"The Missing Headlamp Being His Most Costly Mistake" - Man Rescued From Mt. Mansfield's Adams Apple

From Stowe Mountain Rescue

Young Man in a Predicament

Four members of our team spent the bulk of the night on Mt Mansfield, assisting a young man in a predicament. He was darked-out in some steep dense forest, riddled with cliffs, below the summit of Adam’s Apple. We hiked up and over Adam’s Apple then bushwacked to his location. It was slow going, a little precarious and felt remote.

And . . . Unprepared

Our subject was a self-professed novice at climbing mountains, which showed in several aspects of his decision making. He set out late in the day, misjudging how long the hike would take. He wasn’t properly equipped, the missing headlamp being his most costly mistake. He also managed to get badly off trail and followed his instinct to keep pushing on, rather than backtracking. He should have been carrying a map and we talked him through a couple of free mapping apps that would have changed his world – Gaia being our favorite. He made a lot of rookie errors and we did a healthy dose of preaching during the hike back to the ATVs.

But Still in Charge

The one thing he did do right was to keep an eye on his cell battery and he recognized that he needed to call for help before it ran dry. The 911 call gave us his coordinates and he followed our instructions to sit tight – we don’t like moving targets, especially in such dangerous terrain.

Everyone is a novice to begin with and this man gets the chance to learn from his experience and do it right next time.