MOUNT WASHINGTON — A New Hampshire Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter was called in Saturday to rescue a Chicago man, who was heavy-set and who had become disabled the previous evening on Mt. Adams in the White Mountains’ Presidential Range.

New Hampshire Fish & Game Department personnel were braced Friday for the weekend convergence of the Labor Day holiday and the opening of the state’s bear hunting season, according to Lt. Douglas Gralenski of Fish & Game’s Region One office in Lancaster. And they didn’t have to wait long, he said.

At about 4 p.m. Friday emergency calls started coming in on behalf of hikers trapped by heavy thunderstorms on and around Mt. Washington.

“Fortunately, as is often the case, these incidents solved themselves with the passing of the storm,” Gralenski said in a news release he issued Saturday.

But a call at 7:30 p.m. Friday presented a much more complicated set of problems. Gralenski said he got the call that the Chicago hiker, 43-year-old Jason Baker, had suffered a dislocated knee and was unable to walk.

“It was initially reported that he was on Mt. Jefferson, but it was later determined that he was on the south slope of Mt. Adams … Due to the remoteness of his location, coupled with his 285-pound body weight, a traditional carry-out would have been extremely difficult, both physically, as well as from a logistical standpoint,” Gralenski wrote.

Rescuers advised Baker and his two hiking companions to “hunker down” and spend the night on the mountain while they planned a Saturday rescue in daylight.

“Fortunately, this injured hiker, along with his two companions, were properly equipped for the environment. Good thing, as there was no easy or quick way to execute a rescue operation,” Gralenski said in the release.

Fish & Game officers hiked from the Mt. Washington summit to the stranded party, while the Army National Guard agreed to attempt to reach Baker and fly him out of the mountains.

“Mr. Baker was successfully airlifted by the Army National Guard at 8:45 Saturday morning. The remaining two hiking companions were escorted to the summit of Mt. Washington by Conservation officers … by midday,” Gralenski wrote.

“I don’t know what we would have done if the Army National Guard had not been available. Four miles of steep terrain dealing with any person over 200 pounds is extremely taxing on personnel,” Gralenski said in the release.

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Bob Hookway may be reached at bhookway@newstote.com.