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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 29, 2004 Hiker rescued New Yorker caught in storm spends 44 hours on Mount Shasta, then hikes out By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune The third time was definitely not the charm for a New York man who became stranded high on Mount Shasta during an attempt to reach the summit. Jim Aldrich, 46, spent 44 hours lying in his sleeping bag inside his tent on an exposed ridge while 50 mph winds battered the mountain. He came down off Casaval Ridge late Monday afternoon as the storm waned, and dug a cave in the snow for shelter as darkness fell. "It was like a mummy’s coffin, a sarcophagus," he said late Tuesday, back at his sister’s home in Central Point. Rescuers located Aldrich early Tuesday morning and he walked with them to Bunny Flat, where a Sno-Cat took him to the city of Mount Shasta. "I’m doing pretty good," he said. "I’m really fortunate not to have frostbite." Advertisement Aldrich planned to climb the mountain about a year ago, but storms prevented him from starting out. He was thwarted again last April, when bad weather drove him off the mountain well below the summit. He traveled from his home in Homer, N.Y., to spend Christmas with his sister, Susan Bell of Central Point. The solo climb was to be a fund-raising project for a fellow church youth leader in New York who suffers from pancreatitis. Aldrich said the weather report he consulted before setting out on Christmas Day indicated Mount Shasta would receive 4 to 8 inches of snow. "I thought I could wait that out," he said. What came instead was the biggest storm of the season. Aldrich holed up in his tent Sunday afternoon while wind-driven snow swirled across Casaval Ridge. Aldrich used his cell phone to call his sister and ask advice. "I just had the feeling (the storm) was not going away anytime soon," he said. Aldrich’s family called the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff’s deputies established phone contact with Aldrich and urged him to wait out the storm while they mobilized a rescue team of volunteer mountaineers. Aldrich huddled in his tent, unable to use his stove to heat water in the driving wind. Anchors that were supposed to hold down his tent blew away in the gales. "I was the only thing holding down my tent," said Aldrich. "I weigh 180 pounds. There were times when the wind just ever so slightly lifted me up." The tent began to fail Monday, and snow started to wet his sleeping bag and clothing. He decided to climb down Monday afternoon despite telephone advice from search and rescue officials to stay put. The deep new snow had created extreme avalanche danger, and rescuers feared Aldrich might set off a slide that could bury him. "My lower half was all wet," Aldrich said. "I left at 3 o’clock to have two hours of daylight to get to a lower elevation. I felt like I could not spend one more night on that mountain. I had to take one more calculated risk." Aldrich said he realized he might not survive. "The thought went through my head for a fleeting moment," Aldrich said, but his faith in God convinced him that "He was going to get me through this. "I focused on that," he said. As Aldrich made his way off the ridge Monday, a rescue party traveled by snow machine and skis to Horse Camp, a mountaineering shelter, where they spent the night. Rescuers put up a helicopter to look for Aldrich Tuesday morning. He heard the aircraft and yelled and waved. The rescuers heard him, and the helicopter directed the rescuers toward him. In the meantime, a second party of rescuers came up with a pair of snowshoes for Aldrich to make his way through snow that was often waist deep. He and the rescuers made their way to a machine, which brought him to the city of Mount Shasta at about 1 p.m. The rental car he used to reach his starting point at Bunny Flat remained behind, buried in deep snow. "My sister will take care of it when the time comes," he said. "I’ll pay whatever I have to pay." Sgt. Dave Nicholson of the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department said Aldrich seemed "very humble and very grateful" to be off the mountain. Nicholson said Aldrich made several errors that put his life at risk. "He climbed alone. He went at the wrong time of year before a storm. He didn’t have all the proper equipment." Aldrich said it will be a while before he considers a fourth attempt on the mountain. "Next time I may take a guide with me," he said, "and let him do the work." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers