A group of 31 of us headed up Mt Adams, (elevation 12,270 ft) this morning at 5 am. It was cold when we started and by the time we had hiked for two hours it was very cold with very strong winds of 40 miles per hour with snow and sleet. The cloud cover was so thick that you couldn’t see more than a dozen feet. We got to the 8300 foot level and hunkered down behind a pile of rocks to get out of the wind, eat a bite, and warm up a bit. Most decided to push on up some more and a few decided to head back down because of the cold believing it was just going to get worse. I was among the group heading back down. The ones who headed up made it to the 11,000 foot level and headed back down. Every one made it back down to the trailhead where our rigs were parked but we were one climber short. Nobody knew where he was as we talked about the last place we had all seen him. On his way back down the mountain he got a bit disoriented and missed the trail that led back to where we all were. He walked 4 or 5 miles past where we were at the cars. Eventually he came out on the road the led up to where we were, and a car came along and picked him up and delivered him to us. In the meantime we had sent 4 of our fastest climbers back up the mountain looking for him and when he showed up we were able to contact the 4 rescuers from our group with a radio that the lost had been found!! We arrived home late and very tired but it was an adventure packed day in spite of not making it to the summit. Next year!!