MILLINOCKET – A college student who spent a frigid night on Mount Katahdin when high winds blew him off a ridge and separated him from his hiking group has been rescued and was recovering Sunday.

Chris Dubois, a University of Maine student from Madawaska, was the trailing hiker making a 10-mile hike with three friends Saturday when he tumbled down a slope into some trees, Baxter State Park Director Jensen Bissell said. By the time Dubois’ friends realized he was missing, they were unable to locate him or hear him because of limited visibility and high winds.

With winds gusting over 40 mph and snow falling, the others continued hiking down the Helon Taylor Trail to the tree line, where they called for help on a cell phone.

Park rangers and search-and-rescue volunteers from Lincoln and Mount Desert searched on the ground Sunday morning, but a search helicopter was grounded because of high winds. Searchers located Dubois around noon, and a larger Maine Air Army National Guard helicopter hoisted him to safety and down the mountain, Bissell said.

“We had a happy ending,” Bissell said.

Dubois, 23, had to endure wind chill value well below zero through the night. When Bissell visited him at Millinocket Regional Hospital, Dubois was suffering leg cramps and possible frostbite but otherwise was alert and able to recount what had happened.

Mount Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and is a popular hiking destination, even in the winter when weather conditions allow.

 

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