[senorjazz]

> It could be next to impossible.

Do you know this of assumed? Sounds difficult for sure, but is it possible?

I mean, if you had no way forward and had two options:

1) turn around

2) throw a bottle into the waterfall and hope

I would turn around (unless as you said, is actually impossible, but I haven't been able to find anything definitive on this)

[ahi]

This wasn't the most robust crew. They were at a local minimum, both topographically and risk. They were safe where they were for at least a few days. Hiking out might have been beyond their ability. Having read some stories of people who didnt get out of these situations, it's not usually the first mistake that does it. It's the process of trying to get out that results in digging a bigger hole. I think they made the right call to abort rather than increase the risk.