A Massachusetts man suffering from hypothermia died at a New Hampshire hospital after he was rescued near Mount Washington on Saturday, and three Rhode Island men were guided out of the woods in a separate rescue late that night at Mount Avalon as severe wintry conditions swept through the White Mountains over the weekend.
Conservation officers pushed through snow, rain, and wind gusts topping 80 miles per hour to reach Xi Chen, 53, of Andover, who was on the Gulfside Trail and had been overcome by the severe conditions, officials said.
Rescuers carried Chen more than a mile to the summit of Mount Washington, where he was placed on a truck that took him to a hospital in Berlin, N.H., the Fish and Game Department said in a statement. He was unable to be revived despite several hours of life-saving efforts, the statement said.
Chen’s wife had contacted the department and said her husband had told her by text message that he was too cold and wet to continue on.
“He further wrote that he felt he would die without a rescue,” the department said.
Temperatures on Mount Washington hovered at or below freezing for much of Saturday and Sunday, with the wind chill making it feel closer to 6 degrees at times, according to the National Weather Service and the Mount Washington Observatory. On Sunday morning, the observatory measured 1.3 inches of snow on the peak.
“The conditions in the high peaks were treacherous,” Fish and Game said.
Conservation officers received multiple distress calls from hikers exploring the Presidential Range on Saturday, as temperatures dropped and the weather became more severe.
Three Rhode Island men — Malik Gavek, 23; Dany Gomez, 22; and Jarren Prata, 21 — were trying to hike Mount Avalon in Crawford Notch about 6 p.m. Saturday when they decided to turn back because it was getting cold and the wind was picking up, the Fish and Game Department said. Sometime during their descent, the group went off the trail and got lost, the department said.
With no flashlights or headlamps, the men could not find their way back to the trail or “self-rescue” because of the weather conditions and low visibility, the department said. They called 911 for help and were eventually met by conservation officers who gave them headlamps and guided them back to the trailhead parking area, the department said. The group was back at their car at 12:40 a.m. Sunday, the department said.
“They were wet, cold, and tired but otherwise unharmed,” the department said.
Fish and Game warned hikers to come prepared before venturing into the New Hampshire wilderness. The department recommended visitors pack 10 essential items: a map, compass, warm clothes, extra food and water, headlamp, fire starter, first aid kit, whistle, rain/wind jackets and pants, and a knife. They should also check the Observatory’s higher summits forecast.
The light coating of snow that fell over the weekend didn’t remain on the mountains for long, as temperatures rose to about 40 degrees on Mount Washington by Monday evening.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.