Read Richard Piotrowski's post on this same question over at the Portal Store Board.
there aren't too many times when I think about Whitney that I DON'T feel like kicking myself in the ass regarding the old man who was heading up Whitney on Halloween a number of years ago...
I knew he was already in trouble when I blew past him on the way up The Switchbacks. He was in even worse shape when I passed on my way down from the summit on the West Side.
I did ask him a few questions on the way down, but didn't bother spending any time trying to convince him to head down with me.
He died in one of the couloirs near Mt. Muir...
Was it dissatisfaction with the quality of his end of life????
Was it a real accident?
I don't spend nearly as much time in the mountains anymore, but when I do, and see someone who's obviously in trouble, and still heading up, I go into asshole mode and tell them to get their ass down off of the mountain...
