Mother, Daughter Rescued From N.H. Mountain During Whiteout

FRANCONIA, NH — A mother and daughter were rescued Thursday after they got stuck in whiteout conditions on a peak in New Hampshire’s White Mountains while hiking, officials said.

Catherine Courtemanche, 24, and Nathalie Beaudet, 54, from Sherbrook, Quebec had started their hike at 9 a.m. Dec. 5 with the plan to hike the Falling Waters/Bridle Path Loop, a nearly 9 mile hike they had both done many times.

They were well-equipped with winter clothing and equipment, NH Fish and Game Law Enforcement officials said later. The duo had even checked a weather report for the area and knew they would be hiking in windy conditions. But what they didn’t realize was that they would face sustained whiteout conditions when they summited Mount Lafayette.

Officials said the hikers didn't have a compass or GPS system that would have helped them navigate the whiteout conditions they found themselves facing later that afternoon.

At 3:15 p.m. the two called 911 to report they were stranded atop Mount Lafayette and couldn't find the trail that would lead them down from the summit in the whiteout conditions. They said they could only see a few feet in front of them.

Conservation officers were made aware and the hikers spent the next hour looking for the rock cairns that mark out the Greenleaf Trail to tree line, according to officials. They went back to the summit and took shelter behind some rocks because they didn't want to get off the trail and into a worse situation.

Conservation officials and volunteers from the Mountain Rescue Service started their rescue effort just after 4 p.m. in 60 miles per hour winds and with temperatures in the mid-teens.

Shortly before 6 p.m. the first team departed from the trailhead to ascend the 4-mile hike to the summit of Mount Lafayette. Every hour or so they called the pair to check in on them.

"Exposed to the elements, the pair of hikers were starting to suffer early signs of hypothermia," officials said.

At 9:30 p.m. a small team found the stranded hikers and with the help of GPS units found their way down the mountain through the blowing snow. The conditions were so bad the group didn't get back to the trailhead until 11:30 p.m.

"The two hikers were thankful for the rescue effort and credit them with saving their lives as they felt they certainly wouldn’t have survived the night," officials posted to social media.

After resting for a short while the two were able to drive back home.

The Fish and Wildlife officials stressed that hikers should remember that winter conditions have arrived in the White Mountains and to be prepared. Over the past decade, rescue calls have increased and now average more than 200 each year here, WBUR reported earlier this year.

Previously:

• Hikers Beware: You Could be Required to Pay for Rescue ... (2015)
• Hikers Rescued In White Mountains In NH - (2017)
• NH Hiker Saved In Snow Cave In White Mountains (2018)
• Wakefield Hiker Rescued After Fall At Bridal Veil Falls (2019)