The three Omaha hikers who were stranded for nearly three days on the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states had plenty of food to sustain them, but needed to melt snow for water and had no idea if the frantic text messages they sent from a small shelter on the mountain's summit had reached their loved ones.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks News Release
For Immediate Release: October 21, 2010 Contact: Dana M. Dierkes Phone Number: (559) 565-3131
Three Hikers Rescued and Two Additional Hikers Missing in/Around Mount Whitney Area
Inyo County Sheriff's Office and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are still conducting a multi-faceted search and rescue operation in/around the Mount Whitney area. Three people have been rescued from Mount Whitney. However, the search and rescue operation has been expanded to include two additional missing men.
Three men (Phillip Michael Abraham, age 34; Stevan James Filips, age 43; and Dale Clymens, age 45), all from the Omaha, Nebraska area, were rescued from Mount Whitney at approximately 12 noon on Thursday, October 21. The group had originally planned a day hike to Mount Whitney on Monday, October 18, but had been trapped in the Mount Whitney Hut in a snowstorm since then. Three National Park Service (NPS) search and rescue personnel hiked in to the site. Both the NPS staff and a California National Guard helicopter reached the men at approximately the same time. All three men were able to walk and move around during a quick general health assessment by park personnel. Various parties assisted with this search and rescue operation, including California National Guard and Yosemite Search and Rescue.
Two additional hikers, a father and son who were not part of the previously missing group, had planned a three-day, 36-mile cross-country loop in/around the Mount Whitney area starting and ending at the Whitney Portal. The group planned to return on Tuesday, October 19. The missing men include Sinh Baghsohi, who is 27 years old, is approximately 6'5" tall and weighs 287 lbs, as well as his father, Baghsohi, Sr., first name unknown, who is approximately 6' tall and weighs approximately 180 lbs. Both men are originally from Iran, but their current city/state is unknown. No photos of the men are available yet. The two men had hiked in with a friend. The friend became ill and hiked out alone. If you have seen or come in contact with either of the two missing individuals, please call the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Incident Command Post at 559-565-3117.
Approximately 45 people have been assigned to the two search and rescue incidents. Search operations are still being hampered by snow with accumulations between 1-3 feet.
These hikers were connected to Dave Paladino's Landmark Endurance Team, website here. Mr. Paladino was the trip leader for the Mt. Whitney hike, and back in Omaha, during the rescue, gave several lengthy news presentations.
Here's a web page showing a video of the news presentation shortly after the three were rescued from the peak.
Two additional hikers, a father and son who were not part of the previously missing group, had planned a three-day, 36-mile cross-country loop in/around the Mount Whitney area starting and ending at the Whitney Portal. The group planned to return on Tuesday, October 19. The missing men include Sinh Baghsohi, who is 27 years old, is approximately 6'5" tall and weighs 287 lbs, as well as his father, Baghsohi, Sr., first name unknown, who is approximately 6' tall and weighs approximately 180 lbs. Both men are originally from Iran, but their current city/state is unknown. No photos of the men are available yet. The two men had hiked in with a friend. The friend became ill and hiked out alone. If you have seen or come in contact with either of the two missing individuals, please call the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Incident Command Post at 559-565-3117.
Interesting self-video of the party who was rescued via helicopter.
Edit - just read a post on the other BB by Doug. Apparently they're OK.
I do not have the warm-puppy, glassy-eyed, thanks-be-to-the-almighty, feelings that others have exhibited regarding this situation and its outcome.
Granted, I am looking at this incident from the viewpoint of a SAR person, one who has been rescuing people on Mt. Whitney for over forty years. I am asking myself questions about what went wrong and why. Specifically: What could they have done differently, and what in hell were they doing up there in this in-between season given their apparent lack of readiness for it. I am more than a little bit ill over this whole affair.
This board and other boards, and other resources, are there to help prepare and educate people so that these kinds of situations do not occur. Yet people ignore, are oblivious, and we in a certain sense let them off scot free--in terms of pointing fingers of blame--if they get in trouble.
Continuing, this is the first instance I have ever known where some of the party descended to the Portal and then flew home to await the outcome of their friends' fates.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Last edited by Bob R; 10/23/1004:18 PM. Reason: Added emphasis here and there
BobR - could not agree more. I was in the area last weekend and talked to one of the Meysan Lake party that ended up coming out Roads End. I know they knew bad weather was coming, Doug invited one of them to look at the NOAA forecast on his netbook. The other group should have known and probably did know.
We only went to Thor on Sunday yet we worried about the weather most of the day. I even commented that I wouldn't want to be shooting for Whitney that day.
I don't want to armchair QB anything and I am glad everyone is ok, but I hope there is a lesson to be learned here.
I know my Whitney Zone season is done, unless we get more equipment and a lot of training. I like to push the envelope sometimes, but I don't mess with Mother Nature...........................................DUG
"Thursday, the Inyo Search and Rescue sent in a helicopter and pulled the three men out of the snow and cold. ... Inyo Sheriff Bill Lutze confirmed that Inyo and the Sequoia Kings rescue team went to work on this case. The three missing men had been part of a group of 8. When the weather turned bad with white-outs and three feet of snow at the start of the week, five of them decided to leave the Sierra. The other three vowed to go on to the top."
