climber4life

Nothing that the searchers have reported would suggest that an accident took place near either of the snow caves. Again, just trying to focus on positive scenarios.

Just wanted to respond to the posters from Dallas who speculated that James' partners died before he called home. I doubt this is the case. From my climbing experience, teams are almost always roped together during the steeper/more challenging portions of the climb. Thus, a fall or avalanche is likely to take the entire team, not just two members. I'd also like to respond to the comments from others who are concerned with the lack of cell phone contact from the other two climbers. Dead batteries are a very likely scenario. It's easy to accidentally leave the phone on while climbing. The cold temperatures will rapidly deplete the batteries. It's easy to think of negative scenarios, but these aren't helpful to the loved ones who visit this forum. Rather, let's focus on the positive scenarios and the real possibility that two climbers are still alive.