Are you really hiking in a group? Many start up together but in a few hours they are separated by miles. This is the meetup.com way of hiking which can lead to what my friends and I call mufu. A few years ago, 30 odd people went of Mt. San Gorgonio and one less came back. Even this person's carpool mate split. This person eventually was found alive, I believe in the Big Falls area.
What has been stated almost all the other posts are good ideas of how to keep groups safely together but this is age of it is all about me. I want what I want when I want...and I want to be on the summit in 12 hours and I don't care if someone in my group can only do it in 16.
The name of the game is trust. Do you trust the people you are going out with to be there for you. If you don't, it is incumbent you find people you do trust or you might as well hike alone.
