Eli Michel, 34, of Columbia City, Indiana, and his climbing partner, 32-year-old Nafiun Awal of Seattle, Washington, were last heard from on the morning of May 5, 2023, when they messaged a friend via satellite device saying they planned to climb the West Ridge of Moose’s Tooth (10,335 feet) in a single, fast push. They carried minimal gear and likely no overnight equipment.

Park rangers found the climbers’ unattended tent and followed ski tracks to a cache where skis were left and crampon tracks continued up the West Ridge into the path of a recent small slab avalanche. The boot tracks disappeared beyond the avalanche; a helmet and two ice axes were later seen along the ridge’s 3,200-foot fall line that ends in a heavily crevassed glacier. An extensive aerial and limited ground search was conducted; the active search was scaled back on May 11, with continued aerial monitoring planned.

Officials concluded survival was outside the window of possibility given the terrain, limited supplies, and time elapsed. Did anyone on the mountain that week see the climbers or their tracks higher on the ridge?