High Sierra Topix

I agree the white fork/arrow peak/window peak area is a likely place.

Then again there is a lot of places you can be where a helo wont see you

Oh my gosh, this whole thing is stunning and unsettling. I was away in the field and as I caught up on my email and stuff this week it took me awhile to fully grasp this whole thing. Larry is truly one of my kindred spirits on this board, given his penchant for off trail hiking. And his posts are so memorable--yes the Rockwell Wall of Death post is the one that I too remember best. I cannot suggest anything that folks have not thought of or posted before. The search covers all of the most reasonable possibilities. I agree with others that the Red Lake and Window Creek areas are areas outside the main search areas that would be the next most logical spots outside of the current search areas to look.

I hope against hope that Larry is found alive somewhere and that all of the folks participating in the various operations all come back safely.

IMO
Check more East of the current search areas, if he saw weather coming in he would want a shortcut back to his ride.
If he was already High, why would he consider backtracking and be forced to cover more miles to get out?
The same holds true for a western bailout unless he was already in a low spot when the weather hit and could not get high and over the pass.
Looking at the posted search map the Helo did make (1?) pass over the area from Striped Mt. to the Taboose Trail, I'm thinking the area from Mt Pinchot to Taboose. Trail deserves a better look especially
after reading about the Wall of Death. He could also have been forced onto the bench to the lake that empties into Goodale creek, that would be a tough spot to get "back" out of, same below Mt. Pinchot to Goodale creek.
Larry wants to get back to his car by the most direct route possible if caught high when weather came in.
Having a safe direct route is a distant secondary consideration after reading past history.

Possible, but less likely than other scenarios. Snow didn't start falling until 10:30 am at the earliest....looks to be more like 11am. He should have been over the crest by then, or at least within spitting distance.

Hmm wait, so to be really clear, did they search Taboose Pass trail from bottom to top on both east and west sides?

canukyea wrote:Hmm wait, so to be really clear, did they search Taboose Pass trail from bottom to top on both east and west sides?

I'll second that question!

David

On the previous page, Jimmeans posted a map that shows GPS tracks of the ground and helo searches

sparky wrote:Possible, but less likely than other scenarios. Snow didn't start falling until 10:30 am at the earliest....looks to be more like 11am. He should have been over the crest by then, or at least within spitting distance.

So, the Taboose Pass trail was foot-searched as well as the cliffs to the south as well it seems, from the map.

The fact that snow did not fall until 10:30 Monday or later is disturbing. Any backpacker of experience worth his/her salt would be beating tracks to the TH Monday on the discovery of the bad weather that had obviously descended Monday morning. On any given day on a trip I am well on my way to the next destination by 10:30 AM, and if the weather is obviously turning bad (as I am sure it was), I would be out of camp before sunup. I bet it was true of Larry as well. And if he was close to the pass when the snow hit (which I think he would be with an early start), I don't think anything would stop him until he was over it. Retreat seems less likely.
This would suggest that if anything happened to Larry, it was before Monday. After reading some more of his TR/reports, it seems he is a stealth camper and a hard-core cross-country mountaineer who actually sought out difficult terrain. These facts together severely complicate a rescue. It suggests that he is not in any of the usual places. It would simplify things if his tent could be found, but his habits makes that harder to do. The fact that no trace, no fire, no snow-stamped messages, no shouts, no sightings, no trace can be found further suggest that whatever happened, happened away from his tent. Our hope lie with self rescue, an area not searched, or just an oversight while searching. Here's hoping for a miraculous outcome.

The following information has been posted on Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' website: http://www.nps.gov/seki/parknews/newsreleases.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Nov. 1, 2012 - Search Efforts Suspended for Missing Hiker Larry Conn at Kings Canyon National Park

- News Release (PDF, JPEG)
- Updated map of search area - 11/1 (PDF, JPEG)

If you do not see the Nov. 1 info, hit "Refresh" once or twice and it should show up.

sparky wrote:On the previous page, Jimmeans posted a map that shows GPS tracks of the ground and helo searches

I see, but to me there's some ambiguity since it only shows the very top portion of Taboose Pass and doesn't specify if it was searched all the way from the TH.