"Climber's Stranded on Shasta"
Reprinted by permission from the Record Searchlight

Dated Friday, April 14, 2000, excerpt from the Record Searchlight

Winds, snowfall keep rescuers from the pair

Sol Cranfill
Record Searchlight

MT. SHASTA — A Sacramento man and his English climbing partner remained stranded on Mt. Shasta for a second straight night after high winds and up to 2 feet of new snow prevented search and rescue teams from finding them Thursday.

John F. Miksits, 45, of Sacramento and Craig Heimstra of England disappeared after they became disoriented and separated from two other members of their climbing group on their descent from the 14,162-foot summit, officials said.

The other men, who have not been identified, are from Sacramento, said Grizz Adams, a member of the Siskiyou County sheriff's search and rescue team.

They told officials they last talked to Miksits and Heimstra via radio at 8 a.m. Wednesday, when they lost contact. The radios' range was a half-mile, Adams said.

After failing to reestablish contact, the pair safely descended the mountain. Shortly after, one of them went to The Fifth Season, an outdoor sporting goods store in Mount Shasta.

Jacques Bleisae, an experienced climber who works there, referred them to authorities.

Both missing men were said to be experienced climbers who carried survival equipment including a tent, sleeping bags, food and a stove.

''He was feeling fairly confident of their abilities,'' Bleisae said, referring to the climber who reported the pair missing.

Due to severe weather conditions on the mountain, avalanche danger above 11,000 feet was listed by the U.S. Forest Service Thursday as ''considerable,'' meaning natural avalanches are likely and human-caused avalanches are probable.

The missing pair had left their camp above Bunny Flat to climb to the mountain's summit.

Their vehicle, with a fresh layer of snow on it, was located by a Siskiyou County sheriff's deputy Thursday at the Bunny Flat trailhead.

White-out conditions limited visibility for the climbers and the rescuers, Adams said. A U.S. Forest Service helicopter from the Klamath National Forest could only be used sparingly, he said.

''It's completely socked in and blowing,'' Adams said Thursday afternoon.

A search base was set up at the Weed Airport. The search was set to resume this morning, with help from Shasta County sheriff's search and rescue team members and the National Guard in Sacramento, officials said.

The weather forecast calls for clearing in the late morning today, with the next storm expected Saturday afternoon.

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