FALL ON SNOW - UNABLE TO SELF-ARREST

New Hampshire, Tuckerman Ravine, Left gully

On March 14, a woman fell approximately 1,200 feet from near the top of Left Gully in Tuckerman Ravine. She was unable to self-arrest and quickly lost her ice ax, as she rapidly accelerated on the very slick surface. Along the way, her crampon caught the surface, resulting in an open angulated lower leg fracture. She also suffered arm and rib injuries before coming to a stop low in the floor of Tuckerman Ravine. Snow Rangers, MWVSP, and AMC personnel responded, treated her injuries, and packaged her into a litter. The litter was belayed down the Little Headwall to the top of the Sherburne Ski Trail. From there a snowmobile transported the litter to an ambulance waiting at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center.