Break in California’s stormy weather allows search for stranded Mount Shasta climber

Weather break permits search for Calif. climber

MOUNT SHASTA, Calif. — Authorities planned to take advantage of a break in stormy weather Wednesday to search for a man who may have died when he became stranded near the summit of California’s Mount Shasta over the weekend.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department announced it was launching a search and rescue operation for Thomas Bennett, 26, a chemical engineer from Oakland.

Bennett and his friend, Mark Thomas, also 26, began climbing the 14,126-foot mountain located about 50 miles south of the California-Oregon border Thursday. The climbers were trapped by strong winds when they tried to descend from the summit Saturday.

State and federal agencies were assisting with helicopters and rescue teams. The California National Guard said it would deploy a team on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from Sacramento. State fire officials were also sending a helicopter.

Thomas’ father, Jay Thomas of Salt Lake City, told The Sacramento Bee in Wednesday’s edition that the two experienced climbers decided to ascend the summit on a more difficult and technical northern route that neither had tried before.

Mark Thomas, an engineer from Berkeley, told his father the weather caught the two hikers by surprise when they reached the summit because they had checked the forecast before they left. Rather than start down, they decided to take shelter behind rock outcroppings near the summit.

The next morning, Bennett toppled over as he put on his crampons. He was unresponsive within an hour, and Mark Thomas could not revive him, according to Thomas’s father.

Thomas called 911 on Sunday to report Bennett’s condition. After his initial call, Thomas told officials he decided it would be best to try to descend the mountain on his own.

He left Bennett in a snow cave with water, candy bars and granola, officials said.

Thomas was rescued Monday after he walked down the mountain looking for help. He had frostbite on one finger but declined medical attention.

Jay Thomas said winds were so fierce that his son had to crawl at times until he reached the tree line.

Mark Thomas was able to show authorities where Bennett was on a map. He told them that Bennett was unresponsive and he thought his friend was dead.

Rangers had been prevented from conducting a search by winds as strong as 55 miles per hour, freezing temperatures and poor visibility.

Susan Gravenkamp, a spokeswoman for the county sheriff’s department, said the men did not fill out a wilderness permit because Thomas held a seasonal pass.

Gravenkamp said Bennett’s family was traveling to California.