Hiker stuck on cliffs as blinding snowstorm slams mountain, Utah rescuers say

A hiker who became lost off-trail among cliffs in a blinding snowstorm required an hourslong rescue, Utah sheriff’s officials reported.

The hiker called for help after going off-trail in a 20-degree snowstorm with only a few feet of visibility on Mount Superior in Little Cottonwood Canyon just after 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team said in a news release.

The hiker reported that cliffs prevented him from continuing his attempt to summit the mountain, rescuers said.

Two teams of rescuers broke through several inches of snow on a 90-minute trek to the hiker, then assessed a cliff-side hike through a waterfall, officials said.

A break in the weather allowed a helicopter to hoist the now-hypothermic hiker to safety, rescuers said. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Little Cottonwood Canyon is about a 20-mile drive southeast from downtown Salt Lake City.

This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Hiker stuck on cliffs as blinding snowstorm slams mountain, Utah rescuers say."