Climber dies on California’s Mount Shasta as four others are rescued, deputies say

One climber died on California’s Mount Shasta while four others were rescued, deputies said.

Multiple climbers fell or slid on the mountain Monday, June 6, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.

At about 8:39 a.m., the sheriff’s office was called to multiple climbers suffering from severe injuries. One climber was already confirmed dead, according to deputies.

“One climber suffering severe injuries is in critical condition, another recovering from injuries including a broken ankle, and the third climber was confirmed dead before rescue efforts could be administered,” deputies said in a news release.

About four hours later, deputies said another climber was in critical condition. By 4 p.m., another climber reported getting injured on the mountain.

The sheriff’s office coordinated a rescue operation to help get the climbers to safety.

Several of the climbers were in the Avalanche Gulch area, which deputies described as “a snowy glacier climb.”

The route can be “steep and rigorous,” according to the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center.

“Don’t consider this route as a cake walk,” Avalanche Center officials said on their website. “Though not an overly technical route, it does follow a 7,000 vertical foot ascent that exposes the climber to steep snow and ice, rock fall, and weather extremes.”

The climbers were airlifted off Mount Shasta and taken to a hospital if needed.

Wallace Casper, a climber from Montana, told the sheriff’s office he saw a lot of “water ice” higher up the mountain. There was a bad layer of ice, and many people were having trouble sliding and falling.

Mount Shasta is a “steep-sided stratovolcano” north of Redding, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It sits at more than 14,160 feet in elevation.

This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 8:56 AM with the headline "Climber dies on California’s Mount Shasta as four others are rescued, deputies say."