Crews, helicopter rescue 3 hikers from Y Mountain

PROVO — It took a helicopter to get three Brigham Young University students off Y Mountain on Friday night after the men followed an unfamiliar trail and became stranded.

The hikers contacted Provo dispatch about 6:30 p.m. after a member of the group slipped and fell almost 100 feet along a steep slope caked in snow and ice, according to Provo police. The BYU students, all 18 years old, were unfamiliar with the trail's and terrain, police said.

The Provo Search and Rescue Team received assistance from the Utah Highway Patrol, which used its helicopter to deliver food and clothing to the stranded hikers. The students were not prepared for nighttime temperatures, police said.

The helicopter later transported a team of rescuers to the top of Y Mountain to assist the hikers.

Crews reached the first two hikers around 9:20 p.m., and they located the fallen hiker just after 10 p.m. The three men were transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, though none of them was seriously injured.

E-mail: cnorlen@desnews.com