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FatalityOutcome: FatalHypothermia

Fatality — Mount Washington, Jan 31, 1954

·Mount Washington·John Sherburne Ski Trail

23-year-old from Cambridge, MA, no prior mountain experience · party of 2

Jacques Parysko, 23, survived the avalanche that destroyed the igloo he and Philip Longnecker had built at the foot of the Tuckerman Ravine headwall on January 31, 1954. Improperly dressed for the conditions, he fled down the Sherburne Ski Trail and died of exposure near the Harvard cabin, having passed three emergency telephones and two first-aid caches en route.

What we can learn

Emergency telephones and shelters on Mount Washington are useless if hypothermia clouds judgment to the point of walking past them. The decision point is staying put — at a known shelter — rather than fleeing.

Contributing factors

Inadequate clothingNo emergency shelter
Before you head out: check the forecast, carry the Ten Essentials, leave your plans with someone, and be willing to turn back. See current conditions →

Other recorded incidents on Mount Washington

Part of the WMNF Hiker Incident Database. Every entry cites a primary or near-primary source; details are refined as the record is reviewed.