On a clear day, the peak of southern California's 10,000ft Mount Baldy looms over the Los Angeles skyline.
The mountain is emblematic of a growing threat: the deadly impact of the climate crisis on one of America's favourite past times, the great outdoors.
This month, as climate-amped superstorms battered California, first responders have carried out 14 rescue missions on Mount Baldy's peak, the highest summit in the San Gabriel mountain range.
"We've had so many storms over southern California. Those conditions up there are extremely dangerous at the moment," Mara Rodriguez, of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, told The Independent.
Conditions are so treacherous on the mountain - wind-blown sheets of thick ice, avalanche risk and heavy snow - that police have often been unable to carry out rescue efforts on the ground.
"We had to pull ground crews out Saturday evening," Ms Rodriguez said of the search for Sands, who has been described by family members to The Independent as a "heroic mountaineer" and experienced outdoorsman.
"We haven't been able to reinsert them due to the condition of that area. There are concerns about avalanches up there. The ice is just crazy dangerous so all of our search efforts at this point have been by air."
Los Angeles with Mount Baldy and the San Gabriel mountain range behind (Getty)
Multiple people have died or been reported missing in the San Gabriel mountains during the storms.
This story is from the January 21, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the January 21, 2023 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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