Daytime rescue on Hunger Mountain breaks in new equipment

Oct. 30, 2021  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

Backcountry rescue team volunteers carry an injured hiker down the Hunger Mountain Trail in Waterbury Center on Thursday. The daytime call involved Waterbury Backcountry Rescue with help from Stowe Mountain Rescue and several members from Camels Hump Backcountry Rescue Team from Richmond. Photo courtesy Stowe Mountain Rescue

Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team had a daytime rescue mission on Thursday involving a single hiker on the Hunger Mountain Trail off Sweet Road in Waterbury Center. 

According to Team Leader Brian Lindner, the call came shortly before noon to assist a 53-year-old woman hiker from Pennsylvania who had suffered a possible broken ankle. 

Slightly over an hour later, the first team members reached the hiker and began to treat her injury, Lindner said. 

Because the call came in during the middle of the workday, the Waterbury team called for mutual aid to help evacuate the patient off the mountain. Both Stowe Mountain Rescue and Camels Hump Backcountry Rescue Team from Richmond sent members to assist. 

The situation was the first use of a new wheeled rescue litter -- the stretcher-like piece of equipment used to transport patients on such calls. 

Stowe Mountain Rescue posted a short account of the mission on its social media. “It was an honor to accompany Waterbury Backcountry today on the maiden voyage of their shiny new Cascade wheeled litter!” their post said, describing the teams’ efforts. 

“Waterbury packaged her in the new litter and we were just there to lend a hand with the extraction, specifically with the rope belay on the one steep section, together with a couple of members from Richmond Backcountry.” 

Shortly before 2 p.m. the combined teams brought the hiker to safety where she was met by members of Waterbury Ambulance. The hiker, however, decided to decline transport by ambulance and opted to drive herself to UVM Medical Center in Burlington, according to rescue officials. 

Given recent lengthy overnight rescue calls, the crew members appreciated a straightforward daytime mission with a positive ending. “It was an extremely short and fast operation on a calm and sunny day. A nice entry-level mission for the new litter,” the Stowe team noted.