A UC Santa Barbara doctoral student died after apparently falling from a cliff during a difficult hike in California’s Sierra Nevada, according to a new statement from Inyo County Search & Rescue.
Vikram Mubayi, a chemical engineering doctoral candidate, was found above Sam Mack Meadow in the Palisades on Aug. 3 after a California Highway Patrol helicopter located him during an aerial search, the volunteer rescue organization said.
Mubayi had planned to complete a long loop beginning and ending at Glacier Lodge, with miles of off-trail travel and substantial elevation changes, according to Inyo SAR. His last known location initially came from a Garmin inReach Messenger, a compact satellite communication device, sent from below Agassiz Col on the evening of Aug. 1…