One killed, two injured in mountain skiing accident

NHpowderhound

NHpowderhound

New member
MOUNT CLAY, N.H. (AP) — One man was killed and two injured in a back country skiing accident Sunday on Mount Clay. <BR> <BR>The three were skiing near the summit between Mount Washington and Mount Jefferson when one fell and then a second fell trying to get his skis off to help the first. The one who was killed fell hundreds of feet down an extremely steep slope that ends in a boulder field, Fish and Game officer Douglas Gralenski said. <BR> <BR>The second man suffered rib and hip injuries, and the third man suffered frostbite, Gralenski said. They were taken to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin. <BR> <BR>Their names and hometowns were withheld until relatives could be notified, but Gralenski said they were middle age. <BR> <BR>One of the men called 911 on a cell phone for help at about 3 p.m. and state parks officer Mike Pelchat, who was at the summit of Mount Washington, hiked about two hours with a few volunteers to reach the men, needing technical climbing with ropes, ice axes and crampons. <BR> <BR>The two injured men were airlifted by National Guard helicopter to the base of Mount Washington at about 8:30 p.m. The body of the third man was to be retrieved Monday by helicopter if the weather was OK. Otherwise, rescuers would have to hike up. <BR> <BR>"We’ll have our hands full with all day long to get him out of there," Gralenski said. <BR> <BR>The temperature on the mountain was about 11 degrees with light winds. <BR> <BR> <BR>The above was copied from an Associated Press column. <BR>I can only speculate the guys were headed to/down/up Pipeline Gully.There are a couple of lesser runs over there but I cant imagine they are very good in this poor snow year.
 
Ish... Pipeline at this moment of the year... <BR> <BR>Horrible story... it reminds us that this mountain must be treated with respect. <BR> <BR>Wasn't it very early to ski the Pipeline (or a neighbour) ?
 
No, in an 'average' year, it was not early, but this is only 71% of an average year. I skied Cannon one run on Sunday and quit because it was like glass. The afternoon cleared up, but that sun wasn't enough to soften the snow that had frozen rock-hard overnight. I can't imagine skiing up on the Presis in those conditions. I know the rescuers, I just hope the rescuees and recoveree weren't one of my friends.
 
I have a question for you Lftgly (or any other frequent skier of Tuckerman Ravine) <BR> <BR>It looks like the best time I will have to ski the mountain in april is the first weekend of april. <BR> <BR>I know this is early enough, particularly for someone who has never skied the ravine (only hiked it once in summer) and have no avy skills. <BR> <BR>Of course, I won't go if there is some fresh snow or if the weather is quite cold. But if it's enough warm and without too much recent snow, do you think the trip could be reasonnable ? <BR> <BR>I hope this trip won't fall in the R@!n just like the one of Cannon...... it's a chance that I didn't do the trip to Cannon this weekend, according to the conditions you described above...
 
The beginning of April is usually a great time to ski the ravine and I think this year will be good too.At that time of year the snow has settled and most of the skiable lines are good.Once you get beyond mid-april the little headwall blows out and the Sherburne is usually toast(at least the bottom half)making for a longer hike out.The runout should last through april but this year it'll go quick. <BR>Of course early April can be mid-winter conditions in the ravine with 50-70mph wind driven snow or ra!n.Or 60 degrees and sunny.But I think this year in particular the earlier the better because unless we get a real big change in the weather pattern we will start seeing cravasses and undermining rip apart an already thin snowpack. <BR>Dont get me wrong,there is and will be great skiing in Tucks for some time to come.So go get some! <BR>((* <BR>*))NHPH
 
Thanks for your opinion, NHPH ! <BR> <BR>I think that I'm going to book this weekend as a real attempt to ski Tucks. <BR> <BR>Anyway, I think I won't ski the toughest lines on my first visit. (I forget Dodges, Duchess, Center Headwall, Chute, etc), but I hope to ski Hillman's, Left Gully, The Lip and Sluice or Right gully or Right Right or Lobster Claw. <BR> <BR>3-4 runs or so. As I already hiked few times 3000+ feet in a day this winter, with my skis on my backpack, I may be able to do this.
 
