We had come over Miter Basin and Crabtree Pass , eventually to camp on Monday Sept 11 at tarns above Guitar. Light rain began at noon, worse conditions higher. About 6pm, two brothers were descending west side with difficulty. We watched. One had a Fire Management hat, a small pack, and he kept stopping and bending over every 100 yds. Very slow. The other brother had only a t-shirt and Camelback, no daypack and likely no headlamp. No rain/wind gear.
When they finally reached our level, we offered food and water but they declined, said would keep on going. They needed to reach their camp (and the rest of their gear) all the way down at Crabtree Meadows. It was 6 pm. The storm was just getting ramped up , rain, hail, lightning, and the storm kept up from 6pm to midnight.
I wonder what happened to them? At the speed of the sick one, it would have taken them until midnight in the storm to get to their tents. The next day as we descended the east side, we briefly saw in the clouds a helicopter with a litter basket. Don't know if it was a pickup up off the top or elsewhere. About 5pm -ish.
Anyone know details?
