Every year, on average, 25 people who are injured while climbing, skiing and mountaineering on Mount Washington require some type of assistance from rescue groups such as the US Forest Service and the Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol. The incident summaries listed below are provided as an educational tool in order to help prevent future accidents. The accidents range from sprained ankles to multi-systems trauma, to avalanche burials. The reports and analysis of these accidents have revealed some interesting insights into winter mountain safety.
Avalanche; Chute, Tuckerman Ravine
On November 30th, the first of two skiers ascending the lookers right edge of an east facing funnel shaped couloir called Chute, triggered a wind slab which fractured from his feet up and across the slope. The resulting 30′ wide and 2’+ deep crown spanned the width of the gully…
Long sliding fall; Chute, Tuckerman Ravine
Events: At approximately 12:30pm, 2 Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrollers skiing in Tuckerman Ravine witnessed a long sliding fall from near the top of the 50 degree couloir known as the Chute. A 60 year old male skier lost his footing near the skyline, either while climbing or transitioning to…
Sliding fall; Right Gully, Tuckerman Ravine
Events: On Saturday May 4, 2019 at approximately 4:00pm, a 66 year old male caught an edge while skiing and took what was described as a “slow speed slide” into a rock below Right Gully. The two other members of his party and some passersby dug a shelf in the snow,…
Near-miss fall into waterfall hole; Tuckerman Ravine
As winter turns rapidly to spring, a number of hazards become prevalent in the steep terrain of the Presidential Range and particularly the Headwall of Tuckerman Ravine. Waterfall holes, glide cracks or crevasses, moats around cliffs and rocks, and other deep holes open as the thick snowpack melts. A fall…
Avalanche fatality; Raymond Cataract
Events: Around lunchtime on Thursday, April 11, 2019, two hikers took a break on the summit of Lion Head. This ridge separates Tuckerman Ravine from a stream drainage to the north known as Raymond Cataract. While on Lion Head, they noted a skier descending into Raymond Cataract, an ephemeral, but…
Injured climber
A 20 year old male sustained a laceration to his eyebrow area as a result of being accidentally kicked while climbing below another person. He was assessed by a member of the MWVSP and provided with bandaging for the wound. Lesson learned—don’t follow too closely in the boot pack. Pay…
Missing hiker
On Sunday March 17, Snow Ranger staff from the Mount Washington Avalanche Center participated in a search for a missing hiker. Agencies involved included the NH Fish & Game, Mountain Rescue Service and Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue. Teams searched areas of “last known location”. The search was discontinued at the…
(Accident Analysis) Long sliding fall fatality; Huntington Ravine
As the annual spring cycle of melting and freezing approaches, it seems like a good time to consider the consequences of travelling on a snowpack in the throes of this natural cycle. A mid-winter thaw, one of several this season, led to a tragic accident on Mount Washington in mid-February….
Long sliding fall fatality; Huntington Ravine
Central Gully in Huntington Ravine. Photo: Sean Hurley, NHPR On Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 4:45 p.m. U.S. Forest Service Snow Rangers from the Mount Washington Avalanche Center responded to a report of an overdue climber. Local volunteer search and rescue teams assembled with Snow Rangers to search the terrain…
7 human-triggered avalanches; Tuckerman Ravine
On April 7, 2018, seven avalanches occured in Tuckerman Ravine. All were human triggered. This write-up discusses the weather and snowpack that lead up to these events, an objective summary of the events, and an analysis of factors that lead to at least five people being caught in one of…
Human-triggered avalanches; Hillman’s Highway, Gulf of Slides
On Saturday, March 10, 2018, two separate avalanche incidents were reported. During the previous 2 days, 14.5″ of snow was deposited at Hermit Lake from a nor’easter and the upslope snowfall that followed. This storm was accompanied by moderate winds that rose to the 60’s mph the afternoon before. Saturday’s…
Long sliding fall; Hillman’s Highway
Icy conditions will always be a challenge despite the use of self-arrest poles. Once momentum is gained from a skiing fall or unchecked fall while climbing, it is doubtful that even a a well deployed ice axe would work on a knife hardness, icy and steep surface such as the…
