Peak Experiences: Danger, Death, and Daring in the Mountains of the Northeast

One Man Dead, One Rescued on Blackhead Mountain

Susan Campriello One Man Dead, One Rescued on Blackhead Mountain Two men lost on Blackhead Mountain during a snowstorm since leaving on a hiking trip Friday evening were found by rescuers. R. was located Sunday night alive and under a blanket12 near the mountain’s summit, according to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Maureen Wren. His hiking companion was found dead Monday afternoon, just a short distance away. Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley said the cause of death appears to be hypothermia. An autopsy will be conducted today, he said. “An experienced hiker lost his life due to extreme difficulty with the weather up there,” Seeley said. According to Wren and Seeley, rescuers were able to locate the two hikers through cell phone activity and “pings” over the course of the weekend. Seeley said the men, who authorities said are both around fifty years of age, arrived at a lean-to on Blackhead Mountain Friday evening where they spent the night. Wren said the men set off at 7:30 a.m. Saturday for a daylong hike in the Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness Area. Wren said the pair, who were following the trail that leads to Black Dome Mountain and Thomas Cole Mountain, became disoriented and got lost in the storm. One called 911 at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, telling emergency responders: “We’re in trouble .” Wren said the men described the area to emergency responders but the information was not specific enough for state forest rangers to pinpoint their position. Forest rangers responded to the emergency but were slowed by heavy snowfall plaguing the higher elevations all weekend. Seeley said search crews reported that wind, rain, and snow on the mountain reduced visibility to less than 15 feet. State police helicopters could not be dispatched due to “low and impenetrable cloud cover,” she said. Several inches of snow fell on the mountain Saturday night and temperatures lingered in the low thirties, according to the National Weather Service. According to authorities, snow was already deep enough that it covered some trail markers positioned between 6 and 8 feet above the ground. According to meteorologist Kevin Lipton, wind speeds reached 114 pe a k e x pe r i e n ces Cliff Note  This is a tragic case of failing to postpone a planned trip and of not being fully prepared for bad weather. As guidebook authors for this region, my husband and I are out in these mountains most weekends. We watch the weather assiduously; a serious nor’easter, with high winds and stormy weather, was predicted for that weekend. This was not a routine storm, and not the time to backpack three nearly 4,000-foot peaks. If the pair had been absolutely determined to hike that day, they should have carried full gear and enough clothing to survive at least one night out. Instead, these hikers became hypothermic, losing so much mobility in their hands that they were unable to strap on their snowshoes. One also lost mobility in his legs and was unable to walk; the other attempted to descend without snowshoes. Timothy Muskat, whose “Curses, Excursus” appears in this book, writes: “The top is nothing like the bottom. Don’t be a trailhead speculator: that is, don’t assume that 20 to 40 mph with even stronger gusts. The hikers spent Saturday night in a snow shelter they had built and one of them went to find help Sunday morning. “Something went tragically wrong due to the amount of snow,” Seeley said. Wren said that a combined search effort by forest rangers, the Hensonville Fire Department, and the Greene County Sheriff’s Department continued Sunday morning. Ten rangers swept hiking trails in the area, she said, and R. was located at about 8:55 p.m. Other than the blanket, other hiking gear had been left in the lean-to. Forest rangers set up a winter shelter around the hiker and stayed with him through the night. He was able to walk off the mountain midday Monday and refused medical attention, she said. The other hiker’s body was brought down on a snowmobile and carried out by forest rangers and volunteers Monday afternoon, authorities said. Seeley said the hikers were found on the east face of Blackhead 115 r escues i n t h e m o u n t a i n s because there seems...