Hikers were stranded in storm on Mt. Olympus for 5 hours — then came break in weather
Three hikers stranded in a storm on Mount Olympus for five hours were rescued after a break in the weather in what Utah officials called a “miracle.”
Rescuers got a call about the group of hikers, who got stuck on the West Slabs of the mountain 100 feet below the summit, around 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue said in an Oct. 24 Facebook post.
A Department of Public Safety helicopter tried to reach the hikers “but had to turn back due to icing issues,” the post said. Two ground teams also had to turn back because of “the weather and water coming off the slabs.”
As it was “too dangerous to send ground teams up the slabs,” officials said they decided to send teams up the “normal summer trail to spend the night near the summit in case there was a break in the weather.”
“With temperatures supposed to drop to 20 degrees in the night, the three needed a miracle to make it through the night,” the post said. “And it happened.”
During a short break in the weather at 10 p.m., the DPS helicopter flew to the hikers and lifted them off the West Slabs to waiting helicopters, rescue officials said.
“Wrong gear (and) no respect for the weather almost ended badly for these hikers,” the Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau wrote on Instagram.
The trio had been wearing “light rain jackets” and had hypothermia, Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue wrote on Facebook.
Unified Police Department Lt. Paul Barker told FOX13 News the hikers chose a “horrible day to be out in the mountains climbing and hiking.”
“Be very prepared,” Barker told the outlet. “Check the weather and today was probably not the best day to be up there.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Hikers were stranded in storm on Mt. Olympus for 5 hours — then came break in weather."
