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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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 — Searchers in Utah County are cautioning hikers, climbers and others to know their limits after crews took part in a dozen rescues over the weekend and two more on Monday.
“We’d love to educate people a little bit more about being prepared for the mountains,” said Sgt. Rhett Williams, search and rescue coordinator for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
In some cases, Williams said searchers even encountered additional people who needed help while responding to an initial rescue call.
In one case, Williams said a mother and her teenage son and daughter didn’t take flashlights for their hike on Mount Timpanogos.
“They summited at 10:30 at night and then were calling for a rescue at that time,” Williams said.
While the mostly volunteer rescue teams were able to successfully navigate the high demand, Williams said “ill-preparedness” was a recurring theme among those needing help in many of the latest rescues.
Related
On call 24-7: What it's like to be a search and rescue volunteer
After John Sohl helped return a lost boy to his distraught parents, he was hooked.“A lot of times, it’s just a sporadic idea of going up and doing a hike, where they find themselves ill-prepared for heat, (with) lack of water, food,” Williams said. “They’re hungry, they’re scared, they’re cold. They weren’t prepared for nightfall to come in.”
He encouraged people to take along basics like water and a cellphone.
Rescuers can ping cellphones or obtain GPS data to determine a location, which Williams said significantly reduces the amount of time spent looking for hikers who get lost or stranded.
“Know your limits, know your limitations,” Williams said. “Be able to have yourself an ‘out’ on the situations you get into.”
