The Brief
A San Jose man crawled through the night to reach safety after sliding 500 feet down Mount Shasta.
The climber lost control while attempting to glissade down the peak, suffering foot injuries and lacerations that forced him to remove his boots and crawl to safety.
He was discovered by another hiker the following afternoon and airlifted to a local hospital for treatment.
MOUNT SHASTA, Calif. – A San Jose man crawled through the night to reach safety after sliding 500 feet down Mount Shasta and injuring his feet.
Lost contact
What we know
The hiker successfully summited the 14,000-foot peak around 7:30 p.m. Thursday. However, his phone died on the way down, leaving him unable to contact his friends. Friends reported him missing to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office on Friday after failing to reach him, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest division.
500-foot plummet
Dig deeper
Officials said the climber attempted to glissade down the mountain when he lost control and plummeted 500 feet.
The fall left him with severe lacerations and foot injuries. As painful swelling set in, the climber removed his boots and crawled through the night down the remainder of Avalanche Gulch until he reached the Horse Camp cabin.
Another hiker entered the cabin around 4 p.m. Friday, discovered the injured climber and alerted rangers. Climbing rangers and search and rescue teams arrived on the scene, evaluated his condition, and had him airlifted to a local hospital for treatment.
Warning
Forest Service officials advised climbers to allow plenty of daylight in case an emergency occurs and rescuers need to spot them. They also recommend setting a noon turnaround time when climbing Mount Shasta, regardless of whether a hiker has reached the summit.
The Source
The information in this story comes from the U.S. Forest Service’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest division, which shared details and visual elements of the climber’s story on social media.