View Full Version : hiking in the cold
Today i hear on the news that a hiker died while hiking the whites. Why would anyone be out in minus forty wind chill weather? I love to hike but common sense says be safe.
gravityman
01-16-2004, 16:02
One possible reason would be to test out your equipment for a major expidition. Of course I don't think he was doing that...
Gravity Man
Alligator
01-16-2004, 16:18
Those were near record lows. Must have figured he was all right the night before. Sad.
POSTED: 10:52 AM EST January 16, 2004
FRANCONIA, N.H. -- A New Hampshire park ranger who had been involved in many hiker rescues froze to death while camping in the White Mountains this week.
Authorities said Kenneth Holmes, 37, of Athol, Mass., was reported missing Wednesday. Friends in Massachusetts said he was a park ranger at Monadnock State Park in southern New Hampshire. An autopsy said he died from exposure to the cold.
Fish and Game said Holmes had been hiking and camping with friends since Monday and had called home Tuesday to say he was going to stay an extra day after the rest of his party went home. Holmes' body was spotted by a helicopter crew Thursday.
Temperatures in the mountains Wednesday dropped to minus 44 degrees with a wind chill approaching 100 degrees below zero.
Fish and Game Lt. Robert Bryant said Holmes was well-equipped, but that having a tent, stove and good sleeping bag isn't always enough in the exteme cold of this week.
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press.
Let me put it real simple. How many companies make sleeping bags rated for -45? The lowest temperature for most companies is zero.
Streamweaver
01-16-2004, 18:10
That -45 degrees was the actual temp not the windchill!!! The windchill last night for Mt Washington was something like -98 degrees!! Streamweaver
hungryhowie
01-16-2004, 18:17
Let me put it real simple. How many companies make sleeping bags rated for -45? The lowest temperature for most companies is zero.
Quite a few actually make -20*F and -40* bags. Marmot, TNF, FF, western mountaineering, etc...
Go check out their websites. They're available from many manufacturers.
-Howie
gravityman
01-16-2004, 18:40
Let me put it real simple. How many companies make sleeping bags rated for -45? The lowest temperature for most companies is zero.
Plenty do. Mountaineers do endure these type of temperatures.
Gravity Man
The Old Fhart
01-16-2004, 19:15
I have an LLBean zero degree down bag that is extra wide and long. This allows my 35 degree down bag to fit inside and not compress the insulation above me which would make the 2 bag combination less effective. Total weight is 5.5 pounds and it should be good well below -40. I would never dream of being in those conditions even though I worked for the Mount Washington Observatory for four winters. I don't like going out below zero. I admit it, I'm a wimp, but I've never had frostbite in 45+ years of hiking.
Streamweaver
01-16-2004, 19:48
5.5 Lbs is pretty light for two bags with that type of temp rating !!!
Streamweaver
Quite a few actually make -20*F and -40* bags. Marmot, TNF, FF, western mountaineering, etc...
Go check out their websites. They're available from many manufacturers.
-Howie
Wise hikers augment their sleeping bag minimums with other clothing. I carry a down jacket, insulated underwear and wool pants in the winter and wear them as needed in my Zero-rated sleeping bag.
The death prompts me to wonder about the many times I've been out in similar temperatures with less than state of the art gear.
I've been tempted from time to time to join the ultra light movement. But this and similar incidents make me wonder. I carry more than most believe to be necessary these days. But I've also hiked enough to have from time to time used all of my gear and wished I had carried more.
It would be interesting to know whether the victim was an ultralight advocate. But regardless, those of us who have wandered these hills for decades, can't help, I suspect, thinking, "there, but for the grace of God, go I."
Weary
Could have been a suicide similar to the famous mountineer Guy Waterman. He did the dirty in New Hampshire up around Franconia. His life and death was covered in the book by Chip Brown entitled "Good Morning Midnight". Good read.
magic_game03
01-17-2004, 01:06
two words; ICE CAVE!
tents are a lost cause in these conditions. if you hike in artic conditions you should be ready to change your tactics. of course hind sight is 20/20. R.I.P.
Bonehead
01-17-2004, 01:45
He sounds like a bonehead.
Fish and Game said Holmes had been hiking and camping with friends since Monday and had called home Tuesday to say he was going to stay an extra day after the rest of his party went home. Holmes' body was spotted by a helicopter crew Thursday.
I wonder if he was already sufering from hypothermia when he made the decision not to return with the rest of his party. It will be interesting to see how AMC's twice a year "Appalachia" will analyze the death, though with the the retirement of the publications long time accident analyzer, I've been less impressed with the publications insights.
Weary