Posted on 05/13/2023 9:25:31 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A lost climber who endured a night in an open bivy at 11,600 feet on the Whitney Glacier in California was saved in a 12-hour "mega-rescue," according to the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center and Home of the Climbing Rangers.
Heightened by the weekend weather, the nonprofit organization said the incident occurred Saturday on "one of the most difficult and dangerous areas of the mountain to access."
Extremely poor visibility kept aerial resources grounded, the nonprofit said.
However, the United States Forest Service Climbing Rangers, in cooperation with Siskiyou County Search and Rescue, located the climber alive and in "remarkably good shape."
The rescue operation then safely made its was down the mountain.
Officials from the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center and Home of the Climbing Rangers urged climbers to follow these guidelines:
Despite being 15 minutes off the interstate, officials said a rescue on Mount Shasta is neither automatic or instant. The Mount Shasta Avalanche Center said even rescues that seem straightforward involve planning, effort and risk.
Sounds like they could have done a better job with the weather conditions but besides that we’re knowledgeable and prepared.
If one took everything the “experts” tell you, you be dragging a 40 lb pack for a state park hiking trail.
I thought global climate change melted the Whitney Glacier?....
Thanks. I go by Shasta on I-5 frequently on my drives to Idaho. The guy is so lucky to have gotten out alive and the rescuers are lucky there was no disaster for them. I’ve got old work colleagues that climbed Shasta many times and it was a tough mountain. I’ve never climbed it myself.
It’s always so cool to get around Klamath Falls heading south and start to see Shasta in the distance 60 miles away. On a clear day, you think you can reach out and touch the mountain. It really comes into view when you get to Dorris, CA, 45 miles from the mountain.
We pay for our ambulance rides!
Does the glacier know?
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