Two climbers who became stuck while attempting a route on Mt. Whitney waited over 18 hours for , with one dangling on-rope the entire time According to a Facebook post by Inyo County Search and Rescue, the party of two set out from the Whitney Portal to tackle the 11-pitch, 5.7-grade route of the Mt.
Whitney East Buttress just after midnight on September 21. They reached the base of the climb at approximately 10 a.m.
but had only completed three pitches five hours later. Due to diminishing daylight and snow and ice on the route, the climbers reportedly "decided they were beyond their ability" and attempted to bail off the route into a neighboring couloir. However, they were unable to complete the bailout and contacted mountain rescue for assistance.
Despite attempts by Inyo SAR to coach the climbers to self-rescue, the pair were "not comfortable executing any of the methods discussed" and, with nightfall fast approaching, had to weather in place overnight with one climber spending the entire night on the end rope just 100 ft from their partner. "One member of the party had done an initial rappel but was unable to re-ascend the rope back to the original anchor." The following morning, search and rescue teams entered the area via helicopter and climbed up to the duo to rescue them.
The climbers were able to hike to safety, leaving gear behind in the wall, but the rescue crews note they were "beyond their skill level" and caution all rock climbers to be prepared and consider cli.
