Search and Rescue Team Extracts Injured Hiker From Backcountry Mountain Hut in New Hampshire
Early Sunday morning, February 22nd, search and rescue teams were called into action at the Appalachian Mountain Club‘s Lonesome Lake Hut in Lincoln, New Hampshire after a 72-year-old hiker slipped on ice and was unable to walk out on his own.
The injured man, Steven Gabis of Clinton, Massachusetts, had hiked to the hut with a group the day before and spent the night. At around 8:00am while walking around the perimeter of the hut, Gabis hit a patch of ice and suffered a leg injury that made hiking out impossible.
AMC hut staff stabilized Gabis while a Conservation Officer from New Hampshire Fish and Game and eight volunteers from the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team mobilized at the Lafayette Campground trailhead. The first rescuers hit the trail at 10:00am and reached the hut in just an hour. Gabis was packaged into a rescue sled and the team was back at the trailhead by 12:20 p.m.
The whole group was reportedly grateful for the coordinated response from AMC, Fish and Game, and the Pemi Valley SAR team.
This rescue is a solid reminder of just how quickly winter conditions in the White Mountains can turn a routine outing into an emergency. New Hampshire Fish and Game is urging hikers to come prepared. Deep snow and icy trails demand traction devices and snowshoes at minimum. For more on hiking safely in the White Mountains, visit hikesafe.com.
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