more hikers rescueded at mt. rogers

[Frog]

Two hikers left saturday to hike around at Mount Rogers till monday. On sunday a winter storm came in and left around 8 new inches of snow on top of what was already there. On monday i assume since it was still snowing they stayed at the shelter and didnt attemp to leave. Rescuers tried to find them on tuesday with a failed attemp. It was still snowing and the wind was extremly strong. Finally on wednesday a state police helicoper found them and got them out. After two rescues this year will they try and stop us from coming up there in winter or will they stop us and inspect our packs. I dont understand the rescues but thats me i have been hiking since 1975 every winter in NC tenn va even up on grandfather mtn at 6 below zero with windchills 30 below zero and not had to be rescued. What is some of your thoughts on this

[SGT Rock]

The fact is not everyone has the experience or respect for what winter hiking is really like. Someone thinks about a cool hike with snow on the ground and doesn't think of second and third effects that go with that.

[Lone Wolf]

www.bristolnews.com/

[c.coyle]

A snippet from the newspaper article pretty much says it all:

" ... They hadn’t paid particularly close attention to the weather ... "

[MOWGLI]

What is some of your thoughts on this

My thoughts are that this kind of thing can & does happen. Learn from this story. I wouldn't be sending my winter gear home before Pearisburg. It can be freezing near Mt Rogers well into May. That's a 5000' peak in the mountains.

[The Old Fhart]

MOWGLI16-"I wouldn't be sending my winter gear home before Pearisburg. It can be freezing near Mt Rogers well into May."

Absolurely. Click here to see a picture I took just before Trail Days in mid-May of 2001. From Wise shelter south it was below freezing all day with winds gusting into the 40-50 mph range making the wind chill well below zero. As I was heading south I met a number of NOBOs who had sent their cold weather gear home at Damascus. I saw one person coming toward me out of the fog with what I thought were red wind/rain pants on only to discover when he got closer he had shorts on and the red was his bare legs. He was not a happy camper.

[chris]

Why did the hikers need rescuing? Was one of them hurt or something? That is, why did the police start looking for them in the first place?

[The Solemates]

we got hit by a huge snowstorm that dumped nearly a foot when going across Mt Rogers area on our thru on March 8. snow was already on the ground as well. total accumulations were over a foot, with snowdrifts up to our knees in some spots near Wilburn Ridge. Have camped several times up there in the winter. just gotta know what your getting into and what you are doing. bottom line is that these guys didnt.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartn...86.jpg&.src=ph

Here shown holed up in our tent for the night atop Whitetop. I had to get up 4 times during the night to scrape the snow off our 3-season tent because it was bowing in the sides and suffocating us.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartn...7c.jpg&.src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartn...f1.jpg&.src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcartn...90.jpg&.src=ph

[Morning Glory]

They had those guys on the news this morning and they were just a couple of local good ole' boys who I don't really believe had any idea what they were doing. It kinda ticked me off when the news people were talking about had the two guys had found some protection in a 3-sided "shack". That's something I've never heard a shelter called before.

[Bjorkin]

It kinda ticked me off when the news people were talking about had the two guys had found some protection in a 3-sided "shack". That's something I've never heard a shelter called before.

One man's shelter is another man's shack.

[anneandbenhike]

Anybody who "doesn't pay particularly close attention to the weather" in the Mt. Roger's area in early March is asking for a problem. They could not have been too prepared with gear. They were at the Thomas Knob shelter, which we discerned from the article in the paper which said they kept warm by climbing up and down the ladder "to the shelter's second story to get their blood flowing." They were on the front page of our local paper with the headline "We knew we were in a situation..." accompanied by a picture of the two. Let the picture and the article speak for itself!!!

http://www.tricities.com/servlet/Sat...Variables.path

[Morning Glory]

Let the picture and the article speak for itself!!!

Thanks for clarifying my post about them. Those were my thoughts to. Maybe I just should've been bold enough to say, "by the looks of them, those fellas really didn't have a clue". I just would've loved to see the gear they packed.

