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Three novice climbers from Roseville are rescued from Mount Shasta after relying on AI for trip planning

Three novice climbers from Roseville were rescued from Mount Shasta on Monday after a poorly planned summit climb turned into a multi-day ordeal. The group relied heavily on Google's Gemini AI to determine their route, food, and water requirements. While the AI predicted an eight-hour ascent, the climb actually took 16 hours, leaving the hikers with insufficient supplies and forced to spend an unplanned night in Mud Creek Canyon. During the descent, the climbers' phone battery died, causing them to lose their way and wander off-route into a steep drainage. One hiker also suffered a knee injury during the trek. U.S. Forest Service rangers and Siskiyou County Search and Rescue teams reached the group on Monday morning. Authorities described the reliance on AI as a critical misstep, noting that the hikers were advised to pack far less food and water than they actually needed. The climbers admitted they relied too much on AI rather than their own critical thinking. The U.S. Forest Service and the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office urged hikers to consult local ranger stations and carry multiple methods of wayfinding, such as paper maps, rather than relying solely on a smartphone.

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