I have my own thoughts about the cause, too, but I think I'll wait.

Wade's daughter Michelle last wrote in her blog here:

Quote:
Thursday, November 5, 2009
What Happened?
We'll never know exactly what happened or why. The SAR team with search dogs found Wade on the eastern slope of Mt. Whitney, where he had fallen from a great height, probably on the Sunday that he set out. It seems that after he left his pack, he climbed back to up to the ridge in an attempt to come back down the route he had come up. The end was quick, and Wade didn't suffer.

The blog also says they're having a memorial Nov. 22. Maybe we should hold off until after that...