When three hikers "panicked" in whiteout conditions and activated their Garmin inReach device they didn't include much detail for rescue crews to go on – but using the emergency contact feature may have saved their lives.
According to New Hampshire Fish and Game, the three men – Jack Tragni, 24 and Vaishnav Raja, 25, both of Boston and Justin Yang, 24 of Cambridge – had set off to hike Franconia Ridge in the White Mountains on Sunday at around 9 a.m. as a training hike for Mount Washington.
The group encountered deep snow and whiteout conditions across the ridge, and while officials say the hikers were "fairly well prepared for winter," they lacked experience above treeline.
Hiking above treeline means you're more exposed to the elements and, particularly in winter, can make it much harder to navigate. The men were reportedly having difficulty following the trail and after going over Mount Lincoln, realized they weren't equipped to return. Officials say they activated their Garmin inReach satellite communicator at around 5:30 p.m. knowing "it would take hours for rescuers to get to their location."
The initial alert didn't contain much information for rescuers, and no more communication was received because the hikers found it difficult to operate the device in the cold and wind.
Fortunately, the device allows users to save emergency contacts, and because the hikers had previously set up this feature, officials were able to establish communication with people who knew of the group's intended route. The emergency contacts told officials the men had been in touch via text and shared that they were suffering from cold-related injuries.
Rescue teams were able to reach the hikers below the Greenleaf Hut just after 9 p.m. where they found that some of their light sources had gone dead. They gave them headlamps and escorted them back to the trailhead which took around an hour.
The hikers in this story did a lot of things right, but the case highlights the importance of respecting your ability level, learning navigation, carrying satellite communication and leaving a detailed plan with someone you trust. In addition, if you're venturing out in winter conditions, it's advised to charge your headlamp or flashlight and carry extra batteries.
How to add contacts to your Garmin InReach
To add an emergency contact to your inReach device, log in at the Garmin Explore website then complete the following steps:
- Select Contacts (you may need to select My Info in the top banner to see Contacts).
- Select Add.
- Enter the contact's information.
- Save details.
- Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each contact to be added.
- Sync the device when you're finished.
