http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/21/california.hikers/index.html?hpt=T1

Looks like the weather turned on them. I wonder what the author is speaking of when he mentions that the lost hikers couldn't find the trail? I've been on Whitney several times - the last few miles are pretty much a knife edge on the mountain, with a pretty steady wind coming up the west face.

Maybe they're talking about the turn-off that heads back to the base camp and lower elevation? That tends to be a snowpack anyway, so if you've got snow covering the tracks on that trail...

Either way, it's a doozy of a hike. Hope they found the shelter at the summit - if not, there are a bunch of boulders that would serve as a good wind and snow break. Let's hope it turns out well.

The CNN story is a bit confusing. The 2 people who are still missing are not believed to be in the summit area, rather they are assumed to be down at a lower elevation on the Mount Whitney trail near Whitney Portal where they were on a planned 3 day hike.

Regardless of where the 2 missing are, I hope there is a good outcome for the both of them.

it was snowing at 11,800'. they chose to continue on to the summit of 14,505.
video here: climb

couldn't see the trail for the snow and whiteout.

the summit is rocks with a small path winding through them. with snow, that winding path would be obliterated in a short amount of time.

they were dressed for an autumn day hike. they found winter.

they are traveling cross country in a different area than mt. whitney, but were planning to end their trip at whitney portal - mt. whitney's trail head. they still haven't arrived.

Er did he mean that they had enough fuel to turn the snow and ice into water?

Just goes to show, that even experienced hikers and mountaineers (the guy in the CNN video) can make assumptions that make little sense with regard to reality. Sub freezing temperatures i.e. where liquid water turns to snow and ice, there is always a high risk of frostbite and death by hypothermia.

These climbers apparently were not even packing snow shows, so the likely hood was that they weren't even packing crampons and ice axes either.

Even nutnfancy's colleague in this video was packing 40+ lbs of gear yet wasn't carrying mountaineering gloves or mittens (despite the fact he was carrying a side arm )

AFLM, typically you don't need snowshoes or crampons on Whitney. When it's that bad in winter, sure. But probably 60-70% of the year it's just not worth the weight - you've only got (maybe) 1/2 mile of snowpack on the entire Portal to Summit route.

Don't get me started on carrying guns while hiking.

the proprietor of the whitney portal store reports that the two overdue hikers are reported to have checked in.

+1

Good raingear, warm clothes and food are much more important.
At the lower elevations, a fire can be made for warmth and to
melt snow.

Having been caught in a sudden snow storm on the East Face
route of Mt Whitney (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Face_%28Mount_Whitney%29) I learned that storms
from the west are hidden from view by the cliff face itself.
Combined with high winds and lightening streaking down the
face, it can make for a very exciting retreat. We had to leave
a dozen or so pieces of climbing pro to safeguard the suddenly
slippery holds. Flashlights were critical as the descent
took a long time.

The storm came upon us in less than an hour. This was in September. We started the climb in long johns and sweaters
before dawn, changed to shorts, then back to warm clothes
and rain gear.

on the main mt. whitney trail, hikers were reporting use of crampons and ice axe at the end of june this year (2010) and others were still turning back due to snow and ice in the "cables" section the first week of july. this is not unusual for whitney's main trail.


from october/november to july, roughly, the north-facing 99 switchback section - which contains the "cables" section - of the main trail is bypassed due to snow / ice. the 'winter' route goes straight up the chute to the right of the switchback section. ice axe, crampons, and intimate knowledge of their use is mandatory for hiker safety. people have died in that chute.

In June sure there is snow pack left over from the previous winter. In the fall there is no snowpack on Mt Whitney. You do have to worry about October's early storms. It is very usual to snow in the Sierra in October.

Sounds like crappy planning and lack of knowledge. In mid summer it can be hiked in a day but you should still carry gear for winter conditions (clothes etc) but you really never need snowshoes unless it is winter. If you check most folks go up Whitney from late June thru late September.

The cable section is a very small portion of a very big hike....

They should have bailed after it was snowing for more than 30 minutes.

There was a forecast for a storm front to hit California days ahead of their departure; they should have reconsidered.