Dec. 5th, 2010: 'Experienced' hiker missing on Baldy

spotfin · Post by **spotfin** » Wed Dec 08, 2010 10:46 pm

Very sad. Rest in peace.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Wed Dec 08, 2010 10:54 pm

HikeUp wrote: ↑The report on KTLA 10 o'clock news showed some woman pointing on a map to where they found her at 7900' on the north side of Baldy. This ACME map shows approximately where the woman was pointing at on the map in the report.

I hate to speculate, but if the north face was covered in snow, she might have fallen down an ice chute. That north slope is almost a straight shot all the way down 2000 ft. Here's an old TR to give an idea of what it looks like back there: https://eispiraten.com/a ... highlight=

Those shouts that someone heard was probably from someone else down on Mt. Baldy Rd. It's unlikely anyone could have heard her if she was on the north side.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Wed Dec 08, 2010 11:17 pm

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:06 am

Very sorry about the loss of an obviously experienced hiker, and prayers for her family.
Everyone be careful out there!

simonov · Post by **simonov** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:57 am

Tim wrote: ↑I hate to speculate, but if the north face was covered in snow, she might have fallen down an ice chute. That north slope is almost a straight shot all the way down 2000 ft.

Personally, I am very careful about wandering too close to the northern part of the summit flat, especially in winter.

Augie · Post by **Augie** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 8:10 am

Tragic. Happens too often. Experienced hikers can't be smug.

He219 · Post by **He219** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:01 am

Fish Fork Drainage
2,100 feet down.

RiP, Michelle Yu.

mcphersonm80 · Post by **mcphersonm80** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:44 am

So sad... Condolences to her family and friends.

gwjones00 · Post by **gwjones00** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 12:38 pm

From the news at Noon today:

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2010/12/ ... ldy-hiker/

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 1:59 pm

From Inland News Today

MOUNT BALDY – Last weekend’s storm may have caused an experienced alpine hiker to lose her way on Mt. Baldy and ultimately her life.

Searchers found the body of Michelle Yu, 49, Wednesday on the northwest side of the icy peak at Fish Fork.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire says the weather was against the searchers late last Sunday.

“They reported that the rain was coming at them sideways. That’s how hard the wind was blowing. It was actually blowing them off of the trail.”

Ms. Yu had been training for an alpine event and had planned only a day hike last Saturday. (INT)

Does this make any sense at all? The reports all say that she was day-hiking last Saturday and the bad weather did not start until Sunday afternoon.

Sam Page · Post by **Sam Page** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 2:33 pm

Alan K: The report you quote makes sense. She didn't return from her dayhike on Saturday and then the rescue was hampered by bad weather the following day.

Another horrible winter accident on Mt. Baldy. I read somewhere that she was planning to descend Devil's Backbone. I suspect she mistakenly descended the ridge toward Dawson -- hence her final resting place in the Fish Fork drainage. In poor visibility, it would be easy to get lured down that ridge.

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 2:46 pm

Sam Page wrote: ↑Alan K: The report you quote makes sense. She didn't return from her dayhike on Saturday and then the rescue was hampered by bad weather the following day.

Another horrible winter accident on Mt. Baldy. I read somewhere that she was planning to descend Devil's Backbone. I suspect she mistakenly descended the ridge toward Dawson -- hence her final resting place in the Fish Fork drainage. In poor visibility, it would be easy to get lured down that ridge.

I understand that the conditions early on in the rescue effort were awful. I have been on Baldy in whiteout conditions and can easily imagine someone going down the wrong ridge. But I am still under the impression that she hiked, and fell, on Saturday, when the weather was not at all bad. Is is likely that someone intimately familiar with the mountain could have headed down towards Dawson by mistake on Saturday?

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 3:18 pm

AlanK wrote: ↑...But I am still under the impression that she hiked, and fell, on Saturday, when the weather was not at all bad. Is is likely that someone intimately familiar with the mountain could have headed down towards Dawson by mistake on Saturday?

