Stranded man rescued on Mount Olympus

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Salt Lake County Search and Rescue rescued a man Saturday who was stranded on Mount Olympus.

The 50-year-old man had begun a trek from the north side of the mountain Friday morning, but appeared to have become disoriented near the peak, said Unified Police Sgt. Travis Skinner.

Eventually, the man began following a drainage to come down from the mountain, but terrain became difficult.

Dehydrated and without food, the man managed to place a 911 call from a cell phone at 1:48 p.m. Saturday.

The first plan to get the man home — plucking him from the mountain with a rescue helicopter — had to be scrapped around 2:15 p.m. because of high winds, Skinner said.

By 9 p.m., Skinner said rescuers had hiked up the mountain and reached the man. A team of six rescuers helped the man hike out and brought him water and food. They reached the trailhead shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday and the man was released after refusing medical attention.

— Joseph M. Dougherty