UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 16, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Search and rescue crews and a Life Flight helicopter rescued a hiker Saturday in the Emerald Lake area on Mt. Timpanogos, in Utah County.
The 30-year-old man fell about 15 feet, and injured his back, Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Utah County Sheriff’s Office, told Gephardt Daily.
“His injuries were nothing life threatening, but he just didn’t feel like he could make it back,” Cannon said. “Emerald Lake is at about 10,000 feet elevation, and Timp’s peak is at about 12,000 feet.”
Cannon said that on a clear, dry summer day, SAR crews would need about 90 minutes to hike to Emerald Lake. During winter, the hike would take more than 2 hours, and would require much longer to carefully bring down patient stabilized on a backboard or other rescue device.
“We had a visual on him, then we were fortunate Life Flight could reach him,” Cannon said. “The call came in at about 2:25 p.m., and it would have been dark before we could get him down” using SAR crews.
As it was, Cannon said, the patient transport happened at about 4:20 p.m. The helicopter pilot planned to go back and retrieve the man’s hiking partner, Cannon said.
Gephardt Daily will update this story if more information is released.
Emerald Lake is marked with a red pin. Image: Google Maps
