Officials say a hiker is “very lucky” to be alive after being seriously injured in a 50-foot fall on Mount Washington’s Huntington Ravine Trail yesterday.
According to New Hampshire Fish and Game officials, they received a report of an injured hiker who had been hiking on the Huntington Ravine Trail on Mount Washington in New Hampshire at around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 26.
The call came in via a 911 call and showed the hiker to be .20 miles down from the Alpine Garden Trail junction. The caller said a male hiker fell approximately 50 feet resulting in serious injuries. The incident reportedly occurred on the steep slab on the upper reaches of the ravine.
Due to the difficult terrain and the hiker’s injuries, conservation officers called the National Guard for helicopter support. Calls also went out to Mountain Rescue Services due to the technical terrain and to Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue.
Ground teams used the Mount Washington Auto Road to drive up to a point where they could hike down into the ravine from above.
The National Guard was able to quickly assemble a crew and flew up from Concord, arriving at 2:55 p.m. They were able to hoist down their paramedic, who provided initial treatment of the hiker and got him into a litter.
At 3:35 p.m. the hiker was hoisted into the helicopter and flown to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. Officials said the hiker, a 24-year-old from Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Quebec, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. He had been hiking with three other companions, and officials said he was “very lucky” to survive the fall.
Officials said there have been multiple rescue calls on the Huntington Ravine Trail this spring and early summer. They said Huntington Ravine Trail is not a trail for every day hikers or people who are not prepared with ropes and climbing gear and proper footwear. The upper section is a dangerous cliff climb and officials said it should not be listed as a “hiking” trail.
Officials said Fish and Game and SAR volunteers have responded many stranded or injured hikers over the years who either don’t do proper research about the trail, choose to ignore the signs outlining the dangers, or simply don’t care. They said the trail should be “avoided at all costs.”
Warning signs are at both ends of the trail, and officials said failure to adhere to these signs will result in a bill if a rescue response is required.
