Missing Climber Crawled Through The Night After Slicing Open Feet On Mt. Shasta

SISKIYOU COUNTY, CA — A hiker from the Bay Area who sliced open his feet during a fall on Mt. Shasta was forced to crawl through the night until he found a cabin, where he was eventually discovered and rescued, according to authorities.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office received a report Friday of an overdue climber who had been on the mountain's Avalanche Gulch route, authorities said. The San Jose man had summited the mountain about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, but his cellphone died shortly afterward and his friends — worried when they couldn't contact him the next day — reported him missing, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

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The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, the Mount Shasta Climbing Rangers and a California Highway Patrol helicopter crew started searching around 2 p.m., authorities said. At 4 p.m., a hiker entered a cabin, found the missing man and notified officials.

The man had tried to glissade down the mountain, lost control and slid about 500 feet, according to authorities, lacerating his feet. He removed his boots due to painful swelling and crawled down the rest of the gulch to the cabin. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

The forest service advised climbers to always notify someone of their plans, allow for plenty of daylight with a noon turnaround time for Mt. Shasta, and have a backup when using electronic navigation.