@Warwick1991 There's a book called "Not Without Peril, 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire," by Nicholas Howe, with an updated edition published in 2012 by the Appalachian Mountain Club, that has many tragic stories of hikes and climbs gone wrong. It is well worth reading, especially if someone hikes in the White Mountains. This book has many accounts of people overcome by sudden changes in the weather. There are accounts of deaths of hikers and climbers that go back many years, with the same mournful outcome. Many of the accounts are heartbreaking, like Emily Sotelo's story.
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Thank you, Warwick, for this incredible book suggestion. ***** five gold stars!
I devoured it in two days.
This should be a must read for anyone considering even a day hike in the White Mountains.
I truly had no idea of the extreme degree of weather there year round. That Idaho weather, by comparison, seemed mild by comparison to the author, gives one the general idea.
Also that it was often impossible to even walk upright due to the regularly high winds, and that rescuers need to crawl supine in order to not be blown off the mountain.
I now understand what the news articles relating to ES referred to when they said she was blown off the mountain.
Author and native born son Nick Howe illustrates so clearly the varied characteristics of the various people attracted to this range.
A mesmerizing panoply of desires, wills, fantasies, egos, determination, selfishness, and selflessness.
Heroes and experts who lived or died, and inexpert hobbyists who lived or died.
Also the extreme and dangerous lengths to which the rescuers went to save lost or stranded hikers.
Every chapter had me newly riveted.
Thank you again.
Btw as I Google researched many of the mentions in the book, by chance I came across a story not mentioned in the book,
of Pam Bales / Infinite Storm. I haven’t watched the film yet but read some summaries of the true story which again indicates the severity of the weather up on the Whites. Worth checking out too.