A first-time climber’s Mount Shasta adventure turned into a nightmare when he went careening nearly 500 feet down the mountain — then had to crawl his way to safety with no phone, food, water or light.
Zubayir Kazi, 24, had reached the summit around 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 after setting out early that morning. He had scouted part of the trail five days earlier, but the conditions he encountered during the climb were far harsher than expected.
“It turned out to be much worse than I expected,” Kazi told NBC Bay Area.
The real trouble came on the way down. Shortly after summiting, Kazi lost his equipment and was suddenly sent sliding down the mountain.
“Everything I had with me just goes out of my hand and I find myself flying down the mountain,” he told the outlet.
The plunge left him badly injured and stripped of the supplies he needed to summon help. With no phone or light and nothing to eat or drink, Kazi decided his only chance was to keep moving downhill.
He crawled off the mountain, driven by the fear that stopping could be fatal.
“My mentality became very one dimensional. I don’t know what’s the optimal thing to do, but I just know that I have to go lower because if I stay here and fall asleep, I’m going to die,” Kazi said.
Back in San Jose, the silence was raising alarms. Kazi’s mother contacted his friend Abdullah, worried after losing contact with him. As the hours dragged on, search-and-rescue crews began a missing-person search.
Then came the lifesaving discovery, Kazi had managed to reach base camp. Another climber found him there and provided food and water until rescuers arrived.
The extent of his injuries became apparent once officers reached him.
“When the officers came in, it was the first time I really realized how badly I was injured. They said ‘You have no skin behind your leg’,” Kazi said.
Kazi suffered significant skin and nerve damage, along with serious internal complications. Doctors told him he could have died within hours. His recovery is expected to take weeks.
The US Forest Service says the route Kazi took is not recommended this time of year, especially for novice climbers, because conditions on Mount Shasta can change quickly and accidents can happen even when climbers think they are ready.
Kazi says the ordeal has changed his view of mountain climbing.
“It is very important to fully and properly account for all of the requirements and safety considerations necessary to complete a hike like this and not miss a single one — and I’d say to definitely not go alone.”
