Rescued ‘climber’ unprepared for Mount Shasta, despite down coat, California rangers say

Two rangers on patrol discovered an unusual, unprepared “climber” high on Mount Shasta — a goose, California officials reported.

Rangers Nick Meyers and Eric Falconer found the goose about 10,000 feet high on the mountain in December, the U.S. Forest Service said in a Jan. 12 news release.

The goose appeared to have reached that altitude by a combination of flying and walking, rangers in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest said.

“Upon our rangers’ arrival, the climber (flyer?) had on only one layer of down and was neither prepared for the temperature nor overnight camping,” rangers said.

Meyers and Falconer rescued the goose and left it at a pond at a more suitable altitude, rangers said.

Mount Shasta, which is 14,163 feet high at its summit, is in Siskiyou County about a 220-mile drive north from Sacramento, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 8:13 AM with the headline "Rescued ‘climber’ unprepared for Mount Shasta, despite down coat, California rangers say."