Two experienced mountaineers were rescued from the highest mountain in the northeast after a snowstorm On Sunday, about 5000 feet stranded, the authorities said.
Kathyrn McKee, 51, from Southboroug, Massachusetts and Beat Lelacheur, 54, of Westborouga, Massachusetts, went through the challenging Mount Washington track in New Hampshire when time has become difficult, the Fish and Games Department at New Hampshire (NHFG) said.
The temperatures fell and the winds were blowing, blowing snow so that the path that friends followed was completely deleted. The couple pushed through the snow of the deep chest, lost on the mountain.
One of McKee’s snow -tags became stuck in the “spruce trap”, a hole created in the snow under the trees.
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In this photo provided by Kathyrn McKee, a colleague from Beat Lelacheur mountaineer climbs the Westside path just hours before he was to be saved, at Mount Washington, New Hampshire, on Sunday, February 2, 2025. (Kathyrn McKee Photo by AP)
“It took 20 minutes to get out of it,” she recalled in an interview with Associated Press. “And that was constantly happening. And so we got to the point where we were literally, like crawling on our stomach to try to reach the next point and just fought so much that it didn’t do it.”
The Beat Lelacheur hyker was shown only a few hours before on Sunday, February 2, 2025, he should have been saved on Mount Washington, New Hampshire. (Kathyrn McKee Photo by AP)
After about an hour of fighting, mountaineers He called 911 shortly after 6pm and reached the NHFG protection officer, who drew their GPS coordinates on the track -only 34 meters.
“They ended up on the track several times, but they couldn’t follow him because he was deleted by the wind and blowing snow,” SGT. Matthew Holmes from the Fish Department and Games said in a statement.
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Unable to find a mark after multiple calls with preservation officers, Holmes said “The couple cried into the snow to keep warm and awaited help.”
Temperatures on the summit Falling on -2 degrees and permanent winds exploded to 50-60 mph, often much higher with rapture, by the time the agency began a rescue operation at 8:30 pm, Holmes said.
This picture provided by the fish and game department in New Hampshire shows rescuers leaving on foot from the top on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, on Sunday, February 2, 2025. (Photo of Fish Department and Games at New Hampshire via AP)
McKee said that despite wearing gloves with lining, her “hands were frozen.” Friends used a bag as a wind farm and sat on the mountain for the next six hours to wait for the rescue as the wind ran and buried under the snow, which left them isolated, but immobile, she said.
“I was terrified that my friend could pass in front of me and, you know, or I can pass,” McKee said. “And how did we get here? So, you think about it, but you can’t stay in that thought process because it won’t get you out. So, we just focused on what the next thing we can do.”
Shortly before midnight, nine Snowcat Mount Washington State Park reached the top. The crew crossed the snow with snow with the snow toward the track, the officials said.
This picture provided by the New Hampshire Fish and Games Department shows a snowstick that went to a rescue mission on Mount Washington on Sunday, February 2, 2025, NH on Sunday, February 2, 2025. (Photo of Fish Department and Games at New Hampshire via AP)
The team approached the last known location of two hikers on Monday at 1:20, but has not yet made contact.
“The only way to find the track was through GPS navigation, and progress was slow because of a huge effort needed to break the trail in deep snow,” Holmes said.
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Half an hour later, rescuers considered two hikers alive and coherent, although they both suffered from cold weather injuries. The rescue crew set up emergency shelters and began to warm up both hikers, who could move independently after about an hour, the officials said.
This picture provided by the fish and game department in New Hampshire shows the rescue mountaineers along the COG railway during the rescue mission on Mount Washington, NH on Sunday, February 2, 2025. (Photo of Fish Department and Games at New Hampshire via AP)
At 3am, rescuers and mountaineers set off down the Jewell trail toward the COG Railway Primary Station, reaching the base until 4:15 in the morning
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the northeast at 6,288 feet and is known for its extreme weather conditions.
Samit Mount Washington New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, file)
Holmes said both women were prepared for a winter trip, they had an emergency equipment and had winter hiking. But they did not expect to lose the trial. McKee and Lelacheur have undergone training on the Appalachian Mountain Club in Chapter Worcester, Massachusetts.
“We feel really awful when we have to call it (911), but it saved our lives and we are forever grateful,” McKee said about their rescuers.
They both said the Associated Press that hiking would go out to the white mountains again and add a small jump tent to their equipment in case they need to look for refuge.
“Either get back to the horse, or not,” McKee said. “I will have no problem going back to the horse. I will do what is possible safely. But I recognize that there are risks in what we do.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
