CONTACT:
Lt. James Kneeland: (603) 744-5470
April 12, 2024
Orford, NH – Just after 3:00 p.m. on Thursday April 11, 2024, Conservation Officers from New Hampshire Fish and Game were made aware of an injured hiker on the summit of Mount Cube. A call had come into NH 911 reporting that a 56-year-old female had fallen on slippery wet rock and sustained an upper leg injury which prevented her from being able to continue. Rescuers from Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team, Orford Fire, Wentworth Fire, Hanover Fire, Lyme Fire, Thetford VT Fire, Fairlee VT Fire, and Conservation Officers responded to the trailhead.
The first rescuers reached the injured hiker at 4:56 p.m., who was about 2.2 miles from the trailhead of the Cross Rivendell Trail. They identified the injured hiker as Heather Roberts of Merrimack, NH. Due to the nature of Roberts’s injury, she was packaged into a rescue litter, with the carry out commencing shortly after 6:00 p.m. At least half of the 2.2-mile trail was snow and ice covered with deep snow in some areas, causing rescuers to post hole through much of the higher elevations.
The rescue crew made it to the trailhead on Baker Road at 7:45 p.m. Roberts was transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon by the Upper Valley Ambulance for assessment and treatment of her injury.
Roberts and her hiking partner were well prepared for a winter day hike and were wearing micro-spike traction devices. Conservation Officers want to remind people that winter conditions still persist at elevation throughout New Hampshire’s White Mountains and to prepare accordingly. Please visit www.hikesafe.com for more information.