[Frog]

The reason for the reason for the rescue was that they parked there car in the Grayson Highlands State Park and when they didnt show up that will start a rescue. They also didnt write down where they were going up there on the registration. From now on I will always write on my registration where i am going but also write DONT SEND A RECUE PARTY AFTER ME AS I AM AN EXPIERENANCED HIKER. I have also been up there when the weathter was horriable with snow up to my knees. Never have i not been able to get out. I always hike with by brother. Both of us have been hiking and camping in the winter for more than 30 years.
With that said thou I hope to never have to be rescued but feel the only reason for a rescue would be one of us had a heart attack and the other has a broken leg. You should always pack for the worst and hope for the best. But ALWAYS BE PREPARED

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Anybody who "doesn't pay particularly close attention to the weather" in the Mt. Roger's area in early March is asking for a problem. They could not have been too prepared with gear. They were at the Thomas Knob shelter, which we discerned from the article in the paper which said they kept warm by climbing up and down the ladder "to the shelter's second story to get their blood flowing." They were on the front page of our local paper with the headline "We knew we were in a situation..." accompanied by a picture of the two. Let the picture and the article speak for itself!!!

http://www.tricities.com/servlet/Sat...Variables.path

Darn, I'm proud to be a Virginian! Just lookin' at those 2 ole boys brings a tear to my eyes. Any other state and I bet they would have got themselves lost climbing that ladder.

[refrigerator]

I live at the BASE of WHITETOP , at KONAROCK. These people in the paper looked like they had more pot than food, (My Opinion!!!)


I do most of my Bag nights in the winter time and never had a problem. Even when the weather hits hard. Oh well, Backpacking weeds out the ones who think they are and the rest of us , well we are true Backpackers.

[CHAD BEAVER]

sounded like a lot of food to me!

[Valmet]

Yep, looks like a couple of cluless uncle daddy's too me. Probably could not tell what the weather was going to do even if they were paying attention to it. Winter weather does thin out the carless hikers.

[chris]

Is anyone else on this forum disappointed by the fact that the two people in question are being judged based on their appearance? I figured hikers wouldn't be tempted into doing this. During long distance hikes, hikers are frequently dirty, smelly, thickly bearded (or with hairy legs), and appear to many people to be vagrants, dead beats, or dangerous. We know that this isn't the case and that it is wrong to judge based solely on appearances. So, why is the same tactic being used upon these two?

Phrases like, "Let the picture..." (also asks people to read)
"...by the looks of them..."
"Just lookin' at those 2 ole boys..."
"These people in the paper looked like..."
"...looks like a couple of clueless uncle daddys.." (maybe referencing the article)

are what I'm pointing to. I get judged based on my appearance frequently (not in ways you might think) and so, perhaps, am overly sensitive to this. If I am, then I apologize.

[One Leg]

Is anyone else on this forum disappointed by the fact that the two people in question are being judged based on their appearance? I figured hikers wouldn't be tempted into doing this. During long distance hikes, hikers are frequently dirty, smelly, thickly bearded (or with hairy legs), and appear to many people to be vagrants, dead beats, or dangerous. We know that this isn't the case and that it is wrong to judge based solely on appearances. So, why is the same tactic being used upon these two?

Phrases like, "Let the picture..." (also asks people to read)
"...by the looks of them..."
"Just lookin' at those 2 ole boys..."
"These people in the paper looked like..."
"...looks like a couple of clueless uncle daddys.." (maybe referencing the article)

are what I'm pointing to. I get judged based on my appearance frequently (not in ways you might think) and so, perhaps, am overly sensitive to this. If I am, then I apologize.

I think we're too quick to rush to judgement regarding these guys. It's so easy to sit within the comforts of your own home, read about something like this, and play armchair quarterback.

We've not walked a mile in their shoes. Perhapes we've walked those same trail miles, but we've not shared their experience. We don't know the thoughts that entered their heads.

Haivng said that, were I a betting man, I'd wager that neither would do it again if given the chance. Sounds to me like they've learned a hard taught lesson.

One-Leg

[Nightwalker]

I live at the BASE of WHITETOP , at KONAROCK. These people in the paper looked like they had more pot than food, (My Opinion!!!)

That's funny, they looked like plain old hikers to me.