3 hikers needed rescue from whiteout conditions, cold-related injuries
Fish and Game was notified around 5:30 p.m. of an SOS alert from the area of Mount Lincoln, where three men had intended a winter hike of the Falling Waters/Bridle Path Loop.
Fish and Game tracked the Garmin device alerting authorities, which showed that the group was slowly moving toward the summit of Mount Lafayette.
By 7:30 p.m., the first rescuers started up the Old Bridle Path as the hikers had started a slow descent of Mount Lafayette toward the Greenleaf Hut. No more messages had been received from the group. They'd later explain that it was difficult to send text messages in the cold and wind.
At 9:10 p.m., the first rescuers met the group just below Greenleaf Hut. The group was given additional light sources as some of their own had gone dead. The hikers started back toward the trailhead arriving without further incident at 10:20 p.m.
The hikers were identified as Jack Tragni, 24, and Vaishnav Raja, 25, both of Boston, and Justin Yang, 24, of Cambridge, Mass.
The group was fairly well prepared for winter conditions but lacked experience above the tree line. The hike was a training hike for Mount Washington that is now put on hold.
The group also had a Hike Safe Card.
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