As Dale points out, “experienced” is in the eye of the beholder. Back in January, two “very experienced” hikers started up Baldy. One was practically a local legend. They climbed partway up and realized they didn’t have time to complete the route they had planned. They had crampons and axes, but they didn’t feel comfortable descending the icy snow they had just ascended. It was the middle of a sunny day, so they just pushed their Spot 911 buttons and waited for the helicopter. It was the second rescue for the “local legend.” Amazingly, they thought that they had exercised good judgement, except that maybe they should have brought helmets. Their friends on the website where I read this seemed to think they had done everything right. They even got defensive when I dared to post that you shouldn’t climb up something that you can’t climb back down.
I’m sure that the majority of people who fall off a cliff while staggering down in the dark are day hikers. However, I think other hazards don’t care whether the victim slept at the Portal or on the mountain. The last time I dayhiked the main trail, a bunch of people were helping a backpacker with altitude problems. She died. A friend of mine fell on the East Face route, turning a two-day trip into a three-day trip. They made it to a phone just as the SAR helicopter was about to take off. I once watched a backpacker who fell and broke his leg get a ride in a SAR helicopter. And I recall a few deaths on the Mountaineers’ Route involving backpackers falling.
Experience and judgement affect the outcome more than the presence of a sleeping bag.
