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Show snow. ( Note the value of having his arm next to his face.) In the mountains it is sometimes necessary to take a calculated risk- but to disregard most of the primary rules for survival is to flirt with death. And in this case, death answered. No. 56- 1 TUCKERMAN RAVINE. NEW HAMPSHIRE 18 February 1956 WEATHER FACTORS Saturday, '° February - Morning: Weather good. Afternoon: Storm set in, accompanied by high winds. Storm continued during the night, leaving six to eight inches of snow. Sunday, 19 February - Storm intermittent, but high gusty winds made visibility poor. Weather / on Monday unknown. ACCIDENT SUMMARY A party of five, ages from 29 to 50, went to Tuckerman Ravine for a weekend of climbing. The party consisted of Mr. F., Mr. L., Mr. Sa., Mr. Sp. and Mr. T., all with limited if any winter mountaineering experience. On Saturday, 18 February, the party attempted to climb to the Summit of Mount Washington via the right- hand gully. A storm began, and the party turned back before reaching the summit. They missed the route they had taken on their ascent, but made it back to the cabin where they had established a base camp. The storm continued most of Saturday night, depositing about six to eight inches of snow, accompanied by high winds. Late Sunday morning, 19 February, the five again went to Tuckerman Ravine. En route they talked to several skiers before noon. One report stated that these skiers warned the party of possible avalanche danger. The group proceeded along the floor of the bowl, and when they were approximately 200 feet from the foot of the headwafl, they decided to turn back. The time was approximately 1400 hours, and high gusty winds made visibility very poor. Mr. L., Mr. Sa., and Mr. T. were in the lead, and Mr. Sp. and Mr. F. followed, perhaps two minutes behind. When they had retraced their steps about 25 yards, the entire party was engulfed by an avalanche. F. stayed on top of the snow during the " ride." He dug out Sp., who was partially buried. Together they went to the terminus of the debris where they dug out Sa. T. was close by, but buried up to his chin, and it took some 30 minutes to free him. One worked on T. while the other two searched 19 |