"Thursday, the Inyo Search and Rescue sent in a helicopter and pulled the three men out of the snow and cold. ... Inyo Sheriff Bill Lutze confirmed that Inyo and the Sequoia Kings rescue team went to work on this case. The three missing men had been part of a group of 8. When the weather turned bad with white-outs and three feet of snow at the start of the week, five of them decided to leave the Sierra. The other three vowed to go on to the top."
I make a vow every trip. I vow to get EVERYONE on my team back to the trail head safely. If you hike with me as a leader, you stay with the group. One quits, we all quit. Everyone gets back to the trail head. Everything else is a bonus. That's just me, your mileage my vary, to each his own, etc, etc...................................................DUG
I agree completely, Bob. People involved in SAR have seen this level of human stupidity over and over. Long-range plans and ambitions sometimes over-ride caution and common sense.
While involved with a certain national club's SF Bay Area peak climbing section, and then later with Inyo SAR, I saw what an overwhelming drive to "just go for it" can do to human lives. Even so-called "experienced climbers" can make foolish decisions when "making the summit" becomes the number one priority.
This is a copy (from WPSMB) of George Durkee's list of what was required for the recent missing/lost/rescue incidents that took place over the last week. (I hope that George will not mind the copy) I feel that it is important to get this information out to as wide a readership as possible. http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=80858#Post80858
Well, it was an intense week in the Sequoia-Whitney-Inyo co-prosperity sphere. 3 SARs in about 10 days (one on the South Fork of the Kaweah).
To the crediting of prayer as helpful in finding these guys (and who knows...) I'd just like to remind folks it was a little more than prayer:
Field Teams: 1 NPS helicopter out of SEKI HQ 2 pilots, 4 support crew, 1 fuel truck 1 National Guard Chinook and crew out of Stockton 2 pilots; 5 (?) support crew and the entire US Military behind it 8 climbers from YOSAR with full gear YOSAR emergency vehicle 4 Sequoia rangers
Incident Command: Inyo Sheriff's department Incident Command: Unknown number of personnel, but probably around 8+ Volunteer SAR also unknown, but 5+ at least
Sequoia Incident Command: At least 15 people to handle: Plans, logistics, operations, air operations, mapping, safety, timekeeping, dispatch etc... Logistical and mapping support from the Superintendent of Manzanar NHS in Independence.
Two rangers were dropped at Crabtree and got to the summit ridge, where they had to turn back in 2 to 3 foot snow drifts. They tried again the next day (Thursday) and were successful. Both are pretty gnarly guys but found the conditions incredibly challenging.
Of course, everyone's happy these guys are safe and back home, but jeez!! At least 40 people and a zillion lbs and types of equipment. That's a lot of effort, expense and risk for what sure seems like a case of testosterone poisoning... .
Then, the day those guys are pulled off:
Quote:If something HAD happen to them while they were heading to CD, SAR would have never known where to start looking. Did they hit a trail and saw a trail sign that said Ceder Grove 18m and decided that's where they were going? I'm cornfused
Yep, me too. This was a total bungathon. These guys were not even in our search area. As many times as I try to imagine a search perimeter, I wouldn't have extended it north over Forester Pass. Learning curve for all of us. Their mistake (one of a number of them) seems to have been not having a large enough map of the area (reportedly -- not confirmed -- only the Whitney Quad.
Their plan was to keep hiking until they ran into someone who could tell them where they were. One of their guys turned around on Day 1 at Meysan Lake because he was worried about the weather. Two others reportedly didn't even start. They ignored experienced advice to not attempt such a gnarly route and like so many of these things, their apparent testosterone induced stubbornness and inability to imagine conditions and terrain, put a number of SAR people at risk (exact same list as above).
The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
Yes, thanks for copying & posting. I was mulling that over, but wasn't sure about spreading copies of my drivel everywhere... .
Mike: Hey, great idea!! Reader's Digest -- perfect.. . Maybe we could do one of those "write a sentence and pass it on" things, then submit to RD. They do pay a lot.
g.
None of the views expressed here in any way represent those of the unidentified agency that I work for or, often, reality. It's just me, fired up by coffee and powerful prose.
Most of the time I do not get warm and fuzzy about these things. If you read between the lines of the news reports you get a pretty good idea of how the rescued individuals screwed up.
The great thing about hiking to the summit on the MMWT is getting to Trail Crest and the look to the west and the weather. It is very easy to tell whether or not it is time to go forward or retreat. Over the years, I have had people tell they have gone forward to the summit and come back through lightning, hail and rain...they all laughed about their stupidity. To me, it's never a laughing matter when you put others at risk by your unquenchable desire to reach this summit. My read is that is exactly what these folks did and a lot of people paid the price for it.
There is nothing new here other than the names...unfortunately.
Do you think those guys rescued felt pretty dumb over the whole rescue by Chinook? Especially when the rangers that walked up refused a ride down and walked out? How much did that rescue costs us taxpayers?
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