The American Alpine Club has for many years published “Accidents in North American Mountaineering” and those who trek the high country would be well advised to study that accumulated history, lest they appear in a future edition. The publication analyzes the failure chain in each accident, which I suspect in this case will include lack of training for the conditions including self-arrest techniques; lack of adequate equipment including ice axes, crampons, and avalanche beacons; inadequate clothing as evidenced by hypothermia; and most of all inexperience leading the party to underestimate risks and/or overestimate their abilities.
They weren’t climbing. They were recreational hikers. I was up there yesterday- conditions were not hikable
Spot Gen3 GPS device is a nice addition to off-grid safety. For $17.95 you can add insurance for evac 50,000 incident x2. http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=100