A woman from Colorado slipped on ice on Christmas Eve day and fell 200 feet while descending from Cucamonga Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Hiker Crystal Paula Gonzalez-Landas died on Mount Baldy on Jan. 8 after sliding as much as 700 feet down a snowy slope — the second death on Mount Baldy in a two-week span.
LISTEN: SoCal’s Winter Hiking Conditions Are Treacherous. Here’s How To Be Prepared
At least three other hikers in the area went missing in the following two weeks. Rescuers found 75-year-old Jin Chung this week, with relatively minor injuries. But 61-year-old Robert Gregory, who was hiking near Mount Islip, and actor Julian Sands, who set off to hike Mount Baldy on Jan. 13, are still missing.
Update
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San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials said another hiker, Abdollah Katbab, was rescued by helicopter Saturday, Jan. 28, after he slipped and fell about 50 feet during a hike in the Ice House Canyon area of Mount Baldy. Katbab, 71, had minor injuries.
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It’s important to note that he had a Garmin inReach, a satellite communication device, and was able activate it after he slipped and believed he could not get back to the trail safely.
All of these people were experienced hikers. So why is it so dangerous to hike right now in Southern California? Expert mountaineers and rescuers told LAist it comes down to these things:
- Conditions are legit dangerous right…
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