What time did he announce that he was at the summit? I read upthread that it was later in the day (??), bad weather and too late to return to his camp, but not impossible to camp overnight?
Esther Dingley vanished hiking the pyrenees peaks with what seemed like an off-route, and she was eventually found near the top of the mountain. She must have been caught in the weather, sought refuge, failed. Birds helped locate the remains.
@RedHaus and
@otto, I think you were both posting on Esther’s thread?
Someone on her thread recommended the book
Where You’ll Find Me: Risk, Decisions, and the Last Climb of Kate Matrosova by Ty Gagne. I think it was you,
@RedHaus?
A great read, and a window into what leads to a high country tragedy, how and why SAR responds, and some background information on all aspects involved.
One part of the book that was fascinating to me was what happens to our decision-making process when our expectations of what we want to achieve and disappointments at previous ventures come into play almost subconsciously.
I think AK was unprepared in many ways for what he encountered on this trip. AK experienced rain and frigid temperatures growing up in Minnesota, but dealing with those factors near civilization is far different than doing it in mountain country.
Kids and young adults come from all over to work for national park concessionaires, and many of those kids have never been out of urban areas prior to their park employment. Which generally translates to little outdoor experience with weather patterns, wild animals, and the vastness of the wilderness.
I think AK was very inexperienced with the kind of trek he undertook, and continuing to summit a mountain that didn’t have clearly marked trails in inclement weather and fading light would have been a problem for experienced people, as well.
The story of Matrosova, who was an avid mountaineer, is one such example.
Even yet, I’m praying for a miracle for AK and his family.
(edited to fix an antecedent problem)
