Husband calls 911 to say hypothermic wife can’t move or speak on NH hiking trail
Rescuers endured “potentially life-threatening” weather conditions to reach a hypothermic hiker, New Hampshire officials say.
A husband called 911 at about 5 p.m. June 20 to say his hypothermic wife could no longer move or communicate during a hike on Gulfside Trail, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a June 20 news release.
“Conditions in the higher elevations of the White Mountains were dangerous Friday, with winds reaching 120 mph and 20ºF temperatures during the day on the summit of Mt. Washington,” officials said.
The hiker, identified as a 55-year-old woman from Austin, Texas, was stranded 1 mile north from Mount Washington Cog Railway’s tracks, officials said.
Officials said they contacted the railway, who agreed to transport rescuers “up the train tracks to where the Westside Trail crosses the tracks known as Skyline.”
With the railway’s help, rescuers did not need “to hike over 3 miles up the Jewell Trail in rainy, windy conditions to access (the hiker),” according to officials.
The first team headed to the hiker by train at about 7 p.m., followed by a second team an hour later, according to officials.
Despite saving time via a train ride, rescuers still had to hike over a mile in “high winds and cloudy conditions across the ridge above 5,000 feet of elevation,” officials said.
The first team treated the hiker in a temporary shelter and tried “to warm her up,” officials said.
After the second team’s arrival, rescuers placed the hiker in litter and carried her “back across Gulfside Trail to the awaiting Cog train,” officials said.
Upon arriving at the base, an awaiting ambulance took the woman to a nearby medical center, officials said.
“Another late night hiker rescue in deadly conditions, this time resulting in a tragedy just barely averted,” Mount Washington Cog Railway said in a Facebook post. “As always, we were ready, willing and able to be of assistance.”
Along with the railway, multiple search and rescue teams responded to help rescue the woman, officials said.
“The weather was not great and the conditions were potentially life-threatening, but each group responded to the call for assistance and endured less than hospitable weather conditions to save the life of this hiker,” officials said.
The woman was not the only hiker to be rescued June 20, with multiple hypothermic hikers needing help “during the day throughout the presidential range,” according to officials.
Mount Washington Cog Railway is about a 110-mile drive north from Manchester.
This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Husband calls 911 to say hypothermic wife can’t move or speak on NH hiking trail."
