Body of missing California hiker recovered on Mount Whitney

The body of a missing California hiker, blanketed in a layer of snow, was recovered on Mount Whitney on Sunday after a blustery storm delayed retrieval operations for five days.

The Inyo county sheriff’s office extended its condolences to the loved ones and family of the hiker, who has not been publicly identified, in a Monday statement.

On 19 October, a motel in Lone Pine, a town in California’s Sierra Nevada region, contacted the sheriff’s office about a guest who failed to check out. The man had brought up plans to hike in the area.

A vehicle belonging to the climber was found the next day at the base of Mount Whitney. The California highway patrol deployed a helicopter, which found the deceased man on the Mountaineer’s Route, a steep nine mile path leading to the mountain’s peak.

A storm system which brought hazardous weather conditions hindered authorities from securing the man’s body. A county search and rescue team was deployed on Sunday and the individual was hoisted off the mountain via helicopter from an elevation of about 13,600 ft.

Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, has proven to be a perilous hiking site in recent years.

In October, 52-year-old Fresno builder Kalem Peter Kazarian died while hiking.

Last December, Joseph Brambila, a 21-year-old solo hiker celebrating his birthday was missing for weeks before he was found dead.