Tech executive dies after 2,000-foot fall on Mount Shasta during glissade
Matias Travizano, 45, chairman of Grandata, died while descending California peak; rescue teams recovered his body the following day.
A tech executive died after plunging about 2,000 feet off Mount Shasta in northern California during a hike on September 12, authorities said. Matias Travizano, 45, was the chairman of San Francisco–based Grandata, a company that develops products related to artificial intelligence, data and privacy.
Travizano and two fellow hikers he met on the ascent were attempting to descend the mountain using glissading, a controlled slide down snow or ice that can be dangerous on uneven terrain. Officials said Travizano was making his way down with his companions when a boulder struck him, knocking him unconscious. The group watched as he slid roughly 300 feet before one of the hikers managed to reach within about 100 feet. Travizano briefly regained consciousness, but then plunged a second time over a ledge beyond the other hiker’s reach.
The California Highway Patrol helicopter unit recovered Travizano’s body the following day at an elevation of about 10,200 feet at the base of the Wintun Glacier. Rescue teams — including the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team, CHP Northern Air Operations and the U.S. Forest Service Climbing Rangers — were dispatched around 2:30 p.m. on the day of the fall. Officials said limited visibility from clouds that afternoon may have contributed to the group becoming off course while navigating along the non-technical Clear Creek Trail, a route commonly used in the summer and fall.
Mount Shasta has claimed other lives in recent years, underscoring the mountain’s dangers even to experienced hikers. This marks the second death on Mount Shasta this year. Last month, a 50-year-old man died after being found at the bottom of a cliff with significant injuries, authorities said. In 2022, a mountain guide died after plunging about 2,500 feet off Mount Shasta; Jillian Elizabeth Webster, along with two others who were tethered to her, fell thousands of feet while attempting the descent.
Travizano served as chairman of Grandata, a San Francisco–based company that creates products for artificial intelligence, data and privacy. The company’s website describes its business model in three steps: combining data, applying algorithms and driving business. Grandata also has offices in Buenos Aires and Mexico.