Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Man fell to death on Mt Whitney trail

Laura, I agree. No amount of technological crutches (cell phones, Spot, radios, etc.) will prevent accidents on Mt. Whitney or any other mountain.

Mt. Whitney has a repeating history of fatalities and will, no doubt, continue as long as people feel the need to climb the highest peak in the lower forty-eight. Whitney is not Disneyland; it is a big, often dangerous mountain.

Age, health, AMS, etc., while possible contributing factors to the man's sad death, even the young, healthy, strong and experienced have been killed on Mt. Whitney.

I recall a futile search on Whitney by CLMRG and Inyo SAR which ended in the discovery ten days later, by French mountain guides, of the young man's body on a ledge near the base of the Aiguille Extra. He was found with his camera still hanging from his neck. Cause: carelessness...not his age, health, or AMS...he slipped.