Two seasoned climbers were stranded at 12,000 feet on Mount Shasta following an avalanche Saturday, according to Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO).
SCSO coordinated a rescue for the two seasoned climbers amid the harsh conditions. The climbers were stranded at 12,000 feet on Mount Shasta after an avalanche, one with a broken femur, SCSO said in a statement. The incident began at 12:21 p.m. when one of the climbers contacted dispatchers to report their situation high on the mountain after an avalanche had just swept them up. They were ascending the mountain with the goal to snowboard down the Avalanche Gulch route when they triggered a wind slab avalanche at 13,000 feet.
The pair managed to avoid being carried down the slope, however, the avalanche resulted in a severe knee injury for one climber. Due to the strong winds and low visibility, the California Highway Patrol’s Air Operations unit faced difficulties in reaching the climbers, the release stated. Rescuers could not land near the accident site but managed to drop off additional rescue personnel near the treeline, 3,500 vertical feet below the stranded climbers.
SCSO’s Search and Rescue Team, U.S. Forest Service Climbing Rangers, and a team of professional mountain guide volunteers conducted an on-foot rescue operation. Improved weather briefly allowed the rescuers to move closer to the injured climbers, SCSO stated. By 6:20 p.m., the teams reached the climbers and immediately provided medical care. The climber with a broken femur also showed signs of frostbite and hypothermia, necessitating a rapid, technically complex evacuation from the mountain. (RELATED: Ski Resort Plans To Build Large Virgin Mary Statue Atop Slope, And Many Aren’t Happy About It)
“It is worth noting that the two climbers caught in the April 27 avalanche were highly skilled mountaineers with extensive experience on Mount Shasta,” said SCSO, “Still, the men found themselves on a wind-loaded aspect that gave way, and carried one of them 1,000 feet down Avalanche Gulch. Their ordeal, and the 11-hour rescue process that followed, are reminders that no amount of experience makes one immune to the hazards encountered on Mount Shasta.”