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Six injured climbers rescued from Mt Shasta, one climber confirmed dead, California, US
The California’s Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) announced a sixth climber has been found by a highway patrol helicopter crew and taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue spoke on the mountain Tuesday, 7 June 2022, addressing the rescues, saying "It’s one of the more rare events. I don’t recall ever having [six rescues] in a two-day period."
Sheriff LaRue stated that all of the rescues took place on Avalanche Gulch, which sits at around 11 000 feet. The gulch is full of hazards including steep snow and potential rock and ice falls. LaRue continued to say that the amount of snowfall over the weekend froze over creating slippery and dangerous terrain, reminiscent of "black ice" on a paved road. Officials with the Shasta Trinity National Forest Service have not closed any part of Mt Shasta but are urging people to respect the operations for search and rescue. The first rescue was reported at 8h39am Monday morning, according to the SCSO. They said this incident involved three climbers. One climber suffered severe injuries and is currently in critical condition. The other climber suffered a broken ankle and is recovering from their injuries. SCSO said the third climber was confirmed dead before rescue teams could arrive. The second rescue was reported Monday afternoon. The SCSO said the climber from this incident is also severely injured and in critical condition. The third and most-recent rescue was reported around 16h00. The fifth climber was found by a CHP helicopter and is receiving treatment. The extent of her injuries is not currently known. In a video posted to the SCSO's Facebook, climbers are reporting tough conditions on the mountain. "There was a lot of water-ice on top of the snowpack. So, the end of the storm must've come in with some really high humidity, or rain. But, it was a really bad rime water ice layer that was, basically, un-edgeable for skis, barely edgeable. And yeah, just really tough conditions up there," said Wallace Casper, a climber from Bozeman, Mont at Mt Shasta. "A lot of people have issues with falling and sliding. And in those conditions, it's pretty much impossible to self-arrest because it's basically just water-ice. Water-ice is kind of a nightmare for skiers." The Sheriff continued to stress caution and safety when traversing the mountain. Source: KRCR TV, KOBI-TV NBC5 |
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