Estimated read time: 2-3 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
LOGAN — Two men were hospitalized Monday following a difficult rescue that lasted most of the night near Logan Peak.
"It was not an easy recovery," said Cache County Sheriff's Lt. Doyle Peck. "I'm glad it was our team that was up there."
Sunday night, a group of six to seven young adults went up to an area near Logan Peak. Peck said there was still snow in the area.
"They decided to start sliding down this ravine. They had done it a couple of times and been OK. One of the individuals went down, lost control, got onto his back, just slid out of control, went about a thousand feet down this ravine into some rocky areas, sustained some head, facial injuries, lacerations, possible broken bones," he said.
A second man went down the steep slope to try and help his friend, but soon found himself also sliding out of control. He also fell off a 15-foot cliff and suffered a possible broken ankle, Peck said.
Have fun and enjoy the outdoors, but be careful what you do.
–Lt. Doyle Peck
Just after 9 p.m., sheriff's search and rescue crews were called. The group was able to get up the mountain and begin its rescue operation by 10:35 p.m.
Peck said more than 1,000 feet of rope was used in what he called a "pretty technical rescue." Crews set up a pulley system to get the two men out of the ravine.
Randall Rees, 21, of Logan, who was the first man to fall, suffered head injuries and possible hypothermia, Peck said. Rescue crews were able to pull him out and put him on a Life Flight medical helicopter between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. The helicopter was used mainly as a precaution, Peck said. Neither man lost consciousness.
Aaron Speedy, 21, of Logan, was pulled out of the ravine between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., Peck said. Search and rescue crews wrapped up their operation about 7 a.m.
Peck said the incident is a good reminder to others to follow common safety procedures when recreating in the back country, such as wearing proper clothing and notifying others about a trip. He also warned against activities that could potentially be dangerous.
"It was definitely steep enough that it wasn't the best idea to go sliding. They started to do something they really shouldn't have been doing," Peck said. "Have fun and enjoy the outdoors, but be careful what you do. Basically this one happened because they were doing something they shouldn't have."
