On Sunday, Inyo County Search and Rescue volunteers were called out for the sad task of recovering the body of a woman who had fallen on Mt. Whitney.

mt._whitney.jpgReports indicate that a man and his wife, Keum Kim, were climbing up the ice and rock chute known as the Mountaineers route as part of a party of four climbers. Sometime Saturday night, possibly after 9:00 PM, the party was descending from the summit when the woman fell. Why the group was so high on the mountain after dark is not clear, but some reports indicate that the group had planned to watch the sunset from the summit. Some reports said that the group had been climbing without head lamps to light their way.

The group, which included the womans husband, reportedly searched through the night for the fallen woman, finally finding her deceased early Sunday morning.

A climber not associated with the victims party, was in the area of Iceberg Lake and called Inyo Search and Rescue by cell phone Sunday morning.

Inyo SAR members flew into the area of Iceberg Lake by CHP helicopter to recover the body. The victim was later identified as 53 year old Keum Kim of Redondo Beach.

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