Teen hiker lost for 3 nights in NH is found safe

 A 17-year-old Eagle Scout lost for three nights around the highest mountain in the Northeast was found safe and well Tuesday.
    Scott Mason was spotted Tuesday morning moving on a ridge northwest of Mount Washington, Fish and Game Dept. Major Tim Acerno said. Rescuers were guiding him to an area where a snow vehicle would bring him down to safety.
    Mason, of Halifax, Mass., headed up Mount Washington early Saturday and was planning to hike 17 challenging miles in one day. The 6,288-foot mountain is notorious for its unpredictable and often treacherous weather, including the highest surface wind speed ever recorded on Earth — 231 mph. Forecasts for Tuesday afternoon warned of possible thunderstorms and wind gusts to 75 mph.
    Searchers had been following intermittent boot tracks consistent with someone who was disoriented or lost, Acerno said.
    Earlier, Acerno said searchers in six teams of four used ropes and temporary bridges as they approached the area from two directions, but had difficulty moving in waist-deep, soft snow.
    Acerno said the unusually warm, humid weather since Saturday worked for and against Mason: Searchers weren’t worried about hypothermia, but they said the melting snow had led to high rivers that would be difficult for him to cross.
    Mason’s family were gathered at a visitor center, studying a terrain model of the White Mountains as Acerno communicated by radio with rescuers.
    After learning of the rescue, Scott’s father, Mike Mason, said he believed his son didn’t panic.
    ‘‘I hung in there because I had a sense he would hunker down and he was gonna pass this test,’’ Mason said. ‘‘This is his basketball, football, this is what he loves.’’
    Mason’s mother said he was an experienced hiker, but not in extreme conditions, and probably did not have overnight gear.
    Before leaving an Appalachian Mountain Club bunkhouse Saturday morning, Mason said he planned to climb Mount Washington, then take the Appalachian Trail north to the summits including Mounts Jefferson, Adams and Madison. He left the ridgeline around Mount Clay, descending into an area known as the Great Gulf Wilderness, where he was blocked by a river until he was found late Tuesday morning.
    Mike Mason said he is sure his son will hike again.
    ‘‘Not alone. We’ll let him join the AMC. He’ll hike again,’’ he said.