Long sliding fall; Right Gully, Tuckerman Ravine
At about 1:00 PM, a climber took a long sliding fall while ascending Right Gully in Tuckerman Ravine. The subject lost their footing on very hard, icy snow and was unable to self-arrest with an ice axe. The fall occurred near the top of Right Gully and the resulting high…
Stranded climbers, Damnation area, Huntington Ravine
At around 11:30a.m., a pair of hikers set out from Pinkham Notch to summit via Huntington Ravine. At approximately 4:45p.m., snow ranger staff were contacted by AMC front desk staff that there were 2 hikers stranded near Central Gully in Huntington Ravine. Scouting in the Ravine revealed that the pair of…
Two long sliding falls on a frozen spring snowpack
On Sunday afternoon, March 13, two separate accidents occurred on the east side of Mount Washington. Both accidents involved long sliding falls and resulted in life-threatening injuries. Luckily, the skies were clear and the wind was calm, allowing both patients to be evacuated via helicopter. There are several lessons to…
(PRESS RELEASE) Two sliding falls on a frozen spring snowpack
NEWS RELEASEUSDA Forest Service White Mountain National Forest For Immediate Release Contact: Tiffany Benna tbenna@fs.fed.us or 603.348.0078 Icy Conditions in Tuckerman Ravine Lead to Two Evacuations On Sunday, March 14, 2016, weather on Mount Washington was in the high 20’s (F) with bright sunshine and moderate northwest…
Sliding fall; Central Gully, Huntington Ravine
At approximately 12:10pm on Sunday, February 7, one member of a climbing party of three slipped while approaching a technical snow and ice climb in Huntington Ravine. The climber rapidly gained speed on the 35-40 degree snow slope beneath Central Gully and tumbled into the rocks below, sustaining non-life threatening…
Lost climbers; Lion Head area
After climbing Odell Gully on Friday, February 5, 2016, a climbing team called 911 after being unable to find the Winter Lion Head Route to descend. The party of three topped out earlier in the day in low visibility due to blowing snow and fog. Temperatures at that time were…
Two human-triggered avalanches; Tuckerman Ravine
Synopsis: On Sunday, January 17, a wind slab avalanche cycle on the east side of Mount Washington occurred following a period of moderate snowfall and wind. Two human-triggered avalanches occurred, one of which was widely publicized on social media and in the news. A number of factors led to the incidents…
Leg injury; Tuckerman Ravine Trail
A woman was hiking down the Tuckerman Ravine Trail from Hermit Lake, when the snow and ice bridge she was walking on collapsed, causing a leg injury. She was transported in a litter to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center by members of her party, bystanders, MWVSP members, and USFS personnel.
Water immersion; Little Headwall
A group of three was descending the streambed between the bowl and the Little Headwall. One snowboarder was unable to avoid an open hole in the snowpack. He fell into the water with his snowboard still attached to his feet. His friends were able to quickly extend a ski pole…
Long sliding fall; Chute, Tuckerman Ravine
At approximately 1600, a skier took a long sliding fall down the Chute and suffered a lower leg injury. Patient was treated and assisted down the Tuckerman Ravine trail to Hermit Lake and then transported via snow cat to PNVC at 1700.
Illness; Tuckerman Ravine Trail
At approximately 0930 on a day which would see nearly 3000 visitors on the mountain, Snow Rangers received a relayed radio call from Gorham Dispatch via Mount Washington State Park staff of a hiker experiencing shortness of breath on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. One Snow Ranger and a MWVS Patroller…
Injured skier; Sherburne Ski Trail
At approximately 1600, Snow Rangers received word via radio that a skier with a laceration was being treated on the Sherburne Ski Trail. Snow Rangers and MWVSP members responded to find that the patient had been treated and the wound properly dressed by a recreating ski patroller and was being…
Lower leg injury; Lion Head Trail
At approximately 1500, two hikers flagged down passing Snow Rangers who were heading down for the day. The party had loaned their plastic sled to help a group transport a person with lower leg injury from the Lion Head Winter Route. We encountered a large family group about 100 yards…
