October 30, 2026 - 11:08 am

The climber whose body was recovered from California’s Mount Whitney has been identified by local authorities.

The Inyo County coroner’s office determined the climber to be Winston Chu, 49, of Santa Clara, California, according to the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office. Police said Chu’s cause of death was to multiple tramatic injuries due to a fall, according to the coroner’s office.

The sheriff’s office said in a news release on Monday that it received a report from motel staff in Lone Pine, California, regarding a guest who had failed to check out and left personal belongings behind on Oct. 19.

In the Monday news release, the sheriff’s office said it located the climber’s vehicle at the Whitney Portal, located four hours from Las Vegas the following day. Through coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, deputies confirmed the climber had a permit for the Mountaineer’s Route — a steep, direct and technical climbing route to the summit of Mount Whitney — on Oct.…