It might have depended upon what time she summited. I signed the register about the same time - 8:30AM-ish on Saturday, went up via Register Ridge/Devils Backbone to the summit, and back down the same way until I came to the low point in the saddle, which is nearly directly above the ski hut. At that point I took the drainage down to the hut, and then the trail back down to Manker Flats, getting there about 3PM. The weather was threatening, with only a few quick snow squalls when I was up high that didn't amount to much but did sting your cheeks. During the squalls the vis was still 100-200 yards or more. Just before I turned the corner by the register on the way out, I looked back at the summit, and now the cloud ceiling had lowered over the summit by perhaps 500'.

While I was on the mountain Saturday, the weather wasn't bad, but it was one of those days where it kept me on edge, and thinking I probably should have done a peak in DV rather than the SG's, and confess I was relieved to reach the relative safety of the hut and a quick trip down from there.

lilbitmo · Post by **lilbitmo** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 3:36 pm

AlanK wrote: ↑
Sam Page wrote: ↑Alan K: The report you quote makes sense. She didn't return from her dayhike on Saturday and then the rescue was hampered by bad weather the following day.

Another horrible winter accident on Mt. Baldy. I read somewhere that she was planning to descend Devil's Backbone. I suspect she mistakenly descended the ridge toward Dawson -- hence her final resting place in the Fish Fork drainage. In poor visibility, it would be easy to get lured down that ridge.
I understand that the conditions early on in the rescue effort were awful. I have been on Baldy in whiteout conditions and can easily imagine someone going down the wrong ridge. But I am still under the impression that she hiked, and fell, on Saturday, when the weather was not at all bad. Is is likely that someone intimately familiar with the mountain could have headed down towards Dawson by mistake on Saturday?

I hate to speculate but 15 of us were at the summit on Saturday, we left sometime before noon, it was windy, somewhere between 20 and 30 miles an hour with gust slightly above that, the clouds were at least 4 to 5 thousand feet above us, hazy yes but visibility was 40 miles if not more. She was 2 hours behind us as my best guess (I do not remember seeing her on the way down, Tracy B. remembers seeing her near the Ski Hut). With her knowledge of the mountain (everyone has indicated that she goes there every weekend to hike to get ready for the competition) I cannot see her getting lost and trying to downclimb to Dawson or towards Pine without being able to notice the high desert was straight ahead. The weather did start to have realy soft flurries/rain at Manker Flats at 2:30 but it was not a "white out" by any means, that does not mean it wasn't worse on top, only the people that summited 1 PM and 3 PM can give us those conditions - I've been in the bowl when it was a "white out" on top and I've been on top when you could see for miles and the bowl was "socked in" with low lying clouds - the real bad weather came on Sunday night when it rained hard with snow coming down above 8,000 feet just as the call when out to SAR.

I'm extremely sad that this happened, my prayers go out to the family. Rest in Peace Michelle.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 3:44 pm

Based on HikeUp's map and the news reports of her being slightly above Fish Fork in a steep area with no vegetation, I think she probably fell from the summit. If she went down the ridge to Dawson, it would have taken an awful lot of work to go from there to where she ended up. It would have just seemed wrong to a Baldy regular such as her.

SAR seems to think she fell from the summit:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... -area.html

Search and rescue crews have speculated that poor conditions at the peak might have confused Yu.

“Because of fog, she could have got to the summit and turned in the wrong direction, and then slipped and fell,” Miller said.

The retrieval team plans to put the victim in a rescue basket and fly the body out the area, Miller said.
“They are not able to walk,” she said. “The terrain is not safe enough."

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 4:49 pm

I received a couple of PM's and understand that visibility on top may have been down to zero for a time on Saturday afternoon. Having been on Baldy in whiteout conditions, I can understand disorientation and how easy it could be to make a terrible error. Unfortunately, none of this discussion can help poor Michelle Yu, but we can all take a warning concerning how small the margin of error can be.

AW~ · Post by **AW~** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 5:18 pm

AlanK wrote: ↑Ken Murray had a good comment on this subject on the WPS Board

this question often comes up. As I have seen the discussions go, outside help is STRONGLY discouraged, sometimes to the point of arresting people.

