Body of missing hiker recovered from Mount Whitney in California

The body of a missing hiker, covered in a layer of snow, was retrieved from Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada region on Sunday. A storm had held up the recovery for five days. In a statement on Monday, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office offered condolences to the man's family and loved ones. His name has not been made public.

How events unfolded

On 19 October, a motel in Lone Pine, a town in the Sierra Nevada, told the sheriff's office that a guest had not checked out. The man had mentioned plans to hike in the area.

The next day, his vehicle was found at the foot of Mount Whitney. The California Highway Patrol sent up a helicopter, which spotted the deceased man on the Mountaineer's Route, a steep nine-mile path to the summit.

A storm system and hazardous weather prevented authorities from reaching the body. On Sunday a county search and rescue team was deployed, and the man was lifted off the mountain by helicopter from an elevation of about 13,600 feet (roughly 4,100 metres).

A dangerous peak

Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States and has proved perilous for hikers in recent years. Earlier this month, Kalem Peter Kazarian, a 52-year-old builder from Fresno, died while hiking there. Last December, Joseph Brambila, a 21-year-old hiking alone to celebrate his birthday, was missing for weeks before being found dead.