Exhilarating Mt. Shasta Rescue At 13,000 Feet Caught On Video
CHP Northern Division Air Operations successfully performed their highest rescue attempt on Mount Shasta at 13,000 feet elevation
On June 22, 2016, a climbing group on Mount Shasta had almost summited the 14,179 ft. peak when a member of the group, Clark Fales, took a lengthy fall and was badly injured.
Who you gonna call? The California Highway Patrol Northern Division Air Operations..
The experienced CHP helicopter crew had located the injured Fales at 13,500 feet, a location that would be the highest elevation they had ever attempted a rescue.
In order to fly up to that elevation, the crew unloaded nearly 300 pounds of gear from the helicopter. The gear they unloaded was largely medical supplies, so all they could do grab the injured climber and bring him down for medical examinations at a lower elevation.
Fales survived the brutal fall but ended up with two fractured vertebrae in his neck, nine broken ribs, two broken wrists and one broken collar bone.
One of the crew was able to get the footage on their GoPro camera. See the dramatic video:
