One, long whistle for Lizzie. To herald their arrival on the summit, the locomotives of the Mt. Washington Cog Railway typically sound one, long whistle (or horn, in the case of the diesels), as they approach the bottom of the "Slingshot", which is the short, steep stretch from the Homestretch to the summit. Typically, this will happen as they pass the Lizzie Bourne Monument, which is the little cairn you see in this image, right beside the locomotive's tender. Although the arrival whistle is traditional, and not related to the monument, the long, mournful blast that the steam engineers typically blow seems an appropriate tribute to the 23 year-old woman who died on this spot back in September of 1855, as she and her family attempted to climb to the summit. There was no cog railway back then. Just a steep, winding carriage road on the east side of the mountain. The family started their hike a bit late in the day, and arrived just below the summit in the dark, just as a storm was blowing in. They spent the night trapped, just a hundred yards or so below the safety of the Summit House. Although the other members of her family managed to survive, young Lizzie perished that night. Although hypothermia was likely the cause, she may have also had other, undiagnosed medical conditions that contributed to her sudden passing. She was not the first hiker, nor the last to die up here. This mountain seems to claim about one per year and the list is long.
Footnote: Just a month before I posted this image, and just before Thanksgiving, 2022, another young woman perished while hiking due on another nearby peak in New Hampshire's White Mountains. The body of young Emily Sotelo was found by rescue teams on what would have been her 20th birthday, 3 days after she failed to return from a hike. Sadly, officials say she was not properly dressed or equipped for the incredibly harsh conditions that November can bring to the mountains here in the Granite State.
