Climber who plummeted 500 feet down notorious California mountain recounts terrifying plunge as gruesome injuries revealed

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.

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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...