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FatalityOutcome: FatalFall

Fatality — Mount Washington, Mar 9, 2024

·Mount Washington·Tuckerman Ravine (The Lip)

Madison Saltsburg, 20, of Dillsburg, PA (University of Vermont junior) · party of 2

Saltsburg and a partner ascended Left Gully on foot intending to ski; both slipped near the top of The Lip and fell about 600 vertical feet to the ravine floor. Saltsburg died of traumatic injuries; her partner sustained life-threatening injuries, and a third person was critically injured in a separate sliding fall on Hillman's Highway the same afternoon. The snowpack was refrozen and firm; avalanche hazard was LOW that day.

What we can learn

MWAC stressed that Tuckerman Ravine is mountaineering terrain where the consequences of a sliding fall on firm snow can be dire — the majority of winter fatalities there are long sliding falls, not avalanches.

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 for Mount Washington →

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.