Waterbury, Stowe rescue crews aid injured hiker down Hunger Mountain
Dec. 29, 2021 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
Members of Stowe Mountain Rescue open a gate at the trailhead as they head out on a rescue call on Hunger Mountain on Dec. 23. Photo courtesy Stowe Mt. Rescue
Local rescue teams from Waterbury and Stowe responded to the summit of Hunger Mountain last week for what they hoped would be the final backcountry rescue call of 2021.
The incident happened on Thursday afternoon, Dec. 23. Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team was called just after 1:30 p.m. to assist Stowe Mountain Rescue on a call involving a 36-year-old man near the summit who had fallen on ice and snow.
“The hiker had fallen during an attempt to stop a slide on the ice and dislocated his left shoulder,” explained Waterbury Backcountry crew leader Brian Lindner. “The hiker was with a partner and neither had headlamps, adequate clothing, or food for the intense cold at the summit.”
Stowe Mountain Rescue took the lead in the rescue, requesting the Waterbury team ascend from the Middlesex side in an attempt to reach the hikers as quickly as possible. The Stowe responders advised the hikers that they would need to begin making their way down the trail cautiously as far as possible before daylight was lost.
At approximately 3:45 p.m., the Waterbury team consisting of Heidi Higgins-Cutler, Mathew Cuter and Nicole Cutler found the hikers making their way slowly and painfully down the trail, Lindner said.
The group soon was met by the Stowe Mountain Rescue team who had come up the trail about 1.5 miles by ATV. The hikers were provided with food, clothing, headlamps and proper ice creepers, Lindner said in his report of the rescue.
The group continued making their way down on the snowy trail as temperatures dropped and daylight waned.
The Stowe Mountain Rescue report described the descent with the injured man: “The nature of his injury required us to keep him walking as he wouldn't have tolerated a litter ride. We provided stability, warmth, headlamps and encouragement as he inched his way down, battling pain. It was slow going but he wasn't giving up. Hats off to him for his fortitude.”
Once at the ATV, the injured hiker was driven to the base by Stowe team members. He was transferred to a vehicle and his partner drove him to Central Vermont Medical Center, rescuers said. Both rescue teams departed the trailhead around 6:45 p.m.
In recounting the rescue on social media, Stowe Mountain Rescue described it as “what was hopefully the last rescue for 2021.”
Rescue teams remind winter hikers to begin their hikes early and to be prepared for icy conditions. Hikers also should be fully prepared for emergencies by having adequate clothing, food, water and headlamps.
Rescuers note that it routinely takes several hours for them to reach those needing help along a mountain trail while in winter conditions. Sometimes just accessing the trail with the needed equipment can be a challenge. The Stowe crew said a critical step in this rescue came early: “From our perspective, the crux move of the entire mission was opening the gate at the trailhead. [It] took five grown men and an axe to get that thing open (no damage done to gate nor man).”