The traverse back to the cave seems to be over snowpack, and the trail was already "kicked in", so he had good feet... The S&R guys didn't seem to be having great difficulty moving on that trail- What I saw of it on TV... They were roped and belayed, but seemed to be moving comfortably, so it doesn't seem to be out of the question. That can be deceiving though.
This also negates one of the theories at the climbers' forum, where they suggest perhaps he dislocated his shoulder in a self-arrest, which would mean he had an axe in his hand of the arm that got injured. Right? Or is this still a possibility?
Self-arrest is a reasonable theory for the injury, but that would pre-suppose his axes were with him, and suggests that his buddies left him totally unprepared- That is the thing that bugs me the most. They would not have left him that way.
How does the possibly cut rope fit into all this?
As I said before, the rope may or may not indicate a cut-away scenario. It would be incidental until more evidence presents.
Bruce
Did you see this? Autopsy reports say that James died of hypothermia. The autopsy results on James also showed that he had no disabling injuries and that he had been dead for several days before his body was found. Dehydration may have been a contributing factor in his death and tests are being done to try to make a determination.
What about the reported dislocated shoulder? So he was not physically injured after all?
http://www.katu.com/news/4973936.html
Thanks for your comments!