The reason is that searches end up becoming very methodical explorations of terrain, in which clues are sought, and resources are allocated based upon clues found. The look is for "footprints" (actual or metaphorical). When a bunch of us well meaning amateurs go into an area, we usually eradicate all sign of anyone who has passed, and we don't have the training to recognize the disturbed ground, the snapped twig, the slide in the snow that has filled in.

Plus, in technical terrain, well-meaning people who are not skilled, get hurt/lost/exhausted/etc....and end up pulling resources away from the actual search.

We make it harder.

The SAR's know what they are doing, they know what they need, they know how to get help, and are best left to do what they are best at doing.

http://exempt.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/ ... er-update/

....We were doing this(traverse to the ski lift) at this point, in the complete darkness, no more iphone 4 light...As I lead my two companions in the darkness, the worst happened. I took a step coming down a sharp decline on the path, and I fell forward, but my foot caught inside a iced hole. I heard a sharp loud *CRACK* and felt the intense heat and sharp pain of electric pain shoot up my left ankle.

But I think this could happened at anytime and SAR knows people are going to be hiking MtBaldy. My compliments to em on dealing with a higher profile SAR. I did wonder what if it was someone close to me....I likely would have been aggresive on the search.

Zach · Post by **Zach** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 5:59 pm

Well I think ultimately the SAR guys and authorities who found her can determine why she ended up on that side. Position of the body, injuries, and a slew of other factors can help determine cause/time of death. Alas, all this speculation is moot at this point, our community lost a life today and nothing can change that fact. My condolences to her family and friends. May she rest in peace.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 6:08 pm

Btw, I don't mean any disrespect to Michelle with any of the speculation. It's just when this stuff happens, your mind just starts analyzing everything, partly to try to learn from it and partly to understand her circumstances. It's really sad when this happens because as corny as it sounds, I think we feel a certain kinship with other hikers and climbers because we know what it's like out there. You read those crazy comments by the general public after news articles and those people don't have any idea. So when someone goes missing, it's like losing one of our own.

There is a website out there that has a picture of her sign in at the Ski Hut Trail register. Seeing her handwriting is really sad.

bertfivesix · Post by **bertfivesix** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 6:17 pm

AW wrote: ↑
http://exempt.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/ ... er-update/

hvydrt · Post by **hvydrt** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 6:38 pm

Very sad.

Funyan005 · Post by **Funyan005** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 6:46 pm

So sad if this guy really is pointing fingers at SAR. But Im going to agree with the above I want to meet this guy! Sounds like a party animal if he really can do all that on a broken ankle.

bkk030580 · Post by **bkk030580** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 6:59 pm

I don't usually jump into these discussions, but I just wanted to assure everyone that there were many SAR crews on the mountain Monday. I know because one of those crampon tracks was mine. Yes, by the afternoon, there probably were not any teams walking on the trail, because typical assignments were to start high and search down the canyons and ridges looking for any sign of the missing person.

My condolences to all of Michelle's friends and family.

bertfivesix · Post by **bertfivesix** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:37 pm

Sorry subscribers, but to many damn rednecks and mountain trash were yip yapping, seems that calling SARS underfunded and unreliable really upsets the white trash. I also really didn’t feel like have the epically historic debate of civilian operations training vs military training which then always leads to a “who’s penis is bigger” contest for the feeble minded. Yah no thanks.

Cheers!

Posers are cute.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:47 pm

Statement from her family:

Over the course of the last four days, our family has fought to keep hope alive that our beloved Michelle would come home to us after an exhausting ordeal on Mount Baldy. We are simply devastated to know now that she will not.

Our family cannot adequately express our grief at the untimely passing of our vibrant, incredible Michelle; but, we have been so touched by and grateful for the outpouring of support from so many people who loved and cared for her. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, and efforts.

