Emily Sotelo: Teen dies trying to climb NH mountain in sub-zero weather in 'light pants and jacket'
WESTFORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Emily Sotelo, the 19-year-old daughter of two New Hampshire doctors, reportedly did not take proper precautions for cold weather conditions when she attempted to climb the summit of one of the state's mountains in November. She had already scaled 40 of New Hampshire's 48 peaks over 4,000ft, only in a couple of years after she started hiking. Unfortunately, she died the same month while trying to scale all of the mountains, with her body being discovered three days after she reportedly disappeared on what would have been her 20th birthday.
The college sophomore almost had no experience with winter hiking and under brutal conditions where temperatures remain between 5 degrees and sub zero, and with gusts of wind up to 95 mph. Officials reportedly said that she did not have any of the basic equipment that would have prepared her for the harsh conditions that eventually killed her. Sotelo's mother Olivera, who is a psychiatrist, and gastroenterologist father Jorge are now considering launching a nonprofit foundation in her memory, that included recurring themes of her life and the lessons of her death - The Emily M Sotelo Safety and Persistence Foundation, as per Daily Mail.
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Her parents also shared distressing details of Sotelo's final outing to help prevent other hikers from suffering a similar fate. She had determined that she would complete her 48-mountain quest by her birthday. The young hiker was not equipped with any of the essentials that officials recommend for day hikes, even in the summer, according to Fish and Game Lt James Kneeland. Even essential things such as maps, compasses, or matches, a must for any hiker, were not present with Sotelo. She also did not have any flashlights or headlamps, although her parents said that she used her phone as a light and had a backup battery pack.
She had granola bars, a banana and water that likely froze very early on, Kneeland said, according to Daily Mail. She wore long underwear but only light pants and a jacket. She had heated gloves and a neck warmer but no hat. Instead of insulated boots, recommended for winter, she had shoes for trail running or trekking. "I often refer to them as a glorified sneaker," Kneeland said, adding, "Low on the ankle, no ankle support. Probably what happened is, when you start postholing in snow and underbrush, they get pulled off."
Kneeland said that Sotelo's incident served as an example to other hikers that they should not only be prepared well but should also be ready to turn back. "Those mountains, as we often say, aren't going anywhere," Kneeland said. She began her hike on Sunday, November 20, and had planned to hike alone for three days. She also decided to have her mother join her on Wednesday, November 23, and celebrate with a dinner at the grand Mount Washington Hotel.
She informed her mother that she had checked the weather just like her mother but only saw the forecast for where they were staying in Franconia. "It was cold, but ... I didn't know anything about the mountains or anything else. It did not look bad," Olivera said. Before setting out, Sotelo and her mother shopped for food and she did some schoolwork prior to setting an alarm for 4 am. Her mother dropped her off at a trailhead at 4.30 am the following morning and planned to pick her up after eight hours.
Sotelo sent a text at 5 am, listing what she wanted for lunch, which even included quinoa, chicken, papaya, coffee and water. Olivera sent a text to her daughter at 11 am when it started to snow lightly, asking how the hike was going but there was no response. Soon, search and rescue crews headed up Mount Lafayette that afternoon as the temperature dropped down to single digits and wind speeds remained 40-60 mph through the night.
Some of Sotelo's belongings and possible tracks in the snow were found by the searchers on Tuesday, November 22, but it took them almost two hours to travel 900ft. The search was called off for the day as it was getting dark although a helicopter spotted more tracks. Her body was found on Wednesday morning near the headwaters of Lafayette Brook, three-fourths of a mile from the trail, just after 11 am after three teams approached the area from different directions.