Calif. climber survives 1,500-foot Mount Shasta fall

A 31-year-old woman survived a roughly 1,500-foot fall while climbing Northern California’s Mount Shasta on Sunday, prompting an hourslong rescue, according to the U.S. Forest Service. 

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On Sunday, a California Highway Patrol helicopter hoisted the woman from an emergency landing zone below the peak at around 5:30 p.m. and transported her to Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta after she fell from about 13,000 feet to approximately 11,500 feet. She had been ascending the mountain’s Left of Heart variation of the popular Avalanche Gulch route with two other novice climbers, the Forest Service said in a Tuesday news release.

Lead climbing ranger Nick Meyers was notified of the fall around noon by the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office’s search and rescue coordinator. Three Forest Service climbing rangers responded alongside CHP.

Cloud cover prevented a helicopter from reaching the climber directly, forcing a climbing ranger to hike in from 50/50 Flat, which is at around 9,300 feet on the Avalanche Gulch route, with help from one member of the climbing party carrying rescue equipment. Rescuers found the woman “alert” and “in good spirits” despite a suspected fractured ankle and other injuries, and then stabilized her and lowered her by SKED litter, a cocoon-like stretcher designed for confined spaces and technical rescues, to the emergency landing zone.

The Forest Service said the rescue serves as a reminder that Mount Shasta is “a high-altitude mountaineering environment, not a hike,” urging climbers to assess their experience, monitor conditions, carry proper equipment and prepare for emergencies.

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SFGATE reached out to the Mount Shasta Ranger Station for comment but did not hear back prior to publication.