Flowed Land rescue this past weekend

Two climbers, as part of this past Saturday event, left Upper Works together. Climbed one peek, then one was too tired to climb another mountain and decided to go home. As he travelled Flowed Land, bad visibility lead him down Hanging Spears trail instead of the Calnmity Trail. Later the other climber having reached his second summit headed back to Upper Works. Upon reaching parking he noticed that his friends car was still there and notified the rangers. A rescue was organized and the lost climber was evantually rescued and taken home by snowmobiles. Luckily his injuries aren't life threatening because the night was unsually warm.

This is the second story of this past weekend event that testifies that in winter unless experienced and very trails knowledgeable one shouldn't travel alone particularly if tired at the end of a long tough day!

Christine

Good <edit> general safety message.

Glad he/she's OK.

Any climbers in the mountains this weekend, were climbing for themselves, not as any formal group or outing. Any attempt to paint the picture otherwise is inaccurate. It's always that way.

I'm not familiar with the incident in question, but am certainly happy to hear that the "lost hiker" is safe, whoever he/she is. I guess thats the important thing.

...... and yeah, In general, I do agree with you. solo travel in winter is not something to be considered lightly.

A good GPS is definitely worth the 400 bucks.

FWIW, that hiker was me. Was an error in judgement made...perhaps, but no one is to blame. Once on the Allen trail I was comfortable with where I was and knew I had a long haul to get out. After eight hours of trailbreaking knee deep snow I decided it was best to hunker down for the night. My goal was to try to reach the fire tower cabin, but I found a good spot before then. The ranger later told me I was still about a mile and a half away. I was equipped and was fully prepared to spend the night and press on in the morning, fortunately the rangers showed up. But, I am certain that I could have made it out under my own power the next day.
Also, there were no injuries to speak of.
Now, I know where these threads usually go....so go ahead and have at it.
Also, lets leave the second climber out of this as he is not a member here and has no way of defending himself...which I do not feel he needs to do.

ADKdremn said:

Now, I know where these threads usually go....so go ahead and have at it.

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Tell ya what I think, I'm FREAKING glad you are OK!!!!
{{{{{big cyber hug}}}}}
I'm not sure I would have done anything different from what you did and I hope to never find myself in a similar situation.

mavs00 said:

Any climbers in the mountains this weekend, were climbing for themselves, not as any formal group or outing. Any attempt to paint the picture otherwise is inaccurate. It's always that way.

I'm not familiar with the incident in question, but am certainly happy to hear that the "lost hiker" is safe, whoever he/she is. I guess thats the important thing.

...... and yeah, In general, I do agree with you. solo travel in winter is not something to be considered lightly.

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I disagree with this statement Tim, it was part of "a Formal Group/Outing." Didn't ADK High Peaks Forum try to form this climb for several months, trying to get a climber, on each peak, that was to Commemorate in the Honor of "Russell Carson," which at the last moment was changed to "Dominic Day," to Honor Neil's Son, Dominic, who was tragically killed last month?

This had nothing to do with Solo Travel but the Leadership of two people who entered the backcountry to climb a couple peaks, for this day. One is too tired to continue to the next Mountain, the other got "Summit Fever" and "needed" the peak and let the other exit the woods alone. One big Winter Safety Rule is, "When you go as a group, you stay as a group," "When one turns back for whatever reason, they all should turn back."

Skyclimber said:

One big Winter Safety Rule is, "When you go as a group, you stay as a group," "When one turns back for whatever reason, they all should turn back."

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Give me a break. Every group forms their own rules.

-Dr. Wu

ADKdremn said:

Now, I know where these threads usually go....so go ahead and have at it.

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Andy we are not blaming you at all. Don't worry I will be the last one to flame you!! I am just glad you are OKAY! Honestly I am.

There was a report of an incident, the person is fine. Thats great news.
If folks want to make it personal, take it outside, please.

Andy, thanks for sharing. Brave of you and admirable. Glad you were prepared and ok. Well done.

ADKdremn said:

Was an error in judgement made...perhaps,

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Most, if not all of us, have gone the wrong way at one time or another. Before my GPS days I have gone as much as an hour the wrong way. Now it is less than a hundred feet.

I am glad to hear you are all right, and were well prepared in other respects.

Skyclimber said:

I disagree with this statement Tim

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I don't care what you disagree with Marta.

