Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Cindy, did your group see this hiker?

Missing on Baldy, she was there Saturday.

Details here. I think if you are going to hike alone, you should at least leave a good, if not flattering, picture behind.

I saw several people heading up to the Hut as we came down but I cannot say what they looked like.

I hope she did not try to go down the Backbone. I'm sure it would have been too icy.

My thoughs are with her and her family.

Cindy
I think Curt and I passed her as we came down the ridge. From what I've read, she was about 1.5 - 2 hours behind us.
We remember seeing and saying hello to several people heading up. We usually mention trail conditions, wind, and temps in passing. Now I wish I had paid more attention to faces and clothing...but how do you know that a certain person will have a mishap? I had a conversation with Doug Sr. about this very subject on our hike back to Manker. I feel so bad that this happened on such a positive day. I still have hope that they will find her alive, but every passing hour adds to the reality that they might not.

Stacy

Here is a link to pass your information on the TV station, who should pass it through to SRS.

Very sad news being reported.

We were all hoping for a better outcome.

This location is to the north-northwest of the summit.

This is the same area where the russian man fell several years ago. I don't believe his body was ever recovered, so the terrain must be fearful, and the SAR's must have put in tremendous effort for her recovery.

I can't imagine why she would have been over there, unless she'd gone over there to relieve herself. It may seem absurd and ridiculous, but I believe that is exactly how the only death on an Outdoors Club trip occured, in the same mountains, in similar conditions.

It also reminds me of Ali Aminian, who was a fellow California Mountaineering Club member, also on Baldy some years back, a very skilled mountaineer, who was killed when he stepped on a patch of angled frozen snow, slipped, and went for a thousand foot ride, with technical gear in his pack.

Point is, there is so little forgiveness this time of year. The margins are so narrow, when things go wrong. It is so critical to think carefully about choices and what could go wrong, and what the consequences might be. It won't be like the summer.

What a sad way to start the morning - Ken is right about narrow margins. I was on Baldy a couple months ago, in great conditions, and almost took an odd step off the trail which would have sent me down a VERY steep and long grade to who-knows-what below. It's really important towards the end of your climb to be mindful of your motion, tired muscles often lead to tripping or small errors, which on a mountain, can lead to your death. Poor lady, I hope she didn't suffer.

http://www.bhcourier.com/article/Local_N...unt_Baldy/73224

Translation of this is that she died, probably instantly, of her injuries, and did not suffer. I'd also think that because of the remote location of the northwest side of the mountain, that the people who thought they heard yelling, almost certainly did not hear her. They should not feel bad about that, there was certainly nothing that they could have done that would have made any difference at all.

Winds can create the most strange sounds.

I just talked to two guys on the incident. They said there was serious ice in the gully from fog and rain. Totally gripped going down on the search. So that's likely what happened.

g.