Tech executive dies after 2,000-foot fall on Mount Shasta
Matias Travizano, chairman of Grandata, died during a descent on the California peak; authorities cited glissading and low visibility as factors in the fall.
A San Francisco Bay Area tech executive died after plunging about 2,000 feet while descending Mount Shasta in Northern California on Sept. 12, authorities said. Matias Travizano, 45, chairman of Grandata, a San Francisco-based company that develops tools for artificial intelligence, data and privacy, was with two other hikers on the mountain’s Clear Creek Trail when the incident occurred.
Travizano was descending by glissading, a risky technique that uses gravity to slide down snow or ice. The group realized they had lost the trail and found themselves on an ice sheet near the northern tip of the Wintun Glacier as clouds moved in. Travizano struck a boulder, was knocked unconscious, and slid an estimated 300 feet before one of the hikers could reach within about 100 feet. He briefly regained consciousness, but then plunged for a second time over a ledge beyond the other hiker’s reach.
Rescue crews responded around 2:30 p.m. that day. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team, California Highway Patrol Northern Air Operations, and the U.S. Forest Service Climbing Rangers conducted the operation. Travizano’s body was recovered the following day by CHP helicopters at an elevation of about 10,200 feet at the base of the Wintun Glacier.
This year already saw another fatal Mount Shasta incident. In August, a 50-year-old man died after being found at the bottom of a cliff with significant injuries, authorities said. Mount Shasta has claimed multiple lives in past years as well; in 2022 a mountain guide died after she plummeted about 2,500 feet off Mount Shasta while others were injured during a descent involving glissading.
Travizano served as chairman of Grandata, a San Francisco-based company that creates products for artificial intelligence, data and privacy. Grandata’s website describes its business model as three steps: combining data, applying algorithms, and driving business. The company lists offices in Buenos Aires and Mexico.
Experts note that glissading is a dangerous practice, and Mount Shasta’s terrain, weather and ice can change rapidly, posing risks to hikers even on popular routes.