Last month, the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center & Home of the Climbing Rangers team conducted a rescue unlike most others, retrieving a less-than-conventional climber from the slopes around Old Ski Bowl.
According to the U.S. Forest Service – Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Rangers Nick Meyers and Eric Falconer’s came across what might be the first attempted ascent of California’s fifth-highest mountain by a goose. The goose was believed to have reached 10,000 feet of elevation at Old Ski Bowl mostly through flight but with some actual walking.
The climber/flyer was obviously not wearing appropriate gear for the attempt and was not prepared for the temperatures or the possibility of overnight camping, especially as it only had on one layer of down.
Fortunately the Mount Shasta rangers, who spend their winters patrolling on the mountain and its surrounding wilderness boundaries, were able to bring the goose down to lower elevations where it was given access to a local pond.