The Forest Service has announced the death of a climber on Mount Washington. Jeremy Ullmann, 37, of Somerville, Mass., died Feb. 10 after a long, sliding fall in the Huntington Ravine area.
NHPR’s Sean Hurley spoke with the Forest Services’ Frank Carus who led the search and rescue attempt.
Frank Carus says Dr. Ullmann, a neuroscientist at Boston Children’s Hospital, was wearing crampons and making his approach to a more technical part of Central Gully when he slipped and fell more than 300 feet into a boulder strewn area known as the Fan.
“The scratches on the snow indicate that he made an attempt to arrest,” Carus says. “He had two ice axes one of which dragged quite well through the snow for a long distance.”
Although Dr. Ullmann was an experienced rock climber and mountaineer, Carus says this was an accident that could have happened to anyone.
“The thing that's so unfortunate about these events is it's just easy to chalk it up as some fool in the hills you know? But this guy is no fool you know. He's a smart man and like many of us likes to go find joy in the mountains. You know, and it didn't work out that day.”
Dr. Ullmann leaves behind his wife Kylie, and their 3-year old son, Oscar.
