Mt Shasta’s Deadly Disaster

MOUNT SHASTA, Calif. — A mountain climbing guide from Oregon was killed and at least four other people were injured in separate accidents over the past two days while trying to summit the peak of Mount Shasta in Northern California in treacherous conditions in June 2022.

Jillian Webster, 32, of Redmond was leading a man and a woman Monday morning when one of the climbers slipped and all three, who were roped together, fell 1,500 to 2,500 feet, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said.

Webster was pronounced dead at a hospital while a rescue team found the man in critical condition with a head injury and a broken leg, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The woman had a broken ankle.

Both were taken to local hospitals where they were recovering, the Sheriff’s Office said.

A man was injured after falling about 1,000 feet at 12:30 p.m., Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Courtney Kreider told SFGate. At 4 p.m., a woman who was part of the same trio of climbers also fell 1,000 feet and was airlifted to a hospital.

There was no immediate word on their conditions.

The latter two climbers lacked helmets and crampons that are necessary for snowy and icy conditions, said Nick Meyers, lead climbing ranger on Mount Shasta for the U.S. Forest Service.

“It was just a perfect storm of bad conditions, people on the mountain and inexperience,” Meyers told the San Francisco Chronicle.

At about 14,180 feet, Shasta is California’s fifth-tallest mountain and is located 275 miles north of San Francisco. It draws about 6,000 climbers to the summit each season.

Warming spring temperatures lure climbers to Shasta but a weekend cold spell brought rain, snow and fog and made the climb through popular Avalanche Gulf dangerous.

“We had snow over the weekend, just a little bit of snow, and it created this thin layer of ice,” Kreider said. “And when it warms up, that thin layer of ice sloughs off.”

The Sheriff’s Office urged people to avoid climbing the mountain over the next three days until conditions improve.

⌨Associated Press
🎥LA Times
SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS AND NEWS

#MtShasta #DeathonMtShasta

[oncosurgdoc]

The guide didn't do everything right. My first two climbs 50 years ago were turned back by the mountain guide, and I appreciated that. When I started climbing on my own, leading others up mountains, I never forgot that lesson. So many climbing disasters should be better labeled murder rather than a disaster, and that goes to guided up climbs up Everest, Hood, Shasta, Rainier, etc.

[HikerBiker]

The video says the guide did nothing wrong but yet in the description below the video it says neither of the clients had helmets or the proper crampons. So when they got to the extra icy part the guide should have turned around. 
I learned this the hard way years ago when I was leading a group up a much smaller peak named Vesper in the PNW in the early spring. The weather turned bad and the route down was a solid sheet of ice. Going up there was some patches of ice but we were able to skirt them, now it was all ice. None of us had crampons as we had been told this was rated as a S2 so they were not necessary. Only one person fell but she did get a head injury along with some other injuries. She had to be air lifted out. Luckily she made a full recovery. I let myself be persuaded by her to celebrate her birthday on the summit. I still can see in my mind watching her sliding pass me out of control and hitting the rocks unable to self-arrest, not to mention the bloody snow surrounding her when she stopped. After that I always did my own research and listened to myself instead of others when it came to climbing decisions. I also aways lean toward the side of caution especially if those with me are less experienced.

[bellicose]

2000 ft of vert? That is Fing horrendous. You hear of people falling 100s of feet but not 2 frickin thousand. Good Lord that is not good

[sherrytelles]

I live right by Mt. Shasta, even experienced people get injured. I've climb Mt. Shasta, 4 times, and I've climb Mt. Lassen, 7 times. I've always took precautions when doing so.

[TheZipeedoo]

I've been to the top of Shasta. It was late summer and we encountered no snow/ice, but there are a couple of segments that are pretty steep. Even in scree you want to be sure you don't slip and fall.

[Dirtybob]

Mt. Shasta is in my backyard. I've cllimbed it a handful of times. There is an alternative route to the one described in this video which is easier: clear creek route. It opens later in the year and requires more driving to reach. However, there aren't the crowds and one does not have to deal with the Red Banks--the location of the accident in this video.

[DocAnaStasia]

Mt. Shasta was my first summit. Such a beautiful place.

