Replies

Some tidbits from an article at Oregon Live:

Rescuers from the U.S. Air Force Reserve's 304th Rescue Squadron who found James in his snow cave said he had a thin lightweight waterproof sack, but no sleeping bag and no warm insulated jacket. ...

Pictures taken with a disposable camera found with James show two sets of tracks in the snow side by side, indicating one of the climbers may have been assisting one of his partners, presumably James, up the slope, Wampler said. ...

From the summit, they would have been able to walk down as far as they safely could as darkness came on Friday night, Dec. 8, and build a snow cave where they spent the night without sleeping bags.

Henderson thinks the men set up a base camp above the Tilly Jane trail head and below the point they started the most technical part of the climb. Any such camp would be buried under two feet of new and drifted snow by now.

On Saturday morning, Dec. 9, Cooke and Hall likely traversed across the mountain, Henderson said, and then chopped an indentation into the snow where they could affix anchors for a descent down the Cooper Spur route.

The matched pair of ice axes discovered Sunday by rescuers indicates strong winds, estimated at up to 100 mph, could have "blown away" the climber above, Henderson said.

"To leave the ice axes was not intentional," he said. "They are essential tools for climbing, one for each hand. On a hard face like that, you don't leave your tools."

>>The matched pair of ice axes discovered Sunday by rescuers indicates strong winds, estimated at up to 100 mph, could have "blown away" the climber above, Henderson said.

"To leave the ice axes was not intentional," he said. "They are essential tools for climbing, one for each hand. On a hard face like that, you don't leave your tools." <<

I'm reading this to mean, that the ice axes did not belong to Kelly James then. He says that Hall and Cooke were traversing.