An injured hiker was rescued after falling in the icy conditions on New Hampshire's Mount Washington over the weekend.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department conservation officers, along with volunteers from the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue, Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue, Mountain Rescue Services and Cog Railway personnel, responded to a report of a hiker with multiple injuries off the north side of Jewll Trail on Saturday afternoon.
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WATCH HEREThe hiker had reportedly slipped and fallen in the icy conditions and slid several feet off the trail before striking an object.
The hiker, identified as 29-year-old William Tessier, of Quebec City, Canada, was hiking down after summiting Mount Washington with four other companions.
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SIGN UP The incident occurred around 3:45 p.m., and Tessier called 911 asking for help. The Cog Railway relayed rescuers up the train tracks to where the Westside Trail crosses the tracks, which saved the rescuers from having to hike 3 miles up the Jewell Trail in rain, icy and windy conditions. Rescuers still had to hike nearly a mile, encountering hihg winds and icey conditions across the ridge above 5,000 feet elevation.
The first rescuers reached Tessier at 7:24 p.m. They treated him for a leg injury, shouler injury and hypothermia. He was then placed in a litter and carried uphill.
Rescuers described the efforts a sa "Herculean task," saying 20 rescuers took turns carrying Tessier uphill into 40-60 mph winds, across ice covered rocks. Several rescuers suffered injuries of their own during the rescue.
The rescue group was ultimately able to make it to the train at 10:15 p.m., and they arrived at the Base Station with Tessier at 10:45 p.m. Tessier was taken by ambulance to Littleton Regional Healthcare for further treatment.
"The weather was terrible and the conditions were 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," the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a press release.
No further information was released.
