[Don]

http://www.kirotv.com/news/4766555/detail.html

[tazz]

   
It will make me think twice when I climb this peak. It is more dangerous than it looks.  I wonder if he had an ice axe?

Thoughts go out to family and friends

[Don]

Little A is a walk up, but typically holds a snow slope even into late season.  I suspect he slipped on ice and slid down the slope into frigid waters.  I know the lake at the bottom is quite deep.  I doubt he died from the fall, but rather hypothermia in the cold ice water.  Sad.

Oops, I guess they still refer to that ice slope as a "glacier".

[tazz]

just shows anything can happen and does in the mountains even a walk up.  If he had an ice axe he might have been able to arrest.

I think you are right though about the hypothermia.

too sad

[Galadriel]

I was hiking down to Snow lake when the helicopter flew into the enchantments and thought something must have gone wrong.  Earlier in the day I talked with a man who was going to climb Little A with his son.  Don't know if this is the same father/son.  I am so saddened to hear of this.

[ActionBetty]

pretty devastating  for the family and friends

[Backpacker Joe]

How does this happen?  Ive been up little A four times.  I dont see how you let yourself into something like that.

Damn sad.  God bless him and his family.

--------------
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

- Abraham Lincoln

"Backpacker Joe...There are some people even bears won't eat!"

-Dave Workman

[Snowshoe Hare]

I've been up it several times as well but I could see how it could happen. We didn't bring ice axes nor planned for any climbing or glacier/snowfield travel (just hiking and camping) as it was always late summer/early fall with very little snow left anywhere. But I can distinctly remember scrambling up the inviting and easy granite slabs to only end up at a "dead end" where the slab met a section of steep ice and snow. Sometimes it was only a short little distance on snow before the next section of slab began but it was quite steep and hard snow and if you fell you'd be sliding down quite a distance and quite fast. Some of my trips were in the not so distant past when you hardly ever saw anyone (hikers/backpackers) with trekking poles or ice axes. For most people axes would be just added weight and never used.

[gyngve]

Please, give me a break.  You didn't witness the accident.  You're speculating.  You're playing Monday armchair-quarterback, whether it's because you're trying to convince yourself that the same won't happen to you or for some other reason.

A young guy died.  It sucks, and it's sad.  Their family is going through a lot of hardship, and hopefully they'll still return and appreciate the mountains once they've grieved.  Nothing disgusts me more than speculating that almost has the flavor of criticizing.

We don't know how long he was in the water.  We don't know the sunniness/windiness (I love swimming in those lakes in summer).  Maybe he had an injury that prevented him from warming himself up (i.e. shivering).  Maybe he lost consciousness prior to entering the water.  Maybe he drowned.  Was there an easy exit from the water?

Now why did he slip?  Was he on ice?  Could the ice have been detoured?  What was his experience on snow/ice?  Did he have an axe, pole, rock?  Would he have been able to arrest in time?  Once again, why did he slip?  Was he dizzy or did he faint?  (An axe isn't going to do anything there.)  Did he have any other pertinent medical conditions?

We don't have any answers to these questions, as it is with many other unfortunate deaths in the mountains.  Making up explanations, especially ones that suggest if the subject had been better prepared or made a better decision, is darn near libel, and is not the type of respect that the deceased deserve.

Sorry for the rant -- the speculating is a pet peeve of mine.

-Gary

[Backpacker Joe]

[Snowshoe Hare]

I don't know, gyngve made some good points, and no it's not natural to wonder how he LET this happen. 

Edit: Hey I hope gyngve wasn't saying "give me a break" to me because my wording "I can see how it might have happened" might have been misunderstood. I was responding to BPJ's post about being up there many times as well and not understanding how the unfortunate person could have hurt himself.

[Slide Alder Slayer]

The lake at the base of Little Annapurna is Ladgunn Lake.

[Snowshoe Hare]

Thanks I never knew that, do you know the origin of the name?

[Slide Alder Slayer]

Bill & Peg Stark

[Snowshoe Hare]

Should have known, thanks.