< Cannon Ball
< Hiker Safety
Death on Mount MonadnockA hiker died on Mount Monadnock while descending the Pumpelly Trail by full-moon-light on 3 January 2007.Thomas Plummer, age 59, and his four companions were doing a traverse via the Dublin and Pumpelly trails on the night of the January full moon. The group was spread out coming down the Pumpelly Trail, when around 2 am, less than a mile down from the summit, Plummer was found prostrate on the ground, where attempts to resuscitate him with CPR failed. All five were older, experienced winter/night hikers, with adequate gear, including crampons, headlamp and sufficient clothing. The trail was icy, so Plummer may have slipped; more probably he had a heart attack and fell. In the past five years there have been only two other deaths on Mt. Monadnock, both due to heart attack. The hikers used a cell phone (NOT usually a reliable means of communication in NH mountains!) to call 911 and were put in contact with emergency rescue personnel at NH Fish and Game. A recovery team of 17 trained rescuers (from Fish and Game, Parks Service, and Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team) reached the accident site around 9 am and brought Plummer's body off the mountain. Plummer's companions, who had elected to stay with the body, were safely off the mountain by noon. [The above summary was compiled from newspaper and Web accounts of this tragedy.] |