Tragic News in NH

[NHRANGER]

The tent is a one person two-hoop tent non-freestanding with some purple color in parts. The snowshoes were Tubbs 30". We are looking for two waterbottles and the tent. If anybody finds these items please take a picture of the site, note the exact location on a map or GPS, and either bring to

NHSP Troop F Twin Mountain- main entrance- tell them to secure it for F&G

or

AMC Pinkham notch front desk

or

Mount Monadnock State Park
603-532-8862


Normally we ask people not to disturb items in a situation like this but given the possibility that somebody not familiar with this situation might walk off with them, it probably makes sense for the people familiar with this situation from this website to bring them out and deliver to the most convenient location above. Ultimately it needs to be examined before returning it to family.

If you can, take a picture before moving anything.

Thanks again,
Dave Targan
Mountain Patrol Ranger
Monadnock State Park

 

[carole]

Ann: I appreciate your input as well.

My line of reasoning for the tent is that once the decision was made to leave behind the tent it no longer left an option to drop down in any direction (as some have suggested could have been done) to seek shelter; to possibly spend another night (which apparently went well enough the first night based on the observations of his pack); or to hunker down in the tent if he determined a rescue was needed. I agree that the condition of the tent makes a big difference, but I’m assuming since he was able to pack up well he apparently did so in a tent.

As to the snowshoes – again once that decision was made to leave the snowshoes the danger became more certain. As one nears the summit you would very likely encounter deep drifts that would hinder the speed at which you were going that aided in keeping warm (sometimes these drifts slow you to almost a crawl). Any stopping would reduce the level of warmth and any clear thinking that may have remained. Having been on the Twinway on the 17th from the North Twin trail, I know that the snow level was such that snowshoes were needed. The fiercest wind was on South Twin and the Twinway heading down to Galehead Hut, though tracked, had several areas of exposed ice (I actually expected more). Here the snowshoes would be beneficial for traction as falling while descending is probable due to the steep angle (as myself and others in my group experienced).

Again this cannot change the course of events for Kenny, but it may make others think twice before leaving a piece of gear behind for the sake of weight or speed. I think the info being presented in this thread benefits many in the decision making process.

 

[Ann]

And Carole...I fully agree with you. I'm a firm believer that your gear is your survival.

I am just questioning the circumstances surrounding the missing gear, why it was not taken, why it was abandon, and some possibilities that MAY have arisen which made staying with his gear or using his gear impossible.

I'm sure I'm not alone in running numerous scenarios though my brain since the day I heard about this. With additional information and discussion it helps to clarify a few things.

One thing for sure is that my heart breaks for Kenny's family and everyone who has been touched by this. The Bonds are truly my favorite area in the Whites and I will never be able to hike through that stretch along the Twinway without thinking about him and the battle he fought against the very, very, difficult and extreme conditions and those who have been directly affected by his untimely death.

 

[Bob]

solo hiking my $.02

I truly believe that if he was not solo, there would only be more people that perished with him. From all accounts I've read, he was highly experienced and very strong, probably stronger than any companions he would have been with.
My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
It really hits home when you read comments from his close friends. I also realized I knew who he was when I saw his picture-a very nice person in any dealings I've had with him.

 

[MadRiver]

I, like most of you here, have been following this story with both interest and sadness for the loss of life of someone so young. I am relatively new to winter hiking and as such I do not have the expertise to fully understand all that went tragically wrong for Ken during his trip. I am somewhat hesitant to ask, but there are three questions in particular that I have not seen addressed, so I was wondering is some of the more experienced winter hikers wouldn’t mind answering.

First, according to some of the posts, Ken made camp just below Mt. Bond after fighting the wind on both Bond and Bondcliff. If that is correct, why didn’t he continue to the shelter at Guyot and make camp there? Wouldn’t the shelter and tent combination afford him more protection against the elements?

Second, once he realized that the weather was getting to sever and he needed to leave, why didn’t he retreat by way of Bond and Bondcliff? He had already traveled that section and although the wind was brutal, he knew the trail. He would have also broken trail on the way in so the way out might have been a little easier even if the wind had covered some of his tracks.

