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

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Hiking enthusiast Brian Seibert summited the more than 13,000-foot face of Mt. 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.

Mt. Morgan, located west of Bishop in 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.

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 indicating he was on his way back from the peak.

The sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, or MONOSAR, is a nonprofit organization composed 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 Mitchell in the comments. “Looks like he had an amazing last view.”

On Monday, the Mono County Sheriff’s Office got a report of an overdue hiker, previously identified in a missing person’s report as Brian Seibert, who was last heard from after attempting Mt. Morgan via the North Ridge the night before. (Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue) The rescue team set up a mission base near Crowley Lake, at the base of the Sierra, and used topographic matching from Seibert’s photos and cellphone forensics to establish a search pattern.

The California Highway Patrol dispatched a helicopter to begin scouring Mt. Morgan’s north ridge by air as search-and-rescue team members used high-power optics to scan the east gullies of the mountain for signs of Seibert, according to the search team. Another group of rescue volunteers was inserted west of the summit at 11,200 feet elevation, and a third team was sent to Seibert’s car with a trained search dog to establish a scent trail.

The team on top of the mountain found Seibert’s name written in the trail register, proving he had reached the peak.

Seibert’s cellphone data indicated he had probably descended using the same ascent route, but exactly what happened after remained a mystery and the first day of search concluded at dark.

No one has reported seeing Joseph Brambila, 21, since he disappeared on Mt. Whitney on Nov. 11. He had climbed the peak before, sometimes taking big risks, his videos show.

The mission resumed 7 a.m. Tuesday, when seven field teams were deployed to search an area “encompassing almost every aspect of Mt. Morgan, top to bottom,” the search team wrote in an online post.

Hope was briefly sparked after a night-flying plane reported a person stoking a large campfire at Davis Lake below Mt. Morgan. But when a team was sent to the area, they discovered the fire had been from a party of three backpackers, according to the search team.

Additional search crews and aerial assets were assigned to the mission, and just after 2 p.m. Tuesday a California National Guard plane spotted an “anomaly” near the bottom of an east-facing gully off the summit. A rescue helicopter landed nearby and located Seibert’s body, the search team wrote.

Field team members descended to the helicopter through an extremely dense aspen forest, but there was not enough time to safely complete the recovery that evening due to the “extremely challenging nature” of the terrain between the body and nearest landing zone, according to the search team’s post.

His body was recovered early Wednesday morning using a helicopter from Yosemite National Park and crew from Friends of Yosemite Search and Rescue.

A trek to the site of the deadliest avalanche in California history reveals a surprisingly tranquil spot, a stark contrast to the frenzied 15 minutes that determined who survived.

“The team sends its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and Eastside community for the loss of Brian Seibert,” wrote the Mono County search team.

More than 160 comments were left on the post, describing the mission and expressing condolences for Seibert and gratitude for the effort to find him.

“The scope and detail of these operations amazes me,” wrote commenter Clark Ackerman. “Except for the air assets, the fact that everyone else is a volunteer is awesome. It truly exemplifies the adage ‘Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you.’”

Seibert’s ex-wife also commented on the post, saying she remained good friends with him and that the death was heartbreaking for his family.

“We were always hoping he would be found, maybe injured, but alive,” she wrote. “Even though that didn’t happen it was really comforting to know all the hard work you did for those days to find him. We are very grateful to you.”

Clara Harter is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered politics and education for the L.A. Daily News. She majored in political science and Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University.

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