California Teen in Coma After Hallucinations Lead to 120-Foot Fall on Mount Whitney

Zane Wach, 14, left, is in a coma in hospital after falling off the side of a 120ft cliff while hiking Mount Whitney. With his father, Ryan Wach, right.

A 14-year-old boy from Santa Clarita, California, remains in a medically induced coma after suffering a traumatic fall off a 120-foot cliff during a hike on Mount Whitney earlier this month. The teen, Zane Wach, reportedly began experiencing severe altitude sickness and hallucinations before veering off the trail and plunging from the mountainside as his father, Ryan Wach, watched helplessly.

The incident occurred on June 10, as the father and son were descending from the 14,505-foot summit—the tallest peak in the continental United States—after successfully completing the demanding Mountaineer's Route. According to Ryan, Zane began exhibiting signs of acute altitude-related distress, including confusion, dissociation, and hallucinations.

Zane succumbed to altitude sickness that saw him hallucinate

“He told me he saw snowmen and Kermit the Frog,” Ryan recalled. “He couldn't tell if he was dreaming or awake. Then he said he was going to the car—but the car was thousands of feet below.”

Zane, a physically fit athlete with no history of mental illness, had previously hiked with his father without incident. But this trek took a devastating turn as his symptoms escalated. Earlier in the descent, Zane began mumbling incoherent thoughts, claimed they had completed the hike “multiple times,” and repeatedly insisted the experience wasn’t real. He later refused to continue walking, saying, “This is not real,” and displayed behavior resembling sleepwalking.

Zane Wach, 14, had no history of mental health issues and had successfully hiked with his father before, but the combination of high altitude and physical stress appeared to push him into a dangerous dissociative state

Ryan tried to guide his son down the mountain safely, even resting at Trail Camp—six miles from the base—but Zane’s condition worsened. Several hikers, including a woman named Ariana, a trained EMT, stopped to offer assistance and expressed concern about Zane’s mental state. Moments later, the unthinkable happened.

“He suddenly walked toward the edge,” Ryan said. “He was about 10 feet away, and I lunged for him—but I couldn’t reach him. He stepped off the cliff.”

Ryan initially thought his son was getting better as the pair began to make their descent

Ryan scrambled down the rocky terrain, fearing the worst. But upon reaching Zane, he discovered his son was still alive.

“I rolled him over and he grunted. He was breathing. It was a miracle,” Ryan said.

With Ariana’s help, emergency responders were contacted and a rescue helicopter arrived six hours later. Zane was first airlifted to Southern Inyo Hospital in Lone Pine and then transferred to Sunrise Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas, the nearest pediatric trauma center.

Zane got worse and began speaking nonsense before he walked off the side of the cliff

Doctors confirmed Zane had suffered a traumatic brain injury, but miraculously, his only other physical injuries were a broken ankle, a fractured finger, and a fractured section of his pelvis.

“He’s improving,” Ryan said. “His eyes opened yesterday. But he still has a long way to go.”

The 14,505-foot peak of California's Mount Whitney is the tallest peak in the continental US

A GoFundMe campaign launched to assist with Zane’s medical expenses has already raised over $21,000.

“This is a survival story,” Ryan said. “It’s not a tragedy.”

It took six hours before a team from Inyo County Search & Rescue arrived on the mountain