Sassy SAR reports--- I'm here for it

[maiathebee]

A recent SAR report did not mince words about the choices made by a 22 year old hiker who needed rescue from Mt Washington in New Hampshire.

Matthes made numerous poor decisions in regards to the hike that he planned in the White Mountains. He did not have proper gear, equipment, or weather planning, and did not make proper critical decisions in order to keep himself out of harm’s way and moving in the right direction on a dangerous mountain range. Matthes saw other groups turn around and say, “The weather isn’t worth it.” But he decided to keep going.

Matthes called for a rescue after making these poor choices and putting himself in a situation that placed 11 other lives in danger in order to save his. Even though the rescuers complete these heroic tasks with humility and passion there is still never-ending concern as to why inexperienced solo hikers continue to push on.

Here's the full official report:

Hiker Rescued from the Western Slope of Mt. Washington
Date: 02/20/2024
Author: nhfishandgame
CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Sgt. Glen Lucas
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
February 20, 2024

Sargent’s Purchase, NH – At approximately 11:50 a.m. on Saturday February 17, 2024, 22-year-old Cole Matthes of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was hiking in the Ammonusuc Ravine when he fell and became injured.

After the fall, Matthes called 911 and requested help. Due to poor reception, very little information could be obtained other than he had an injury and needed help. This call was sent to a Conservation Officer along with the GPS coordinates of Matthes’s location. The coordinates showed Matthes well off trail in a drainage ravine west of Westside Trail and north of Crawford Path at approximately 4,500 feet in elevation.

With little information to go on, calls were made to Conservation Officers on the Advanced Search and Rescue Team, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team, and Mountain Rescue Service to start a response.

Calls were then made to the Mount Washington Auto Road and the Cog Railway to make preliminary plans about the best option of getting rescuers up the mountain. It was decided that due to the location, the Cog Railway would be best. The Cog Railway was willing to start a special train, mount a snow blower on the front, and bring rescue crews up to the crossing of the Westside Trail. This offer would save the rescue teams many miles of strenuous hiking and the offer was gladly accepted.

As rescue crews were responding to the Cog Railway, it was determined that two trains would be utilized; an early team would go up and clear the path and get started to the GPS location, while the second rescue crew would get relayed up afterward.

After the first crew had set off on foot from the train on the Westside Trail, another call came in from Matthes. The call was transferred from Matthes via 911 to the Conservation Officer coordinating the rescue effort. Again, Matthes could not be heard. A while later Matthes called again and the reception was barely clear enough to understand that he was no longer at the same location but had made his way to the Lakes in the Clouds Hut and was below the building in the emergency shelter. It was also confirmed that he still needed help.

A radio call was made to the initial rescue team to make their way to the hut instead of going off trail towards the original coordinates. A short while later, the second train with the second group of rescuers were dropped off and started across the Westside Trail. Conditions on Mt. Washington as this first team started across were sustained winds at 90+ mph, a wind chill of -52°F, and an ambient temperature of -9°F. These conditions do not allow for exposed skin and require proper gear and experience to survive in.

The first group of rescuers were able to meet with Matthes at the Lakes emergency shelter at 6:17 p.m. The rescue crew relayed that Matthes was not injured but suffering from hypothermia and was wearing many layers of frozen clothes to include frozen hiking shoes. Over time the second wave of rescuers arrived at the emergency shelter and it took over three hours to slowly warm Matthes.

Matthes had to be stripped of his wet frozen clothes and placed in extra gear that rescuers had brought. His boots were thawed out to a point that his frostbitten feet could go back in them with dry wool socks that rescuers provided. After being fed and filled with warm liquids, Matthes was brought down the Ammonusuc Ravine Trail with assistance, leaving the hut at 9:45 p.m.

The rescue crew arrived at the Cog Railway base station at approximately 10:50 p.m. Twin Mountain Ambulance was at the Base Station and initially treated Matthes for hypothermia and frostbite. After multiple recommendations that he go the hospital, Matthes refused treatment and “signed off” that he did not want to be treated. Matthes was released from the ambulance and brought to his vehicle at 11:38 p.m.

Matthes made numerous poor decisions in regards to the hike that he planned in the White Mountains. He did not have proper gear, equipment, or weather planning, and did not make proper critical decisions in order to keep himself out of harm’s way and moving in the right direction on a dangerous mountain range. Matthes saw other groups turn around and say, “The weather isn’t worth it.” But he decided to keep going.

Matthes called for a rescue after making these poor choices and putting himself in a situation that placed 11 other lives in danger in order to save his. Even though the rescuers complete these heroic tasks with humility and passion there is still never-ending concern as to why inexperienced solo hikers continue to push on.

If it was not for the willingness and timeliness of the Cog Railway, the rescuers, and others, Matthes would have undoubtedly died on the mountain.

The list of people who have died on the Presidential Range will stay at 173 for now thanks to the rescue effort that saved Cole Matthes’s life on Saturday, February 17, 2024.

Source: https://nhfishgame.com/2024/02/20/hiker ... ashington/

This article has some more context:

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-a ... ue-report/

Should SAR reports call out poor decision-making? I, for one, am here for this. Especially with the proliferation of satellite communication and emergency tech. What do you think?

[c9h13no3]

Should SAR reports call out poor decision-making? I, for one, am here for this. Especially with the proliferation of satellite communication and emergency tech. What do you think?

As a person on the internet, judging from afar, I usually withhold this sort of judgmental commentary.

As a SAR team, that was there, and talked with the person who put SAR members lives at risk to come save their ****, I think their comments are pretty awesome.

