Summit chaser takes fatal plunge after climbing 13,000-foot Sierra peak

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Set us as preferred Hiking enthusiast Brian Seibert summited the more than 13,000-foot face of Mount Morgan’s north ridge Sunday, offering him a sweeping panorama view of the jagged peaks and crystalline lakes of the Eastern Sierra.Three days later, his body was recovered near the bottom of Grand Central Couloir after what authorities determined was “an unsurvivable fall” from a steep cliff, according to the Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue Team.The mission to locate Seibert took more than 300 cumulative hours from 20 members of the volunteer rescue team, as well as the support of several outside state and local agencies.Mount Morgan, located west of Bishop in the Sierra National Forest, sits in technically challenging alpine terrain characterized by boulder fields, steep gullies, unstable talus slopes and hidden drop-offs where a person can easily be concealed from ground and aerial views.

California A solo female climber was nearing the remote summit of California’s second-tallest mountain last week when she fell, injuring her leg so badly the bone was sticking through her skin.The search began Monday morning when the rescue team was notified by the Mono County Sheriff’s Office that Seibert had not been heard from since he sent a 7 p.m message Sunday night indicating he was on his way back from the peak.The sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, or MONOSAR, is a nonprofit organization made up of unpaid community members who volunteer their time and often their own equipment to perform rescues.In a Facebook post detailing this latest mission, the team described Seibert as a “peak bagger,” the type of mountaineer who loves summiting as many peaks as possible, although it is unclear what others he had reached in the past.

“He was truly one of the best and we are all going to miss him,” wrote friend Darin Mi...