[daveffs]

I've been in a similar situation, and know just how tempting it is to push on. It's a psychological battle, you want to keep going, and the voice in the back of your head is telling you that its fine (usually has the same ring as the client), and if nothing bad has happened so far the rest of the way should be ok. Thats when to do a risk assessment, cause chances are you've usually already started to think about it a while back, just not as seriously.

[BlackDotPatrick]

I don't know the guide but she clearly made a poor judgement call to take clients into terrain where they were unable as a group to self arrest and the party took that long slide. I say this because the other guide in this video says he didn't think she did anything wrong. She either misjudged the mountain conditions or she misjudged the abilities of her group. It happens. My condolences to all involved.

[adriennefloreen]

Oh no. I skied there in either 2008 or 2009, at this point I do not remember, and there was that crisp ice layer that you could slip on and also easily fall through into deep pits of snow. Our car got stuck in the snow overnight on the way, that was the last time I ever skied. It is very steep, be careful.

[Jenesis]

The clients got no helmet and crampons? That’s crazy! I did the same climb, zigzagging up the bowl before the final push for the summit (we did it as a group but not roped). The ice was hard in early morning and slippery in the afternoon. I can’t imaging not wearing my helmet and crampons, carrying my axe. The clients really got off lucky while the guide perished.

[ListlessSilence]

I remember hearing about this 2 weeks before my trip to climb Mt Shasta in a day, and be my first 14er. As a mountaineer you accept that unexpected things can happen, mountains are unpredictable. There’s always a possibility of death, you just try to minimize that risk best as you can.

[andibowe]

I hiked Mt. Shasta in tennis shoes but i rented crampons and ice ax. The place i rented from put on my crampons (used some foam padding between the crampons and the shoes and they did not tighten one of the crampons right so i had to hammer it back on every third step. My friend had climbed years before and took me up a way that ended in a huge chasm so we had to hike back down and go up Misery Hill. I was so tired of banging the crampon back into place that i followed the steps a taller person hacked into the path instead of the zig zag path others took. This was my first and only mt. i ever climbed. We got to within 100 ft of summit a spire that i did not climb. After getting to bottom of misery hill again i removed my crampons and skated down below to end of snow on my tennies! That was in 84

[bobv]

I climb Clear Creek safely during the summer months, at around 13k’ is the only area that can be tricky and scary but it only lasts about 500’ then back on hard safe ground. I avoid the snow patches. Summit 4 times 2014, 2015, twice in 2016.

[hermosafieldsforever]

All mountains have hidden dangers.
I climb high desert peaks, loose soil, snakes, rock falls, and surprise weather. All can have tragic results.
I have been a rock climber for 39 years and have almost died twice.
Always due to my own enthusiasm and bad judgment. You learn to read conditions properly, or you can die. No ifs ands or buts.
Heart goes out to them, it's tough.

[chryseluna]

Wow that’s so arrogant and obnoxious of people to say to someone - it’s your job to get me to the top.

It’s the individuals journey to see how they go at having a go, the guide is exactly that, someone to assist you on the journey, how far you get on that journey is up to you and the weather of course.

[STRDVD]

I think the story stands as a cautionary tale that everyone can learn from. It's definitely the teacher in me (Grade 7) and not the mountaineer as, "hoot no, I won't get climbing that bloody mountain, I've a family.".

[nomadtraveler]

I am the first homeless man to free solo summit mount Shasta from sandflat campground on 9-16-22 the day before the snow hit many are called to the mountain but few are chosen to all my other fellow climbers don't forget the spiritual aspect of climbing and always ask the mountains blessing before your summit attempts

[savage]

I remember being in highschool and seeing a pic of Mt Shasta in a book. Two days later drove there rented an ice axe and crampons. Climbed it with no experience with no problem. First climb ever. Fun experience. I was 17

[marin]

Year 2001 a climber from Ashland fell over 2000 ft off Shasta ice flow . Fortunately the Shasta rescue team were doing a training climb and were instrumental in locating the fallen climber. 2 helicopters were required in the rescue, as only HWY patrol could manage a pickup higher than 10, 000 ft. It was a long involved rescue and although the climber survived over 24 hours, he succumbed to injury which included blunt force trauma and hypothermia. Ice conditions and decreasing ability to access warning signs of altitude effects were contributing factors . It was a tragic event and involved many people to find, recover and treat him .