[Gogd]

YES, they should call out every mistake and bad judgment call that necessitated the rescue operation. It is for the purpose of informing others. The AAC does the same thing in its reporting of climbing incidents. When I used to climb I would read these reports, hoping to learn vicariously. And I did. It would be very embarrassing to be the focus of such reporting, but the price to pay for getting saved - that your folly is used to teach others - is a bargain.

Ed

[Wandering Daisy]

Would he have continued if he did not have a means to communicate and call SAR? I think with PLB's and more cell coverage a lot of hikers are taking risks they never would in the old days when you had to be self-sufficient and rescue was dependent on first being reported as missing. PLB's are great but should make no difference in your decisions regarding safety. Too much attitude nowadays that "push the button" and you get saved.

I too used to read all the AAC accident reports and they were very informative. I am glad to hear they still do that. The accident reports did not dwell on blame as much as identifying all the small bad decisions that lead to the end result of a tragic accident.

[maiathebee]

Yes, WD, that is exactly my feeling! The feeling of security by being able to call for help encourages (probably mostly subconsciously) riskier actions. People take too lightly both (1) the consequences/risks for others that their poor decisions make and (2) the time it might take for help to arrive, which of course in many ways obviates the very security that caused the risky action in the first place.

Of course monday morning quarterbacking by random internet people is not great. But SAR/professionals stating facts and decisions however poor (or good!) is important in education and broader safety of the community.

The analogy with AAC is interesting. I was thinking about this from a winter backcountry sports perspective, where case studies and analysis of avalanche incidents always include discussion of decisions made along the way that lead to the incident.

I wonder if the tone of this report would be different if the 22 year old Matthes did not survive. Does your opinion of the tone of the report change when it discusses a death?

[Wandering Daisy]

The mistakes made are independent of whether he got rescued or died. I do not think the analysis of the bad decisions should be "softened" if he had died before rescue. Had any of the SAR people died in the rescue attempt, their actions too should be evaluated for any poor decisions on their part. We are all human, including SAR. You can point out how the outcome happened without sounding crass or nasty. In all cases, an objective analysis is a really great learning tool that perhaps will prevent a future bad outcome.

There is an old saying: There are bold climbers and there are old climbers". Youth in general feel they are invincible. Thankfully most of us live through that phase to become "old climbers". I am not sure we can change human nature, but perhaps we can prevent some future accidents that are caused simply by being ignorant of how risk evolves when weather goes bad.

[dave54]

Good decisionmaking comes from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.
A tongue-in-cheek old joke, with an element of truth in it.

Want to bet he will be the best prepared hiker in the future?

[Gogd]

Perhaps the most scathing report I've read regarded the Denali climbing tragedy of the infamous Wilcox expedition of 1967 that cost the lives of seven souls. I am pretty sure those already posting to this thread have heard of this event. Tossing spicy superlatives into the final report were warranted, such was the magnitude of this crisis. This wiki provides a rather sterile synopsis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Moun ... y_disaster

The analysis of events indicated things got off to a bad start well before the party even left the ranger station in Talkeetna, with a long chain of events culminating in the disaster of this expedition. Poor logistics, stove accidents, personality conflicts, lack of team cohesion, summit fever, bad decisions, communication issues and historically bad weather all played a part. It really boggles the mind. In the aftermath the park service put a hold on issuing route permits until they settled upon policies addressing various factors thought to have contributed to this event. Accounts of this expedition are published in multiple books on Denali and mountaineering in general; at least five books are dedicated solely to this topic, two of which were authored by survivors.

Ed

[Blastomatic]

"YES, they should call out every mistake and bad judgment call that necessitated the rescue operation. It is for the purpose of informing others. The AAC does the same thing in its reporting of climbing incidents. When I used to climb I would read these reports, hoping to learn vicariously. And I did. It would be very embarrassing to be the focus of such reporting, but the price to pay for getting saved - that your folly is used to teach others - is a bargain."

+

"As a SAR team, that was there, and talked with the person who put SAR members lives at risk to come save their ****, I think their comments are pretty awesome."

=

The blinding light of pure truth and unvarnished reality.

[Harlen]

I agree with all the above, including where Sam demurs a bit, hinting at the omnipresense of woefully constructed criticism on the Internet, often by the ignorant from afar. If the people can keep their analyses objective, and pointed toward improvent, then by all means, and sass them up too.

Me, I really admire the limpingcrab types, who haul their own broken asses out.

limpingcrab wrote:

... Back in October I broke both of my calcaneus (calcaneii?) rock climbing and was confined to a wheelchair until Christmas.

and later, in his classic post on Supertopo, he wrote:

Once we all reached the ground [they lowered Humpty Dumpty Dan down the cliff] we discussed the options.

1. Press the SOS button on my emergency beacon. The only way a team was getting me from that spot was with a short haul helicopter pick. I didn't have life threatening injuries and in a windy, cliff-filled canyon a helicopter rescue was risky for a lot of people.

2. Start scooting and crawling. I had to at least try so I taped up my hands and got scooting (there might have also been some pride involved in choosing this option).

His posted account of this was an instant classic. [Dan/limpingcrab wrote:

Anyway, here's a short TR about that injury. It's not very long but the comments make the page run on for a while.
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/How-Vitaliy ... 3359n.html

There isn't too much to learn, cause he and his climbing buddies are pretty expert, though Dan does imply that his choice of partners could've been better. He thinks they might have set him up for the fall. If you have the time it's a great read, and at least vaguely related to Maia's original post.