Two experienced hikers were rescued after an hourslong ordeal in which they became stranded in waist-deep snow and whiteout conditions on New Hampshire's challenging Mount Washington.

If a pair of Massachusetts hikers had not properly prepared for a hike on Mt. Washington Sunday, they may not have survived the conditions they encountered, officials said.

The two women called 911 just after 6 p.m. on Sunday after they became lost off the Jewell Trail, officials said.

They were in waist-deep snow and whiteout conditions. They were lost on the tallest mountain in the Northeast, known for its extreme, changeable weather. “That snow has nothing to stick to,” said Amy Cotter,