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- Jul 19, 2004
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- Out of Bounds
Welcome to the forum, Denion!
As you've probably seen from reading up until June 2014, that's been my preferred explanation, too.
I agree ... It's curious that they elected to descend into the fatal valley (where they'd never been) rather than descending back the way they'd come, where they knew their cache was located.
The cache ('labaz' as labeled on some maps and illustrations) was farther away than the tree area into which they descended. The bodies' locations were circa 1.5 km from the tent. The cache location isn't clearly indicated or consistently designated on annotated maps, but it would generally seem to have been at least 2 km away.
Another factor to consider is that the tree line to which they descended was visible from the tent site, but the downslope area in the direction of the cache was not. They would have had to cross back over the pass / ridgeline to start descending back toward the cache.
The ascent had clearly proven to be more time-consuming and / or difficult than they'd originally expected. They were tired and under duress. My guess is that the day's ascent experience left the impression the cache was farther away in terms of distance and effort than the treeline they could see in the other direction (below the tent site).
Hey guys, I just wanted to say that reading this thread up until June 2014 was a thrill! Quite comfortably the best thread on this topic, anywhere, with many, many good thinkers.
I have also come to the conclusion that extreme and overwhelming cold and consequently bad decisions were the main culprits of the tragedy.
As you've probably seen from reading up until June 2014, that's been my preferred explanation, too.
"At the same time, there still remains one question. Why did they leave for the valley instead of descending back to the cache where they knew for certain they had enough firewood to start and maintain a steady campfire?
I'm not that well-versed in map reading and distance judging. Was the cache point further away from the tent than the cedar tree area?
I agree ... It's curious that they elected to descend into the fatal valley (where they'd never been) rather than descending back the way they'd come, where they knew their cache was located.
The cache ('labaz' as labeled on some maps and illustrations) was farther away than the tree area into which they descended. The bodies' locations were circa 1.5 km from the tent. The cache location isn't clearly indicated or consistently designated on annotated maps, but it would generally seem to have been at least 2 km away.
Another factor to consider is that the tree line to which they descended was visible from the tent site, but the downslope area in the direction of the cache was not. They would have had to cross back over the pass / ridgeline to start descending back toward the cache.
The ascent had clearly proven to be more time-consuming and / or difficult than they'd originally expected. They were tired and under duress. My guess is that the day's ascent experience left the impression the cache was farther away in terms of distance and effort than the treeline they could see in the other direction (below the tent site).