Massachusetts residents Kathryn McKee and Beata Lelacheur called 911 Sunday evening when they became lost while hiking Mount Washington’s Jewell Trail. There were at 5,000 feet of elevation, the snow was deep and visibility was next to zero as whiteout conditions took over the New Hampshire mountain.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department were able to speak with the distressed hikers and provided them with GPS coordinates to relocate the trail. For the next two hours the women trudged through chest deep snow as they repeatedly found the trail and lost it again as the snow obscured the path. The pair then decided to stay in place, huddle up and wait for rescue to arrive.
New Hampshire Fish and Game lauanched a “full blown rescue operation” at 8:30pm as temperatures on Mount Washington’s summit dipped down to -2° and the winds whipped up to a sustained 50-60 mph. Just before midnight a snowcat from Mount Washington State Park arrived at the summit with nine rescuers in tow. Crews navigated using GPS and fought hard through the deep snow to reach the hikers.

They were located just before 2:00am. Rescuers broke out emergency warming shelters to shield the women who had suffered cold weather injuries. After an hour of warming up the hikers were able to move under their own strength and the group got back on the Jewell Trail. The rescue party reached the Base Station of the Cog Railway at 4:15am.
New Hampshire Fish and Game reports the hikers were properly prepared for winter conditions on Mount Washington and likely wouldn’t have survived if they weren’t.
The hikers were evaluated for their injuries and one was taken to Littleton Regional Hospital. The hikers
Fish and Game said the hikers were prepared with a variety of gear, had winter hiking experience and both had HikeSafe cards, voluntary hiker insurance. Officials said that if they didn’t have the gear they did, they likely wouldn’t have survived.
“This incident is perfect example of the need to prepare for the unexpected. Both hikers were prepared and had winter hiking experience, but ultimately encountered unforeseen conditions. Had they not had the amount of gear with them that they did, it is unlikely that they would have survived until rescuers reached them. Although technology and experience is certainly helping to find people more quickly, the fact remains that Mother Nature has the final say, and preparedness, above all, is the difference between life and death in the mountains of New Hampshire.” -New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
New Hampshire Fish & Game Department Press Release:
Sargent’s Purchase, NH – During the overnight hours of February 2 and 3, 2025, multiple agencies and search and rescue teams worked together to rescue two hikers who had become stranded in whiteout conditions on the upper reaches of Mt. Washington.
Shortly after 6:00 p.m. on the evening of February 2, NH Fish and Game was contacted after 911 received a call regarding hikers who were lost off trail adjacent to the Jewell Trail on Mt. Washington. Authorities quickly learned that Kathryn McKee, 51, of Fayville, MA, and Beata Lelacheur, 54, of Westborough, MA were stuck in very deep snow at about 5,000 feet on Mt. Washington. After plotting GPS coordinates provided by 911, it was determined the two were only 34 feet from the trail. A Conservation Officer was able to speak to them via cell phone and directed them toward the trail.
Over the next two hours, McKee and Lelacheur fought their way through chest-deep snow and “spruce traps” (holes created in the snow underneath trees) in an attempt to regain the trail. They ended up on the trail several times but could not follow it because it had been erased by wind and blowing snow. After multiple attempts and calls with Fish and Game, the pair huddled up in the snow to keep warm and awaited assistance.
By 8:30 p.m., Fish and Game began to conduct a scale rescue operation. At the time, weather conditions at the summit of Mt. Washington included temperatures of -2 degrees and sustained winds of 50–60 mph, often gusting significantly higher. Mt. Washington State Park was contacted and readied their snow cat to bring rescuers to the summit. Personnel from Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) and members of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Advanced Search and Rescue Team were called in to respond to the mountain and attempt the rescue. By 10:30 p.m., rescuers were arriving at the Mount Washington Auto Road and preparing their gear.
The State Park’s snow cat started up the mountain at 11:00 p.m. with 9 skilled rescuers, arriving at the summit just before midnight. The crews ventured into whiteout conditions and snowshoed through deep, wind-blown snow toward the top end of the Jewell Trail below the summit of Mt. Clay. By 1:20 a.m., crews were approaching the last known location of the two hikers, but had not yet made contact. The only way to locate the trail was through GPS navigation, and progress was slow due to the tremendous effort required to break a trail in the deep snow.
At 1:50 a.m., rescue crews successfully located the two hikers. Both were alive and coherent, but suffering from cold weather injuries. Crews immediately set up emergency shelters and began to warm both of the hikers. The warming process took an hour, but by approximately 3:00 a.m., the hikers were able to move on their own and the group continued down the Jewell Trail toward the base station of the Cog Railway.
At approximately 4:15 a.m., the rescue party and the hikers safely reached the base station of the Cog Railway where both hikers were evaluated by Twin Mountain Ambulance staff. One of the hikers was transported by ambulance to Littleton Regional Hospital for further evaluation and treatment of cold weather injuries. Authorities then worked with the Twin Mountain Fire Department and State Police Troop F to arrange transportation for the rescuers back to Mt. Washington to retrieve their vehicles. Personnel finally cleared this mission just after 7:00 a.m.
Both hikers were found to be prepared with a variety of gear. In addition, both possessed Hike Safe cards and both were extremely grateful for the efforts put forth on their behalf.
This incident is exemplifies the need to prepare for the unexpected. Both hikers were prepared and had winter hiking experience, but ultimately encountered unforeseen conditions. Had they not had the amount of gear that they had with them, it is unlikely that they would have survived until rescuers reached them.
NH Fish and Game would like to thank the many men and women who made this rescue a success. They included personnel from Mount Washington State Park, Mountain Rescue Service, Twin Mountain Fire and Rescue, and New Hampshire State Police Troop F Dispatch.
