Overview
- Rescuers found two 19-year-old hikers from New Jersey suffering hypothermia on Mount Lafayette during cold, rainy weather with no lights or warm clothing, and crews carried the unresponsive hiker to safety.
- New Hampshire Fish and Game and Appalachian Mountain Club crews located the pair roughly 0.15 miles below the summit and reached the unconscious hiker late Friday night before moving him to the AMC Greenleaf Hut for warming and treatment.
- Additional volunteer teams from the Pemigewasset Valley and Lakes Region search-and-rescue units joined the carry, and the more seriously affected hiker, Dmytro Grechko, regained consciousness at the hut and was taken to Littleton Regional Hospital.
- A volunteer rescuer suffered a severe injury while carrying the unresponsive hiker and had to be assisted back to the trailhead during the evacuation, underscoring risks to responders during difficult carries.
- While crews worked the summit rescue they also helped a separate group about a mile from the trailhead who were wet and cold, and officials urged hikers to check forecasts and carry the ten essentials including warm layers, headlamps, a map, and a first aid kit.