MOUNTAIN SEARCH: Man from Redondo Beach started Saturday to Climb San Jacinto Peak

A search was under way Sunday for a missing 57-year-old Redondo Beach man with a permit to climb 10,834-foot San Jacinto Peak from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway's mountain station.

Alpine-trained volunteers with the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit were called out Saturday night in "white-out" conditions, a rescue official said. A command post was in place Sunday just before noon at the mountain station, a Tramway official told Patch.com.

Brian Carrico, 57, departed the lower tram station Saturday morning, Riverside County sheriff's officials said.

Family members told authorities Carrico had a daypack, food, water, and warm clothing, and they described him as an experienced hiker. The last known time his cellular phone was functional was at noon Saturday, according to the sheriff's department.

When Carrico did not return at a pre-determined time Saturday, concerned family members contacted State Park authorities, who in turn contacted the sheriff's department.

Deputies found Carrico's locked vehicle in the tramway parking lot below the lower station.

Conditions in the San Jacinto high country Saturday night included snowfall and temperatures in the low to mid-20s, sheriff's officials said. A rescue supervisor calling out volunteers Saturday said conditions were "white-out."

Search teams were deployed within a few hours of the initial call, and volunteers have been working their way through heavy snowpack to check known shelters, according to Lt. Ruben Navarro of the sheriff's Cabazon Station.

The summit of San Jacinto Peak, the second-highest point in Southern California, stands at 10,834 feet above sea level. The top of the mountain is about a six-mile walk by trail from the tramway mountain station, but the trail disappears in snow conditions.

Anyone with information about Carrico's whereabouts was urged to call the Cabazon Station at (951) 922-7100 or send an email to CabazonStation@riversidesheriff.org.