Haunting words 14-year-old son said as he hallucinated, walked off 120-foot cliff in front of terrified father

A California teen who is in a medically induced coma described seeing “snowmen and Kermit the Frog” before he walked off a 120-foot slope right in front of his terrified father while hallucinating due to altitude sickness.Ryan Wach said he and his 14-year-old son Zane were hiking Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada mountain range on June 10 when the unthinkable happened, according to SFGate.The 14-year-old suffered severe head trauma from the fall and remains in a medically induced coma.Zane also broke an ankle, a finger, and part of his pelvis.The frightening events unfolded as the pair made their way down the mountain, but the father initially had no doubts about his son’s ability to handle the hike.“He’s in better shape than I am,” Wach told the outlet, adding his son had prior hiking experience and status as an active teen who competes in distance running, swimming, and triathlons.“The idea was that this would be kind of like his introduction to mountaineering.”However, as the father and son were on the journey up the mountain, Zane slowly started exhibiting symptoms of altitude sickness, his father said.Wach noticed his son was having issues, but they had already finished the toughest parts of the hike.

He decided to take an easier trail to ensure a safer seven-mile descent back to their car.But as they were heading towards the trailhead, Wach said Zane started to “experience some hallucinations.”“He knew he was hallucinating,” Wach said.“He said he saw things like snowmen and Kermit the Frog.” Wach said he was keeping a close eye on his son as they made their way down the trail and noticed that he looked “considerably better.”About an hour later, however, Zane again started acting strangely and began doubting “reality.”“My best guess is a combination of exhaustion, sleep deprivation, probably some dehydration, and lasting effects from the altitude sickness.

But he essentially started to doubt reality.”As they continued...