9 miles of hiking • 4500' elevation gain •
Gorgeous day, tons of people on the mountain, including many skiers, snowboarders and dogs! Seemed like a tourist trail and quite a few plodders not very well prepared. Above 6000 feet the temp dropped and snow was very icy, crampons needed.
At 7000 ft we saw a scary accident. A fellow tried to glissade a very steep and icy section, he quickly lost control and made no attempt to self arrest. He hit the rocks, ice axe flying through the air, and tumbled down into the adjacent gully. He raised his hand after a minute, and a group went to his rescue, I don't know what kind of injuries he sustained. We were all shaken witnessing this. Had two folks who had no previous crampon/ice axe experience. We decided to turn around and make our leisurely way down the mountain. Got quite a few good glissades in the softer snow at lower elevation.
