Originally published at: Hiker stuck in storm for 7 hours
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That’s bad planning on their part, seems like?
I’m glad they got rescued!
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“hiker trying to summit a 13,000-foot ridge in the Colorado Rockies last Wednesday was wearing just a cotton hoodie“
Pants would really have helped him.
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… and what about his poor bare feet 
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To be honest, going naked in a snowstorm is likely (slightly) better than wearing non-weatherproofed cotton. Nothing causes hypothermia quite as quickly as walking around in soaked cotton. Wool (and to some extent silk) keeps you warm even when soaked; wet cotton increases thermal transfer between you and the environment, accelerating hypothermia and frostbite. Synthetic fibers are marginally better than cotton, but still barely usable when wet. If you get stuck in a storm, seek shelter, and get any wet clothing off of your body. Of course, this person didn’t find any shelter either, so the clothes were likely just slightly accelerating the inevitable. Good job by the rescue workers!
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I always thought one of the essentials was to make sure someone knew your trip plans and scheduled return time.
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Brr.
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Glad he’s safe. What a dingus.
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“Colorado hiker in just a hoodie got stuck in severe snowstorm for 7 hours before rescue”
A week before leaving on the hike, Jerry bought his Summit hoodie online at a deep discount (save 50% with promo code: BB) and didn’t think much of it. It was fashionable, well made and certainly something to brag about to all his co-spacers at the WeWork office downtown. But little did he know that in the space of a few short days, the hoodie would end up SAVING HIS LIFE.
/s
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i’m assuming he wasn’t a local. trying such a thing this late in the year is just asking to get caught in a snowstorm.
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We need a laugh/cry emoji because I just did both at this.
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How do you pack that?
Quite possibly the first good thing a hoodie outfit has ever done.
Well done, hoodie.
(Sorry you didn’t pack some thermals, gloves etc.)
But still hoodie, you do you.
Did the hoodie do anything beyond being worn by a person who didn’t die? 'Cause I’m pretty sure that has happened before.
I wonder what the weather forecast was before they set out on their hike? Did they even bother?
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Darwin Award near-miss - because of the kindness and commitment of strangers.
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I speak as an expert when I say, “Dunno, maybe?”
/s
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I was raised knowing the first rule of the backcountry: tell someone where you were going and when you expected to return.
I wonder if someone has created a call center where people can call in and leave their trip details and the center could alert the rescue teams if they don’t call in and report in?
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Yeah. Lucky to be alive = Lucky that 25 people were willing to go on a night hike in shitty conditions looking for him, until they found him.
A crystal-clear night at 13,000 feet might have been just as deadly. Then it gets space cold.
eta: It’s not a particularly cold night so far, no wind, and there’s a little cloud, but there’s already frost on the roof of my car, because the heat is radiating into spaaace!
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In my state Fish and Game reserves the right to charge a rescued hiker the full cost of said rescue. If a hiker was unprepared, they might get stuck with a six figure bill.
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