Conservation Officers, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue, Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue, Mountain Rescue Services, and Cog Railway personnel all assisted in the rescue of a hypothermic hiker on Mount Washington’s Gulfside Trail approximately 1 mile north of the Cog train tracks.
A call came in at 5pm on June 20th via 911. The hiker’s husband reported that his wife, 55-year-old Caroline Wilson of Austin, Texas, was unable to move or communicate after being unable to hike. New Hampshire Fish and Game reached out the Cog Railway hoping for assistance, and the Cog Railway provided a train to relay rescuers up the mountain to where the Westside Trail crosses the tracks known as Skyline. Without the train, rescuers would have had to hike over 3 miles up the Jewell Trail in rainy, windy conditions.
The initial team was brought up on a Cog train at 7pm and a second team followed at 8pm. A hike over 1 mile was still required to access Wilson, with rescuers encountering high winds and cloudy conditions above 5,000 feet the entire time. The hiker was treated in a temporary shelter by the first team and was placed in the litter and carried back to the awaiting Cog trail upon the arrival of the second team.
Once Wilson was returned to the base, she was transferred to the Twin Mountain ambulance and transported to Littleton Regional Healthcare. Multiple hikers required help from multiple organizations due to hypothermia on Friday as wind speeds reached 120mph and temperatures dropped to 20°F during the day at the Mt. Washington summit.
Cheers to the crews of volunteers and staff who made this rescue possible and saved this woman’s life.
