maverick wrote:A storm is due in on Wed and Thur, it will have snow and low temps, this will most likely cover up any evidence, and suspend the search.
I sure hope they find him, or evidence of him, before the storm hits!
Inyo SAR is well capable of searching the area, they will get assistance from other counties, if needed, and joint training missions could be conducted at a later time, as they did in the Conn case, Sierra Madre SAR were the ones who found the Conn evidence 8 months later, they were also there when we were out looking for Larry.
Thanks for your reply -- I'm glad Inyo SAR has the resources to be on top of things.
Mike left a letter in his car, writing that he was going to climb Mt. Irvine, and that if he had time, then also bag Mt. LeConte. From talking to Mikes friend, it is most likely that he did proceed with his climb, and most likely was unaware of the incoming storm.
If you get the chance, I had a few questions. Was the car at the Meysan Lake trailhead (or wherever Mike would have begun his climb) or somewhere else, such as where he might have been camping? I assume all of this has been figured out, but wanted to double-check that whatever happened did so on the trail rather than on the way to the trailhead. Also, do you happen to know whether the letter had a date (and even a time) on it -- did it appear have been written on the morning of 11/9, or perhaps earlier in the weekend? I was wondering whether it was in effect saying "this is what I plan to do Monday" or "this is what I'm about to do right now."
Assuming Mike did begin his planned hike to Mt. Irvine, is it possible to estimate (based on sunrise times, when he tended to start in the morning, his usual speed, and trail characteristics) roughly where he might have been when the storm hit that afternoon?