Considering the number of climbers on Mt. Ranier every year and many of them being of a low experience level, a total of 100 deaths is surprising. Any mountain that size can be deadly and it only shows the Park Service had done a great job of keeping deaths to a minimum. Some things are just beyond your control.

The problem I have with this story is that hypothermia is deadly but seldom should keep someone from getting up and getting going. One can only speculate as to the cause of this man's inability to get going in the morning, frostbite could be another matter altogether. Yes going lite can add to the hazards but so can travelling with more weight than can be safely carried in a particular situation. in mountain climbing there is often an increased risk because of the trade offs made. The desire is to climb a route like that fast. However to climb fast there may be an increased risk because of less safety gear carried.

At some point us old mountaineers become ex-mountaineers because perhaps we don't want to take the risks anymore. We also can look back often and remember a close call or two.