This undated family photo provided by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's office shows 26-year-old Thomas Bennett. A rescue team on Thursday, April 1, 2010, recovered Bennett's body near the summit of Mount Shasta in a snow cave where his friend had left him before going for help.
Searchers have found the body of a British Columbia climber who collapsed after scaling a blustery California mountain last weekend.
The discovery dashed fading hopes that the avid outdoorsman might have survived the alpine ordeal.
Thomas Bennett, 26, was found in a snow cave by searchers who were lowered onto Mount Shasta from a helicopter. Fierce winds and whiteouts had for days prevented rescuers from reaching the summit area, where he fell ill Sunday morning as he and a friend prepared to descend.
Mr. Bennett was an experienced outdoorsman, according to his mother, Mary Kenny, who drove from Sechelt, B.C. to northern California after her son's climbing partner, Mark Thomas, reported the mishap.
Ms. Kenny said her son died pursuing his passion. "When they found him ... he just had a real, peaceful ... almost like a smile on his face," she told CBC news.
"He was right in the middle of nature, and now he will be part of nature forever.
"We have to let our children do what they are passionate about and they take the risks. I'm sure he's peaceful with it."
According to a lengthy written statement released Thursday by Mr. Thomas and Mr. Bennett's family, the climber might have died as early as Sunday. The statement said Mr. Thomas performed CPR on his friend, but he was unable to revive him and "was fearful Bennett had succumbed to this medical emergency."
The pair began their ascent last Friday morning. At the time, the weather was clear. They camped overnight at a spot about two-thirds up the mountain, reaching the summit in the late afternoon. But not long after beginning their descent, the weather soured and they decided to stay put for the night.
Mount Shasta, a 4,322-metre peak, is about 100 kilometres south of the Oregon border.
Mr. Thomas said Mr. Bennett was fine that night, but the next morning, he fell ill, experiencing symptoms of altitude sickness.
"Within minutes, he said he couldn't see very well and he could barely stand or put his crampons on," said Susan Gravenkamp of the Siskiyou Sheriff's Department.
"They tried to start down the mountain, but he deteriorated so fast that he could not longer walk. So they went back to the snow cave and he deteriorated and became unresponsive."
Mr. Thomas thought it best to find help for his friend, and left Mr. Bennett in the alcove with some food and water. He planted a fluorescent stake in the snow for rescuers. It took Mr. Thomas more than 24 hours to reach the base of the mountain.
On Thursday morning, the skies finally cleared and a Chinook helicopter with seven rescuers took off just before nine a.m. They found Mr. Bennett just over an hour later.
Searchers were still hoping for a happy ending yesterday morning. "There's a glimmer of hope," Ms. Gravenkamp said. "It's hard to say."
Mr. Bennett was an engineer who graduated from the University of British Columbia. He lived in Oakland, Calif.