I've only heard bits and pieces of the phone call from James. Can you tell me what exactly he said?
There is a link here on some post with info about the content of the call. It's a few pages back but I don't remember which one. I didn't have time to follow the link.
However. Seems he said some things that were true and others that sounded fanciful, as if he was partly rational and partly not. The gist was he felt very cold and very tired and very wet (I think I just heard there was freezing rain in that storm). He was in a snow cave and the other two and gone for help. He made some weird comments about one of them flying in a plane and the other one going to or already being in town. I don't know the exact wording but it wasn't coherent.
He did not say there had been an accident or that the two had been lost. But he was clearly in trouble and not operating on all cylinders. I think his brother asked him if he was hurt and I believe he said something like, no, but cold, wet and tired.
Phone call:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/121606dnmetclimbers.11dd082b.html