Authorities said on Tuesday that a mountain climbing guide was killed and at least four other persons were wounded in separate incidents that occurred over the last two days when they were attempting to conquer the top of Mount Shasta in Northern California in hazardous weather.
Jillian Webster, 32, from Redmond, Oregon was leading a man and a woman up a mountain on Monday morning when one of the climbers slipped and all three of them, who were roped together, fell between 1,500 and 2,500 feet, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. Webster was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Webster was declared dead at a hospital after a rescue team discovered the guy in severe condition with a head injury and a broken leg. Webster was located by the rescue team.
According to the statements made by the Sheriff’s Office, both were transported to nearby hospitals where they are now healing.
According to a statement sent by Courtney Kreider, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, a man suffered injuries after falling about 1,000 feet (300 metres) around 12:30 p.m. on Monday. A third member of the climbing trio, a woman, fell 1,000 feet around 4 p.m. and had to be taken to a hospital after she sustained injuries.
According to Nick Meyers, the lead climbing ranger on Mount Shasta for the United States Forest Service, the last two climbers did not have snow helmets or crampons, all of which are required climbing gear in snowy and icy circumstances.
According to what Meyers shared with the San Francisco Chronicle, “It was basically a perfect combination of poor circumstances, people on the mountain, and inexperience.”
Shasta is the fifth-tallest peak in California and can be found 275 miles (or 443 kilometres) to the north of San Francisco. It has an elevation of around 14,180 feet (4,322 metres). During each climbing season, it brings around 6,000 people to the peak.
Climbers are drawn to Shasta by the warming temps of spring, but a cold storm that hit over the weekend brought rain, snow, and fog, which made the route through the renowned Avalanche Gulf hazardous.
The Sheriff’s Office strongly discouraged people from ascending the mountain for the following three days until the weather and trail conditions improved.
