12/29/13 Two hikers trigger an avalanche on Mount Washington... At night...

[NoPostholio]

Glad their ok, but seriously - ice axes with yak traks?

[lynchdogger]

Glad their ok, but seriously - ice axes with yak traks?

^^^ Totally appropriate for a Lions Head summit bid in low snow conditions. Crampons would still be in my pack but make sense to me. Done it many times. Walking in crampons in low snow sucks balls and wears them quick.
However, ...
Still don't get if there plan was to ascend and descend thru the lip in tucks or did they get lost coming off the summit and thought they were on Lions Head? Did I miss this?
If there plan was Tucks up n down than yes I would agree that that set up is not sufficient.
Ironically though, not wearing crampons might have saved a broken leg or two.
Not mind boggling though. Just another weekend on the rockpile. What is mind boggling is that more people aren't hurt with all the stupid shit I have seen and still see up there.

Edit: just read Rog's link. They got lost. Bad day. Lucky boys.
3 pm summit has always been my turn around in winter up there unless a full moon or clear and calm conditions.
The alpine garden in a white out is confusing place but plenty of cairns and signage. Inexperience played a big role here. Never follow tracks. Learn some navigation skills. Lucky indeed.

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[JayPowHound]

Still don't get if there plan was to ascend and descend thru the lip in tucks or did they get lost coming off the summit and thought they were on Lions Head? Did I miss this?


Edit: just read Rog's link. They got lost. Bad day. Lucky boys.

Yes. Just for clarification for any who may browse this thread and not click the links... according to what I read in the MWV paper yesterday, the party involved had intended to descend via the Lions Head trail, not through tuckerman ravine. They got caught in the dark. They got off course decending the summit cone, and then they got very, very lucky.

[Jonathan S.]

Many of the different press accounts are confusing and contradictory, but this first-hand account by Conor Lodge in the Boston Herald (where he previously worked as an editorial assistant) is very clear that they *deliberately* chose the TRT:

"[...] we decided to go fast and leave my brother and Richard behind. We got to the summit, and then on the way down we ran into our friends and they were going to the summit and asked for us to wait. ... But the wind was going 70 miles per hour and there was a negative 20 wind chill. We decided that we had to keep moving. (We) were not familiar with Mount Washington at all, so when we came to the split between Lion’s Head and Tuckerman Ravine, we decided to take Tuckerman Ravine because that’s where I thought we came from."

(Note that according to another account, they didn't have maps.)

[NoPostholio]

^^^ Totally appropriate for a Lions Head summit bid in low snow conditions. Crampons would still be in my pack but make sense to me.

I can't agree with totally appropriate, but acceptable to have yak traks in case you want them for some of the climb - agree. But climbing down TRT at night I would think the cramps would be mandatory gear. These guys got a hard lesson that MTW is full on winter mountaineering and equipment should reflect that. I really think the avy part might have saved them - maybe gave them just enough cushion to limit the damage and not enough to bury? What if it was a bit more snow and both were buried and unable to self extract? Just guessing but assuming no beacons. Another amazing story of the "peril" peeps can find themselves in up there in any season but esp winter.