Climber dies, others taken to hospital on Mt. Shasta Monday

Update: After 3 rescue operations were conducted on Mt. Shasta Monday, another happened on Tuesday. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said at about 11:20 a.m. on June 7, an injured climber was rescued from the same area as previous rescues. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

MT. SHASTA, Calif. —Search and rescue officials, taking a breath Tuesday, after a wild Monday on Mount Shasta. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office had a busy day Monday, coordinating 3 separate rescue efforts, on Mt. Shasta.

One person died, and others are hospitalized. NBC5 News told you about it first Monday night, but Tuesday new details are emerging. The incidents happened on Avalanche Gulch, involving 5 injured climbers who all needed to be airlifted to nearby hospitals. One died as a result of their injuries.

The first incident happened Monday morning around 8:30. Two climbers and one guide were tethered together. When one climber lost their footing, all three fell down the mountain.

One man is in critical condition, another woman suffered a leg fracture. Their climbing guide was the one who died. The second incident, happened just 4 hours later when a male climber fell 1,000 feet above Helen Lake. Climbing rangers were able to make contact with the climber, but his status is unknown at this time.

Finally, around 4 pm, a woman who was part of the second incident, suffered injuries after losing traction and sliding down the mountain. The sheriff says her injuries are also unknown.

“There are a number of challenging conditions up there, primarily caused by recent weather we’ve had over the weekend, we’ve had fresh snow, and that snow has melted and frozen, so essentially we have a sheet of very slick ice that’s on Mt. Shasta,” said Siskiyou County Sheriff, Jeremiah LaRue.

Several agencies were involved in the rescue efforts, including the Forest Service, climbing rangers, CHP air operations, and more.

Due to the unstable conditions, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office recommends checking with the Forest Service, before you plan to climb Mt. Shasta right now.