Crews rescued a hiker who became caught in a snowstorm and who officials described as “severely hypothermic” atop Bigelow Mountain in Maine earlier this week.
According to Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife officials, the Maine Warden Service received a report at around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, April 20 of a 24-year-old female hiker on the Appalachian Trail on Bigelow Mountain who was severely hypothermic.
Officials said David Piccioni, 35, of Cumbola, Pennsylvania, contacted emergency services and notified them that his hiking partner, Anna Troxell, 24, of Drums, Pennsylvania, was severely hypothermic and needed help. She reportedly had slurred speech, her lips were blue, and she was losing muscle coordination and was unstable walking.
Troxell and Piccioni were on the Appalachian Trail between the West Peak and Avery Peak on Bigelow Mountain. There was reportedly three to five inches of fresh snow on the mountain from a recent storm and temperatures were in the mid-teens.
Game wardens, alongside members of the Eustis Fire Department, local EMS, and search and rescue volunteers, coordinated a multi-agency response. The initial rescue team began ascending the Fire Warden Trail, a 4.5-mile trail over steep terrain, at the Stratton Brook Pond Road at approximately 10:45 p.m. while additional teams mobilized to assist.
Rescuers reached Troxell around 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21 and immediately initiated warming efforts under extreme cold and wet summit conditions, wrapping the two hikers in heavy sleeping bags, providing warm drinks and starting a fire.
As Troxell’s condition continued to deteriorate, the lead rescue team determined that a ground evacuation over the snow-covered trail posed significant risk due to treacherous terrain and conditions which ultimately led them to call off the two additional teams who were enroute, and contact the Maine Air National Guard.
An aerial rescue was coordinated with the Maine Air National Guard. At approximately 6:45 a.m., an Air National Guard Black Hawk helicopter successfully hoisted both the patient and her hiking partner from the mountain.
They were transported to Carrabassett Valley Regional Airport, where Maine Health Ambulance Services personnel provided treatment for severe hypothermia.
Officials said pair were treated, refused transport, and were released.
Earlier this week, a hiker who officials say was likely not prepared for recent cold and snowy conditions was found dead in New Hampshire.
