First off, this is tragic news, and my heart goes out to the victims family and friends.
Second, I was in a group of four that attempted to summit via the mountaineers route on Friday morning, May 4th. We opted to turn around while on our final ascent for a variety of reasons, and started making our way back down to the portal around 11am. We passed one single climber at Iceberg Lake, who was going to summit via the East Buttress on the 5th. Shortly after that, we came across a group of six climbers near upper Boy Scout lake. Finally, we passed two groups of three climbers near the Ebersbacher ledges. We shared trail reports with everyone, what we had seen or heard from folks we met who were exiting the mountain on the 3rd (day we arrived).
I am not sure if your friend was in these groups, but it hits home when you know we are all in it together and want to see everyone have a safe experience on this mountain.
Best wishes during these tough times.
- Nick
