[pct-l] RE: deaths in San Bernardinos/San Gabriels last winter

[mardav at charter.net (Marion Davison)]

I live in Victorville and get the San Bernardino paper.  There was much 
discussion over the adverse mountain conditions last January that led to 
8 deaths. 
The severe rainstorm in December that caused flash flooding and the 
deaths of 15 campers in stream canyons was an ice storm at higher 
elevations.  A long cold spell allowed this ice to linger, thaw and 
refreeze a few times, producing a glass-like surface on the trails.  The 
authorities conclude that the deaths occurred when people (experienced 
hikers who didn't expect snow mountaineering conditions) fell off these 
ice glazed trails.  Many trails in the area are side cut on steep slopes 
and a fall could easily be fatal under such conditions.  But such 
conditions are so rare in these ranges that you could have hiked the 
same hike a dozen Januarys in a row and never encountered such conditions. 
I don't know the facts in each case, but I doubt if any of these hikers 
had crampons, ice axe, or the recent experience to know how to use them. 
Marion