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Over twenty unprepared hikers were rescued from Mount Washington, a 6,288-foot mountain in New Hampshire, after windy and snowy conditions left them cold and stranded.
The group of hikers climbed to Mount Washington’s summit,which is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States,Saturday but were “poorly prepared” for the descent, and had to be rescued by the mountain’s Cog Railway, trainmaster Andrew Vilaine told WBZ-TV.
“Most were unaware of the full set of winter conditions and the lack of facilities at the summit,” Vilaine told the outlet, noting the group seemed to lack experience and proper gear to handle the conditions.
Vilaine had been operating the train, which only goes to about 4,000 feet in elevation during the winter months, when he came across the hikers “pleading for a ride down.” The group was put on the train and carried down the mountain to safety.
Temperatures at the popular tourist attraction were in the single digits this past weekend after accounting for wind chill, according to the National Weather Service.
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A large group of unprepared hikers were saved from Mount Washington in New Hampshire over the weekend after making it to the summit but not having proper gear to handle the frigid winter conditions (Andrew Vilaine / Facebook)
Vilaine said their conditions varied from exhaustion to hypothermia, but that he didn’t believe any of them required a trip to the hospital.
“Our intervention and putting them in a warm train warded off hypothermia,” he said.
In a public Facebook post, Vilaine noted the full winter conditions “should come as a surprise to no one,” and urged others to heed caution if going on such a strenuous hike.
“Please don’t become a statistic and do your research before venturing out,” he warned in the post written Saturday. “If you are headed up (Sunday), the weather conditions will be comparable to today. [Don’t] hike Mount Washington like it is any one of the other 48 peaks. Do not assume services or a ride down. The summit is halfway.”
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The summit of Mount Washington – which the climbers reached before having to be rescued (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
While the Cog Railway is run year-round, the Mount Washington State Park closes at the summit for the winter from mid-October through early May, meaning there is no publicly accessible shelter at the top.
During the winter months, the train runs up to Waumbek Station, located just below 4,000 feet.
Mount Washington experienced its first measurable snowfall of the season last week, according to the Mount Washington Observatory.
