About

Over four years ago, I read “Touching the Void” and I was always intrigued by situation hikers find themselves in and the incredible things they do to stay alive.

This blog is about learning from other people’s mistakes, so you don’t make the same ones.

“Better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat”

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UPDATE: Man Missing on Mt. Whitney Found Dead

Who: 73-year-old Kenneth Wade Brunette
Where: Main Trail, Mt. Whitney, California
His mistake: It’s still unknown.
What happened: Roughly 100 rescuers, dog teams and four helicopters have been looking for a missing hiker on Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states. The man last seen about 1 ½ miles short of the summit in the [...]

Solo Climber Seriously Injured in Mountain Fall

Who: A Chinese man
Where: Shark’s Tooth, Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand
His mistake: He was traveling alone, but not much is known beyond that
What happened: A Chinese man and another unknown climber carpooled to the base of Mt. Taranaki. Although both men traveled to the mountain together, they both chose to climb the mountain solo. It is [...]

Rock Fall Injures Climber on Mt. Whitney

Who: Two men
Where: East Buttress route (5.7), Mt. Whitney, California
Their mistake: Bad luck
What happened: Two climbers were on their final push to the summit of Mt. Whitney on the East Buttress route, a 5.7 scramble/climb to the peak of the mountain. While the men were on a ledge at 13,500 feet, a large rock fell [...]

Two Killed in Indian Avalanche

Who: Mangesh Despande and an unknown mountaineer, both from Mumbai
Where: Mt. Thingchinkhang, India
Their mistake: Bad luck. Not sure if there were any signs in the snow
What happened: A team of four mountaineers and two Sherpas tackled Mt. Thingchinkhang. The team successfully made it to the summit of the mountain and began to descend back to [...]

7 Russian Hikers Missing in China Found Safe

Who: Seven Russian Hikers, 5 men and 2 women
Where: Kunlun Mountain Range, China
Their mistake: They were hiking illegally, but there are a lot of holes in the story still
What happened: A group of seven hikers from Russia planned on hiking through the Kunlun Mountain Range for about one month. When the Russians applied for their [...]

Renowned Mountaineer Dies on Shisha Pangma

Who: 32-year-old Roby Piantoni
Where: Shisha Pangma, Tibet, China
His mistake: He was climbing in crystal-ice conditions which contributed to a slip
What happened: World-renowned mountaineer, Roby Piantoni, was with a group attempting a new route up the south face of Shisha Pangma, the world’s 14th tallest mountain and the last 8,000-meter peak to be climbed.

The team attempted [...]

1 Climber Dies, Polish Ambassador Injured in Lightning Strike

Who: Andrei Timovic and Jaroslaw Lindenberg, ambassador of Poland
Where: A local mountain above Kolasin, Montenegro
Their mistake: Not sure if they checked the weather, but it could just be bad luck
What happened: A group of 11 climbers were attempting to summit a local peak when a lightning storm developed above them. Lightning struck the group – [...]

First Avalanche of American Snow Season Hits Rocky Mountain NP

Who: Two climbers
Where: Dream Weaver alpine climb, Mt. Meeker, Rocky Mountain National Park
Their mistake: Unclear. Not sure if they checked avy conditions or not
What happened: Two climbers were climbing the Dream Weaver alpine climb route. They were on the first or one of the lower pitches of the climb when a small slab avalanche broke [...]

Man Dies Unexpectedly During Descent of Cho Oyu

Who: 71-year-old Clifton Maloney, husband of U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), and millionaire investment banker
Where: Cho Oyu, the 6th tallest peak in the world
His mistake: It’s unknown.
What happened: A 71-year-old man was on an expedition to Cho Oyu with a professional climbing partner and guide. They both successfully climbed to the summit of the mountain [...]

Man Dies in Crevasse

Who: A 68-year-old man
Where: Otscher, Lower Austria
His mistake: He lost his balance
What happened: A man climbing in the Otscher area with his 35-year-old son lost his footing and fell into a crevasse. He fell 250 meters into the crevasse. It is unclear if rescuers were able to recover the body, but I doubt it. Unfortunately [...]

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