61‑Year‑Old Hiker Pops His Own Dislocated Shoulder and Still Reaches Mount Washington’s Summit

When Kurt Siuzdak, 61, set out from the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail early Saturday, he imagined a crisp autumn hike with a view that stretched for miles. The mountain, notorious for sudden weather changes, was already testing his resolve with a thin veil of mist and slick granite underfoot.

About halfway up, the unthinkable happened: a misplaced step on a wet slab sent him sliding a few feet, and a sharp pang in his left shoulder told him something was very wrong. He’d dislocated it. Most hikers would have called it a day, but Siuzdak, a lifelong outdoorsman, refused to let the injury dictate the outcome.

“I knew the joint was out of place,” he later told the New Boston Globe. “I’d watched a few first‑aid videos, so I tried the classic ‘reduction’ maneuver—lifting the arm, applying steady pressure, and—bam—my shoulder clicked back.” The pain was still fierce, but the relief of getting the joint back in line spurred him onward.

With a makeshift brace fashioned from a trekking pole and a deep breath, Siuzdak trudged the remaining miles. He paused only to catch his breath and to take in the sweeping panorama of the Presidential Range, a sight that, by his own admission, made the agony feel almost worthwhile.

When he finally stepped onto the summit’s black‑painted stone cairn, the wind whipping around him, he raised his left arm in a triumphant, if slightly wobbly, salute. “I never imagined I’d be climbing with a shoulder that had just been popped back in,” he laughed, “but the mountain has a way of teaching you grit.” The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department later confirmed the incident and praised Siuzdak’s quick thinking, reminding hikers that self‑care is crucial but professional medical attention should follow any such injury.