You, of all people even, a 46er correspondent even, should understand that, when you enter the wilderness, you do so as an individual, and for yourself., responsible primarily for your own survival. We group together on climbs, on internet forums, or in larger organizations (like the 46ers, adk, here, ect), and we do so cuz it makes us feel better when we are with others, but not for a minute should we let ourselves forget that it is only us that we have to ultimately depend on. EVERYONE that climbed for DOMINIC this last weekend knew that, that part was CLEAR. I didn't know Russel Carson, but I did know Dominic, and BOTH knew that fact.

ADKdremn, GOOD FOR YOU, you made an error, but, in the end, you stood tall and you hunkered down and found the strength to persevere what was a surely uncomfortable night. BUT YOU MADE IT. I am happy for you.

Some will sit here and judge you like they know better and are better people, but I will not. I'm glad you are okay, I'm glad that we have professionals that dedicate themselves to us and give so freely of there time. In the end, you were prepared to spend the night alone in the ADK wilderness, and you did. For that, I celebrate you.

Whatever lesson you learned and will take from this, are yours to grow by, and I hope one day you will share them with us, so that we may learn too.

For those that sit in judgement, your judgement day will come, and unless you walk in snow that is pure and wind-driven white, you'll learn the the most common human trait is frailty.

Rik said:

Andy, thanks for sharing. Brave of you and admirable. Glad you were prepared and ok. Well done.

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Ditto that. This is an experience that will last you a lifetime. A long lifetime I truly hope.

A thread like this can get hot pretty fast and fingers can get pointed quite easily. I request that everyone walk away from it and not add one more post.

Any discussions of safe hiking practices can become part of a new thread.

Please leave it alone. Thank you.

Neil

ADKdremn said:

Was an error in judgement made...perhaps, but no one is to blame.

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We all make mistakes.

How you deal with the mistake is usually more important than the mistake itself. Sounds like you had it under control.

Doug

DougPaul said:

We all make mistakes.

How you deal with the mistake is usually more important than the mistake itself. Sounds like you had it under control.

Doug

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I'll second this statement. Sounds like you didn't panic and had a good head on you. Maybe you wished you had a nice head on a beer but that's besides the point.

I'm curious: what was the night like? What'd you do? Was it fun? Boring? Cold? Scary? I'm really curious -- not too often you get a chance to hear a story from this angle.

-Dr. Wu

Andy I am so glad your ok and I was so relieved when you called me this morning. I started hiking in with Andy and another hiker Friday morning but I had to turn around after about a half a mile or so in. I had broncitis and was on antibiotics but that was not enough to help me. I hated so much in turning around and I wish I was there with Andy. All in all this turned out to be a GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!! Andy made it out unharmed

Just to clear another point up, I wasn't out all night. I stopped hiking around 4 to get myself set up and as comfortable as possible. The rangers showed up at 9.
I wasn't bored and not really scared. I figured if I let myself get scared I could end up in more trouble. Thought about my wife and kids, concentrated on staying warm, wondered why I chose to backpack when I could have been partying at the Ark, etc. My hands and feet were cold, but other than that I felt good and was quite confident I could make it through the night, albeit, a long night.
The rangers were wonderful, I apologized profusely as well as thanked them. I really felt bad that they had to be out doing this. They got me comfortable for the ride out. I was then able to spend the night at some friends house in Olmstedville.
Thank you to those of you with kind words. It's an encouragment for sure!

Damn, at this point, you must probably be disappointed you don't a have a "kids, did I tell ya about the night your old man spent in the woods" story then . Seriously, as has been said. Lessons learned and moving forward, and to be honest, it really doesn't sound like you were in all that much trouble, imminently anyway (I think I've been in worse). Still, a good head and a smart mind helped the most I bet.

Do I understand this right, this happened on Sunday, as you walked out, after a weekend in the BC? Sounds like you drifted left in a whiteout and wound up on the Hanging Spear trail, as opposed to the Calamity Trail. Certainly can happen, and that why I always carry my GPS (even if I don't use it).

Thanks for clarifying.

ADKdremn said:

Just to clear another point up, I wasn't out all night. I stopped hiking around 4 to get myself set up and as comfortable as possible. The rangers showed up at 9.

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Did you consider telling the ranger that you were "all set" when he showed up? I don't know... maybe you were down with the idea of staying out all night and could he come back in the morning?

Just kidding. Glad it worked out all right.

-Dr. Wu