CONWAY — Rescuers plucked four lost hikers off the side of Mount Washington late Sunday in conditions that could have easily have turned out tragic, one of two rescues on the mountain over the weekend.
The four were part of a Bloomsburg University trip. After reaching the summit Sunday afternoon they became disoriented during the descent and were only found after rescuers braved extreme conditions and located an emergency beacon the group had activated..
"If they didn't have the SPOT they'd all be dead."
"This was a colossal team effort," U.S. Forest Service Snow Ranger Christopher Joosen said in a statement. "This rescue effort, in some of Mount Washington's worst weather, was an enormous success that saved lives within the missing group."
The four were part of a group of 15 from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, according to a U.S. Forest Service statement. They left Pinkham Notch early Sunday morning, making it to Lion Head mid-morning, where five people opted to descend. The other 10 continued, summiting at 12:30 p.m.
As the group descended, according to the Forest Service, conditions began to deteriorate. Four hikers found themselves separated from the larger group: Wayne Ebling, 59, of Cressona, Penn., Rhea Mitchell, 22, of Danville, Penn., Andrew Snyder, 22, of York, Penn., and Kelly Sloan, 33, of Bloomsburg, Penn. They had missed a critical trail junction above treeline and found themselves disoriented as winds built to 65 m.p.h., cutting visibility and creating ground blizzards. The four tried to dig into the snow for shelter, called 911, and activated their SPOT emergency locator beacon.
Fish and Game was notified of the emergency beacon's activation and contacted the Forest Service. The two agencies worked together to coordinate teams in the face of the difficult conditions. Some of the region's strongest mountaineers and most experienced rescue groups battled wind gusts to 95 m.p.h., below-zero temperatures and horrendous visibility to locate the lost party.
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