This hits a bit close to home...

[Coulter]

You guys all know how I go up to the Adirondacks to climb the peaks. Well, a couple days ago a woman was found dead near the summit of McNaughton Mountain. Apparently she got turned around somehow and the coroners report states exposure/hypothermia as the cause of death. It also states that she was an "Ultralite Hiker" and she was not prepared for winter conditions. Very sad news, especially since she had already climbed the 46 peaks solo in the winter months.

I'm planning a trip up there to attempt 3-5 peaks in a couple of weeks. You can bet I'll be double and triple checking my gear. Especially after my last trip up there and falling into Cold Brook near the Summit of Marshall when it was only 19 degrees. That was a lesson I surely learned from.

Steve

[slagmaker]

Some times people get over confident. Then it ends up either there skills or there equipment let them down. Mother nature can be very unforgiving

[FinsnFur]

She had the experience. Things just went wrong. Sad story.

[KySongDog]

Take a PLB (personal locator beacon) with you.  I always have one when alone in the woods.  That little gadget might have saved that woman's life.

[Coulter]

A PLB is definitely on my list for next years winter season. My daughter will likely be gone and I'll be doing a lot of solo climbing at that point.

[nastygunz]

 They drop like flies up here on the trails, in the white mountains in Mount Washington. Seems like every week they find bodies, some of them not until years later.  It got so bad that the state passed a law that they can bill the hikers for the rescue cost now which is a large amount of money in some cases.  You can also purchase a hike safe card that will pay for rescue costs and I believe if you have a fishing and hunting license they can't Charge you for a rescue .

"More than a quarter million people visit the summit of Mount Washington each summer by car, train, or foot. But in winter, sub-zero temperatures, hurricane-force winds, blowing snow and incredible ice claim the peak, creating an arctic outpost in a temperate climate zone. Known as the Home of the World’s Worst Weather, Mount Washington’s winter conditions rival those of Mount Everest and the Polar regions.

This remarkable, otherworldly landscape is completely inaccessible to all but the most experienced winter mountaineers".

[FinsnFur]

This remarkable, otherworldly landscape is completely inaccessible to all but the most experienced winter mountaineers".

Like Tikanni?

[Coulter]

Washington is on the radar for me this summer after I'm done with the 46. A winter ascent of it is way down the road for me, but definitely one that I want to tackle.

Steve

[Coulter]

Holy Crap! Another daeth from the ADK this one is bizarre. I've climbed this mounatin twice now in winter conditions.

A falling rock killed a 12-year-old boy from Greenwich, New York, today at the base of Roaring Brook Falls near St. Huberts.

The boy was with his uncle at the base of the falls when the large rock dislodged from above and hit the pair, according to Essex County Coroner Frank Whitelaw. The boy died at the scene despite the rescue efforts of forest rangers and Keene Valley's rescue squad. The uncle was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Whitelaw said rescuers attempted CPR on the boy for an extended period of time. Whitelaw said the boy's next of kin has been notified, but he nevertheless declined to release the boy's name.

Roaring Brook Falls can be accessed via a short trail starting on state Route 73, at a trailhead for Giant Mountain.

[Okanagan]

Ma Nature don't care.

[FinsnFur]

What the 

[Dave]

Damn! How sad that is.

[KySongDog]

That is sad.  Life is a crap shoot.  Why him and not me? is a question I've asked myself several times. 

[Coulter]

The boys Uncle is really distraught over the whole thing, can't say I wouldn't be either. I'm quite certain he's asking himself that very question...why him and not me? Those are some hiking boots I would never want to find myself in.