SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – One mountain guide has died and five climbers have been rescued from Mount Shasta after bad conditions led to a dangerous climbing day.
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Multiple climbers were airlifted off the mountain Monday with serious injuries, including one fatality, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported in a tweet. "We do not advise climbing the mountain the next 2-3 days due to unstable conditions."
Over the weekend, a cold storm showered Mount Shasta with .75 inches of rain, snow, fog and freezing temperatures, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The storm left the mountain covered in ice. "Even a total pro would have a tough time stopping or self-arresting with conditions like that," Nick Meyers, lead climbing ranger on Mount Shasta for the U.S. Forest Service, told the newspaper.
Conditions improved Monday, leading two groups to decide to tackle the 14,180 foot ascent.
One guided group of three, who were roped together, were attempting Avalanche Gulch when they slipped 2,500 feet down the mountain. The guide, identified as Jillian Elizabeth Webster, 32, of Redmond, Oregon, died in the fall, the sheriff's office reported. The female hiker suffered a broken ankle while the male hiker sustained an open fracture on his lower leg as well as head trauma.
In a separate rescue, a man and woman were airlifted to a local hospital three hours apart after falling nearly 1,000 feet above Helen Lake. The man suffered non-critical injuries while the woman's condition is not currently known.
On Tuesday, a fifth injured climber was rescued from the Avalanche Gulch area on Mount Shasta.
"Due to the unstable conditions, we are asking that any future climbers PLEASE check with USFS Climbing Rangers before making any plans to summit the mountain," the sheriff's office emphasized.
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