Overview
- The 31-year-old woman fell about 1,500 feet while ascending the Left of Heart variation of Avalanche Gulch and was found alert with a suspected fractured right ankle after rescuers reached her.
- Lead Climbing Ranger Nick Meyers was notified around noon and three U.S. Forest Service climbing rangers hiked in from 50/50 Flat because clouds prevented a helicopter from reaching the patient.
- Rangers, aided by one member of the climber’s party and a nearby climber, stabilized the woman, lowered her in a SKED rescue litter to an emergency landing zone near Lake Helen, and then handed her to a CHP helicopter.
- A California Highway Patrol helicopter hoisted the patient from the landing zone at about 5:30 p.m. and flew her to Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta for further treatment.
- Officials used the case to remind climbers that Mount Shasta is a high-altitude, glaciated mountaineering environment with rapidly changing weather and urged people to assess experience, carry ice axes and crampons, monitor conditions, and have emergency plans.