Maybe but even in a white out it seems like it would be easy to follow that crest.
To confirm what everyone else here has been saying: I've gotten lost in two whiteouts. Both on trails I'd skied or hiked dozens to hundreds of times before. Once on Bishop Pass a group of 4 of us -- all backcountry rangers who had skied that pass at least a dozen times each -- got lost near the pass. Using a map and compass, one of us would go out to the limit of visibility (about 10 feet) and the one with the compass would wave right or left to stay on our estimated route to the place we could get off the ridge. All this in 30+ MPH winds and about -10 F (without windchill factored in). We called the rock above the gulley where we could safely ski down "thank you Jesus rock" when it loomed out of the blowing snow. Darned good navigating, too... .
It also inspired a great line from one of my buddies. As we skied out the next day, we came out from under the rain shadow of the Sierra. Blowing and miserable one minute, clear the next as we approached the trailhead. Two guys were skiing in and, after finding out what we did, said "Boy, what a great job. Must be really fun to be paid to ski around all the time!" To which my buddy growled: "How about I velcro you to my ass next time? Then you see how much fun it can be."
Which is all to say you can definitely get lost in a whiteout. You not only lose landmarks and direction, you lose horizon and any sense of balance. Really nerve wracking.
George
