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.
Climber fall; North Gully, Huntington Ravine
A solo climber fell out of North Gully when his crampon slipped on an ice bulge while down climbing. The climber fell approximately 40 feet onto talus and sustained multiple fractures in his arm. Three climbers at the base of Yale Gully came over to assist him. He walked to…
Lost hikers; Raymond Cataract
The victims were part of a group of 35 students who set out to climb to the summit of Mt. Washington during a torrential rain storm. Due to thick fog, two of the hikers wandered off the trail and followed ski tracks into Raymond’s Cataract. When the group realized they…
Rockfall accident; Chute, Tuckerman Ravine
The victim was skiing in the Chute when he was struck on the head and hand by a falling rock. He suffered a soft tissue injury to his right hand. He was assisted by a member of the Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol and a USFS Snow Ranger. This incident…
Hiker injury; Lion Head
The victim was above treeline, hiking on the Lion Head trail. He stepped on a rock and rolled his ankle suffering a broken fibula. A member of his party went ahead to Hermit Lake to report the accident. A USFS Snow Ranger received the report at7:15pm. Members from the Mount…
Long sliding fall; Hillman’s Highway
The victim had made 5 or 6 turns at the top Hillman’s Highway when he lost his edge and fell. He was unable to stop himself and fell the length of the gully, approximately 1200′. He sought assistance from the Forest Service and was treated by the Mount Washington Volunteer…
Avalanche accident; Central Gully, Huntington Ravine
A party of five people were practicing mountaineering skills under Central Gully in Huntington Ravine. As they packed up to leave a loose snow avalanche came down and knocked three of them off of their feet. One individual caught his foot between some rocks and broke his lower leg just…
Long sliding fall; the Fan, Huntington Ravine
The victim was performing a seated glissade with crampons on in Huntington Ravine. Once he moved from soft new snow to the older hard icy surface he lost control and began cartwheeling. He tumbled about 150 to 200 feet before stopping in the rocks. Students from Lyndon State College were…
Long sliding fall; Odell Gully, Huntington Ravine
A party of three was hiking in Huntington Ravine, approaching O’Dell’s Gully when one of the individuals was knocked off his feet by a wind gust. He was unable to self arrest and slid and tumbled approximately 400’ into the rocks. The victim’s partners got him down the slope on…
Ice fall accident; Central Gully, Huntington Ravine
At 1530 a climber was struck on the head by falling ice while climbing in Central Gully in Huntington Ravine. The patient was wearing a helmet and lost consciousness for 1 minute due to the impact. She was with a group of 14 people who initiated a self-evacuation. The patient…
Lost climbers; Nelson Crag, Huntington Ravine
After spending the night at the Harvard Cabin, DM and SS planned to climb Damnation Gully. DM had climbed the route previously but it was to be SS’s first ice climb. They left the cabin shortly before 11:00am and started their climb sometime around noon. According to DM they encountered…
Long sliding fall; Central Gully, Huntington Ravine
At around 1200 hours, the victim was attempting to ski in Central Gully in Huntington Ravine below the “ice bulge” when he fell. He slid on hard neve snow for 200 ft before hitting the rocks face first at the top of the fan. He had severe pain on his…
Avalanche accident; Odell Gully, Huntington Ravine
Early on January 7, 2005 A and R planned on climbing North Gully in Huntington Ravine after spending the night at the Harvard Cabin. The previous day they had climbed O’Dell’s Gully, which had gone very well. Brian Johnston, USFS Snow Ranger, passed the Harvard Cabin at around 6:50 on…
Climbing fall; Odell Gully, Huntington Ravine
The victim was climbing in O’dells Gully with two others. When on the last pitch of ice his crampon popped off his right foot which caused him to take an approximately 20 foot lead fall suffering a right ankle injury. The party self-rescued using a litter from the Dow Cache…
Lost climbers; Alpine Garden
The following is from a press release issued by our office on 3-21-2004: Two climbers who lost their way in white-out conditions above treeline on Mount Washington Saturday were found unharmed Sunday morning as they were descending the Lion Head Trail on the east side of the mountain. KC, 40,…
Snowboard injury, Tuckerman Ravine
The victim was hiking out of the Tuckerman Bowl at approximately 2:15pm carrying his snowboard. About half way down the trail to Hermit Lake he slipped on some ice, tumbled two or three times and fell along his snowboard. The edge of the board cut through his clothing and put…
Avalanche mass-casualty incident; Lip, Tuckerman Ravine
(Excerpted from Snowranger Chris Joosen’s report) Seven climbers were involved in a climber triggered class 2 slab avalanche in Tuckerman Ravine. Four individuals were buried, two partially and two completely. One of the partially buried climbers (Matt) had only his forearm and hand above the surface and the other (Richard…
Skier-triggered avalanche accidents; Hillman’s Highway, Center Headwall
At around 1pm, three skiers were approximately 20′, 40′ and 90′ respectively away from the ridgeline on the climbers right of Hillmans Highway when a slab avalanche began just below the ridgeline. The avalanche swept the lower two skiers down Hillmans Highway approximately 800′. Witnesses reported VH was buried near…
Crevasse fall; Tuckerman Ravine Trail
On 5-13-01 VM was descending the Tuckerman Ravine trail, above Tuckerman Ravine, on snowshoes. She lost her footing just above the Lip and tumbled into the Ravine, falling into a crevasse. VM was upright in the crevasse about 30′ below the surface. She was able to reach down and remove…
Crevasse Fall; Tuckerman Ravine
On 4-28-01, JL and JN were descending Mt Washington after climbing up the Lion Head Trail. Above the ravine they started to glissade down the slope. JL lost his ice axe and started an uncontrolled fall on the hard pack snow and fell 20′ into a crevasse. JN tried to…
Long fall; the Lip, Tuckerman Ravine
On 3-17-01 MR was snowboarding over the Lip when he fell and cartwheeled approximately 700 feet down the slope at a high rate of speed. Bystanders in the ravine came to the aid of MR while one person went to Hermit Lake to report the accident to the Forest Service…
Climbing accident; Damnation Gully, Huntington Ravine
On 2-18-01, two climbers, NG and JB were ‘simul-soloing’ Damnation Gully, a 1200 foot ice and snow climb. They were at the last ice bulge, approximately 200 feet from the top, when the accident occurred around 12:30 pm. The plan was to have JB climb through the section of ice…
Long sliding fall; Right Gully, Tuckerman Ravine
The victim was climbing up Right Gully to ski when a rockfall occurred above her In her attempts to get clear, she lost her footing on the steep snow and began to slide. The victim was unable to self-arrest as her poles and ice axe were on her pack at…
Avalanche accident; Right Gully, Tuckerman Ravine
An avalanche accident occurred in the Right Gully of Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington. Right Gully is a 1000 foot snow gully with a slope angle ranging from 35 to 40 degrees. The climbers destination was the summit of Mount Washington. At approximately 1130, an avalanche was triggered by 2…
Long sliding fall; Southeast Snowfields, Mount Washington
On 2-15-99, BM was involved in a serious accident on the summit cone of Mount Washington. At approximately 1500, BM and his partners left the summit of Mount Washington, descending the southeast snowfields. The slope angle varies from 30 to 35 degrees where the accident occurred. About half way down…
Long sliding fall; Lower Snowfields, Hillman’s Highway
On 2-13-1999, VM and her partner were descending the Lower Snowfields in Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington. The snow conditions were extremely hard, the result of a mid-winter rain storm. They decided to practice self arrest technique. The slope angle of the Lower snowfields is about 35 degrees, with a…
