Latest news with #KathrynMcKee
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hikers plucked from brink of death in daring rescue: 'This incident exemplifies the need to prepare for the unexpected'
One nightmarish experience for two hikers on top of snowy Mount Washington gave true meaning to the phrase "a close call." Unofficial Networks reported on the recreational hike that turned into an overnight rescue mission in New Hampshire. Two Massachusetts residents, Kathryn McKee and Beata Lelacheur, had already made it up to 5,000 feet of elevation when they lost the trail in blizzard-like conditions. The two hikers called 911, and operators attempted to use GPS coordinates to guide them back to the trail. However, even though they found the trail several times, they kept losing it because of snow and wind. After two hours of fighting through chest-deep drifts and freezing temperatures, the pair decided to hunker down and await rescue. The "full-blown rescue operation" took several hours to assemble in the frigid and icy conditions, as the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department described in a press release. "The crews ventured into whiteout conditions and snowshoed through deep, wind-blown snow," they wrote. "The only way to locate the trail was through GPS navigation, and progress was slow due to the tremendous effort required to break a trail in the deep snow." Fortunately, after searching for several hours in the dead of the night, the crew found the two hikers shortly before 2 a.m. They broke out emergency warming shelters, and once the women were warm enough to move themselves, the group embarked back down the mountain to safety. While the rescue went smoothly, NHFG emphasized that the hikers likely would not have survived if they had not been wearing proper winter gear. "This incident exemplifies the need to prepare for the unexpected," it stated. "Both hikers were prepared and had winter hiking experience, but ultimately encountered unforeseen conditions. Had they not had the amount of gear with them that they did, it is unlikely that they would have survived until rescuers reached them." This type of experience is both a stark reminder and a warning, the department said: Do not underestimate Mother Nature. What would you do if natural disasters were threatening your home? Move somewhere else Reinforce my home Nothing This is happening already Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Although technology and experience is certainly helping to find people more quickly, the fact remains that Mother Nature has the final say, and preparedness, above all, is the difference between life and death in the mountains of New Hampshire," NHFG said, according to Unofficial Networks. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Experienced Hikers Rescued After Night on Infamous, Deadly Mountain
Two experienced hikers have been rescued, and one is recovering from frostbite, after enduring a night lost on one of the East Coast's most notorious and deadly mountains. Survivor Kathryn McKee told the harrowing tale to CBS News, recalling that the outing to New Hampshire's Mount Washington 'started like any other hike' before she and her friend became overpowered by the windy, snowy weather. 'We were out on the trail by 7:30 [a.m.]," McKee explained. "Our goal that day was to hike Mount Monroe and Mount Jefferson.' Both she and her companion knew 'it was going to be a challenging day,' but they were wholly unprepared for the conditions they of Sunday passed without incident, but as evening fell and they reached elevations of 5,000 feet, the two women struggled to locate the path underneath heavy snowfall and intense wind. "What would happen is we were walking along and then we'd dip, and then you're chest-high. And a couple times our snowshoes would get stuck on the spruce trees and you have no way of getting them out," McKee recalled. "And you're rocking back and forth 20 minutes doing this, you're exhausting yourself." After several hours of trying to call for help, McKee was finally able to get through to New Hampshire Fish and Game. But by this time, "I lost functionality in my fingers,' she said. 'I couldn't feel and I couldn't use them. I couldn't open the Ziploc bag to get an emergency blanket out.'Once search and rescue crews were notified of the emergency, it took 12 hours for them to conceive and execute their extraction plan. Eventually, they located McKee and her companion; after stabilizing their injuries and getting their body temperatures up, crews transported them to a local hospital for further treatment. "It was the most organized,' McKee said of the rescue. 'On top of a mountain with -2 degrees, 50 to 60 MPH winds, and they just knocked it out of the ballpark and got me warmed in an hour, and we were walking out of there," she said. "That was amazing. They are amazing.' New Hampshire Fish and Game issued a dire response, saying that the women would've likely perished if not for their heavy winter clothing and advanced hiking experience. Both McKee and her friend live in central Massachusetts and trained with the Appalachian Mountain Group of Worcester. "Mother Nature has the final say, and preparedness, above all, is the difference between life and death in the mountains of New Hampshire," the agency warned in a statement.
