Backcountry skier rescued off Mt. Washington with a little help from the Cog Railway
May 22—A 37-year-old Mont Vernon woman was able to hitch a ride on the Cog Railway after she fell several hundred feet and injured herself while skiing on Mount Washington, Fish and Game said.
Around 2:50 p.m. Saturday, Fish and Game was notified of the injured backcountry skier on a ski run known as Airplane Gully.
Kirsten Hugger fell on the steep terrain and struck rock in the process, according to a news release. Fellow skiers, including an off-duty Durham firefighter and EMT, assisted her back up at least 700 vertical feet to the rim of the Great Gulf and across the Cog Railway tracks.
The train stopped after being flagged down and the conductor agreed to take Hugger down to the base station, according to the release.
"Hugger and her skiing companion had skied on the East Snow Fields earlier in the day and had ventured over to the Great Gulf for one last run when the accident occurred," the release reads. "Hugger is an experienced backcountry skier. Hugger's injuries were not considered life threatening, but were significant enough where she needed assistance in getting out of the steep ravine."
No other information was available as of Sunday.
