Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Missing hiker

A young lady is missing on Whitney ,she left the group around Trailcrest yesterday about 1 PM,

Hiking poles for gear ,wearing a dark blue North Face jackets.She has long black hair ,wearing glasses on her face book photo .

My thoughts are she should of made it to Trailcamp area by early evening and may have followed tracks down south of the main trail/and Trailside Meadow and had trouble in the area above Outpost Camp
Several groups have taken this path and had to backtrack.

If anyone saw this young lady on Sunday ,morning or afternoon Please call Inyo County Sheriff's Office also for more details and photos look at INYO Counties Sheriff's facebook page.
Helicopter was still searching at 6PM tonight.

Doug Sir,

Did they find the missing lady?

Several people have added location details so I think the search is focused in one area and a ground search is ongoing now.

Unfortunately:
Inyo County Sheriff's Office added 3 new photos.

Search and Rescue UPDATE

At noon today Dongying “Cindy” Qiu was located deceased at the base of a frozen waterfall near Outpost Camp. It is believed that she fell approximately 60 feet through a snow chute at the top of the waterfall (located on the southwest side of Outpost Camp, about a quarter mile off trail).

“This is an incredibly tragic situation and based on the extreme snow conditions in the backcountry, this could have happened to anyone,” stated Inyo County Sheriff’s Corporal Nick Vaughn. “The entire search crew and the Sheriff’s Office extend their most sincere condolences to the Qiu family and friends during this very difficult time.”

This was the second day of searching for the missing hiker. Support for today’s search was provided by Sierra Madre SAR, San Bernardino SAR, China Lake Mountain Rescue Mountain Rescue Group, Inyo SAR and aerial support provided by Army National Guard and CHP H-80.

Terrible news,

Disheartening and tragic it is.

When in doubt shelter in place and wait for help.

Thanks for the updates.

Too late that is.

The group together keep.

To the parking lot, if necessary, your weakest member guide.

Dale B. Dalrymple

So very sorry to hear that and our hearts go out to the family, To all who are hiking take Warning the route she took is very Dangerous and not Recommended,stay to the right when Hiking up out of Outpost camp and when Descending Stay left towards the rocks heading toward mirror lake.Once again our condolences to the Family of this young girl.

The latest sheriff report said that she was located "about a quarter mile off trail". How close was this accidental death to that of a senior male hiker who went off trail not too far from this same location (I'm trying to find out how close the two locations were), and I'm trying to recall the exact details of the other death (which did not involve snow, but did involve walking off the trail near that location and going over a cliff). I've descended from Trail Crest 7 times and I remember between Trail Camp and Outpost that you can barely see the trail when you get near to Mirror Lake and you have to make a near 90 degree turn, but the trail is mostly on rock at that point and it's hard to see that the trail is turning left. Can some with a better memory of these two incidents comment on my questions here? Thanks!

I recall the older gentleman. I don't believe it's that close, recognizing that distance is relative. I believe he fell into a chute above Mirror Lake. Therefore, quite a bit north from where this happened and at a higher elevation.

I think what is similar is that you have solo hikers, exhausted, cold, and possibly experiencing some of the effects of altitude, who get to a state that they are not in a position to look after themselves or make good decisions.

Can I quote your reply (Scott H and Akichow) to a thread on this topic to Facebook, and if so, do you want your handle used or not. Thanks!

By all means share with others so no one else makes the same mistake, I Descended that route last week and won't make that mistake again, that was my fifth climb and first down that route,Its important to stay toward mirror lake.

In addition to the helpful advice given above, I also think the following which I noted on Facebook before reading this thread. Quote (my earlier post): "Sad, but a lesson to learn here. This lady was hiking on snow with no crampons, no self-arrest device, and only hiking poles. I seriously doubt she would have killed herself had she either (a) taken a snow hiking safety course or (b) hiked with other hikers who have taken the course PLUS (with either (a) or (b), brought along equipment to enable her to self-arrest or prevent her from falling in the first place, such as having firm traction on the snow."

Hi thanks for asking. I'd like to opt out of having my comments re-posted. I share the view that these tragic events are learning opportunities. But I also see how they can play out in social media where people who were not present analyze and deconstruct events to which they were not a party in a way that may in some cases lack respect and perspective. So I am careful what I say, after these tragic events, and where I say it. Thanks again for asking.

Good posts and comments. Any information is appreciated and we will take extreme caution as we always do.

Thanks Doug for the opportunity for us to share this stuff.

Terrible news. My sincere condolences to the family and a shared word of caution for all.