A Portland man was rescued Thursday after his limbs froze and he became extremely hypothermic while hiking in New Hampshire.
Patrick Bittman, 28, set off alone Wednesday evening to watch the sunrise from Mount Lafayette in the White Mountains, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.
Near the top of Little Haystack on Franconia Ridge, Bittman encountered deep and blowing snow, but when he decided to turn back, he couldn’t find the trail and descended into the Dry Brook drainage, New Hampshire Fish and Game said Friday morning.
Bittman called for help about 8:15 a.m. Thursday when he could no longer move through the deep snow because his limbs froze and he became hypothermic.
Rescuers determined Bittman was about 1,000 feet off the trail around 4,300 feet in elevation. His situation was dire because temperatures hovered in the 20s with winds blowing steadily around 30 mph, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
An Army National Guard helicopter tried to reach Bittman and came within a quarter mile of him, but had to turn back because of poor visibility, forcing rescuers to reach him on foot.
They finally reached him about 1 p.m., and Bittman by this point had become extremely hypothermic. Rescuers placed Bittman in a Bothy Bag, an emergency shelter, and gave him warm clothes and fluids.
By 3 p.m., the clouds lifted, allowing the Army National Guard to reach Bittman by helicopter and lower a medic to assist him and hoist him before the clouds moved back in.
Bittman was immediately flown to Littleton Regional Healthcare, where he arrived about 3:30 p.m.
