Original post:
Quote:
A friend of mine lost his life on Mt Whitney this past weekend. I have seen nothing anywhere about it. Is there some place I can go to find any information. Thank you.


Moderator's edit, May 17: Sequoia National Park reported the death in a news release (see below). The hiker was Eric Juliani, from Campbell, CA and Haddonfield, NJ. His body was recovered by helicopter on May 6, 2018.
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Rest in Peace, Eric.  The entire hiking community mourns.



Summary:
Eric went up the main trail with friends and camped overnight just below Trail Camp. Next day he continued on and his friends turned around. He reached the summit, but then, apparently disoriented, he mistakenly attempted to descend the Mountaineer's Route "Walk Off" Traverse (down the north side of the mountain) instead of the Main Trail heading down the south side of the mountain. Near the Notch at the base of the Final 400, he slipped or tripped and was unable to arrest his fall, continuing down 2000 feet to his death. Other hikers descending the same route found his two ice axes where the fall began, and observed the tracks left by his slide in the ice and snow.