A hiker was found dead after he soldiered on to climb the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States — while his partner turned back.

The Inyo County Search and Rescue (SAR) team — a volunteer group operating under the local sheriff’s authority — located the hiker’s body Monday morning on Mount Whitney’s north face, below the “Final 400” feet of the 14,505-foot summit, CBS reported.

The hiker and his partner had initially set out late Saturday night, continuing into Sunday. At 3:30 p.m., the hiker — whose name has not been made public —went off alone.

SAR launched a search with six rescuers and assistance from a California Highway Patrol helicopter after the hiker failed to return Monday.

The hiker was discovered within Tulare County jurisdiction, and the sheriff’s office was alerted.

This marked at least the second hiker death on Mount Whitney in recent months.

Rescue teams recovered the body of 21-year-old Joseph Brambila in December, nearly a month after the solo hiker went missing while scaling the peak. The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said that he appeared to have suffered a “significant fall.”

The mountain has claimed one or two lives on average each year, with four hikers perishing there in 2022, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

More recently, other hikers have fallen to their death at other trails in the Golden State.

Three hikers were found dead on Mount Baldy in the Angeles National Forest in late December, prompting temporary trail closures amid treacherous conditions.

Mount Baldy draws countless hiking enthusiasts, but its steep, challenging trails have proven deadly. Between 2016 and 2025, 23 people died on the peak, The Guardian reported.

Another daring hiker plunged 150 feet to his death after going to find four missing friends in a mountainous area of Anza, Riverside County earlier this month, authorities said.