An 18-year-old hiker from Massachusetts “used sheer grit and determination” to reach the summit New Hampshire’s Mount Washington after suffering a serious leg injury near the peak.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department received a 911 call around 3:00 p.m. Tuesday about an injured hiker located about .5 miles from the summit of Mount Washington on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail.
The hiker, 18-year-old Andrew Nelson, had suffered a lower leg injury and could not bear weight on his leg. Fish and game conservation officers and the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue were dispatched to the rescue the injured hiker.
Nelson had been hiking with eight other friends and while they were waiting for rescue crews to show they attempted to make their way back toward the summit.
“Nelson, with occasional assistance from his hiking companions, hopped, crawled and otherwise used sheer grit and determination to continue moving back up Tuckerman Ravine Trail towards the summit of Mt. Washington.” –Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue
As rescue personnel arrived, they were transported up the Mount Washington Auto Road to the summit and then hiked down to the injured teen. Nelson had made it 0.3 miles by the time the first rescuers arrived. Once rescuers reached him, a vacuum splint was applied to his injured leg and he was placed on a litter and carried the final 0.2 miles.
