The body of a missing California hiker, blanketed in a layer of snow, was recovered on Mount Whitney on Sunday after a blustery storm delayed retrieval operations for five days.

The Inyo county sheriff’s office extended its condolences to the loved ones and family of the hiker, who has not been publicly identified, in a Monday statement.

On 19 October, a motel in Lone Pine, a town in California’s Sierra Nevada region, contacted the sheriff’s office about a guest who failed to check out. The man had brought up plans to hike in the area.

A vehicle belonging to the climber was found the next day at the base of Mount Whitney. The California highway patrol deployed a helicopter, which found the deceased man on the Mountaineer’s Route, a steep nine mile path leading to the mountain’s peak.

A storm system which brought hazardous weather conditions hindered authorities from securing the man’s body.…