SARGENT'S PURCHASE, N.H. —

Nearly two dozen hikers had to be rescued off Mount Washington Saturday after being surprised by early-season snow.

The hikers made it to the 6,300-foot summit on their own, but when they got there, they found two to three inches of snow and a howling wind.

The operators of the Cog Railway said some of the hikers were underdressed and wearing sneakers.

They said some were shivering and close to hypothermia.

Some hikers had expected to catch a shuttle bus back to the base, without realizing that the road to the summit was already closed for the season.

“I'd say maybe a good quarter of those may not have made it down,” said Andy Vilaine of the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. “Some of those more serious cases that were already soaked through and beginning those ea

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