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California climbers buried in avalanche at 12,000 feet carried to safety after daring 11-hour rescue

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California climbers buried in avalanche at 12,000 feet carried to safety after daring 11-hour rescue


A pair of thrill-seeking climbers were buried in a massive avalanche on a California mountain over the weekend — and it took 11 hours to get them both down to safety, authorities said.

The two adventure seekers were trying to summit Mount Shasta on Saturday when they found themselves in the path of a wave of snow, which sent one of them plummeting 1,000 feet down the side of the mountain aptly known as Avalanche Gulch, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.

The sheriff’s office received a 911 call from one of the injured climbers shortly before 12:30 p.m., saying he was hurt and stranded at 12,200 feet, while his buddy lay buried further down the slope.

A pair of climbers were caught in an avalanche on Mount Shasta and hurled down Avalanche Gulch, where they were taken to safety after an 11-hour rescue operation.

That’s when the rescue operation hit a snag.

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“Strong winds and poor visibility inhibited the helicopter’s ability to safely land near the climbers, so the SCSO Search and Rescue Team mobilized, along with US [Forest Service] Climbing Rangers and a group of professional mountain guide volunteers to begin an extraction operation on foot,” the office said.

A break in the weather allowed the chopper to eventually managed to land just above the tree line — about 6,000 feet below the injured climbers. Rescuers climbed into the night on foot and were able to carry the two men down the mountain and onto the chopper around midnight.

Rescuers had to climb 6,000 feet up Mount Shasta to rescue two climbers hit by an avalanche on Saturday. Siskiyou County Sheriffâs Office / Facebook

Both men, described as expert mountaineers who sought to snowboard down from the summit, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were recovering at an area hospital.

One climber suffered a knee injury and the other, who was hurled down the mountain by the avalanche, suffered a broken femur and a “deep crampon puncture wound,” officials said.

Rescuers climbed into the night to bring two stranded hikers down to a waiting helicopter on Mount Shasta on Saturday. Siskiyou County Sheriffâs Office / Facebook

The sheriff’s office said the heart-pounding rescue should serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers and unpredictable conditions on the 13,000-foot peak.

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“It is worth noting that the two climbers caught in the April 27 avalanche were highly skilled mountaineers with extensive experience on Mount Shasta,” the department said.

One of two injured climbers is carried down Mount Shasta after being hit with an avalanche Saturday. Siskiyou County Sheriffâs Office / Facebook
The rescue chopper on Mount Shasta caught a break when the weather broke, but could only climb to 3,500 feet on Saturday. Siskiyou County Sheriffâs Office / Facebook

“Their ordeal and the 11-hour rescue process that followed are reminders that no amount of experience makes one immune to the hazards encountered on Mount Shasta, and that ever-changing mountain conditions can turn a rapid-extraction operations into a time and resource-intensive process.”

Police did not release the names of the two injured climbers.



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California

California prisoner firefighter program draws harsh criticism

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California prisoner firefighter program draws harsh criticism


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A fire broke out at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in Central California Thursday. The battery power plant is the largest in the world according to the company, Vistra, that owns it.

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