Tuckerman's Accident - Two Hikers fall/slide 500 plus over the lip

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peakbagger

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Pretty amazing given how much rock and ice is showing. Microspikes on one, no mention of what the other was wearing. I think those folks should have stopped to buy their lottery tickets on the way home as this could have been a lot worse. If the competing models for the Saturday storm ever agree it looks like the Whites could get a lot of wet snow this weekend but expect folks who got rain down south will be up here underquipped on Sunday and Monday.

https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news...cle_1ce40c50-5510-11eb-99b6-2f0a95136120.html
 
Interesting they refused medical treatment after walking to the floor of the ravine under their own power and then getting a snow machine ride the rest of the way down. Hope they had a fresh pair of underwear in their car. Also of note how according to the article the second man fell down a few minutes later. Makes you wonder if they might have been intentional about butt sliding the Headwall. "Hey you go first"...."No you"..."No you"...a serious game of rock , paper, scissors must have ensued.
 
It's nice to be young and flexible. Thinking this time of year hikers should have been on Lion's Head and climbers with equipment should be on the wall until there is enough snow for skiing.

They should be bruised and sore the next couple of days.
 
They should be bruised and sore the next couple of days.
Not to one up these guys but when we use to do this kind thing back in the 70’s we at least brought a cafeteria tray along for some body armor.
 
Let me get this straight...they walked up Tucks, almost to the top, and then slid down? How did they not fall long before that?

IMHO, going up is often easier than going down. Not making excuses for them, just sayin'. My avatar is a pic of my first experience with Microspikes (on the Lion Head summer trail, in November, many years ago). Going down was definitely harder.
 
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Swiss Bobs were popular. I got schooled on them by a couple of old timers that hiked up to the headwall whenever the weather was good and would slide down the Sherburne in the afternoon. They showed me the trick was to glue a piece of ensolite foam on top of the seat to improve the control. I still have two of them. The double wall design makes a big difference when encountering roots and rocks.
 
Hope these guys had a good ride home without anymore skid marks.
 
Well, next time you’re up there if a guy with a tray in his hand says “hold my beer” you’ll know what’s about to happen.
 
I hiked about 150 yards up what think was Lobster Claw and sat off to the side to watch the show several years ago. First, while sitting there I saw a snowboarder come tumbling down from way up with his board still on his back. Remarkably he was OK. Then, when I was ready to leave I thought glissading down would be fun. Came very close to tumbling myself. :eek:
 
So the discussion has started on these two young ladies being charged. Pretty quiet so far about the two young men on The Headwall.

That's why I went looking ion the NH Fish & Game Page. Because they refused medical attention and just drove themselves home, I guess it's been low key with no additional information. It seems one had no traction and climbing the headwall is beyond what Micro's was designed for, you could only preach that make sure your gear is up to your trip plan. (Okay, do we really think they had much of a plan, drive to PNVC, Get out of car, walk uphill, don't think they did much more than that.)

The two young ladies, started at 2;00 in the winter, no lights, no traction, little to no gear winter in the Whites, one from KS, the other from Southern CT. I'd be hard pressed to come up with something they did right other than calling for help & therefore making sure one of their phones had a full charge before the trip. (maybe the plan was to do Osceola, or Lafayette or Moosilauke and they opted for Welsh Dickey
 
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