There was similar elation among the search-and-rescue team, which included dozens of volunteer sheriff deputies who surveyed the dangerous terrain looking for signs of life.

CNN: See daring rescue of hiker

The mountainous terrain is dangerous.

NPR: Iraqis to Attempt Diplomacy with Turks

Although glaciers are receding, leaving loose rocks and making the terrain more difficult and dangerous, the country's highest peaks remain relatively easy to reach.

BBC: Scaling the Ecuadorean Andes