Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Baldy Death is Safety Reminder

Baldy Death is Safety Reminder

BY DAVID WHITING
COLUMNIST
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Published: Jan. 24, 2011
Updated: 6:19 p.m.


The morning of Dec. 4, 2010, at the Mount Baldy trailhead started like many beautiful days.
Climbers with all kinds of goals and all kinds of equipment gathered in the parking lot and sorted gear. Some carried crampons, ice axes and helmets, hoping to make the snowy and icy 10,068-foot summit.

Ron Campbell, Register writer and accidents and incidents investigator for the Sierra Club's local safety committee, didn't take much equipment that day and turned around at the ski hut, a place where climbers often gear up for the mountain's slippery slopes.

Campbell signed the log book at 8:20 a.m. and had supper with his family that night.

Michelle Yu signed the log about 8:30 a.m. Her body was recovered five days later.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/kern-285424-rainier-conditions.html

I thought the article was well-written, and he handled the issues related to the 10 Essentials and judgment tactfully.

I did Baldy that day about the same time, but probably took a different route. I can verify that the summit was in and out of the clouds from about 9:30AM on.

Have only done Baldy a relatively few times compared to people like Shin and others - 6 in winter and 2 in summer - but can vouch that the broad summit is nearly featureless, and if you summit while it's in the clouds, it's difficult to maintain one's bearings.

One thing I learned from this very sad incident is to pay particular attention to the descent route under poor conditions, as things can go bad very quickly.