A pair of mountaineers reported missing after climbing Mount Whitney last week were found dead by searchers and recovered from the peak on a day later, according to the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office.

The two climbers ascended and summited the peak on the morning of May 7 via the mountaineer’s route, according to a Facebook post from a third climbing partner. But the three climbers became separated on the descent down a perilously steep section near the mountaintop known as the Final 400.

The climbers who died were Patricia Bolan, 29, of Davis and Andrew Niziol, 28, of South Lake Tahoe, the Tulare County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

The climbers were “experienced in the backcountry and had adequate gear for the climb,” according to the third climber. They had planned to ski and snowboard back down to camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake at an elevation of 11,300 feet.

The third climber waited for them for hours — first at the bottom of a chute high on the mountain, then farther down at their camp — before contacting emergency searchers on the evening of May 7, he wrote in his post.

After a foot search on May 8, the bodies of the two missing climbers were found high on the mountain by the Inyo County Search and Rescue Team. The exact location and the cause of death wasn’t immediately clear; the bodies were recovered and transported to the Tulare County Coroner’s Office.

A more detailed report on the incident from searchers has yet to be made public. 

Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states and is a popular, technical mountaineering objective this time of year. A public information officer with the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department said the mountain is still plastered with snow and ice in places, “so there are still significant risks for this time of year.”

Reach Gregory Thomas: gthomas@sfchronicle.com