Boston Globe
06-02-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Hiker rescued from chest-deep snow on Mount Washington describes harrowing moment: ‘Is this really happening to us?'
But about an hour after sunset on Sunday, they were snowed in 5,000 feet up the mountain and calling 911 in fear for their life. 'We thought 'Is this really happening to us?'' McKee said. For nearly eight hours, McKee, 51, and her partner, Beata Lelacheur, 54, huddled in the darkness, waiting for a search team to make its way through subzero temperatures and sustained winds of 50 to 60 miles per hour. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up After a brief stint in the hospital, McKee returned to her Southborough home. Three days after her rescue, she said she still has no feeling in four of her fingers. She also knows it could have been much worse. Advertisement 'It was touch-and-go for a bit there,' she said in an interview Wednesday. McKee considers herself an experienced hiker. She is a member of the Worcester chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club and has attended countless trainings on high-altitude backpacking and cold weather safety protocols. 'We see the press releases of other hikers being rescued,' she said. 'But we try to be prepared.' But their harrowing experience showed them that plans can quickly go awry in Mount Washington's forbidding climate. Related : 'We just spent so much time trying to find our way that it got dark,' she said. 'That's when conditions get scary, because you can't see. Everything looks like a carrot or stick and you're not sure which is which.' The pair set out on Jewell Trail around 7 a.m., for a hike of roughly 13 miles to up nearby Mount Jefferson and Mount Monroe. Aside from an afternoon breeze, it was a 'bluebird day,' McKee said. 'Everyone who hikes above tree line is used to breeze, that's not a problem at all,' she said. 'It was just later when that the winds picked up and the snow came and it was dark. So it was only after sunset that the conditions worsened.' Advertisement Kathryn McKee and a hiking partner were on Jewell Trail in New Hampshire when they lost the trail on Mount Washington, forcing an overnight rescue effort. Kathryn McKee At 5:23 p.m. — in the fading light about a half-hour after sunset — she sent her husband a text message that they had lost the trail above the tree line, where it is only marked by stone cairns. She assured him they were 'still OK' and were on their way down. At 5:52 p.m., she texted him again: 'We may need assistance. Stand by.' from the state's fish and game department were notified shortly after 6 p.m. and contacted the hikers over the phone. Over multiple phone calls, conservation officers tried to guide the two hikers down the mountain. According to their GPS coordinates, they were only 34 feet off the trail, but they were unable to follow it for long because it had been blown over by wind and snow. So they fought their way through the harsh weather and precarious 'spruce traps,' holes in the snow underneath trees. 'When you fall in those spruce traps, there's other little spruce limbs and all sorts of things that can pierce you,' she said. 'They pierce your head, they can pierce your leg. So if we had an injury like that up there, we would have definitely not made it. We wouldn't have been able to care for ourselves, even with our first aid items, because of those conditions.' As the conditions worsened, they realized they had a choice: wait for rescue or keep moving and potentially die trying, McKee said. Advertisement 'We were like, 'I don't think this is safe to continue,'' she said. 'And it's not safe to drag people out to save you, either. But it was that moment of difficulty — we had to make a decision.' Around 8:30 p.m., the two huddled in the snow to keep warm, and made the hard decision to ask wildlife officials to send help. 'It was difficult to accept,' she said. 'If we call [for rescue], we are putting people at risk.' While rescuers prepared to ascend the mountain, McKee and Lelacheur hunkered down. They broke out emergency full-body weather bags and other gear to keep them warm. Hiking safety tips that could save your life Share WATCH: Associate Ideas editor and wilderness first responder Christine Mehta unpacks what adventurers need to know before hitting the trails. ( undefined ) But McKee said the two quickly lost dexterity in their fingers, which made any sort of adjustment extremely difficult. 'I couldn't open the first aid kit,' she said. 'I couldn't find the emergency blanket. It was there [in my pack], I just couldn't find it.' Half-buried in the snow, they wiggled their fingers and toes to stay warm, and tried to keep each other focused and alert. It wasn't easy to keep the situation light, either. 'I tried to ask [Beata] where she wanted to go, if she could go anywhere' McKee said. 