Three university students who used an AI chatbot for their climbing plans were rescued on Mount Shasta in Northern California. According to local media outlet the San Francisco Chronicle, the three stranded students were beginners in mountain climbing and had used Google's AI "Gemini" to ask for information such as routes, food to bring, and the amount of water required to create their plan. They also supplemented this with learning via YouTube and the climbing app AllTrails.
Three University Students Rescued After Getting Lost While Relying on AI for Mountain Climbing Plans
PLUS ULTRA by Amenoyomi
This article is a translation. Read the Japanese original
While the three successfully reached the summit via a route called "Clear Creek," they had significantly exceeded the turnaround time recommended by experts. While descending, their smartphone batteries ran out, and they were unable to connect their backup power banks, causing them to veer significantly off-route.
According to the rangers in charge of the rescue, the three individuals were in a state of exhaustion due to fatigue, hunger, and thirst when they were discovered. In addition to the lack of food and water, inappropriate behaviors such as camping in prohibited areas and littering were also observed.
Nick Myers, director of the Shasta Avalanche Center, has previously mentioned instances where people nearly met with disaster by relying on inaccurate maps generated by ChatGPT, or cases where they camped in prohibited areas following AI instructions.
PLUS ULTRAby Amenoyomi
This incident can be seen as the result of a combination of the nature of AI-generated information and a lack of judgment common among beginner climbers, rather than mere carelessness.
AI is not a machine that conveys facts accurately; it can generate information that sounds plausible but is incorrect. In Mount Shasta, there have been reports of cases where people relied on maps created by ChatGPT that were "far from accurate," and instances where AI instructed users to camp in prohibited areas.
Furthermore, even when gathering information through various means such as AI, YouTube, and climbing apps, it is a serious issue that the criteria for translating that information into actual survival decisions are lacking. In this case, although they succeeded in reaching the summit, they failed to make effective decisions essential to mountain climbing, such as adhering to the turnaround time recommended by experts, preparing appropriate equipment, and managing battery life.
Sources
- AIに頼って登山計画を立てた登山者たちが救助される （GIGAZINE、2026-09-22）