Local News

2 Mass. women rescued from ‘chest-deep snow’ on Mt. Washington

“Had they not had the amount of gear that they had with them, it is unlikely that they would have survived until rescuers reached them."

New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

February 4, 2025

2 minutes to read

Two Massachusetts women were rescued from the upper slopes of Mount Washington in the early hours of Monday after they became stranded in whiteout conditions and chest-deep snow the previous evening, authorities said.

The two women, a 51-year-old from Fayville and a 54-year-old from Westborough, called 911 just after 6 p.m. on Sunday after they became lost off the Jewell Trail, stuck in deep snow at about 5,000 feet on the mountain, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a statement. Authorities determined the women were about 34 feet from the trail by plotting GPS coordinates, and officials attempted to direct the pair back to the trail over the phone.

The women “fought their way through chest-deep snow and ‘spruce traps’ (holes created in the snow underneath trees) in an attempt to regain the trail” over the next two hours, officials said. But though they ended up on the trail several times, they were unable to follow it because of the wind and blowing snow.

By 8:30 p.m., a team of rescuers was deployed to help the women, who huddled into the snow to wait.

“At the time, weather conditions at the summit of Mt. Washington included temperatures of -2 degrees and sustained winds of 50–60 mph, often gusting significantly higher,” officials said. “Mt. Washington State Park was contacted and readied their snow cat to bring rescuers to the summit.”

The rescue crews arrived at the summit just before midnight, and from there, officials said they snowshoed down through whiteout conditions to the top end of the Jewell Trail, below the summit of Mt. Clay.

“The only way to locate the trail was through GPS navigation, and progress was slow due to the tremendous effort required to break a trail in the deep snow,” officials said.

Just before 2 a.m., the rescuers found the two hikers, who were suffering from cold weather injuries but otherwise “alive and coherent,” fish and game officials said. Emergency shelters were set up to warm the women up enough so they would be able to move on their own, a process that took about an hour.

“At approximately 4:15 a.m., the rescue party and the hikers safely reached the base station of the Cog Railway where both hikers were evaluated by Twin Mountain Ambulance staff,” officials said. “One of the hikers was transported by ambulance to Littleton Regional Hospital for further evaluation and treatment of cold weather injuries.”

Officials credited the women for being prepared with the correct gear and having Hike Safe cards, which generally protect hikers from having to pay for a rescue, even if they acted negligently.

“This incident exemplifies the need to prepare for the unexpected,” officials said. “Both hikers were prepared and had winter hiking experience, but ultimately encountered unforeseen conditions. Had they not had the amount of gear that they had with them, it is unlikely that they would have survived until rescuers reached them.”