Orange County Register Archive

CORONA DEL MAR, CA - FEBRUARY 05: Carter Cox, 26, who handles logistics for the team was born and raised in Orange County, has climbed peaks throughout the Sierra, Pacific Northwest, and European Alps. Carter is a student at UC Irvine, pursuing a Masters degree in Seismic and Structural Engineering. ///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: read_mountaineers Ð 2/5/13 Ð LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Ð Three Orange County climbers, David Van van der Roest, Alex Barber, and Carter Cox, just returned from an Andes Expedition in South America to climb both Cerro Aconcagua (elev. 22,841ft), the highest peak outside of the Himalaya, and Ojos del Salado (elev.Ê22,615ft), the highest Volcano in the world. The team summited Cerro Aconcagua but after returning to base camp members of the OC team responded to a medical emergency for a climber suffering from severe High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). A team of three Americans had gotten stuck at 21,000ft, suffering from HAPE and exposure. Two of the three climbers died. Photographed at the rocks in Corona del Mar. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)