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Mount Shasta Climbing Rangers

Nick Meyers, Climbing Ranger

A Northern California native who grew up in Graeagle, CA, Nick Meyers started as a seasonal climbing ranger when he was 19 years old in 2002. He applied for and received the Lead Climbing Ranger and Director of the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center position in 2010.  As of 2023, Nick will have worked for 20 years with the US Forest Service on Mount Shasta. His career on the mountain began as a summer internship in 2002 while attending Feather River and Western State College for a degree in Recreation Leadership and Business. Rick Stock, Matt Hill and Eric White were some of his early mentors.  Nick’s mountain sense and technical skills have developed and evolved much from his own personal lust for adventure. Whatever the season, Nick's got something in the adventure quiver. Climb, bike, moto, ski, paddle, surf, sail...Nick is in.  His fearless spirit for adventure and democratic leadership style commands a team of rangers in the high stress and high risk operations on Mount Shasta. And randomly, Nick somehow landed the front cover of Popular Mechanics a few years ago. From that, a couple articles ensued... and a lot of teasing from his friends. Click on the links below to check them out and learn more about Nick!

http://www.fs.fed.us/faces-of-the-forest-service/meet-nick-meyers

http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/05/07/lead-climbing-ranger-thrives-on-his-job/#more-58299

Eric Falconer,, Climbing Ranger

Eric grew up as a Colorado native in the Front Range. At age three, he started skiing and has never looked back. Eric's fascination with avalanches began while he attended Prescott College, and he then went on to become and adjunct faculty member instructing their intensive avalanche one block courses. As an educator for Prescott College and the Montana Wilderness School, Eric has also worked as a guide in Yellowstone National Park and on Mount Shasta. Having tasted the many flavors of the outdoor world, he is super excited to drop into a new line with the MSAC and climbing rangers, where he can keep his hands in the snow. When snow does not exist, Eric can be found playing music, harvesting hay on his fiances family ranch, riding his horse in the mountains, or attempting to trail run.

Sam Clairmont, Climbing Ranger

Sam is a Lead Climbing Ranger and Avalanche Forecaster at Mount Shasta Avalanche Center (MSAC). His past experience includes serving as a Ski Patroller at Snowbird Ski Resort, as well as a US Forest Service Climbing Ranger on Mount Saint Helens and Mount Hood. At Mount Shasta, Sam’s responsibilities include avalanche forecasting, climbing and mountain patrols, search and rescue, wilderness maintenance, weather station upkeep, and managing developed recreation areas. Sam has been an EMT for five years, working in a variety of settings, including urban and rural ambulance services, wildland fire crews, and volunteer search and rescue organizations. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Notably, Sam is one of the few people born in Hawaii who has climbed Denali and skied from 17,000 feet.

Hayden MacArthur, Climbing Ranger

Growing up in a small town in the foothills of the Bay Area Coast Range, California and especially its mountains have always felt like home. An early fascination with nature led him to his studies in the physical and natural sciences, graduating with degrees in geophysics. A variety of inspiring experiences in wild spaces throughout the West also instilled the spark for a career working with public land. Joining the Forest Service in 2021 in Colorado, he soon found his way to the Shasta McCloud Management Unit in hydrology before joining the Wilderness program in the spring of 2024. He considers his new role as a ranger a great privilege, helping to steward the main attraction that drew him here, the Mt. Shasta Wilderness. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, skiing on the mountain, hiking and swimming in the local alpine lakes. 

Cory Beattie, Climbing Ranger

Cory was born and raised in Montana building a connection to the land while skiing, camping, hunting, and fishing. When he took his first avalanche course at 17, he found a new passion for the study of snow. This propelled him to pursue a life in the mountains continuing his education in snow science and wilderness medicine. After a several seasons of skiing the remote ranges of Montana and working as a wildland firefighter, he obtained a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana. This led to the beginning of his career with the Forest Service in Montana, Utah, and most recently as a Snow Ranger in Wyoming. Beyond his work for public lands, he loves to spend his time reading by the lake with his dog, Fernando, trying his hand at film photography, studying maps, learning to surf, and getting to know the community. Cory is stoked to join the climbing ranger team on Mount Shasta and looks forward to helping folks navigate the mountain safely.