Third, if he decided that going over Bond and Bondcliff was too difficult given the conditions, why didn’t he head for the Zealand Hut? I just do not understand why he would have headed out over South Twin.

I have hiked all of these sections in the spring, summer, and fall so I can only guess what they must be like in those extreme conditions, so I cannot fully understand his rationale for heading out the way he did. I would therefore appreciate any input from the more seasoned hikers that might help me reconcile this decision.

 

[sli74]

I also wonder why he didn't head to Guyot Shelter excpet that maybe the trail and trail signs were buried?

Heading over Bond and Bondcliff may have left him much more exposed to the wind and in some cases knowing what you have to head into is a scarier prospect because you know the level of difficulty. Also heading towards South Twin would've left him with 2 options, head over the Twins or head down to Zealand and he could make that decision at the junction.

As far as heading to Zealand Hut, is that area is not frequently traveled and it might have been more difficult to find the trail particularly in an area he wasn't familiar with . . .

Just my thoughts, we'll probably never know for sure.

sli74

 

[Peter Miller]

Snowshoes

As Ann perhaps implied a couple of posts back, Ken may have been packing his snowshoes, tried to put them on approaching S Twin, could not do so or ceased trying to conserve body heat, and that's why the shoes were found where they were.

In my imagination, I picture his tent still standing where he left it, a grim reminder of this ever so sad tragedy. It appears no one knows yet exactly where he made camp. In a col on trail? Possibly in the Guyot shelter after all?

One is reminded of the ill fated deaths in the Antarctic and on Everest. That such savage conditions can hit so close to home is bizarre, almost unfathomable.

 

[hikerfast]

camped

When Kenny called me at 9pm tuesday, he was camped 50 feet north of the summit of bond. He said he was in small trees and I'm assuming he was in a little hollow out of the wind or he would never been able to set up there.

 

[carole]

hikerfast: I have a question maybe you could also answer. Do you know if Kenny was a member of this board, maybe under a user name that we do not know, or possibly a reader of the board? How did you yourself come to join?

 

[hikerfast]

this board

I don't believe Kenny was a member of this board. I have been a member of the amc for 20 years, I had never heard of viewsfromthetop until I ran into a group of them on Mt Liberty doing a big hike maybe 3 weeks ago. I was going up in the afternoon, they were finishing a hike coming down after going over Mt. OsseoA couple of them told me about it. One of them realized who i was and responded to me here. I had also seen him on Mt Pierce shortly prior to that, and then he recognized me at REI a few days later. I used to winter hike a lot with the nh amc from 1987 thru 1991, and a lot of trips I did with people I had met on amc winter hikes. My name is Bob Gaylord, I already realized I was talking to a couple people i knew on here, and messaged them privately, maybe I know more of you. I have done some amc trips since, but not a lot, mostly alone or with Kenny or other friends.

 

[CaptCaper]

ChrisB

Your chart knocked me out. Wow. To see it down on paper. Who could ever imagine. There should be a name for that type of event.

With the winds the snow could be totally different up there then when Ken was there.

 

[Wild]

Could he have already been hypothermic when he broke camp in the morning? NHRANGER said that although his bag was rated to -30, it looked more like a -10, which is what makes me wonder if he became hypothermic during the night rather than while hiking. That could explain his difficulty with the snowshoes and his decision to leave the tent behind. It would also explain why he succumbed so quickly to the conditions, since he would have lost the ability to warm himself long before he started. Just my 1.5 cents.

This is certainly sobering. How many of us have thought, "I'll be fine. I'm a strong, experienced hiker with good gear. I can push through." I certainly have. Next time, I'll think twice before heading into questionable conditions.

I only hope that his last moments were peaceful. My heart goes out to his wife and children.

 

[NHRANGER]

Hi everybody. I want to say that we've been talking to Ken's family and though they haven't been reading the posts they are extremely appreciative of the points made and the sentiments expressed.

I thought I would be able to gather some information for you guys by Thursday but the search at Mt. Washington became priority for F&G, and the F&G CO who I was planning to talk to is currently on vacation.

