A 4 day trip turns into 2 when gear failure strikes us on an attempt at reaching two intimidating Sierra backcountry summits. Memorial Day weekend, 2023, I set out with a few of my SDMRT teammates to summit Mt. Darwin and Mendel. The epic snowpack made for great conditions despite road closures, and we had high hopes for some great summits. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Still, we managed to bag a summit and got everyone out safely. Here’s the story…