Even the most mentally and physically prepared people have succumbed to very common, avoidable causes of physical defection (like hyper/hypothermia). This is especially true in A-Type personalities. It is true for myself.
If you were going to die climbing, would you rather it be by a senseless mistake of your own doing or a senseless mistake someone else made?
I have done my share of high altitude mountain climbing and also knew someone who perished on Mount Hood. It has been proven that deaths in mountain climbing are not caused by one single mistake, rather it is a sequence of events that are triggered minutes, hours or even days before.
This same sequence applies to the most rank amateur climber right up to the most experienced climber who has years and thousands of feet of advanced climbing and survival skills in one of the most hostile environments that man or woman can ever pit themselves against.
As for "climbing / traveling lite", this is wide open to interpretation and speculation by many. I know from first hand experience that you may start off at a lower camp and altitude with a 70 -80 lb pack but for a summit push, it could be half of that weight with a wide selection of gear and still be considered "climbing / traveling lite". We may never know what Rob Plankers was carrying but it really does not matter now. A good and a well respected man in the outdoors and climbing community who helped many over the years is now gone.
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