Backcountry rescuers recognized after subzero Camel's Hump mission

March 9, 2026  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team members left to right: Capt. Eric LaRose, Bill Lammer, Chris Cote and Lt. Adam Mattessich. Courtesy photo

Four members of the Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team were recognized last week for their extraordinary efforts during a harrowing recent nighttime rescue mission in subzero conditions on Camel’s Hump. 

Waterbury Ambulance Service Chief Zach Rounds at the service’s monthly meeting last week presented a unit citation and medals of valor to team members Capt. Eric LaRose, Bill Lammer, Chris Cote and Lt. Adam Mattessich. The backcountry team is part of Waterbury Ambulance Service. 

“The four brave rescuers on our team risked their own lives selflessly on Camel’s Hump in early February to save two disoriented and hypothermic hikers,” Rounds said. 

The rescue took place over nine hours on Feb. 7-8 to locate and bring to safety two hikers who called for help from near the summit of the mountain. 

The conditions involved knee-deep snow, complicated overnight operations, wind chills between -30 and -40°F, and high winds at high altitude. The fact that the hikers were suffering from hypothermia and were in life-threatening conditions added medical urgency to the mission. 

The Waterbury crew members were joined on this call by Vermont State Police and state Department of Public Safety Search and Rescue personnel, along with crews from Richmond Rescue’s Camels Hump Backcountry Rescue and the Huntington Backcountry Team that’s part of the Huntington Fire Department.  

“The actions of this team and those rescuers from other departments that came [via] mutual aid to assist are the reason that the two hikers will live to tell the tale,” Rounds noted in awarding the citations of valor. “Congrats, team, on a job well done!”