Subzero Temps Can't Stop Boyfriend's Proposal

Josh Darnell proposed to Rachel Raske on side of freezing mountain

By Newser Editors and Wire Services

Posted Dec 30, 2017 5:21 PM CST

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Subzero Temps Can't Stop Boyfriend's Proposal — Josh Darnell, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, proposed to Rachel Raske, of Lowell, Massachusetts, on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, in Tuckerman’s Ravine, New Hampshire, on the same day the temperature dropped to minus-34 on nearby Mount Washington. Raske, of Lowell, Massachusetts, said yes. (AP Photo/Doug Darnell)

Extreme cold didn't get in the way of a heartwarming proposal on an icy mountainside, the AP reports. Josh Darnell, 31, dropped to his knee and popped the question after climbing to a scenic spot Thursday on Tuckerman's Ravine, on the southeastern side of New Hampshire's Mount Washington. That same day it hit minus 34 on the mountain's summit, which is more than 6,200 feet high. There's a happy ending: Rachel Raske, 27, said yes. But she was stunned by the proposal. "After about 10 minutes of her crying, I said you'd better stop crying or your eyes are going to freeze up," Doug Darnell said.

Doug Darnell, Josh Darnell's father, tagged along to record the event with his camera. He said the wind was blowing so hard that it knocked him on his back when he got out of the car. The Darnells had hiked Tuckerman's Ravine previously and the younger Darnell decided he was going to propose to his girlfriend next to a waterfall. Josh Darnell secretly sought permission from Raske's father for his daughter's hand in marriage prior to making the trek. "She had no clue," said Raske's father, Charlie. "We all knew she was getting engaged—everyone except for her."

(More marriage proposal stories.)

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