/10 range—I'm not sure it matters!

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It's not great, but an interesting enough watch that I didn't regret it. I was bothered that the backdrop wasn't the White's, not sure where it was.

What is with you people denigrating the 19 year old who died recently?

He was young and inexperienced.

Probably he had no mentor to teach him, with his family on the other side of the world.

As for hiking on xmas: that is a holiday for christians, and he might not have been one.

Cut the dead guy some slack...

You don't need premium just sign in with an email address, let me see if i can find a link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MXI_zfGScA

Absolutely not. His stupidity risk lives of other. I will not feel sorry for this stupid individual


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Thanks for the link. I just started it and, yes, it's weird that not only is it not filmed in the Whites but they don't even really try to make it look like it. The AVSAR patch and map in her house are the only references...so far.

Oh, and I'll add that NH hikers are nowhere near that friendly in parking lots!

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I enjoyed it. But I really enjoy that sort of thing, so maybe it was not a good movie and the subject mater was enough for me? Given that you've recommended the Ty Gagne book numerous times, I think the movie is worth a look, at least for you. The other two movies I recommended are excellent, and have been enjoyed by wide audiences

You guys, this movie isn't very good... annnddd I didn't finish it.

So many oversights and overdramatized moments I just couldn't make it through.

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The last half hour made it more understandable they had allot in common. Into Thin Air is also on YouTube.

It was mostly the corniness of her quotes and way overdramatized situations. Like, the hole she falls into over and over? That wouldn't exist anywhere near the trail and didn't mesh with the snow cover, etc.

Into Thin Air kept much closer to reality, so I liked that much more.

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https://www.wmur.com/article/officia...trail/42340756 .... 'Officials identify hiker found dead on Franconia trail'

If the AMC Greenleaf Hut ..... http://www.outdoors.org/destinations...greenleaf-hut/ ...... located about one mile down below from the summit of Mt Lafayette overlooking Eagle Lake on the Old Bridle Path ..... was kept open all year long, this area in the mountains would get more winter day hikers, and provide a warm, safe place to get into a heated building and come in from the cold.

Believe that's something that happens in the Swiss Alps.

Sometime in the past, back in the 1970's me-thinks Greenleaf Hut had a winter care-taker and you could stop in for a hot chocolate, bowl of lentil soup, and delicious home made banana bread. That's the summit of Mt Lafayette up above the Greenleaf Hut.

...... those were the days.

I think that would just provide a false sense of security and increase incidents.

In fact, "Critical Hours" begins with a story about the old quonset hut thing near Madison that people began to see as a destination rather than emergency use.

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Right, they ended up removing the quonset hut in Edmonds Col because too many people were using it to overnight rather than as an emergency shelter.

I've thought about the huts being open in winter over the years. I don't buy the "if they are open, more people will get in trouble" theory. If that were so, then Lonesome Lake and Carter Notch wouldn't be kept open. I think it's hard to staff, hard to supply, and hard environmentally to deal with people at most of the huts so AMC makes the financial/impact decision to keep them closed.

Gray Knob on Mt. Adams is open in winter, and Crag Camp isn't officially open but you can shelter there (or at least you could when I was last there in winter). As far as I know neither has contributed to more accidents.

I'm sorry the guy died, sorry for his family, it is truly sad. That doesn't excuse his actions. He had a phone he could navigate with, which means he had a phone he could spend 30 minutes online with and learn of the conditions and weather forecast and minimum equipment needed for that hike. People have to be responsible.

There is a book by Nicholas Howe "Not Without Peril" that gives 150 years of history of people lost in the White Mountains.

Here's a photo of of the old emergency shelter at Edmund's Col ..... http://www.summitpost.org/emergency-...d-s-col/992659

As I recall it was 6' tall at the highest point, and maybe 8' wide x 10' long without a door at the entry. It was somewhat similar to a dog house with absolutely nothing inside, just the concrete foundation and the steel enclosure.

Edmund's Col , elevation 4938', is north on Mt Jefferson, elevation 5712'.

Add The Alpinist to the list. It is a must see. If something can induce more stress than Free Solo, than this movie is it. Alex Honnold appears in it as well.

Pretty good book, for sure. I wonder if it'll be updated to reflect the last, what, thirteen years? It looks like the last update was '09.

In terms of the huts, I think someone here said the law calls things like that "attractive nuisances." I think the reason Lonesome Lake, Carter, Crag, etc. are still open is because they simply haven't become problems.

In either case, these deaths are incredibly sad and often avoidable...but empathy is still good.

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BTW the guy was 28, not 19. From Salem NH.

This link for the AMC Greenleaf Hut .... http://www.outdoors.org/destinations...greenleaf-hut/ ....says it closed for the season on October 28, gets boarded up for the winter, reopens on June 1, 2023...... is closed for seven months ..... if only it could be sublet to a Dunkin' in the 7-month long, winter season....... formerly named Dunkin' Donuts ..... and there would always be a Fish 'n Game officer nearby, way way up the mountains ..... enjoying a coffee and donut who could go make a fast Franconia Ridge hiker rescue, day or night ...... 24/7! ..... all 7-months, winter long ..... :laugh:

Looking at this picturesque photograph of the well constructed and equipped Greenleaf Hut, it's easy to imagine a winter sublet to a mountain Dunkin' Donuts for a 7-month long winter lease. That mountain in the background is 5249' ..... www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Lafayette. "A photo .... https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Laf...te_panoram.jpg ... of the Franconia Ridge as viewed from the Greenleaf Hut" with Eagle Lake between the hut and Mt Lafayette.

Dec 25, 2022 ...... www.concordmonitor.com/hiker-49331058 ..... 'A sadly familiar story in latest mountain hiker death, right down to the trail they took' ...... published Dec 27, 2022

A Dunkin' would do some good business in that there Greenleaf Hut, Old Bridle Path winter hiking location. ....... :eek2: People could climb Mt Lafayette during the cold snowy months knowing there's a Dunkin' on the trail so's they can stop and get a hot bite to drink/eat and go inside warm building that smells like good strong coffee and donuts. What's not to like? It would be an instant hit-the-spot!

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, you know. ...... :eek:

Hey ..... anyone remember the snack shack from the 1960's and earlier at the ranger station at the base of Tuckerman's Ravine named Howard Johnson's because it originally had an orange roof. That was a popular place to get a yummy cheeseburger and a Coke in a paper cup for about $1.25.

..... da huts ..... http://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...elow-lafayette

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.

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/

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/

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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.

To laugh in the face of death
 

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.

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

Watched it last night on your recommendation--WOW! Even separate from the mind-bending mountaineering, it's a terrific movie about an extraordinary person. Thanks :)