General (revised from more
recent information)
On a hike of the Wednesday Hikers on May 22, 2002, two
people were hurt and one, Nick Styranovski, died when a boulder came
loose and rolled onto people including Nick. The group had split into
two parties with one intending to do about 6 miles and the other about
9 miles. The more ambitious group was off trail trying to avoid
crossing the stream on a woods road they were ultimately heading for.
Two were seriously injured and they were air evacuated to Westchester Medical
Center.
There were several other more minor injuries, including some to the
rescue party.
The accident occurred at an escarpment above a talus slope off the the Dark Hollow
Trail on Schunemunk near the woods road marked on the map most of the
way up the mountain.
Nick was a longtime member of NYNJTC and AMC.
He is survived by his daughter Tina, his granddaughter Mia (5 months
old), and his brother Myron. His wife recently passed
away. Nick had hiked with the informal Wednesday Hikers since its
beginning 37 years ago. Nick loved hiking, out-of-doors, and helping
others get out hiking.
Our prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to Tina and her
family.
Ed Goodell, Trail Conference Executive Director, said: "The
best that can be said about this accident is that Nick died doing what
he loved."
News articles (not all accurate
as many are based on early incomplete information)
Safety note
One lesson to learn from the accident is that when hiking on
potentially loose rock, no person should be directly below any other
person in case they knock a rock loose. In fact the further downhill
you are, the further you need to be from the direct line as rocks may
be deflected out of a straight path. You cannot predict where the
rocks will go and very likely you cannot move very far or very fast to
get out of the way. For all practical purposes, multiple people can
cross on a level (spaced a bit more than normal) but only one can
climb at a time. It is best to avoid talus slopes completely. Talus
slopes are caused by rock pealing off some source above them which may
still have more loose rocks to contribute to the slope which was
apparently the case with this accident.
Letters
Joachim Oppenheimer
 On June 6, 1986,
the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Wednesday
Hiking
Group, I took this photo of Nick and Virginia (who passed away a few
months ago). The group was begun by three friends in
Westchester. Nick was already one of the six or
seven members of that group when I was invited to join
them, probably in early 1968. Others will have many recollections and
attributes to share. I will comment only on Nick's
readiness to help those of us less agile in
stream crossing and around tough corners, his compassion and
understanding, his even temper and love of nature's solitude and
vistas.
Letter-5-26-02.pdf
Howard Chasnoff
I was one of the hikers on the outing to Schunemunk on May 22. This
was my first hike with this group. There was one large group
originally. Then the groups split up. One of them took an easy return.
Our group went on a bushwhack. There was about 25 of us . We got
to a large open talus slope. This section was about a 40
degree incline. We got up the talus slope in pretty good shape. When
we got up to the tree line (forested area), the incline was greater.
As I was climbing up the rocks, all at once in an instant, a rock was
dislodged hitting one of the hikers and I saw some bodies flying down
the slope. I originally thought it was about 5 people. It was only 3
people.
At that point after composing myself I called 911. (another hiker
had already called them). I gave the police my cell phone number and
they kept in contact with me.
Telios, another hiker, and I decided to go for help. The leader
advised us the best way to go. He had a highly visible
reflective safety blanket out on the open talus slope as a marker for
the helicopter. Since the terrain was very rugged he felt
that the only way to rescue the victims was by helicopter.
Meanwhile Telios and I were in contact with the police. When we got
to the bottom of the talus slope, they told us that they were coming
in to the woods from the Taylor Road Parking lot. We decided at that
point to follow the stream north and then hook up with the dark hollow
trail and meet them along the way. Then I got a call telling me that
there was a rescue crew down on the railroad tracks and it would be
better if we went there to hook up with them. We changed our course
and bushwhacked at 140 degrees straight down to the tracks. Some of
the descent was very steep. We got to the tracks in about a half an
hour. It was 1:36 at this point We set up a marker at the spot
where we exited the woods. We walked north along the tracks and soon
saw a number of trucks and ATV's in the right of way. We got there at
about 1:50. They asked us to navigate a crew to the spot where
we exited the woods. They would send a team up. I got into an ATV
which rode along the right of way on the east side of the tracks but I
had a hard time locating the spot. Eventually I convinced them that
locating the exact spot was of no real consequence. They should just
climb up the mountain till they get to dark hollow brook and then go
south till they see the talus slope and then climb up to find the
victims. At this point after the rescue crew left, I walked back to
the staging area along the tracks and learned that a helicopter had
lowered a person in to the accident site and made contact with the
victims. I found a number of people in the hiking party and hiked back
with them to the staging area in an open field near the intersection
of the Sweet Clover and Jessup trails.
Carolyn Henry
My condolences to the family. This news gave me a shock. You never
think this could happen. I worry about ticks not rocks. I just hiked a
section of the Long Path last Sunday from St. John's Church in the
Wilderness to Mt. Ivy by myself. Came across many problems on the
trail trying to cross a boulder stream and there was a huge hole in
one section it looked like the earth just opened up but probably was a
mud slide. Trail markings could not be found because several trees
have been cut down & even my cell phone was not working. If I had
hurt myself, there would be no one to call for help. After hearing
this sad news about a fellow hiker & a member of the AMC, I'm not
going to go hiking alone anymore.
Jane Geist
Some years ago, I was a camper at AMC's Echo Lake a week when Nick was a
leader.
One day, Nick and I sat chatting for maybe an hour after lunch.
When we left the porch and headed up the path to the tent area, another
camper, Hugh Watson, approached.
When he got to us, he said to me "Let's do it now."
I knew immediately what he meant so my response was, "Well only
if we can get someone to come along in a boat."
Turning to Nick I asked, "Will you row a boat along side Hugh
and me while we swim the length of the lake?"
Nick agreed and left immediately to row the boat down the lake to
meet Hugh and me when we started swimming from the other end of the
lake.
It was very comforting to me to have someone like Nick rowing the
boat as I swam that mile long lake. I've always been appreciative
that he did that for us.
But then that was the kind of guy he was.
Albuquerque, NM
Photos
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