# Madison Death/Washington Rescue



## Greg (Sep 12, 2002)

> ...Meanwhile, in Chandler’s Purchase, rescuers braved rugged weather in the Presidential Range to carry an injured hiker off Mount Washington. They will also return this morning to Mount Madison to retrieve the body of a second man stricken late yesterday.
> 
> Fish and Game Sgt. Doug Gralenski said last night that 11 conservation officers, as well as personnel from Mount Washington State Park, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the SOLO wilderness school and Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue were bringing a Connecticut man down from Mount Washington after he was injured in a fall near the Lake in the Clouds hut yesterday afternoon.
> 
> ...



*Source: Strong winds injure three, cut electricity*http://www.theunionleader.com/Articles_show.html?article=14079, Union Leader, September 12, 2002


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## pedxing (Sep 13, 2002)

*More Details on the death...*

(I wonder if the head injury two days earlier was connected.)


Virginia man dies
on Mount Madison 
By LORNA COLQUHOUN 
Union Leader Correspondent

LOW AND BURBANK’S GRANT — An autopsy will be conducted on a Virginia man who died Wednesday on Mount Madison, according to Fish and Game officials. 

Peter Busher, 71, of Chester Gap, Va., was found late that day about a quarter-mile from the Madison Spring hut, on the slopes of the 5,363-foot summit, according to Fish and Game Sgt. Doug Gralenski. 

Busher, who was hiking alone, had left Maine and had been on the Appalachian Trail for about a month, Gralenski said. The man’s diary indicated he had fallen and suffered a head injury on Monday. Other hikers came upon him and sought help from the crew at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s hut a short distance away. 

Without a stretcher, the crew carried Busher to the hut, but Gralenski said the hiker died before they could reach it. 

“When the team from the hut got to him, he was alive, but in poor condition,” he said. “He had been very exposed to the wind and elements and they were attempting to get him back to the hut when he passed away.” 

At the time the hut crew was aiding Busher, two dozen volunteers and conservation officers headed up Mount Washington in winter conditions to carry an injured Connecticut man from Lake in the Clouds. He was brought off the mountain by 9 p.m. 

“We were stretched thin, but we would have gotten people up (to Mount Madison) if Mr. Busher had not passed away,” Gralenski said. 

Volunteers from the SOLO wilderness school in Conway, as well as Upper Valley Search and Rescue, the AMC and conservation officers helped to bring Busher’s body off the mountain. They departed the Valley Way trail at 8:30 a.m. and were down by 3 p.m. 

Conditions along the Presidential Range had changed quickly to winter-like weather, with “horizontal wind, rain and ice,” Gralenski said. 

The incidents illustrate how quickly conditions in the White Mountains can change, he said.


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## Little Bear (Sep 13, 2002)

I met this man on South Carter (and again at Mt. Hight) last Saturday. He was thru-hiking the AT.  I was stunned to learn of his death.  He had started in Georgia in March and hiked to Virginia (he lived near Front Royal), then flip-flopped to Katahdin to head south to Virginia.  We chatted with him for a long time and shared some food.  He was full of life and excited to be on the trail.  How sad that the White Mountains claimed him before he was able to complete his dream.  At least he died in what he called "the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen!"  doing what he loved best.  May he rest in peace.


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## Michelle (Sep 13, 2002)

Wow, thanks for sharing your first hand experience with us. It always adds a personal touch to the name and incident we just read about. 

That is really sad that he wasn't able to make it home. Atleast we know that he had some great times shortly beforehand. Thought to his family.


Thanks for sharing.


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## Anonymous (Sep 14, 2002)

*I met him too*

I met him on the Osgood trail Tuesday the 10th on our way to Madison.  He had fell in a river crossing on Monday.  My freind John and I offered to look at his wound but he said he was ok.  The last thing he said to us was "Hike slow but hike far".  How sad.....


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## Little Bear (Sep 17, 2002)

Because he was such a delightful man, I thought his family might like to hear from folks who had talked/hiked with him this summer.  After a little detective work I found out that he has a surviving sister who contacted the Appalachian Trail Conference and said that she would love to hear from any hikers who knew him.

If you are interested in contacting her, her name, address, and phone number are:

Mary Kaylor
61 Townline Road
Pearl River, NH  10965
845-623-4962


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## Little Bear (Sep 18, 2002)

Ooops....That's Pearl River, NY not NH.  Sorry.


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## Anonymous (Sep 19, 2002)

*Peter Busher*

I am Peter Busher's sister, Mary. Thank you so much for your e-mail. It was a terrible shock to lose him this way--but he was truly doing something he loved. His big dream was to finish the whole trail--and he almost succeeded.  Aside from the beauty of the Trail itself, he loved the people he met.  It's just been wonderful hearing from so many who met Pete somewhere along the way.  Thanks again.


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## Anonymous (Sep 19, 2002)

*peter*

hello, i am petes nephew. my mom(mary) had told me to look at this site. i am so glad some of you got to share time with peter. i just spoke with some of his family and they all shared stories of petes love of life and how he talked about all the people he has met. i truly feel that if you ever ran across him your day was a little brighter because of it.


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