From the Article

Quote:
The trio took about six hours to hike the 4.5 miles up the Skyline Trail to Muir, which is roughly halfway between Paradise and the summit. After a brief rest, they began their descent, which normally takes about two hours.

David Gottlieb, the lead ranger who coordinated the rescue, gave this account of the hikers' ordeal:

The group started down the mountain about 6:30 p.m., which this time of year gave them more than two hours of daylight. Light snow was falling; a steady wind was blowing.


This was probably where the screw-up happened. They had left it far to late leaving at 6:30 pm with only 2 hours daylight left. They left themselves no margin for error timewise. This suggests to me that they thought they were more capable than they really were. Considering they took 6 hrs to climb the trail, they should have known it would take at least 3 hrs to decend safely in the same conditions and possibly considerably longer in worsening conditions. I'm also surprised that no one at the camp asked them were they thought they were going so late in the day as well. Not being equipped for an overnight stay at the camp and the possible social embarrasment may have tipped them into making the wrong decision.

Another tragic story.