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Gene
climber
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Nov 20, 2015 - 08:56am PT
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^^^ And my great uncle X 5, Raphael Semmes, was skipper of the Alabama.
Sorry for the thread drift. Prayers going out for the missing hiker.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 20, 2015 - 08:59am PT
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Damn, Gene, you related to Kevin Bacon, too? C'mon, we need a light interlude, no?
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Nov 20, 2015 - 09:46am PT
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hey there say, prayers and hoping for someone to find michael...
:(
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10b4me
Mountain climber
Retired Climber
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Nov 20, 2015 - 09:54am PT
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Either way getting to that East Chute (it goes up to either peak) it's pretty tempting to cut across the ice on Upper Meysan Lake if you're trying to make time.
Interesting thought Kris.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Nov 20, 2015 - 10:12am PT
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This one hits home as I am also a UCLA grad student and hiker. Just curious... is it common for people to climb Whitney/Russell/etc at this time of the year? It seems like it would only for the absolute most skilled climbers due to the weather combined with the altitude. I remember soloing Whitney's E. Face in October as a grad student at UCLA. Though a quick weekend trip, you can do it at the drop of a hat and it's a great break from the pressure and time commitment that grad school requires.
Still hoping for the best here.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Nov 20, 2015 - 11:48am PT
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I think you missed his point?
edit: is it common for people to climb Whitney/Russell/etc at this time of the year?
Let's just say it's not uncommon.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Nov 20, 2015 - 01:28pm PT
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Kris is right. I'm not spraying Burchy. I just meant that I had similar impulses to hit the mountains when I was in going to school at the same place at the same phase in my life, so I understand the guy's desire to get out, even if it's by yourself. I was that dude, just luckier I guess.
Does talking about doing Whitney even qualify as spraying?
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Nov 20, 2015 - 02:00pm PT
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Still hoping for a good turn of fortune here.
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Splater
climber
Grey Matter
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Nov 20, 2015 - 02:03pm PT
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After Nov 1 permits are self-issue with no quota.
(altho only Whitney zone requires day hike permits in summer)
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krahmes
Social climber
Stumptown
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Nov 20, 2015 - 03:20pm PT
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Mike planned to do Mt. Irvine on 11/9 via "East Chute" route, and possible do Mt. LeConte, all as day hike.
Ksolem all ready posted the picture with the task at hand: I'll post one just to veer this thread back to the place at hand which is Meysan Lakes.
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LAhiker
Social climber
Los Angeles
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 20, 2015 - 06:01pm PT
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KSolem said:
Either way getting to that East Chute (it goes up to either peak) it's pretty tempting to cut across the ice on Upper Meysan Lake if you're trying to make time.
Assuming Meyers took that route and did cut across the ice, does anyone have a sense of whether the ice is likely to have been completely solid on 11/9, or whether he might have fallen through the ice?
Also, does anyone know roughly how long it would take to get from the trailhead to that point? As far as I can tell, Whitney cam archives posted by Steve C over on the Whitney Zone forum for 11/9 show a lot of clouds and possibly intermittent snow or other precipitation starting at around 1pm and lasting through the rest of the afternoon.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Shetville , North of Los Angeles
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Nov 20, 2015 - 06:04pm PT
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Fat Dad...At least Burchy didn't cup you...
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Nov 20, 2015 - 09:25pm PT
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This long into this and still not found is disheartening.
But I thought I'd bump it for more news. Closure?
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Bad Climber
climber
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Nov 21, 2015 - 06:59am PT
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Damn. We were in the Alabama Hills yesterday and saw a very large double prop helicopter make a couple of runs towards Whitney. Searching for the young man? Seemed like a huge rig for SAR, but maybe that's all they had, or crews needed some training.
BAd
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DaveT.
Big Wall climber
Mammoth Lakes
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Nov 21, 2015 - 11:27am PT
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They found his helmet below the peak, at the head of the Meysan Valley. But nothing else.
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Bad Climber
climber
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Nov 21, 2015 - 12:23pm PT
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Weird. You'd think the helmet wouldn't be too far from what it covers. I feel for his family and friends. I don't see this story ending well.
BAd
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Nov 21, 2015 - 12:52pm PT
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Not all that weird, Bad. When I'm just hiking it's clipped to a pack. Easy to lose when you unclip to open it or whatever. And down the slope it bounces, a looong ways down (and into a crevasse, in my case). But I agree it does not look good.
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10b4me
Mountain climber
Retired Climber
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Nov 21, 2015 - 01:21pm PT
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Weird. You'd think the helmet wouldn't be too far from what it covers.
A few years ago, after topping out on the Dana couloir, I took my helmet off, and accidentally kicked it. It went all the way to the bottom.
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Nov 21, 2015 - 03:31pm PT
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Doesn't sound good. Hoping for a miracle.
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LAhiker
Social climber
Los Angeles
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 21, 2015 - 04:04pm PT
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I agree, it doesn't look good, though one can still hope.
DaveT. said:
They found his helmet below the peak, at the head of the Meysan Valley.
Do you happen to know which peak -- did you mean Mt. Irvine? Assuming he dropped the helmet, I'm curious about whether its position implies he stuck with his reported plan of going up the East Chute to Mt. Irvine. I wonder if he signed any summit registers...
Even if he did summit one of the peaks, when the clouds/precipitation came in starting at around 1pm, he might have gotten disoriented and started down some wrong way. I wonder whether the loss of the helmet played any role in what happened, by leaving him vulnerable at some bad time, by leading him to change his route, or just by rattling him...
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