Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Repost of SAR request(from HST)

Doug, correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like the 3 in the hut were rescued but 2 hikers that went "the scenic route" up Meysan canyon are still missing.....And I think all 5 were from the Nebraska crew??

Hi Not missing just overdue .This is another group on a different mountain heading for the Whitney area .I will post when they are back in the Portal .They are on a crosscountry trip, not very likely anyone else would be in the area near them but if you plan on doing the south face of LP or Fast face of Langely ,Le Conte , Irvine or Mallory keep a look out. Thanks Doug

Thank goodness the three were found safely. Let's hope the other two are found safe as well.

Hopefully, the hikers now in question headed lower until it clears. Depending on where they were when it came in, maybe Rock Creek area. Just a thought.

My friend and I spoke to these 2 Iranian hikers at Meyson Lake on Sunday AM. They arrived at the Lake late Sat PM. They informed us that their route was going up the Cirque south of the Lake, heading east between (I believe) LeConte and Mallory, going by either Lake Iridescent or Sky Blue Lake. From there, I don't recall where they were headed. We last saw them at about 9AM on Sunday at which time they were still camped on the North side of the Lake. When we returned from climbing Mt Irvine at about 4P they were gone. Interestingly, the son told us they planned on summiting Mt Whitney that same day. We explained that they were probably overly ambitious. It started to snow moderately beginning about 2PM on Sunday and was heavy Sunday PM and Monday AM.


They each had a tent, one white and one light yellow. These did not look like tents suitable for winter conditions and neither one had a fly on.The father had a green jacket. They looked liked hikers; not climbers.




I have relayed this infor. to the Incident Center, and I told them to contact Doug as I know Doug had a lengthy discussion with them before they set out.

Now that the Omaha trio got the helo ride down, I feel even more fortunate to have made 10 summits in ten tries - all on beautiful summit days since 1990 - the most recent being one moon ago 24sep10.

Hi Just got a call the two over due hiker checked in. Thanks Doug

WooHoo!
Now you're ready to start your weekend with a clean slate Doug!

Stacy

THAT IS THE WAY TO START THE WEEKEND.

Looking forward to hearing the stories tonight. I'll bet I'll be entertained for hours... Glad everything worked out well!

They were really lost! Cedar Grove is a long way from Whitney.

http://news.sierrawave.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3896:in-mt-whitney-area-three-hikers-rescued-two-others-missing-also-found&catid=6&Itemid=200021

Here's a article from Nebraska off the KOTA Territory News:

3 rescued hikers returning to Nebraska soon

Associated Press - October 22, 2010 7:25 PM ET

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Three hikers from Nebraska who were rescued from California's Mt. Whitney this week after being stranded in a snowstorm are expected to return home soon.

A rescue helicopter retrieved 34-year-old Philip Abraham, 43-year-old Steve Filips and 45-year-old Dale Clymens from a hut near the summit Thursday. The men spent more than 72 hours inside the small building during a snowstorm while they waited for rescue.

The men say the feeling of isolation may have been the worst part.

Dave Paladino, a friend who also hiked Mt. Whitney Monday, says the three men thought no one received their text messages about being stranded.

Abraham was treated for dehydration, but the three men are in good health and scheduled to return to Omaha late Friday.

Did they start calling each other Skipper and Gilligan?

Mt. Whitney climbers learn weather can shift wildly...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-whitney-20101023,0,67668.story?track=rss

Hey Doug, did you show the news reporter a pancake?

I pulled a leg muscle. This climb is doomed," she said. "But I'll be back next year. I'm going to summit this mountain if it kills me."

---origin of the Laura Peters Memorial Fund

It says that the two hikers were found in Cedar Grove. Does anyone know the approximate route these people took? I would love to hear a recounting of their trip.

It makes sense (and I've changed my opion about them being ID 10 Ts, other than they probably should not have gone in in the first place):

There is a LOT of snow up high. SAR could not get to the other group at the summit on foot (from what I've heard), so heading west IS THE WISE THING TO DO.

The story circulating at the Portal is that nobody has been to the summit (by non-mechanical means) since the three rescued guys. (BTW, they don't get credit for a summit because they didn't walk out.) That may change today. Maybe not.

[quote=There is a LOT of snow up high. SAR could not get to the other group at the summit on foot (from what I've heard), so heading west IS THE WISE THING TO DO. [/quote]

Your not going to get an argument from me about heading west (and lower), but, Ceder Grove? Thats the part that I (and maybe others)don't get.

If something HAD happen to them while they were heading to CD, SAR would have never known where to start looking. Did they hit a trail and saw a trail sign that said Ceder Grove 18m and decided that's where they were going?

I'm cornfused.

A second video while on the summit by the group calling themselves the Landmark Endurance Team.

Am wondering if MITDINO missed the lecture at MIT about "Never climb into deteriorating weather".

Well, it was an intense week in the Sequoia-Whitney-Inyo co-prosperity sphere. 3 SARs in about 10 days (one on the South Fork of the Kaweah).

To the crediting of prayer as helpful in finding these guys (and who knows...) I'd just like to remind folks it was a little more than prayer:

Field Teams:
1 NPS helicopter out of SEKI HQ
2 pilots, 4 support crew, 1 fuel truck
1 National Guard Chinook and crew out of Stockton
2 pilots; 5 (?) support crew and the entire US Military behind it
8 climbers from YOSAR with full gear
YOSAR emergency vehicle
4 Sequoia rangers

Incident Command:
Inyo Sheriff's department Incident Command:
Unknown number of personnel, but probably around 8+
Volunteer SAR
also unknown, but 5+ at least

Sequoia Incident Command:
At least 15 people to handle:
Plans, logistics, operations, air operations, mapping, safety, timekeeping, dispatch etc...
Logistical and mapping support from the Superintendent of Manzanar NHS in Independence.

Two rangers were dropped at Crabtree and got to the summit ridge, where they had to turn back in 2 to 3 foot snow drifts. They tried again the next day (Thursday) and were successful. Both are pretty gnarly guys but found the conditions incredibly challenging.

Of course, everyone's happy these guys are safe and back home, but jeez!! At least 40 people and a zillion lbs and types of equipment. That's a lot of effort, expense and risk for what sure seems like a case of testosterone poisoning... .

Then, the day those guys are pulled off:



Yep, me too. This was a total bungathon. These guys were not even in our search area. As many times as I try to imagine a search perimeter, I wouldn't have extended it north over Forester Pass. Learning curve for all of us. Their mistake (one of a number of them) seems to have been not having a large enough map of the area (reportedly -- not confirmed -- only the Whitney Quad.

Their plan was to keep hiking until they ran into someone who could tell them where they were. One of their guys turned around on Day 1 at Meysan Lake because he was worried about the weather. Two others reportedly didn't even start. They ignored experienced advice to not attempt such a gnarly route and like so many of these things, their apparent testosterone induced stubbornness and inability to imagine conditions and terrain, put a number of SAR people at risk (exact same list as above).

g.