Winter Storm: Two Friends in a Swirling Vortex

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1:26It's morning, Monday the 11th of February 2008. In the northeastern U.S., a brutal storm is sweeping through the rugged snow-covered peaks of New Hampshire's White Mountain Range. 70-mile-an-hour winds tear across the rocky slopes, grazing the ground and sending powdery puffs of fine white flakes pirouetting through the icy air. It's agonizingly cold, the temperature hovering somewhere around minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit, minus 25 degrees Celsius. Nothing and nobody should be out here in such inhospitable conditions. And yet, on a wild, exposed ridge snaking through the western heartlands of this spectacular mountain range, there are two sets of scattered footprints punched into the snow.

2:21Up ahead, a couple of small, colorful smudges recede into the distance, a pair of figures battling their way through the gale. 36-year-old James Osborne shivers inside his blue hiking jacket as he urges his aching body onwards, trying to ignore the exhaustion weighing down his limbs. Behind him is his 55-year-old companion, Fred Fredrickson. Fred's hand rests on James' shoulder, and his eyes are closed, frozen shut by the bitter, bone-biting cold. He is walking blind, relying entirely on his friend to guide him. Both men are in a bad way. They've already been out here for more than 24 hours, and have had virtually nothing to eat or drink in that time.

3:08They're running on vapors, and are already deep in the throes of hypothermia. I don't know exactly how far we walked or the length of time that we walked, because, you know, when you're hypothermic like that, you lose that sense of judgment of time and distance. Reality warps and bends as they stumble forwards, so it's impossible to say how long has passed before James suddenly realizes that Fred is no longer behind him. He stops and turns, looking back in the direction he's just come from, And there, collapsed in the snow Someway off the path Is Fred I walk back to Fred And he's laying there And I kind of shook him And I said, Fred, you need to get up We need to keep moving But it's no use Despite James' pleas, Fred cannot move Wracked by fatigue and despair James staggers sideways his own hopes of survival draining away at the sight of his friends surrendered to the elements.

4:15With no immediate prospect of rescue, it seems that both their fates are now sealed. I made my peace with the world and I said my apology to my mother for dying this way because I knew I wasn't going to survive.

4:35Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives. In this episode, we meet James Osborne. In 2008, the outdoor sports enthusiast embarks on his first winter hike, guided by his friend and colleague Fred. With the White Mountains on their doorstep, the pair take on a popular, well-trodden loop. But a combination of bad luck and bad judgment means a simple day's hike soon snowballs into a desperate battle against the fury of nature.

5:23The real premonition to me was that moment that I looked back, I could not see the trailhead, and I said to Fred, how are we going to be able to hike down if we can't see the trailhead? Caught in the middle of a raging winter storm with no tent, no provisions, and no chance of quick rescue, their only hope is to try to descend back down the mountain. But as the cold bites, the two men's decision-making starts to become erratic. And it isn't long before things spiral out of control, leading to devastating, life-shattering consequences. The way hypothermia works, it really affects your cognitive abilities and, you know, your thinking abilities.

6:09And I had no sense of how serious this situation was. I'm John Hopkins from the Noiser Podcast Network this is Real Survival Stories

6:47It's early morning on Sunday, the 10th of February, 2008. In the northeastern US state of New Hampshire, a watery winter sun drenches the snow-shrouded majesty of the White Mountains. The range sprawls across one quarter of the state and forms some of the most dramatic and rugged scenery in New England. In the west of the mountains' heartlands, a bright yellow car heads north along the interstate. Inside it, 36-year-old James Osborne and 55-year-old Lawrence Fredrickson, known to everyone as Fred, talk animatedly about their upcoming hike as the picture-perfect landscape glides past them. Around 8.30am, they turn off the road and pull into a snow-covered car park containing only a handful of other vehicles.

7:36Fred kills the engine, and the two men step out into the crisp winter air. When we got out at the trailhead, it wasn't quite knee-deep snow, but it was pretty deep snow. I remember remarking to Fred about how cold it was. Losing no time, the two friends set about organizing their gear for the day ahead. They're planning to attempt a strenuous nine-mile loop along part of the Franconia Ridge, an exposed backbone of rock connecting several major peaks in the area. Their route will see them traverse three of these, Little Haystack, Mount Lincoln, and finally, Mount Lafayette. Though it's a tough climb, this circuit is popular, offering exceptional views and providing hikers with the opportunity to conquer numerous summits in a single day.

