Mission to find help
A mission were ordered to go find help because they're hopeless in the deadly winter snow. The result is that there's only 1 survivor, survived by eating the ones that went to seek help. There were 2 search parties, went to find the Donner Party. The 1st party, the found 48 people barely living, some has gone mad. In that party, they only could save 22, when they came back they found the evidence of cannibalism. To rescue all people from the Donner Party, it would take 4 rescue missions and at least an additional 4 months to get them out of the Sutter Fort. The rescue missions were successful, out of 86 people in the Party, 47 was alive, most had frostbite on the toe. Thanks to this story, the Hasting's Cut-off is the most popular-choice not to go through.