It is astonishing how many people head up into the mountains without being prepared for bad weather.
As you say, you shouldn’t go up above timberline without being prepared to spend the night in safety. A full-tilt blizzard can blow in any time of the year.
I didn’t go up dad’s mountain without a gun, cell phone, coat and water and it’s only a 4 mile ‘loop road’.
Stuff happens and 2 miles could seem like 2000.