The woman fell 1,500 feet and was rescued in a multi agency effort. Photo: US Forest Service // Facebook
A woman hiking Mt. Shasta fell 1,500 feet and lived to tell the tale. The novice climber endured the serious fall Sunday afternoon, requiring a complex, multi-agency rescue.
As the U.S. Forest Service shared on social media, the incident occurred on June 28, when a group of three novice climbers was ascending the Left of Heart variation of the Avalanche Gulch route on Mount Shasta. One of the hikers, a 31-year-old woman, fell approximately 1,500 vertical feet (from around 13,000 feet to 11,500 feet) before coming to rest on the mountain.
Authorities were alerted around noon, kicking off a joint rescue carried out by U.S. Forest Service climbing rangers, the California Highway Patrol and Siskiyou County search and rescue crews. Cloud cover complicated a helicopter approach, requiring rescuers to land at a lower drop point, then ascend on foot to reach the woman. Another climber who happened to be in the area also aided rescuers. The fallen hiker was found “alert, in good spirits, and suffering from a suspected fractured right ankle along with additional injuries consistent with the significant fall.”
By 5:30 p.m., the woman was successfully extracted via helicopter and transported to Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta for medical care.
“This incident serves as an important reminder that Mount Shasta is a high-altitude mountaineering environment, not a hike,” wrote the U.S. Forest service. “Even experienced climbers can encounter rapidly changing weather, steep snow and ice, rockfall, and hazardous fall conditions.”
