Two climbers who were reported missing Tuesday on the experts-only Mount Whitney Mountaineer Route have been found dead.
Andrew Niziol, 28, of South Lake Tahoe, and Patty Bolan, 29, were identified by the Tulare County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, according to the Sacramento Bee.
On Wednesday, a friend who had been climbing with them but became separated on an icy, extremely steep slope just below the summit posted a plea for help to other climbers in a Facebook group dedicated to Mount Whitney, the highest point in the United States. Joined. outside of Alaska.
The friend, Ethan Michael Cannaert, wrote that the trio was descending after reaching the 14,500-foot summit. He described what Niziol and Bolan were carrying, noting that “they were both experienced in the field and had the right equipment for the climb.”
After parting ways with the pair, he expected to meet them at “the notch,” a small, flat spot on the route where climbers often stop to rest and breathe a deep sigh of relief after descending an incredibly vertical section. of the mountain known as “the final 400”.
“I waited there for over an hour and was forced to go down the slide to escape the cold wind, but I never saw them,” Cannaert wrote.
He noted that Niziol and Bolan had cell service most of the way, but had not responded to messages he sent them after they separated.
Going down the last 400 meters in snowy conditions usually requires ropes, crampons and ice axes because a fall on such steep slippery terrain would be almost impossible to stop.
A climber who fell and missed the notch on the way down could be thrown thousands of feet down a terribly steep wall.
Details on where exactly Niziol and Bolan's bodies were found are still scarce. The Bee reported that they were discovered at an elevation of 13,200 feet on the north side of the mountain. That's almost a thousand feet lower than the notch.
On Thursday, Cannaert updated his post to say that “Patty and Andrew were found deceased on the mountain by [search and rescue] this morning.”
A post on Niziol's Instagram feed last week showed him and Bolan climbing and snowboarding on the slopes of Mount Shasta in perfect spring snow under a glorious blue sky.
“This is the kind of life I have dreamed of for 15 years,” Niziol wrote. “I've finally surrounded myself with people to share these types of experiences with and I couldn't be more grateful.”
