Climber dies on Whitney
A Los Angeles man plunged 1,000 feet to his death while free climbing the northwest face of Mt. Whitney earlier this month.
Authorities recovered the body of Richard J. Ferrari, 37, Wednesday below a site where he was likely crossing steel-hard ice during a snowstorm on the way down the mountain, says Malinee Crapsey, a National Park Service ranger.
Three climbers who came off the mountain reported finding a collapsed tent at the bottom of the northwest face March 14. Inyo County rescue personnel spotted Ferrari’s body on the Moutaineers Route from the air the next day, but could not retrieve it until the following day.
Experienced climbers scale the 14,497-foot mountain, highest in the lower 48 states, during winter, but storms, clouds and cold make the trek perilous.
-- Scott Doggett
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