Backcountry skier tumbles hundreds of feet down New Hampshire mountain

A 37-year-old backcountry skier tumbled hundreds of feet down a Mount Washington ski run before being rescued by onlookers, New Hampshire officials reported.

Kirsten Hugger, of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, fell while skiing on a ski run known as Airplane Gully, the state Department of Fish and Game said in a news release.

Hugger tumbled several hundred feet, striking rocks, in the 2:50 p.m. accident Saturday, May 21, the release said.

Onlookers and other skiers called 911, then carried Hugger 700 vertical feet to the Great Gulf’s rim, officials said. They flagged down a passing train to take her to a ranger station.

Hugger, an experienced backcountry skier, had injuries that were not considered life-threatening but prevented her from leaving the ravine on her own.

She and her companion had switched to the Great Gulf for a last run down the mountain after skiing earlier on the East Snow Fields, the release said.

At 6,288 feet, Mount Washington is New Hampshire’s highest peak.