I am heading up to the Bonds this weekend with another ranger and an AMC rescue person- all of us on time off- to look for Ken's tent- and we'll turn around at treeline if the winds are too high or the temps too low, and be in touch via radio. The temps are predicted to be 30 or more degrees warmer than when Ken was there- but still cold, so we may abort and wait until the cold streak really ends. I'll let you know Sunday or Monday anything else I find out, although the picture has been made more and more clear thanks to the insights of the people on this board. The long piece about the weather was very helpful in many ways, but many other comments were helpful. I for one am still planning to call a CIS contact for rangers but this has been very helpful, so thank you.

A writer from one of NH's newspapers is writing a comprehensive story, no doubt using many of the insights of people here and I'll let you know more about that once I know when that is coming out. Thank you once again for everything on behalf of me, Ken's friends, and his family.

Dave Targan
Mountain Patrol Ranger
Monadnock State Park
Jaffrey, NH, 03452
603-532-8862

I am a state employee but the comments I have made here are wholly my own and do not in any way represent those of the state of New Hampshire, the Division of Parks, or the Department of Fish and Game.

 

[Grumpy]

Like so many others who have posted their condolences here, my heart goes out to family and friends of Ken Holmes.

This has been a wonderful, sensitive and very informative discussion of the fatal incident. We should especially value and appreciate participation by people like hikerfast and Dave targan (NHRANGER), for whom this must be extremely difficult but whose comments have been invaluable in helping us probe toward understanding of what transpired.

One always hopes that something positive can come from sad events, and certainly the conversation here has been a good step in that direction.

G.

 

[medic108]

I am almost finished with the book listed below. For those interested that may not have read this work, but have an interest in the history of unfortunate events on the presidential range, I highly recommend it.

Not without peril : one hundred and fifty years of misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire /
by Howe, Nicholas S.

God Speed to our lost adventurers.

medic 108

 

[crazymama]

This discussion has made it very clear to me that hypothermia can be a RAPID downward spiral from which it is difficult (if not impossible) to recover without assistance from someone else.

From the stories of those who experienced it and lived to tell the tale, it rendered them almost as helpless as babies in a very short time frame.

Experience, knowledge, gear, and fitness level probably reduce your chances of becoming hypothermic, but it appears that once you are on that downward spiral that those things don't matter any more. You lose your ability to move properly, you become confused.

If you are out in the wilderness, the only thing that could save you at that point is another person who is not hypothermic themselves.

I have increased respect for these cold temperatures.

 

[Mad Townie]

This discussion has made it very clear to me that hypothermia can be a RAPID downward spiral from which it is difficult (if not impossible) to recover without assistance from someone else.

Crazymama, I think you nailed the essence of the solo "problem." I was involved in a canoe flip a few years ago in late March on the Saco. My sternman was (and is) a very experienced outdoorsman and a native Mainer now in his 50s. No stranger to cold and wet. He became hypothermic (it's a long story), and this extremely capable man very quickly became almost totally irrational. I had to yell at and berate him to get him to remove his wet clothing and put on some dry stuff we had. He was sitting in his wet clothes and shaking uncontrollably.

He quickly came out of it and we continued our trip (uneventfully), but that incident drove home to me the importance of having another person there to THINK when one becomes hypothermic. That may be all it takes, but it can easily be a life-or-death difference.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Hypothermia

Several years ago, I had an interesting experience with hypothermai which I analyzed and wrote up something.

http://mudhead.uottawa.ca/~pete/hypothermia.txt

I learned a lot about myself by this 'experiment'.

 

[NHRANGER]

There is some information that I have that I will release when I get a chance now that the system is back up and running. Any thoughts, ideas, comments are welcome. This first item is a graph put together by Jim M., a regular hiker at Monadnock, who took data from the Weather Underground. I had to cut it down to start Tuesday to fit as an attachment- the weather prior to Tuesday at 1am was milder, above zero temps and mild winds. More information to follow. Best wishes,

Dave Targan
Mountain Patrol Ranger
Monadnock State Park
Jaffrey, NH, 03452

 

[sli74]

NHRANGER,

I just noticed a trail conditions report posted by a "rox" that mentioned that he/she found a bottle, glove, etc on a Bonds trip. You may want to contact that person to see if it could've belonged to Kenny. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

sli74