2 snowboarders caught in Mt. Shasta avalanche rescued after hours-long operation
SISKIYOU COUNTY – Two injured snowboarders, including one who was already starting to suffer from hypothermia, were rescued after they narrowly survived an avalanche at Mount Shasta over the weekend, officials say.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office says they were first alerted about the situation early Saturday afternoon. Dispatchers got a 911 call around 12:20 p.m. from one of the climbers, stating that he and his climber partner were stranded at 12,200'.
As the climber explained, the pair were trying to summit Mount Shasta to snowboard down the Avalanche Gulch route when a wind slab avalanche was triggered at 13,000' – carrying one of the climbers 1,000' down the mountain.
Somehow, the climber's partner avoided being swept down the mountain – but his knee was now injured; the other climber had a broken femur, officials said.
A rescue mission was launched by the US Forest Service Climbing Rangers and California Highway Patrol Air Ops, but strong winds and poor visibility hampered the effort. That's when the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team was mobilized.
The SAR Team, along with the USFS Climbing Rangers and professional mountain guide volunteers, soon started climbing the mountain.
Eventually, the sheriff's office says the weather cleared up enough for the helicopter to deploy the rescue team about 3,500' below the injured climbers.
It was around 6:20 p.m. when the rescue crews finally reached the climbers.
Rescuers say the climber who had a broken femur was already showing signs of frostbite and hypothermia. He had to be evacuated 6,000' down the mountain in a highly technical operation that took around four hours to get to the Bunny Flats trailhead. The other climber was able to snowboard back to the trailhead now that rescue crews were at the scene.
Both men survived, the sheriff's office says. The sheriff's office says the incident highlights the dangers of Mount Shasta, even more experienced climbers.
"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, and that ever-changing mountain conditions can turn a rapid-extraction operation into a time and resource-intensive process," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Mount Shasta is California's second-highest peak, behind Mount Whitney, with an elevation of 14,179'. The potentially still active volcano is a popular hiking destination, but conditions can vary wildly.