Woman rescued after surviving 1,500-foot drop during Mt. Shasta climb

U.S. Forest Service Climbing Rangers responded to a rescue involving a 31-year-old female climber who suffered a serious fall while ascending the Left of Heart variation of the Avalanche Gulch route on Mount Shasta. (U.S. Forest Service – Shasta-Trinity National Forest)

(CALIFORNIA) — U.S. Forest Service Rangers rescued a woman over the weekend who was climbing Mt. Shasta in California and fell over 1,500 feet in the snow.

The unidentified 31-year-old woman was part of a group of three novice climbers who were ascending the Left of Heart variation of the Avalanche Gulch route on Mount Shasta on Sunday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Around noon that day, the rangers got a call about the woman falling approximately 1,500 vertical feet before coming to rest on the mountain, according to the Forest Service.

Weather conditions prevented a helicopter rescue so three rangers ascended on foot, the Forest Service said.

They were assisted by one member of the climbing party who had descended to help carry rescue equipment, according to the Forest Service. Another climber who happened to be in the area also stopped to assist the injured climber and remained with the group throughout the rescue, the Forest Service said.

The woman who fell was found safe and in good spirits with a suspected fractured right ankle and other injuries, according to the Forest Service.

The civilian and Forest Service rescuers secured the woman in a SKED rescue litter and lowered her to Lake Helen before a California Highway Patrol helicopter transported her to a hospital, the Forest Service said.

“This incident serves as an important reminder that Mount Shasta is a high-altitude mountaineering environment, not a hike. Even experienced climbers can encounter rapidly changing weather, steep snow and ice, rockfall, and hazardous fall conditions,” the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement.