Don't want to start an argument with ChevyII, because he has done some really nice work on this. But the red x is on the scree slope in the couloir well to the NW and below the rescue site and the sharp right switcher. In this later pic, though, the yellow map pin I think is right on: exactly where this hike probably went wrong, to the NE and above the switcher, and almost on the red line. Now that we have a better idea of the critical point, I wonder if there are experiences of others losing the trail in this section.
No worries, nothing to argue about! I agree with what you've said. If this is the area where things went wrong, it all seems to make more sense to me.
I could be thinking of a different spot, but if you missed that hard right turn (assuming you're headed down), I believe that there is a path in this area, leading out towards a dropoff. I've missed that turn in the past as well as walked out there to take pics around sunrise.