“Thank you” does not begin to sufficiently relay our immense gratitude and appreciation for all of the counties, especially San Bernardino and Los Angeles, which extended such tremendous support to the Search and Rescue efforts to find Michelle in difficult conditions at the risk of their own safety. To all of the officials, countless volunteers, and well-wishers who contributed vastly in the efforts to recover our loved one, we are forever grateful. Our family would also like to extend our deepest gratitude to Pastor Ron Thomas and the Mt. Baldy VillageChurch for opening their doors to family and friends during the search.

We cannot comprehend a world without our Michelle, but find some comfort in knowing that she left us while doing something she loved. For those so inclined, in lieu of flowers or any other forms of sympathy, our family would appreciate you supporting your local Sheriff’s Search and Rescue programs through contributions made in memory of Michelle Yu.

JayO · Post by **JayO** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 8:07 pm

Tim wrote: ↑Btw, I don't mean any disrespect to Michelle with any of the speculation. It's just when this stuff happens, your mind just starts analyzing everything, partly to try to learn from it and partly to understand her circumstances. It's really sad when this happens because as corny as it sounds, I think we feel a certain kinship with other hikers and climbers because we know what it's like out there. You read those crazy comments by the general public after news articles and those people don't have any idea. So when someone goes missing, it's like losing one of our own.

Well said, Tim.

Next time we all wake up & need some motivation to get outside - let Michelle be all the motivation you need.

titanhangman · Post by **titanhangman** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:22 pm

Clearly this is very sad. The thing I keep hoping is that she didn't suffer beyond the immediate terror she must have felt (assuming a fall). For her sake I hope it was quick.

simonov · Post by **simonov** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 6:14 am

bertfivesix wrote: ↑
Sorry subscribers, but to many damn rednecks and mountain trash were yip yapping, seems that calling SARS underfunded and unreliable really upsets the white trash. I also really didn’t feel like have the epically historic debate of civilian operations training vs military training which then always leads to a “who’s penis is bigger” contest for the feeble minded. Yah no thanks.

Cheers!
Posers are cute.

Damn. I wanted to ask him why he was carrying an iPhone in the Hindu Kush.

Melito Irpino · Post by **Melito Irpino** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:13 pm

lilbitmo wrote: ↑
With her knowledge of the mountain (everyone has indicated that she goes there every weekend to hike to get ready for the competition) I cannot see her getting lost and trying to downclimb to Dawson or towards Pine without being able to notice the high desert was straight ahead. The weather did start to have realy soft flurries/rain at Manker Flats at 2:30 but it was not a "white out" by any means, that does not mean it wasn't worse on top, only the people that summited 1 PM and 3 PM can give us those conditions - I've been in the bowl when it was a "white out" on top and I've been on top when you could see for miles and the bowl was "socked in" with low lying clouds - the real bad weather came on Sunday night when it rained hard with snow coming down above 8,000 feet just as the call when out to SAR.

Patrick - I was on the summit about 15 minutes after you left. In the 30 minutes that I was there from 11:30 to 12:00 the conditions got noticeably worse. I could see Pine and Dawson when I got there but not when I left.

Normally, I agree that it seems unlikely that an experienced hiker would go the wrong way down but based on the weight she was carrying it is likely that she did not summit until well after 1:00 and the visibility was probably much worse.

I'm sure I passed her on the way down but don't remember her. There were a couple dozen people heading past the Ski Hut up as I was going down.

RIP Michelle!

Post by **Taco** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 8:30 pm

simonov wrote: ↑
bertfivesix wrote: ↑
Sorry subscribers, but to many damn rednecks and mountain trash were yip yapping, seems that calling SARS underfunded and unreliable really upsets the white trash. I also really didn’t feel like have the epically historic debate of civilian operations training vs military training which then always leads to a “who’s penis is bigger” contest for the feeble minded. Yah no thanks.

Cheers!
Posers are cute.
Damn. I wanted to ask him why he was carrying an iPhone in the Hindu Kush.

His or her post is gone now. What a disrespectful tool. Why don't these idiots say something to my "redneck" face? Buncha internet heroes.

RIP Michelle