Climber Caught In Storm Dies Following Descent

On the morning of November 11th, Tuolumne ranger Jason Ramsdell encountered a man at the Cathedral trailhead who had just walked out of the backcountry during a snowstorm and was shivering uncontrollably. The man told Ramsdell that a friend was unconscious along the trail to Cathedral Peak and was probably dead from hypothermia. Ramsdell warmed the man, then launched a rescue operation. Rangers found the body of 43-year-old Peter Noble near the Budd Creek trail about a mile and a half above the Tioga Road just after 10 a.m. Although the investigation is still underway, it appears that Noble succumbed to the cold after climbing Cathedral Peak. The two men had become severely hypothermic while rappelling down after climbing the southeast buttress as blowing sleet and snow moved into the area in the early morning hours. Intending to be out of the backcountry by just after dark, the men did not have warm clothing with them and had not taken along much food. Equipment, including warm hats, matches and waterproof jackets, had been left behind near the base of the climbing route.