'I don't think she was interested in having that conversation at that moment.' Rescue crews found the hikers shortly before 2 a.m., nearly three hours after beginning an ascent of the mountain and more than five hours after the hikers called for rescue. Both were suffering from 'cold-weather injuries,' wildlife officials said, and McKee was taken to Littleton Regional Hospital for treatment. Three days later, McKee said she is still suffering from the frostbite in her fingers, as well as her wrist and lower back. Advertisement But that is 'minimal, compared to what could have happened,' she said. Wildlife officials said that, even with McKee and Lelacheur's preparation and winter hiking experience, 'unforeseen conditions' made the situation life-threatening. 'Had they not had the amount of gear that they had with them, it is unlikely that they would have survived,' Sergeant Matthew Holmes, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, said in a statement. McKee agreed and said she and her partner were extremely grateful for the efforts of rescuers. 'I can't say enough for them,' she said. 'They put their lives at risk to save ours.' She said the harsh experience only underscored the fact that, as important as preparedness is, it's not a guarantee of safety. 'Don't just be an ego-driven person that thinks they can conquer anything,' she said. 'I consider myself a strong person. But I couldn't will my fingers to move [up there]. It's not about willpower.' A view of the White Mountains from Mount Jefferson. Two hikers were rescued from nearby Mount Washington after losing the trail in windswept conditions Kathryn McKee Camilo Fonseca can be reached at
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
2 Hikers Found Alive After Being Stuck in Snow Overnight. Getting Them Warm Enough to 'Move on Their Own' Took an Hour
Two hikers sustained cold weather injuries after they got stuck in the snow on a mountain in freezing conditions — and the process of finding them took hours. Kathryn McKee, 51, and her hiking partner Beata Lelacheur, 54, set off to summit Mount Washington in New Hampshire on Sunday, Feb. 2, according to CBS affiliate WBZ-TV and NBC affiliate WCSH. "It started like any other hike, we were out on the trail by 7:30 a.m.," McKee told WBZ. The pair intended to hike Mount Monroe and Mount Jefferson that day, but soon, they were overwhelmed by snow, 50-60 mph winds, and freezing weather. 'What would happen is we were walking along and then we'd dip, and then you're chest-high. And a couple times our snowshoes would get stuck on the spruce trees and you have no way of getting them out," McKee continued. Related: Family of 5 Rescued from Freezing Colo. Mountain After Becoming Stranded and Calling 911 'I lost functionality in my fingers," McKee added. "I couldn't feel and I couldn't use them. I couldn't open the Ziploc bag to get an emergency blanket out." Around 6 p.m., they called 911, and the New Hampshire Fish and Game was alerted about the stranded hikers, per the agency's news release. Once on the phone with the NH Fish and Game, officials determined the lost hikers were only 34 feet from the trail and attempted to help them get back on the path. "Over the next two hours, McKee and Lelacheur fought through chest-deep snow and 'spruce traps' (holes created in the snow underneath trees) to try to regain the trail," officials wrote. "They ended up on the trail several times but could not follow it as it had been completely erased by wind and snow." Finally, it was determined that they needed assistance, so the two hikers were instructed to "huddle up in the snow to keep warm" until help arrived. Related: Hiker Survived Frigid Night After Falling Down Mountain By Clinging to Tree Rescue operations began around 8:30 p.m. — and by 11 p.m., there were nine highly skilled rescuers on the summit. Still, as of 1:20 a.m. the follow day, the women hadn't been located. The crews then went to the hikers' last known location, but their progress was slow 'due to the tremendous effort required to break trail in the deep snow.' Finally, thirty minutes later, the women were located "alive and coherent." Immediately, emergency shelters were assembled to warm the women. Even so, officials said the "warming process took an hour, but by approximately 3:00 AM the hikers had been brought back to a point of being able to move on their own." When they finally reached the base of the mountain over an hour later, the hikers were evaluated by Twin Mountain Ambulance staff. One woman was subsequently transported to the Littleton Regional Hospital for further evaluation and treatment of cold weather injuries. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Although this story ended up having a happy ending, officials went on to issue a warning. "Both hikers were prepared and had winter hiking experience, but ultimately encountered unforeseen conditions. Had they not had the amount of gear with them that they did, it is unlikely that they would have survived until rescuers reached them," NH Fish and Game wrote. "Although technology and experience is certainly helping to find people more quickly, the fact remains that Mother Nature has the final say, and preparedness, above all, is the difference between life and death in the mountains of New Hampshire." Read the original article on People