8:27So New Hampshire has 48 4 ,000-foot peaks. And one of the things in New Hampshire is you become a peak bagger, if you will, where you hike all 48 peaks, and then also people do them in all four seasons. Fred is among the few to have summited all 48 of the 4 ,000-footers. He's also a veteran four seasons hiker, comfortable in all manner of weather. Though James is less experienced than his friend, his love of outdoor pursuits runs deep, stemming from his childhood. So I spent some time growing up in Colorado as an Army brat because my mother was an Army nurse. The vividest memories was going to the mountains and enjoying the mountains and just being outdoors in those mountain settings and hiking and camping and spending time as a child in, you know, different state park campgrounds and that sort of thing.

9:30I have just vivid memories of how beautiful Colorado is. As James grew up, his interests shifted, and he found himself immersed in city life throughout most of his 20s. In 2002, his path led him to New Hampshire, where he got a job as a driver for a local bus company. And it was here that his childhood love for the great outdoors was rekindled. All of a sudden, those vivid memories of the mountains came back because that's New Hampshire. The New Hampshire mountains and the New England mountains are very different from the western mountains of the United States. They're not as tall, they're not as steep, but they're equally beautiful and they offer equally challenging hikes.

10:14And I just started doing things outside in New Hampshire. So over the course of a few years, I developed a love for the outdoors in New Hampshire through skiing and cycling and hiking.

10:34Over time, James formed friendships with a number of work colleagues who shared his passions. Amongst these was Fred. The two men met when Fred drove to pick James up after he became stranded with a broken-down bus. We chatted for most of the ride and just kind of discovered that he was a lover of the outdoors and had been an outdoorsman his whole life and had hiked all of the 48 4 ,000-foot peaks. We just kind of hit it off in this conversation where we were riding together. He was also kind of a workout freak, constantly going to the gym, ate very healthy, probably had 20 % body fat or something like that, was just a very fit person and just one of the kindest, gentlest people that I've met.

11:29Along with a couple of colleagues, Fred and James began hiking together on their days off, and a strong bond soon formed between them. Though James was the least seasoned hiker of the group and relied heavily on his friends for guidance, his skills improved. And soon it became clear that he was ready for the next step up. One night, after watching a movie together at the local cinema, Fred and James began discussing the possibility of him tackling something more challenging. We went out for a burrito afterward, and we had a long conversation about winter hiking. And there's an element of me that's like, well, you know, the wintertime is for skiing.

12:12So, you know, I'm fine just skiing. Let's go skiing. and you know over the course of that conversation and maybe additional conversation i agreed to go on a winter hike and yeah let's do some winter hiking over the next few days james and fred discussed possible routes and started making preparations that weekend fred tackled a route he had done many times before along franconia ridge he ended up running into bad weather but And when he told his friends about it later, rather than being distressed, he appeared euphoric. Fred kind of tells us this story of getting caught in this storm and, you know, how great it was to kind of be out in that.

12:53What Fred was talking about is he's able to put a foot like over the edge into this void that is like Mother Nature. And it generates a sense of fulfillment and excitement and completion. I know as a cyclist doing a mountain descent at 40 miles an hour, and that's not even like nearly as close as what the pros do. But I get that same feeling, right? Taking a step over into this danger zone.

13:26Throughout the following week, Fred and James finessed their plan. On Sunday the 10th of February They would tackle the same Franconia Ridge Loop Fred had completed in the storm Just a week earlier It's a route both of them already know And it's considered a great test piece For new winter hikers We talked about the plans for this hike As I recall we briefly talked about the weather I don't know that Fred blew off the weather I certainly relied on my other hiking friends To kind of make the plans And I just kind of went with it But the forecast isn't looking good. There is a storm front coming in, with warnings of high, icy winds from 7pm on Sunday evening.

14:09Weather patterns in these mountains are notoriously unpredictable, but Fred is certain that he and James will have completed their hike by the time the front hits, and will be safely out of harm's way.

