Pam Berry, like her three older brothers, all star basketball players, was one of the tallest students attending Eufaula High School, Eufaula, Alabama. She too was a star basketball player. That was all that was good about her school social life. Being taller, at 6' 2", than most of the boys guaranteed that she was not invited to the dances, or parties. Not having any breast development did not help, nor the "Tom boy" image she had because her brothers included her in their basketball games and other rough activities. Through her senior year, she maintained a 3.8 GPA. Even thought she wore no makeup, some of the men teachers would comment to each other; " why don't the boys go after that one? She is going to be a gorgeous woman."
Fourteen Universities offered her a full scholarship to play basketball for them. After visiting all, she decided that she would attend the University of Vermont. The year before they had an undefeated season and were in the final four. UVM is located in Burlington, on the shores of Lake Champlain. Within twenty minutes, you can be hiking in the Green Mountains, or be skiing at Stowe, the best ski area on earth. With an enrollment of 16,000, Pam thought that she would not be just a number.
Her social life did not improve. She had no interest in drinking parties. Had no interest in boys that were immature, or only just wanted to "fuck." She dated a few times, but when a guy realized that everything that came out of her mouth made precise sense, it scared them, and they were gone. It was going to take a smart, self-confident, man's man to win this woman.
During her senior year, she moved off campus and bought a Labrador retriever, that she named, "Bo." She had a bad case of "Cabin fever", due to the long winter. She vowed that the first nice day, she would take Bo and climb to the top of "Camel's Hump", a mountain of 4,320 feet, that she could see out of her window.
Friday, April 2, after her 8 AM class finished, she changed her clothes and was off to climb the mountain, with Bo. It was one of those days that the temperature is 34 in the AM, 56 at noon, and 34 the next night. That was the Burlington temperature, not what went on at 4,000 feet. Pam was what is known to native Vermonters as a "Flatlander." This denotes a person that can not drive in snow, and has no understanding of the weather pattern changes that can occur in the mountains.
In the Spring, a series of intense low pressure systems march their way across the country. What will happen to the weather in Vermont on a given day often is decided by the path of the center of the storm, weather it is north or south of a given point. Venturing into the mountains, a Vermonter will include in their backpack, rain gear, extra shirts, Gore Tec hat, and plenty of food. Pam had none of this, and hardly had enough on for the 45 degrees she found at the top of the mountain when she arrived at 2 PM.
Pam found a spot in the sun, sheltered from the wind, She and Bo lay down on the moss for a nap. From the Northwest, a front of extremely dark broiling clouds advanced toward the mountain. The clouds shut off the sun, the wind changed and sheets of pouring rain struck Pam. Thinking that it might pass, she tried to keep dry by placing her back against recession in the cliff. Within minutes she was soaked. The temperature was down to thirty, and falling fast. She started down the mountain. To save time, she took the cliff side and had descended a few hundred feet when the freezing rain came, coating everything with an inch of the slickest ice you can imagine. The second time she fell, she begin to slide to the edge which would have resulted in a two hundred foot fall had she not caught a branch. She could go no further. Hypothermia would extinguish her life within 40 minutes unless something intervened.
"Buck" Chittenden was a fifth generation Vermonter. He grew up in the house that his father was born in. Dad had first taken him hunting on the Northwest face of "Camel's Hump", when he was age 4. He too was a senior at UVM, but it was on the mountain that he found his refuge from the pressures of his school work. He especially like to be near the top of the mountain when the Bears leave their dens with their cubs. He would find such a group and observe them from a couple hundred yards.
Knowing that severe weather would occur, he was prepared. Located two hundred yards below Pam, he had set up the two man tent, double tied the pegs and anchored his "fly" over the tent with heavy rope. He would be comfortable even if it went to twenty below. He laid out his three hundred dollar, big man's, mummy, down filled sleeping bag. It was designed for men up to 6' 8" and 250 pounds. Buck was 6' 7" and 200.
Buck thought he heard a noise above the din of the rain hitting the tent, howling of the wind, and flapping tent sides. Bo's nose was a few inches from his eyes when he peeked outside. At first thinking it was a bear, Buck fell backward, trying to get back. Then laughing at himself, he opened the tent a few inches for a better look. Bo was no run away dog. His bright red new collar and shiny coat indicated that this was a house dog. Buck knew that there had to be someone out there in the storm. His mountain man savvy told him that the someone had to be in dire trouble. It was funny no longer. Noting the coating of ice, he knew his life would be on the line. True to the Code of a Vermont Mountain Man, he vowed that he would find and save this person, or he would die trying. He carefully dressed, and put on small four point ice creepers to the bottom to his boots. They were not much, but they might help.
Bo was posturing like a dog wanting to go out as Buck emerged from the tent. Buck followed him to the base of the cliff ledges. Barely through the sheets of sleet, he saw someone sitting holding their knees above him. It took him fifteen minutes to reach this person, that turned out to be a woman. Her lips were blue, she was still trembling, ( A good sign. when they stop shivering, death will occur within minutes) Her eyes had a blank stare. She said nothing. Knowing that she could not stand or walk, he picked her up with a "fireman's carry." She was positioned with her body across his shoulders. He held her left arm and left leg. It was one thing to climb with your hands free to grab the base of small trees. It was quite another to descend with a 130 pound woman over your shoulders.
