One dead and four badly injured during hike on California’s Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta as seen from California’s Highway 5 (Getty Images)

One climber has died and four others were injured – including at least two critically – after getting into difficulty on California’s Mount Shasta.

Multiple incidents were declared on the mountain throughout Monday with one dead climber airlifted away, and three others rescued with injuries including a broken ankle.

The climbers were rescued between 8.39am, when three of the climbers were located by first responders, and 6.34pm, when the fifth climber was located following an hours-long search.

At least two of the climbers were in a critical condition and were flown to a nearby hospital, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.

No names were released by the sheriff’s office and it was unclear if all five were part of a single group. Nor was the cause of the injures clear.

All five were climbing what ABC 11 reported is the second highest peak in the Cascade Mountain range, which had experienced snowfall on Sunday night.

That meant conditions on the mountain were icy on Monday, when the five people came into difficulty near Avalanche Gulch, a snowy glacier climb on the mountain, the sheriff’s office said.