Baxter Park SAR Report / Review

Just noticed this PowerPoint review of 20 years of SAR activity in Baxter Park.

My take away? We're all getting older and more prone to fatigue!!

cb

ChrisB said:

Just noticed this PowerPoint review of 20 years of SAR activity in Baxter Park.

My take away? We're all getting older and more prone to fatigue!!

cb

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Pretty cool info. Wish there was something like this for NH.

The one section that got me is

Myocardial infarction was the most common cause of death (n=9, 47.3%). The mean age of those who died in the park was 45.3 years while the mean age for those who survived was 38.7 years.”

38.7 years old avg age for a heart attack? Fairly young.

I talked to a ranger last year at roaring brook who said the majority of "calls for help" seems to be people in their thirties. No longer youthful and still dont have a sense of their impending mortality. Older people are wise enough to go slower and younger people can survive a day of bulling through hardship.

Myocardial infarction, or heart attack, is a term that may show up as a cause of death when there are also other underlying illnesses or injuries. The heart is the last thing to shut down, so to speak, and can thus get "credit" for the death. Bottom line at any age, keep in good condition and health and know your body ... easier for a lot of people now that insurance is required to cover more preventive medicine such as periodic physical exams. Another thing is, turn around when your body is telling you things aren't right. Except under extreme weather conditions, the body is pretty resilient and can generally survive quite a bit.

egilbe said:

38.7 years old avg age for a heart attack? Fairly young.

I talked to a ranger last year at roaring brook who said the majority of "calls for help" seems to be people in their thirties. No longer youthful and still dont have a sense of their impending mortality. Older people are wise enough to go slower and younger people can survive a day of bulling through hardship.

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This makes sense. I also sense big hiking trips for some people are much like big snow shoveling days. If you don't stay in good cardiovascular shape and then put a huge stress on your body and heart all at one time over a one or two day period, sometimes, the result is not good. It's also a good point about not having a sense of mortality in the thirties. It is amazing how fast one can get out of shape especially if one has been leading a fairly sedentary lifestyle through their twenties. More than a few on the Mt. Washington list of deaths are form heart attack.

I remember a story yrs ago on how a scout leader died of heart attack near the end of a hike with scouts... as an x scout leader I can see how that happened... keeping up with a pack of scouts is no easy task.. as you are responsible for them you push harder...bang ..it's over.. it his case he couldn't stop to rest up...

Raven said:

It is amazing how fast one can get out of shape especially if one has been leading a fairly sedentary lifestyle through their twenties. More than a few on the Mt. Washington list of deaths are form heart attack.

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I see changes in my conditioning levels in as little as 4-5 weeks now. If I haven't hiked in awhile my overall times and endurance are lousy, especially on "big boy" hikes. But 3-4 consecutive weekends of decent hiking and it comes right back. So many people do just one big hike on their vacations that I can see why heart attacks are a common issue. Need to stay active all the time, even if it isn't super aggressive exercise.