Stranded Hiker Rescued From Near Summit Of Mount Timpanogos
Aug 20, 2019, 10:28 PM | Updated: Aug 21, 2019, 3:22 pm
ASPEN GROVE, Utah – Search and rescue crews were called out to help a hiker who has become stranded near the summit of Mount Timpanogos. They pulled the 21-year old off the mountain around midnight.
Sergeant Spencer Cannon from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said the hiker became dehydrated.
“The most common thing that happens when people are hiking on Mount Timpanogos is they get altitude sickness, which usually consists of dehydration, and nausea. Those are the symptoms he’s describing,” said Sgt. Cannon.
He said the hiker was about 1,500 feet from the mountain summit, or at an elevation of over 10,000 feet.
@UCSO SAR responding to 21 year old hiker who is sick and possibly stranded near the summit of Mt. Timpanogos. Details to follow. Command post at Aspen Grove trailhead. pic.twitter.com/xxSWf59G9r
— Spencer Cannon (@SGTCannonPIO) August 21, 2019
Search and rescue crews staged at the Aspen Grove trailhead. They first worked to reach the man and treat him for his ailments, and then determine how best to get him down off the mountain.
“We’ve also contacted the Department of Public Safety to see if their helicopter might be available to give us a hand,” he said. “That’s a complicated process normally, but compounded by the fact that it’s dark out there.”
Ultimately, the DPS helicopter was able to respond to the mountain ridge and bring the man down from the mountain.
@UtahDPS helicopter has returned the 21 year old patient to Aspen Grove. @NorthForkFireUT is evaluating him now. DPS helicopter is again at the summit retrieving the 75 year old man who called 911. Patient had hiked Boxelder Peak in Am Fork Cnyn earlier today. @UCSO pic.twitter.com/Jnct4ZeKoB
— Spencer Cannon (@SGTCannonPIO) August 21, 2019
“He went up there on his own, but somewhere along the way he met another man and they were hiking together,” Sgt. Cannon.
He said the other person was a 75-year-old male, and was the person who called 911 emergency dispatchers.
Temperatures were expected to fall to the mid 40s overnight.
Officials said the hiker was in an area of very difficult terrain.
“It’s going to take a couple hours to get to him if we have to hike all the way,” said Sgt. Cannon.
@UtahDPS helicopter is near the Summit and will attempt to hoist the patient. pic.twitter.com/kIjhF2ruEo
— Spencer Cannon (@SGTCannonPIO) August 21, 2019
