A hiker died after slipping and falling off a cliff on Mount Whitney's infamous 99 Switchbacks section on Saturday. The 2.2-mile stretch, known for its steep zigzags and rapid elevation gain, had been coated in fresh snow and battered by high winds, making already tricky terrain especially dangerous, Outside reports. Another hiker, Wes Ostgaard, said his group turned back after encountering the deteriorating conditions. Soon after, he discovered the fallen hiker and alerted authorities, triggering a challenging multi-day recovery effort. A fellow hiker identified the man as 29-year-old Paul Jonathan Ortiz Jr., reports YourCentralValley.
Rescue teams from Inyo and Mono counties initially tried to reach the victim on Saturday, but poor weather grounded helicopters and forced teams to wait. On Sunday, rescuers hiked to confirm the fatality, but again, the weather blocked recovery. It wasn't until Monday that a break in the conditions allowed a helicopter to recover the body. Officials did not share details about the fallen hiker's gear, but noted that Mount Whitney's upper reaches now demand mountaineering equipment rather than casual hiking gear.
"There are several turns on that section ... when you could literally walk off an edge," one hiker commented, underscoring the risks. Despite a strict permit system and the mountain's remote location in California's Sierra Nevada range, Mount Whitney draws thousands of hikers annually, lured by its title as the tallest peak in the lower 48 states.
story continues below
The San Jose Mercury News reports that at least six people have died on the mountain in the last two years, most recently 61-year-old Harris Levinson, who died in a fall in June. In the same month, a 14-year-old boy walked off a ledge and fell 120 feet while hallucinating, apparently due to altitude sickness. Zane Wach was in a medically induced coma for weeks. People reports that he returned home in August after more than two months in the hospital.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
