They weren’t climbing. They were recreational hikers. I was up there yesterday- conditions were not hikable
The rescue party immediately shifted to a helicopter based operation. They came to the same conclusion-—it wasn’t a practical option to traverse the slope.
Many of the accidents detailed by AAC occurred to people who might not characterize what they were doing as “climbing” either; Climbing doesn’t necessarily mean hanging from a rope from a cliff.
I used to spend a lot of time in the White Mountains, with a well organized and equipped group. We were on several occasions called upon to help find someone who was “hiking” in non-hikeable conditions, usually clad in jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers, somewhere on the slopes of Mt. Washington, where they had headed in a general upward direction. They weren’t “climbing” either.
However, if someone slides out of control down a 70 degree ice slope to their death, the semantics aren’t really applicable, and the lack of proper training, equipment and respect for what they were attempting, to include recognition that they were not taking a walk in optimal conditions on level ground, is the direct cause of their demise.