Body of L.A. area man found on Mt. Shasta

[James holden]

ive added a sample of what the weather is like on the mountain right now …

Days 0-3 Mount Shasta Weather Summary: A moderate fall of snow, heaviest on Fri morning Extremely cold (max -14°C on Thu afternoon, min -21°C on Fri morning) Winds decreasing (extremely windy from the W on Thu night, calm by Sat night)

http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Shasta/forecasts/4317

MOUNT SHASTA — A weekend of peace and spirituality turned deadly for a Los Angeles area man whose shoeless body was found Sunday on the slopes of Mt. Shasta after he apparently tried to climb the treacherous mountain on Saturday wearing only a t-shirt and sweat pants.

The body of Michael Falvo, 19, was discovered around 1 p.m. Sunday near the 9,600-foot elevation of Mt. Shasta by a California Highway Patrol helicopter, a spokeswoman for the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said today.

Sheriff’s officials received a report of a missing man on Mt. Shasta around 6 p.m. on Saturday, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Allison Giannini.

Due to darkness, however, search and rescue crews were was unable to begin searching for him until Sunday morning, she said.

Falvo had been participating in 11-11-11 meditation ceremonies with others at the Old Ski Bowl and was last seen at 3 p.m., Saturday.

His friends said Falvo took off his shoes and began walking up the mountain to place a rock atop Mt. Shasta, Giannini said. Mt. Shasta’s summit is at 14,171 feet.

Giannini was unable to explain why Falvo wanted to place a rock on Mt. Shasta.

“It’s a little different,” she said.

Giannini said Falvo, who was with a group of about 10 people, arrived at the Old Ski Bowl on Saturday.

She did not know where he lived in the Los Angeles area.

Jacques Bleisae, manager of the The Fifth Season mountain shop in Mount Shasta, said it was clear Falvo was woefully unprepared to tackle the mountain.

“This is a serious mountain,” said Bleisae, who served as a guide on Mt. Shasta for about a dozen years and has climbed it about 100 times since the mid-1990s.

This is also the time of year when route conditions on Mt. Shasta are usually at their worst, a Web site dedicated to Mt. Shasta climbers says.

Bleisae, 51, who keeps track of the weather conditions on Mt. Shasta and advises climbers to take the proper clothing and gear and to never climb it alone, estimated the temperature dropped to the teens or low 20s Saturday night.

He said a fresh dusting of snow lightly covered Mt. Shasta Saturday.

“It looked pretty cold up there,” he said.

“It’s a formidable mountain, people have to remember that,” he said.

It was unclear today when an autopsy will be conducted.

http://www.redding.com/news/2011/nov/14/body-l-area-man-found-mt-shasta/

[Tony Wong]

Dayhikers are always the ones who get screwed.

Darwin award coming shortly.

[Tony Wong]

Opps…double post.

Where is my award??

[Bob Gross]

Part of the problem is that Mount Shasta is a special site for the harmonic convergence folks. If you chase Lemurians and all that, Mount Shasta is near nirvana. You get all of these alternative lifestyle thinkers heading up there with weed on the brain, and then they wonder why they are struck by forces of nature.

I believe the year was 1979. I had been up on the summit during the morning, and I was still descending in late afternoon and early evening. As I neared timberline, I saw a group of people walking _up_ the mountain. I thought that was a strange time of day to be headed up. The group was formed up in a military formation with the leader out in front with a dog. Everybody was wearing large white robes and brand new hiking boots. The leader had gold chains around his neck. Apparently their intention was to hike up to the summit where they would be brought down into the depths of the mountain interior to see the Lemurian city.

When I saw this, I stopped skiing and just stood there to watch more. It was just a bit too weird.

–B.G.–

[Jerry Adams]

"Apparently their intention was to hike up to the summit where they would be brought down into the depths of the mountain interior to see the Lemurian city."

None of those people ever come back, Mt. Shasta being such a bad ass mountain, so it must be true, they must be in Lemuria.

That will give hope to other such groups that will do the same thing…

[Luke Schmidt]

Huh how come all the "interesting" people hang out in California. Everyone I've met in the Appalachians and Rockies has been boringly realist and practical.
Seriously though some people could use a good dose of common sense and a bit more respect for the wilderness and mountains.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Hey, buddy, we Californians are just doing our part to keep the wackos out of your neck of the woods. You owe us big time. ;)

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Luke Schmidt]

Your efforts and sacrifices are noted and appreciated.

[Hikin’ Jim]

California: sucking up all the nuts and weirdos so you don't have to.

Anyway, I better quit kidding around about such a serious matter. A guy trying to climb Shasta any time of the year (let alone late November!) in sweats and a T shirt had a very serious reality disconnect, so serious that it lead to his death. This was somebody's son. It's really very tragic.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Luke Schmidt]

You got a point, whatever humor we might find it, someone's mourning now. Sad thing is some people like this aren't quit so "dumb" as you might think. Theres a guy that thinks Timothy Treadwell might have had an undiagnosed illness, most likely Bipolar Disorder. That might explain some of his stranger behavior. Sad thing is if he'd got help he might never have engaged in the risky behavior that ultimately got him killed.

[Eli .]

Luke, that's exactly what I think when I read this type of stuff.

Its one thing to go out w/too little water; no map; etc, but when somebody climbs a mountain in sweats and a t-shirt that just smacks of drugs and/or mental illness.

[Author]

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