Man dies after falling on Mount Washington

MOUNT WASHINGTON – A 25-year-old man, hiking with friends at Tuckerman Ravine, fell to his death Thursday after he wandered off the trail to get a better look at a waterfall, slipped on wet ground and fell 150 feet.

Fish and Game officials did not release the man's name saying they first had to notify family members.

The accident happened about 5:15 p.m.

The hiker was with some friends when he left the trail to get a better look at a waterfall and fill his water bottle. He slipped and fell about 150 feet landing on a small ledge about three-quarters of the way up the headwall.

Rescue personnel from the Appalachian Mountain Club, Mountain Rescue Services, Mount Washington State Park, Mount Washington Observatory and Fish and Game responded. Fellow hikers, some with medical training, rushed to the scene from as far away as the Hermit Lake shelter, providing initial medical treatment.

As soon as the gravity of the man's injuries became apparent, a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter was called to the scene. It made the flight from Concord in 25 minutes.

Fish and Game, in a news release, said the next 25 minutes ?was a harrowing display of flying in close enough to lower a rescue litter, while maintaining a safe distance away from the sheer edge of the headwall.?

Crews on the ground worked on a small, wet treacherous ledge to treat the injured man and put him into the litter, all in an attempt to save his life.

It was 7:55 p.m. when the patient was lifted into the helicopter and flown to Memorial Hospital in Conway where he was pronounced dead.

Tuckerman Ravine is located ton the southeast face of Mount Washington in the White Mountain National forest.

UL

fshnski wrote:MOUNT WASHINGTON – A 25-year-old man, hiking with friends at Tuckerman Ravine, fell to his death Thursday after he wandered off the trail to get a better look at a waterfall, slipped on wet ground and fell 150 feet.

Among the "risk-takers", I am known as "risk-averse".
 

The heading of the article makes it sound like a man fell "on top" of Mount Washington. In order to do that he would have had to be up in the air some how and then went down on top of the mountain. Maybe from an airplane.

The heading could have said: Man falls off the side of the Tuckerman Ravine trail while hiking on Mount Washington.

IMO that is.  

Casy wrote:The heading of the article makes it sound like a man fell "on top" of Mount Washington.  In order to do that he would have had to be up in the air some how and then went down on top of the mountain. Maybe from an airplane.

The heading could have said: Man falls off the side of the Tuckerman Ravine trail while hiking on Mount Washington.

IMO that is.  

You're correct Casy, but ambiguous sentences are much more fun.

Matzoh Heppelwhite. wrote:

Casy wrote:The heading of the article makes it sound like a man fell "on top" of Mount Washington.  In order to do that he would have had to be up in the air some how and then went down on top of the mountain. Maybe from an airplane.

The heading could have said: Man falls off the side of the Tuckerman Ravine trail while hiking on Mount Washington.

IMO that is.  

You're correct Casy, but ambiguous sentences are much more fun.

I guess it gets us to read the article. "Falling on Mount Washington" is not an easy feat.

Ambiguous sentences are much more fun! Keep 'em guessin'!!

I was waiting for that Huzzah from Matzoh. He didn't disappoint.

fshnski wrote:MOUNT WASHINGTON – A 25-year-old man, hiking with friends at Tuckerman Ravine, fell to his death Thursday after he wandered off the trail to get a better look at a waterfall, slipped on wet ground and fell 150 feet.

This spring, a similar thing happened at Yosemite's peak, El Capitan. A would-be family rescuer needed rescuing himself on a smooth section overlooking a huge drop. A third family member reached out, and all three fell to their deaths.

Although I believe that people should pursue adventure at some risk, hearing of this made me sad.