# Hiker Dies in Catskill's Deep Snow



## catskills (Mar 16, 2010)

Poughkeepsie Man Died on Blackhead Mountain near Windham, NY


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## marcski (Mar 17, 2010)

Awful story. This was from the comments below the article:

" Thank you for your kind words. I am Seth Lyon's daughter and I would  just like it to be known that the weather forecast changed for the worse  after they had already left. Messages were left on their cell phones,  but they didn't receive them until they were well into the hike. 

Yes,  they did have snowshoes, cell phones, maps and even a compass. They  were about an hour from the lean-to where some of their gear was stored,  when they lost their way on Saturday. They did manage to get through to  a 911 operator and made a snow shelter. By Sunday morning, they had  lost mobility in their hands from the cold, and were physically unable  to strap on the snow shoes. Alberto, had lost all mobility in his legs  and was unable to walk. In a last ditch effort to find help, Seth left  on his own. Alberto was finally rescued Sunday evening after managing to  get a call through once again to the 911 operators. It was the  following day before they located Seth based on the pings emanating from  his cell phone. He had collapsed and died.

I've only met Alberto  once. Although both made detrimental mistakes on this hike, I would  like people who read this to know that Seth was not reckless, nor  inexperienced. He was prepared to expect rain, sleet and cold  conditions, but not 7-8 feet of snow. He was a compassionate, generous  man who always had a smile and found peace in the mountains. 

I  hope that other "mountaineers" will take additional precautions by  carrying whistles, flares, a portable radio and even a GPS system so  that their families don't have to experience the terrible loss that we  have. "


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## bradsmokes (May 3, 2010)

sounds good to me :flame::flame:


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## gpetrics (Jun 9, 2010)

wow this is the first time i've seen this story.... very very sad, but very interesting. I rarely hear trying or "mountaineering" SAR instances from the Catskills. Was this incident due mostly to the tremendous falling of snow, or was the party attempting a particularly difficult route (or both)?


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## dmc (Jun 9, 2010)

gpetrics said:


> wow this is the first time i've seen this story.... very very sad, but very interesting. I rarely hear trying or "mountaineering" SAR instances from the Catskills. Was this incident due mostly to the tremendous falling of snow, or was the party attempting a particularly difficult route (or both)?



Normally an easy route..   But not with 2 meters of heavy snow...

SAR is usually pulling dead people out of the base of cliffs here...


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## gpetrics (Jun 10, 2010)

thanks DMC.

yeah the 2 meters of snow was no doubt an incredible mountain hazard... very sorry to hear about this story. it's intriguing how tremendous amounts of snow are what we all dream of, but sometimes when paired with a particular set of circumstances things like this happen...


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## dmc (Jun 10, 2010)

gpetrics said:


> thanks DMC.
> 
> yeah the 2 meters of snow was no doubt an incredible mountain hazard... very sorry to hear about this story. it's intriguing how tremendous amounts of snow are what we all dream of, but sometimes when paired with a particular set of circumstances things like this happen...



Yeah - be careful what you wish for....

It was an unmanageable snow depth - compounded by by people rushing up here to ski and bitching that lifts weren't running...


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