Climber's Body Recovered at 13,600 Feet on Mt. Whitney

A California Highway Patrol helicopter lifted the body of a missing hiker from a snowy slope on Mt. Whitney on Monday.

The Inyo County Sheriff's Office received a report from a Lone Pine motel employee shortly before 10 p.m. on Oct. 19. The guest had missed his checkout and left his belongings behind. Staff said the man planned to hike in the area that morning.

Deputies struggled to locate the man due to limited information about his route. They attempted to reach him via Rapid Deploy, a messaging system, but received no response. The next day, officers found his vehicle at Whitney Portal. The U.S. Forest Service confirmed he held a permit for the Mountaineer's Route for Oct. 18.

That route covers roughly nine miles and is steeper than the popular 20-mile Whitney Trail. A CHP helicopter later located a deceased climber on the path. A storm system moved into the area shortly after, creating hazardous conditions that paused recovery efforts.

Once the weather improved, the helicopter transported an Inyo County search-and-rescue team to Iceberg Lake. The team moved through snow and ice to reach the climber. They found the remains covered in snow. The helicopter then hoisted the body from an elevation of about 13,600 feet.

The Inyo County coroner's office is handling the identification process. The hiker has not been publicly named. The Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday night.

Mt. Whitney stands at 14,505 feet, making it the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. At least two other hikers died on the mountain this year. A Fresno contractor who appeared on HGTV died earlier this month while attempting a summit. In January, an unidentified hiker was found on the north face, below the final 400-foot section of the Mountaineer's Route. Last December, a 21-year-old hiker's body was discovered on the peak. In October 2025, another hiker fell to their death on the 99 Switchbacks after early seasonal snows.