The body of a hiker was recovered over the weekend after his wife notified authorities he was overdue from a trek in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, authorities said Monday, Nov. 25.
The remains of Christopher Huyler, 44, of nearby Littleton, New Hampshire, were found on a ridge in Franconia Notch State Park in Franconia early Saturday after a search-and-rescue mission was launched Friday night, the state Fish and Game Department said.
“It was apparent that the man had suffered a significant fall in icy terrain,” the department said in a statement. “He was wearing micro spikes and was well equipped for a hike.”
Huyler had set off Friday to check conditions along an off-trail ski run that takes participants through a glade, a pathway lined with trees, the department said.
The glade is near state-run Cannon Mountain, a historic ski resort scheduled to open for the season on Friday. The hiker was headed to the middle of the three “Cannon Balls,” sub-peaks southwest of the mountain, the Fish and Game Department said.
At about 4 p.m. Friday, Huyler checked in with his wife to say he was fine and was making his return hike, the agency said. At 6:30 p.m. she told authorities Huyler was overdue, it said.
Search-and-rescue crews bushwhacking through cold, mountainous terrain came upon the hiker’s body within Saturday’s first hour on Kinsman Ridge, a feature that leads to Cannon Mountain, the department said.
“Just prior to 1:00 a.m., while ascending the edges of a steep iced-over slide, the body of the missing man was located at around 2,800 feet in elevation,” the Fish and Game Department said.
About 5:30 p.m., nearly two dozen rescuers, including Fish and Game Department conservation officers and volunteer members of the Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team, had amassed to help carry the hiker’s body 3.2 miles to a road with access to the trail, it said.
Huyler had parked his vehicle there Friday before embarking on his hike, the department said. The New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was expected to conduct an autopsy.
A spokesperson said the office was limited by family privacy in providing information on the decedent.
Huyler was described by the Fish and Game Department as “an avid outdoor enthusiast” familiar with the White Mountains, a range rich in winter sports history, where Cannon Mountain opened the first aerial tramway for skiers in North America in 1938.
Conditions over the weekend were cold enough to welcome 8 inches of new snow, according to Cannon Mountain’s daily weather report on Monday. The National Weather Service reported that temperatures for the town of Franconia, about 145 miles north of Boston, dipped into the mid-30s Friday night amid an overcast sky and calm winds.
“Winter conditions have arrived in the mountains, and hikers are encouraged to be prepared for their trek,” the Fish and Game Department said.
It urged hikers to pack a map, a compass, food and water, a headlamp, a fire starter, a first aid kit, a whistle, weather-worthy jackets and pants, and a knife.