Here is a link to the story that includes a video showing some of the terrain. Wow.

That terrain is both beautiful and frightening at the same time. It reminds me of something John Long wrote about the tension a climber feels when he looks at a massive wall: 'strung taught between fear and desire'.

One thing that caught my ear near the end of that video: the man was wearing jeans when last seen. Why would an experienced outdoorsman wear heavy cotton jeans in 'no BS' terrain?

From one of the other links: "Hofflander says the group thought her husband was capable of making it on his own, otherwise they wouldn't have left him". So why leave him at all then? Why not just slow the pace?