MA Man Survived Night in NH Avalanche Terrain

If you plan on going hiking this weekend, please be careful and remember to take all the necessary equipment.

According to the Union Leader, that 63 year old man spent several hours in the freezing cold after hiking in Gorham before he was rescued. He was so very lucky that the Mount Washington Valley Ski Patrol rescued him when they did. The man did have adequate clothes on, however, he didn't have all the gear that he should have had.

If you are going on a winter hike, which I highly recommend by the way, you should not only have adequate clothes, but also crampons, (those spikey things you see hikers wear on their shoes) an ice axe just in case and a headlight or flashlight in case you find yourself out there at night.

I don't know the man who was rescued, however, I'm going to go ahead and assume that he'll be out there again. I fancy myself a hiker and there is nothing like climbing a mountain, hiking a trail and communing with nature. Especially when you get to the top and you are able to see God's work for miles and miles. (Got a little religious on ya, didn't I?)

You should also be aware that coming DOWN is by far, more dangerous than going up, especially in the Winter time. If you hit a patch of ice, fuggetaboutit! You'll be down on your butt before you know it. I recently had that happen to me coming down Temple Mountain, which is one of my favorite hikes. It's not too far away and it's really beautiful at the top.