The trouble started at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Mount Washington State Park staff were notified by a group of hikers that two people that had been with them had slowed down and might need help. Rescuers weren’t done until well after 1 in the morning as 1-and-a-half inches of rain fell.
Winds were gusting at 58 mph, the wind chill was 29 degrees and the weather conditions were continuing to deteriorate, according to a Facebook post by the New Hampshire Fish and Game department.
A staff member hiked down and found Phaneendra Uppalapati, 44, and Shirisha Mallala, 41, both from Nashua, N.H., just below the Lion Head Trail junction. Both were “extremely wet and cold,” according to the post.
