Well, Sat 1/17 we awoke to to -29 degree weather in
Franconia NH. With a 5 MPH breeze it put the windchill down in the -50's. Warmed up the car and hit up the continental breakfast, passed through town for another cup of coffee, and off we went down 93 to the
trail head. I quickly learned a half mile in that the SPOT tracking beacon works better when you
don't loose it. Whoops. We dropped off the trail and
bushwhacked through some THICK pines into the gully. Ankle deep powder quickly turned to knee deep and after a couple close calls falling through the ice we found ourselves sinking to our chests in powder. A few miles in, Lincoln won, and we backed off at 1:30 knowing that once the sun fell, the temps wouldn't be far behind. Not willing to risk someone falling into the river in -20 degree weather, we hiked down in the sun and called it a day with some pizza and beer. All in all it was a great hike on a beautiful sunny (although bitter cold) day. And one hell of a workout. We'll be back.
Yesterday (1/21/07) a two person team climbing Mount Hood was hit by
ice fall near the "
Hogsback" around 10,000 feet. 31 year old Brooke
Colvin was struck by ice while climbing with her husband
Stavn.
Stavn watched her get thrown down the mountain after being struck. He was able to down climb to his wife, But she had been killed instantly. A
Blackhawk was called in but later called off when the Rescue turned to a recovery. Crews were headed up the mountain Wed afternoon to recover
Colvins Body. This is just days after a climber was struck by ice on the same area of Mt Hood. The 45 year old climber was airlifted off the mountain. RIP Brooke, and condolences to
Stavn.
Ten mountain climbers were killed and several others were trapped under the snow on Sunday after they were caught in an avalanche on Mount Zigana in the province of Gümüşhane, near the Black Sea coast. They were part of a group of around 20 people hit by the slide and were members of a mountaineering club from the nearby province of Trabzon taking part in a snow festival held on the mountain over the weekend. Yesterday's ceremony was attended by State Minister Murat Başesgioğlu, Minister of Public Works and Housing Faruk Nafiz Özak, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Cevdet Selvi, Trabzon Gov. Nuri Okutan, Gümüşhane Gov. Enver Salihoğlu, Trabzon Mayor Volkan Canalioğlu, a number of deputies, army officers and bureaucrats and more than 3,000 local residents. The remains of the 
hikers were sent to their hometowns for burial.
