I was up in that area in July. It's unbelievably steep in spots. Here's a link to a photo if anyone is interested: http://picasaweb.google.com/jim.barbour/MammothLakesCAJuly2008#5228917876269839218 The general area where the items were found is in the far distance on the right hand side of the photo. This area has all sorts of nooks and crannies; there's no one point from which one could get a really comprehensive view of the area (save perhaps from an aircraft). Mt. Ritter, which is only a couple of miles from where the items were found, is over 13,000' in elevation and still has glaciers to this day (yes, glaciers in California).

Just to give you an idea of the steepness, the Eastern Sierra goes from 14,500' at Mt. Whitney to 3700' at nearby Lone Pine (the gateway to Whitney) in the space of perhaps ten (or fewer) air miles.