Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — Crews rescued a pair of hikers who spent a cold night stranded at the top of Bridal Veil Falls.
The two were assisted off the mountain around 5 a.m., cold and wet but unharmed.
Utah County Sheriff's deputy Doug Willes said crews brought the men down around 5 a.m., cold but unharmed.
"It took us about two and a half hours, three hours to get up to them, get them secured in some harnesses, get them off the cliffs and back down to the parking lot," he said.
The 27-year-old men decided to go for a hike at Bridal Veil Falls around 3 p.m. Sunday, officials said. When night fell they could not find the road to get down. They called a co-worker, who called search and rescue crews.
The crews made contact with the men, who said they had built a fire and could make it through the night although they were not dressed properly for the elements.
Temperatures dipped to about 43 degrees and the men called search and rescue for help around 2 a.m., saying their fire was not sufficient to keep them warm.
It was quite a technical rescue, with crews using ropes, harnesses and other gear in the dark to rescue the men.
Crews used the incident as a reminder to hikers to be prepared, even if they think they are only headed on a day hike.
Contributing: Mary Richards