14:23And when the two men hit the trail at around 8.45am on Sunday the 10th, there is little indication of anything ominous on the horizon. Their spirits are high. Fred, as usual, is leading, with James following close behind. They move quickly through the snow, the sharp, crisp scent of pine filling their nostrils. One of the appeals of winter hiking is the lack of crowds, and as they follow the path veering upward through the trees towards the first summit, they encounter few other people. Despite the nip in the air, the steep gradient soon has both men sweating, forcing them to remove some layers.

15:02Around midday, they stop for lunch. And that's when they hear footsteps coming towards them. We encountered this man that was hiking down. So he had hiked up. He had seen that the summit was socked in. and you couldn't see anything, and he knew that weather was coming. And we blew him off. We didn't heed his warning, because his warning was, you're not going to see anything, maybe just go up and come back down, or something like that. James and Fred are unperturbed by the man's words. After all, the main point of today's expedition is for James to experience his first winter hike. There'll be other opportunities to admire the view.

15:44However, as they eat their sandwiches, It doesn't take long before a major chill sets in. I remember in the span of 10 or 15 minutes that we sat there, the temperature probably dropped 20 degrees. And, I mean, I feel like I knew that, you know, this is the sign of an impending front coming in, right? And that was the front coming in. At around 12.15 p.m., James and Fred set off again. They're running slightly later than planned, but still believe they have time to finish their hike before bad weather really hits. As they approach the treeline, they don extra layers, in anticipation of being more exposed to the elements.

16:28They emerge from the forest into the barren upper slopes of Little Haystack. The cold air is dreary and opaque, the path shrouded in shreds of fog and cloud. As they toil up towards the summit, guided by loose piles of rock cans, a prickle of unease wends its way through James. I remember saying to Fred that, you know, the visibility was so poor, like, how are we going to tell how to get down? And I remember looking back, and you couldn't even see the top of the trail where we had just walked from. It was enough of a moment that I did question what we were doing. And Fred said something to the effect of, we'll be fine.

17:16Confident in Fred's judgment and hiking expertise, James follows his friend. Around 1 p.m., they reach the summit of Little Haystack, the first and smallest of the three peaks they intend to traverse today. They are over 4 ,700 feet up, but just as they were warned, the usually magnificent views are today non-existent. After pausing to make final adjustments to their gear, they head out across the ridge towards the next peak, trekking into flurries of snow and clouds of freezing fog. Conditions are rough, but not that dissimilar to what Fred experienced when he hiked the route just one week before.

17:55So, despite all the warning signs, the two friends don't even discuss the possibility of turning back. I mean, what prompted me to continue is we hike mountains. That's what we do. And there wasn't any one thing in that moment in time that said we should turn around. It wasn't like there was lightning off in the distance that said we should turn around. There also might be, and I've thought about this a lot over the years, hypothermia can be gradual. I think it can affect you in ways that maybe you don't even realize. And I have always kind of wondered, was it actually starting to set in that early in our hike that it was, you know, affecting judgment in terms of, should we keep going on this hike?

18:50Fred and James plow forwards along the ridgeline, heading doggedly for Mount Lincoln. Despite the bleakness of the weather They keep up a steady pace And within an hour or so They're approaching the main climb to the summit But then, out of nowhere Everything changes It is truly one of the most remarkable moments in my life Because it was like someone turned on a switch And you know how you turn on a switch In the middle of the night in the bedroom And boom, all of a sudden There's more light than you need It hurts your eyes. It was similar in that someone turned on this switch, and all of a sudden, we were in this 70-mile-an-hour wind blowing right into our faces.

19:40James and Fred have walked straight into the path of the predicted storm front. Squalls seem to attack them from all directions, so strong they nearly knock the two men off their feet. A deafening chorus fills their ears, the winds howling and screaming like banshees. A swirling vortex of snow suddenly swallows the two lone figures on the ridge. In a matter of seconds, their entire situation has drastically deteriorated. It instantly cooked your breath away. It instantly made you cold. and right away it made me realize that there is no earthly way that we could endure to continue hiking in this condition.

20:24It simply was not possible.

