I understand it's possible for his body to freeze solid given the necessary circumstances. I'm saying that where his body was found it was so close to the surface that an ice tool used by one of the rescue team just to get himself safely around on the mountain actually easily broke completely through the cave's top and right underneath was the body. No wonder it was frozen solid, so near the surface like that the temp. had to be almost what the surface temp. was. But I'm to accept that he was left there for "protection" while the other two went for help?? I heard this on tv last night from the guy's own mouth.
Well, he couldn't make the climb either way because of injury. And most likely the other two could have made it out to safety and returned except the nastiest storm in quite some time arrived and complicated everything for everyone.
I guess the other option is that they all could have stayed put. But, if they all would have been found in the cave, they would have been criticized for not going for help, etc. It is a choice you make, kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I believe the mand who found the big cave with Mr. James (I am so sorry, I have been calling him Mr. Kelly) found the entrance, not the top.
Remember, the rescue guy probably had an ice axe that he was using to hack into the snow. I'm guessing it has a decently long poker thingy, and is hefty. Plus he's a strapping young man who was likely using a good deal of his arm strength to hack the snow. So it's not like he was poking the snow with his finger. I'm sure the cave was sturdy, or it would not have held together in those high winds. (Plus, even a thin layer of snow offers insulation.)