Hi NHPH and Frank, <BR>I don't know if its just because im crazy or because I cant get anyone to go with me, but I have never gone to Tucks early enough to ski on the sherburne at all. Hike in/hike out. I can only dream about someday being able to ski all the way down. The earliest I ever went was the first weekend in <B>MAY</B> two years ago, in 2002. When we were driving up, it was raining everywhere else, but as we came down to pinkham from Gorham, you could see that they had plowed the roads that morning, There were snow covered trees only a couple hundred feet above the road. We were a little nervous about the next day, but the storn cleared overnight, leaving cool bluebird skies with a wicked wind. Tuck Ravine Trail was snowcovered after about the second switchback, making for easier hiking. Up at hermit lake there had to be about 5-7 inches of new, slightly wettish snow. But hey, it was may, you cant complain. Also, the hike to just HoJo's (hermit lake) will cost you just about 1900' vert. Hillmans is a heck of a long hike, and its steep as heck. The base of the ravine is about another 400' or so verts from Hojo's, and only up from there. I have no idea of what kind of a hiker you are, Frank, but just make sure that you have enough warm clothes, lots of polypro, and plenty of water and food. Also, dont overdo it, because if you hike up too late, or after you're too tired, that crappish run may be your last. The mountain has no mercy, so be prepared, and treat it with respect. If you do go this weekend, I wish you the best day ever, with good snow, no avies, and epic turns. I hope to see some pictures up here and maybe see you in the ravine sometime. Best wishes. <BR>~Les "skibum12583"
 
Sorry for the english error : by "this" weekend, I think I should have said "that" weekend (same word in french for both expression) <BR> <BR>I meant the first weekend of april. <BR> <BR>I'm not enough crazy to go in march ;) <BR> <BR>About the hiking, I already hiked it in summer but not in spring. I'm used to hike with some skis, but not some trails of 45 degrees though. <BR> <BR>So I'm going to see that in 3½ weeks !
 
Text of the Manchester, NH Union Leader front page story, Tuesday, March 9, (copywrite The Union Leader, of course): <BR> <BR>Rescuers retrieve dead skier <BR>By LORNA COLQUHOUN <BR>Union Leader Correspondent <BR> <BR>GREEN’S GRANT — A day after he slid to his death on the icy slopes of Mount Clay while going to the aid of a friend, the body of a Vermont man was retrieved yesterday by a volunteer rescue team. <BR>Seven members of Mountain Rescue and one Fish and Game conservation officer set out at 8:30 a.m. yesterday, catching a ride to the summit of Mount Washington on a snow vehicle, before setting out nearly two miles down the Great Gulf trail to an area above Spaulding Lake, according to Fish and Game Sgt. Michael Moody. <BR>It was expected to be an arduous day for the team, which had to use ropes to bring the body of Rob Douglas about 1,000 feet up the slope to the trail. Douglas’ body was brought to the summit by the team just before 3 p.m. <BR>“We could not do it with a chopper,” Moody said. <BR>But an Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter was instrumental in evacuating Douglas’ two companions on Sunday night. Fish and Game veterans said they can’t recall that a helicopter was ever used in a nighttime evacuation. <BR>According to Moody, Douglas, 39, of Vershire, Vt., along with companions John M. Corsi, 38, of Concord and Colin O’Farrell, 23, of Hanover had departed Sunday morning from the Marshfield base station of the Cog Railway, with plans to spend the day skiing. <BR>Just before 3 p.m., the three were in Pine [sic] Gully on the 5,541-foot Mount Clay, Moody said. They had been on skis, but at that point had determined that the conditions were too icy to continue on skis. <BR>Mount Clay, the first peak on the north ridge from Mount Washington, has cliffs that drop away to form the west side of the Great Gulf headwall, according the Appalachian Mountain Club’s White Mountain Guide. <BR>“It was very icy along the ridge line — all the snow had blown off and the conditions were icy and crusty,” Moody said. <BR>The three men were in the process of removing their skis and strapping crampons to their boots, when Corsi, with one ski and one crampon, fell and slid about 1,500 feet down the slope. <BR>As Douglas went to help Corsi, he, too, fell and slid about 1,000 feet to his death. <BR>O’Farrell used his cell phone to call for help at 4 p.m. Because weather conditions were good and the sky was moonlit, the Army National Guard helicopter flew up from Concord and was able to evacuate Corsi and O’Farrell off the mountain just before 9 p.m. <BR>In the hours between the call and their rescue, Mike Pelchat and another Mount Washington State Park employee, hiked down from the Mount Washington Observatory, reaching the men about two hours later. <BR>Corsi and O’Farrell were taken by ambulance to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin. Corsi was later transferred to the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment of undisclosed injuries. O’Farrell was not injured. <BR>With fuel running low on the helicopter, the decision was made to retrieve Douglas’ body yesterday." <BR> <BR>It could just as easily have been me, or one of my friends, being overly optimistic about how much it had softened up. I remember Irv saying, "maybe we should give it another 15 minutes or so to soften up..." right before we dropped in two years ago. There but for the grace of God go I ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top