Mt Whitney fatality early November

Threads related to Colorado mountaineering accidents but please keep it civil and respectful. Friends and relatives of fallen climbers will be reading these posts.
Forum rules
Please be respectful when posting - family and friends of fallen climbers might be reading this forum.
Post Reply
peter303
Posts: 3535
Joined: 6/17/2009
14ers: 34 
13ers: 12
Trip Reports (3)
 

Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by peter303 »

Women age 34. Unclear if summit attempt. Or if she had reached the icy portion of the trail. All the news articles I could find point to the same info.

https://www.insider.com/woman-died-fall ... da-2020-11

I first saw the story in an article about increased backcountry use.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/28/spor ... rails.html

My condolences to the young family left behind.
Last edited by peter303 on Mon Nov 30, 2020 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
SephTR
Posts: 40
Joined: 3/4/2018
14ers: 12 
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by SephTR »

Noob
User avatar
Mtnman200
Posts: 1112
Joined: 9/26/2012
14ers: 58  1 
13ers: 440
Trip Reports (85)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by Mtnman200 »

SephTR wrote: Sat Nov 28, 2020 9:14 pmNoob
How very compassionate of you. Do you consider someone with only 12 14er ascents to be a noob? I certainly do.
"Adventure without risk is not possible." - Reinhold Messner
User avatar
Bale
Posts: 266
Joined: 6/9/2020
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by Bale »

Nurse and mother of two. May she Rest In Peace.
The earth, like the sun, like the air, belongs to everyone - and to no one. - Edward Abbey
Ptglhs
Posts: 1478
Joined: 1/6/2016
14ers: 58  8 
13ers: 86 3
Trip Reports (4)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by Ptglhs »

SephTR wrote: Sat Nov 28, 2020 9:14 pmNoob
If CoCo really is leaving the the forum this post is a worthy successor to some of his comments.

2 young children lost their mother, someone lost their partner, and nurses save lives every year. Given that we're in a pandemic we need more health care workers, not less. This person died doing something you profess to enjoy. As much as I wish suffering on the world in general I don't wish it on strangers specifically, especially not when it could easily be me, or you, in a similar situation.

Condolences to her loved ones.
seano
Posts: 775
Joined: 6/9/2010
14ers: 56 
13ers: 218
Trip Reports (3)
 
Contact:

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by seano »

More info here: http://www.mountwhitneyforum.com/ubbthr ... ber=104172 . It sounds like maybe she got off-trail on some slabs low down. There's a great shortcut when they're dry and you know what you're doing, but it would be easy to slip and take a bad fall if there's ice.
rc1
Posts: 3
Joined: 6/24/2008
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 61
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by rc1 »

Noob?? Looking at your profile how disrespectful and presumptuous of you. You should be the last to call someone a noob.
User avatar
Rollie Free
Posts: 456
Joined: 6/8/2012
14ers: 45 
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by Rollie Free »

While I certainly dont defend the noob comment, it was terribly insensitive, do we really have to rush to someones bag count, judge them, then make comments?
This board is the epitomy of ill informed credentialism. The count is kind of fun and has some uses but I dont know if its wise to make rash judgements on someones overall experience level or worth as a person because of it. I wonder if Alex Honnold is considering running down and touching San Luis so he gets more respect. And Sir Edmund Hillary ? Not impressed. His Colorado 14er count was pathetic.
"Quicker than I can tell it, my hands failed to hold, my feet slipped, and down I went with almost an arrow’s rapidity. An eternity of thought, of life, of death, wife, and home concentrated on my mind in those two seconds. Fortunately for me, I threw my right arm around a projecting boulder which stood above the icy plain some two or three feet." Rev. Elijah Lamb
User avatar
Bale
Posts: 266
Joined: 6/9/2020
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by Bale »

SephTR has much deeper issues than folks mocking his peak count. I hope the family of this woman is ok and I certainly hope they don’t read dumb fuking threads like this one.
The earth, like the sun, like the air, belongs to everyone - and to no one. - Edward Abbey
User avatar
Wildernessjane
Posts: 556
Joined: 7/15/2012
14ers: 58  13  46 
13ers: 256 23 19
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by Wildernessjane »

Rollie Free wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 7:43 am While I certainly dont defend the noob comment, it was terribly insensitive, do we really have to rush to someones bag count, judge them, then make comments?
This board is the epitomy of ill informed credentialism. The count is kind of fun and has some uses but I dont know if its wise to make rash judgements on someones overall experience level or worth as a person because of it. I wonder if Alex Honnold is considering running down and touching San Luis so he gets more respect. And Sir Edmund Hillary ? Not impressed. His Colorado 14er count was pathetic.
I would argue that it’s not exactly the same thing (though I’ll be the first person to question this strange obsession we have here in CO with quantity over quality). The “Noob” comment was based on very limited information provided in the article, and we all know how media can get it wrong. I think it’s fair SephTR is being called out for this comment and his/her own level of experience questioned. Yes, there has been an explosion of people in the backcountry as of late but this notion that only a “Noob” would slip and fall is exactly the kind of thinking that can get someone into serious trouble. To me, the comment in and of itself suggests SephTR is a “Noob” in the backcountry.
“Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” -David McCullough?
User avatar
highpilgrim
Posts: 3186
Joined: 3/14/2008
14ers: 58 
13ers: 84 1
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by highpilgrim »

Wildernessjane wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 8:40 am Yes, there has been an explosion of people in the backcountry as of late but this notion that only a “Noob” would slip and fall is exactly the kind of thinking that can get someone into serious trouble.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/28/spor ... rails.html
Call on God, but row away from the rocks.
Hunter S Thompson

Walk away from the droning and leave the hive behind.
Dick Derkase
User avatar
Wildernessjane
Posts: 556
Joined: 7/15/2012
14ers: 58  13  46 
13ers: 256 23 19
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Mt Whitney fatality early November

Post by Wildernessjane »

highpilgrim wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 8:47 am
Wildernessjane wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 8:40 am Yes, there has been an explosion of people in the backcountry as of late but this notion that only a “Noob” would slip and fall is exactly the kind of thinking that can get someone into serious trouble.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/28/spor ... rails.html
Yeah, I saw that. This is really not surprising but my point was that even experienced folks can slip and fall. If you think you are immune to it because you have twelve 14ers under your belt then that could be a problem, in my humble opinion. Also, we don’t know anything about this woman’s experience. Just because she was included in an article about the number of rescues and deaths as more people are getting into the backcountry doesn’t mean she was a “Noob”.
“Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” -David McCullough?
Post Reply