20:35The very air around James seems to roar and shudder as the winds batter the narrow rocky ridge where he stands. Volatile gusts of up to 70 miles an hour slam into the ground, scattering handfuls of snow all around The temperature has suddenly plummeted, the wind chill making it feel even colder James doesn't know it yet, but in conditions like these, exposed skin will develop frostbite within 30 minutes A little way ahead, he can just make out Fred's bright yellow jacket coming back towards him A vibrant speck of color against the whiteout When Fred reaches him, he yells into James' ear, trying to make himself heard above the squall.

21:19He says they need to turn back towards the safety of the trees further down the mountainside. But when they begin to walk, it quickly becomes clear they're not going to get far. The less experienced James is struggling to make progress against these winds, and is finding it hard to keep up with Fred. With his friend falling behind, Fred retraces his steps until he is standing beside James, who now insists on a new course. The wind was so loud that I had to be like mouth to ear and talk directly into his ear. And then he had talked directly into my ear for us to communicate. And what I said was we needed to seek shelter.

22:05I really had no business being up there because I don't really know what to do in that kind of emergency situation. How do you seek shelter on the side of this winter mountain with these gale force winds? I don't know.

22:23Luckily, Fred does. Persuaded by James' plea, he leads them towards the base of the slope heading up to Mount Lincoln. Within minutes, he's found a rocky outcropping a little way below the ridge. Here, between a jumbled mass of ancient granite slabs and boulders, is a small, narrow chamber, just long enough for them to lie in side by side. It's not much, but at least it will provide some respite from the elements. It's got just enough room for us to kind of shimmy in there and be out of the direct wind. The problem that I now have come to appreciate is we were laying down on rock without anything between our bodies and the rock.

23:06and what I've come to read and learn is like in terms of hypothermia, it's one of the worst things you can do because something like a concrete or rock surface is absolutely going to drain the heat out of your body.

23:23Fred places himself nearest the mouth of the chamber, his body providing an extra buffer between James and the maelstrom outside. He seals the exit as best he can using some of their gear. Then the two men cover themselves with space blankets to try and keep out the worst of the cold. They share a chocolate bar and the remains of some lukewarm tea from a thermos flask and try to formulate a plan. They have little water left, and what they do have has now been frozen solid by the extreme drop in temperature. Their only remaining food consists of a handful of energy bars, and they have no means of starting a fire.

24:03Though they are out of direct wind, there is no telling how long they might be stuck here, or when the storm might abate Assuming there would be no signal in the mountains, neither man has packed a phone And since both are currently single, there is nobody at home to raise the alarm if they don't return on time I think cell phones like smartphones had just started to come out If that hike happened today, I would have my phone with me and I'd probably have a phone battery because you always bring an extra battery if you're going out for one of these all-day adventures. So there's these little quirks of kind of history with the two of us that, you know, only compounded the problem, right?

24:45There's no way for us to communicate with the outside world. No one had a firm grasp of our plans and knew exactly where we were, exactly when we were going to be overdue, what to do when we were overdue. You know, we were completely missing that element. It's possible nobody will even notice their absence until they fail to show up for work the following morning. Facing a long, cold night on the mountain, James and Fred agree that they won't fall asleep at the same time. That shouldn't be too much of a challenge. Their lodgings are hardly luxurious, and as darkness descends, sleep is an elusive prospect.

25:25In the empty hours until dawn, there is little to do but wait and talk. It was lighthearted at times. And we also had a deeply personal conversation, you know, talking about our first girlfriends and our first loves. So we had really just this normal conversation of two people that might be stranded and kind of talking about themselves. You know, it could have been a conversation in an airport where you're stranded because of flight delays and just the conversation you have. And then again, mixed in with this kind of crisis management conversation as well. The night wears on as the storm howls outside.

26:10Yet there is a peculiarly warm sense of camaraderie inside their little shelter. In the inky darkness, Fred recites passages of literature and poetry, whilst James repeats Bob Dillon lyrics. Occasionally, they make themselves crawl out into the storm to stretch their aching, freezing limbs and assess the weather. But no opportunity for escape presents itself, and each time they're forced back into their shelter. All their clothes are soon damp, and their energy bars frozen solid. The chill of the stone beneath them penetrates deep into their bodies, leeching any remaining warmth from them.