Overview
- The three college‑age climbers from Roseville established a high base camp and left for the summit with daypacks, reaching the top around 7 p.m. after a much slower than expected ascent that missed the recommended noon turnaround.
- An hour into the dark descent the party called for directions, then the phone running AllTrails died and a backup charger failed, after which they veered off route into Mud Creek Canyon and one climber injured his knee.
- Rangers located the exhausted group the next morning and attempted helicopter hoists that were canceled because of strong winds, so U.S. Forest Service climbing rangers and Siskiyou Search and Rescue escorted the hikers down on foot to the trailhead.
- After the rescue the hikers told deputies they had relied heavily on an AI chatbot (reported as Google’s Gemini/ChatGPT), YouTube and AllTrails for route, food and water planning and said the AI advised packing mainly simple carbohydrates rather than fats.
- Officials warned that algorithmic tools can miss local, real‑time hazards and provisioning needs and urged climbers to call the Mount Shasta ranger station, carry paper maps and compasses, pack extra food and warm layers, and bring emergency shelter and redundant power.