A 49-year-old Santa Clara County man died last week while hiking on Mount Shasta, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said this week.
On May 17, David Lopez of Campbell collapsed while approaching Lake Helen (a wide, flat, snow-covered plateau overlooking the steep slope that begins just above) with his climbing partner, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Just before 7 p.m., the sheriff's department said, its dispatchers received a Garmin inReach emergency notification from 9,500 feet up on the Avalanche Gulch trail. Lopez had stopped responding.
It was too dark for pilots to conduct an air rescue, the sheriff's department said.
Lopez's climbing partner, whose name was not released, immediately began CPR, continuing until U.S. Forest Service rangers and the sheriff's search and rescue team found the pair and attempted to revive the fallen hiker. , according to authorities.
López could not be resuscitated. Rescuers carried his body down the mountain to Bunny Flat, where they were met at the trailhead by a sheriff's deputy who pronounced Lopez dead at 10:49 p.m., the sheriff's office said.
The cause of death has not been determined, pending an autopsy, authorities said.
“The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office offers its deepest condolences to Lopez's family and friends and expresses its gratitude to the USFS Climbing Rangers and SAR team for their quick response to the distress call and their efforts to save lives. “said the sheriff's statement.
In a comment on the sheriff's Facebook page, Monterey County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew said Lopez, known as Davy, “lived life in a way that brought much light and joy to everyone he met.” “.
In June 2022, Jillian Webster, a professional mountain guide, was ascending Avalanche Gulch while strapped to two clients when one of the climbers lost her balance, causing all three to slide down the mountain. Webster was killed and her clients were seriously injured.
Although dozens have died while climbing the mountain over the years, the death of Webster, 32, shocked the climbing community and raised questions about the growing popularity of climbing Mount Shasta, a snow-capped volcano that it rises 14,179 feet above the northern end of the Central Valley.
The same day Webster and his clients fell, two other climbers fell down Avalanche Gulch, falling more than a thousand feet and suffering serious injuries.
