Derek slumped over into the snow. Hypothermic from the 120 mph winter winds and the 40 below zero temperature, Jeremy and Derik knew they were in trouble. Wind tearing through them like needles piercing skin. At the top of Mount Jefferson in New Hampshire more than 5,000 feet . They didn't have a tent. They didn't have a way to communicate with anyone else . They didn't have any help coming at all.  They knew that they were in deep, deep trouble.

Death was in the wind.

This is the story of some of my Dad's college friends at UNH trying to do the hardest hike in New Hampshire in the middle of the winter. The story starts all the way back in the 1990’s with my Dad's friends Jeremy and Chris. They were going to try something called a Winter Presidential Traverse. The duo was going to hike over 20 tedious, cold and dangerous miles across all of the Presidential Mountains in New Hampshire in a straight line, in the middle of the winter.  The winds get over 100 mph and the temperatures drop into the negatives with a windchill of negative 100 degrees fahrenheit cold enough to freeze boiling water instantly and cold enough to kill.

The first winter presidential traverse trip that Jeremy Hoss went on was with his friend Chris. They were successful in making it down and across all of the mountains alive in just three days. However Chris lost three of his toes to frostbite due to the sub freezing temperatures and the rough winds and conditions. My dad remembers visiting Chris in the UNH health center and Chris being wheeled around in a wheelchair for a few months because he could not walk with his destroyed toes and feet. Jeremy on the other hand managed to make it out alive and without any long lasting harm.

My Dad remembers Jeremy ( the leader of the expedition) as a very intense guy.  “ He was a good athlete and he was driven,” my dad says, remembering back on the mountain bike rides they took together. “He would hammer the whole entire time going as fast as he could and sometimes leaving his company behind but he was a really nice guy.” Jeremy was too ambitious for his own good.” He would just jump into a challenge going too fast and without proper equipment. This combination of things leads to inevitable failure. He was just stretching his luck until his luck caught up with him.

The year is 1994. It's right around Christmas time and Jeremy decided he wanted to do the traverse again even though his friend Chris had lost three of his toes the previous year. He invited a bunch of his friends along including my dad,but luckily my dad declined knowing the danger of the hike that had already claimed 100’s and thousands of cold related injuries like frostbite and hypothermia. There was someone that was not as keen to decline. That person was Derik.

 Derik was a 20 year old college kid from Rhode Island that was way in over his head. Even though the warnings from Jeremy saying that it was going to be “ the most difficult, the most painful thing he will ever experience” Derik still agreed to go on the trip. He said this was something he very much wanted to experience “to get near the edge of life and death.”

The duo decided that they wanted to attempt the traverse over their winter break in January. On January 14 1994 they set out for the start of the hike but, they had already made a mistake they did not bring a tent. Their plan was to sleep in snow caves that they would either find or dig along the way. This went well for them until that Saturday when they had reached the top of Mount Jefferson after a long few days on the presidential traverse ridge trail. The weather had taken a turn for the worst and they were getting slammed by the winds. The winds were way below freezing with wind chills in the negative 10s and sometimes into the negative 100s. Derik, lacking experience, had become hypothermic and was slowly fading away. He kept getting blown over by big gusts of howling wind trying to take his life away when suddenly he collapsed right on the summit . Jeremy needed to help Derik quickly so he tore off his gloves and bundled Derik into his sleeping bag knowing this was the only way Derik might survive the night. The wind had blown Jeremies gloves away while he was focused on Derek and the sleeping bag. Jeremy knew that they both would not survive the night without help. No gloves and no partner In the cold and wind with his hand tucked under his armpits already frozen shut after a matter of minutes Jeremy began to run. He knew he was running for not only his life but the life of his friend.“They felt like they were made of wood.” Is what he ended up saying about his frozen hands in a Boston Globe interview a year later. He went clambering and tripping up the rocky trail. Wind, snow and ice were blowing him and slowly killing him as he ran along narrow ridges and cliffs. The whole mountain seemed like it was trying to kill him. He was a small dot running up the back of a giant beast. The wind and ice slowly crept up his fingers into his hands and arms. Slowly but surely destroying his body.  Four hours later he arrived at the summit of Mount Washington. He started slamming his body and his wooden hands against the observatory wall where he knew help would be inside. The wind was so loud that the scientist inside could not hear his cries for help. He stood there repeatedly slamming his hands and his body against the observatory like a drum. “Boom” “boom” “boom”. Exhausted and cold, the people inside finally heard him and let him in. Jeremy was safe for the night.

Unfortunately for Derik the conditions were too severe for a search and rescue team to leave that night to try and save him. The rescue team would be risking their own lives to make the rescue. They would have to wait for the next weather window to attempt the 5.3 mile hike. The next morning the search and rescue team was sent to the summit of Jefferson. Derik was dead. Only half in his sleeping bag with a lightweight hat, gloves and a parka the wind had blown all of the life out of his lungs. The ice had taken over his body and he was completely frozen, his body not being able to tolerate another battle. Jeremy ended up getting a ride down in a snow cat and only ended up losing one of his fingers to frostbite but getting a memory he will never forget.

When I see my dad talk about this I can tell that he is remembering back in a little bit of pain. He ended up moving away to Wisconsin the following year and he has not talked to Jeremy since. However Jeremy has left a lasting impact on my dad and his memories of college for the rest of his life. All these places in this story my dad has hiked and all these people in this story my Dad has met.

The expedition is considered one of the worst planned expeditions in the white mountains, ever. The duo experienced hypothermia, frostbite, exposure, inadequate clothing and equipment, failure to turn back, exceeding abilities, weather and separation. The moral of the story is to make sure you know what you're getting into before you start. The lack of preparation and your own pride and ambition can ultimately be your downfall. In this case it was.  They had the option to turn back and head down to some of the lower huts that were only about a mile away. Their own pride and their failure to turn back is what ultimately killed Derik .