This goose was close to being cooked – figuratively speaking.
In literal terms, this webbed-footed bird was very much out of its element, and was close to being frozen to death if not for some rangers from the U.S. Forest Service. Workers at the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center (which is the “Home of the Climbing Rangers”) in Siskiyou County, California somehow stumbled upon the goose, which was laying still at an elevation of 10,000 feet.
In other words, not where a goose should be.
The poor bird’s face was crusted over with ice, and it was unable to see because of the frozen ice that had covered its eyes. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “one lucky goose” before, right? Well, however it got itself into this situation happened in a very unlucky fashion. The rangers that discovered the struggling bird helped fulfill the “lucky goose” side of things.
Not before the whole thing turned into yet another goose-related saying: a wild goose chase. The experienced rangers apparently had to run after the bird, as it was a little reluctant at first to accept help from those attempting to assist. Eventually, the goose (that couldn’t see, in case you forgot) allowed for one of the rangers to pick it up. They then transported the bird down the mountain using a snowmobile.
They got that part on video too, and talk about riding in style. I only wish the goose would have been able to see how badass it looked as it rode down Mount Shasta on the motorized snow vehicle. And I guess I should mention that the ranger looked pretty cool as well, since he was the one driving the snowmobile with one hand and holding the goose in the other.
The caption for the post explained the goose rescue mission in a little more depth:
“Rangers Nick Meyers and Eric Falconer’s routine patrol took an unexpected turn when they discovered the first attempted ascent of Mount Shasta by a goose. The goose is suspected to have reached the 10,000 foot elevation at Old Ski Bowl through a majority of flight and some webbed feet.
Upon our rangers’ arrival, the climber (flyer?) had on only one layer of down and was neither prepared for the temperature nor overnight camping. Our dedicated staff were able to offer the goose a quick descent to a local pond at lower elevations before returning to regular duties.”
I love that most – if not all – of the statements from national parks have a little humor to them. “The climber had on only one layer of down” is a hilarious way to describe a goose stuck on top of a mountain. But hey, we understood what they were saying loud and clear.
And it’s good to know that the goose was relocated to a habitat and elevation more suitable for… you know, living. I’m not sure why or how the bird got itself stuck and frozen atop Mount Shasta, but I can guarantee you that it won’t find itself in that situation again. Fingers (webbed-feet?) crossed…
