OGDEN — It was a chilly New Year's Eve for two North Ogden men, who rang in the new year while stranded atop Ben Lomond Peak.
The two 18-year-old men hiked six miles to the peak Monday, intending to do some snowboarding and spend Monday and Tuesday nights on the mountainside. However, the pair became separated in Tuesday afternoon's snowstorm and quickly became disoriented, Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Malan said.
Spencer Grimley called his father on his cell phone, who told him to dig a snowcave and crawl inside his sleeping bag. The father called police, and two four-person search and rescue teams started up the mountain at about 5 p.m.
Poor conditions forced authorities to call off the search at 11 p.m., Malan said.
Rescuers reassembled at 8 a.m. Wednesday and, with the help of a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter, were able to locate Grimley within about 15 minutes. He was standing on North Ogden Ridge waving his arms to get the attention of the pilot, Utah Highway Patrol Capt. Steve Rugg said.
Grimley appeared to be in good condition, so Rugg continued searching for Grimley's friend, Phillip Burnett, who was spotted about five minutes later down a deep ravine. Burnett was in a sleeping bag and looked like he'd been injured, Rugg said.
After calling for a medical helicopter equipped with a hoist to retrieve Burnett, Rugg returned to pick up Grimley.
"He seemed to be in very good shape," Rugg said. "He spent the night in the snowcave so he weathered out the storm that way."
Burnett had a sleeping bag but had lost his pack with the rest of his gear somewhere along the way, Malan said. Burnett was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital, where he was treated for exposure and released Wednesday afternoon.
Rugg said the search area was narrowed significantly because Grimley had been in contact with searchers on his cell phone.
"This was pretty fast," Rugg said. "A lot of times we can be anywhere from hours to days on searches."
Rugg was called to join the search Tuesday night, but the adverse weather prevented him from flying.
Although both men have experience with winter camping, Malan said conditions on the mountain Tuesday night were harsh — at least 60 mph winds and temperatures that dipped well below zero.
"It's some extreme conditions up there, and when you do that extreme skiing you've got to expect those conditions to settle in," Malan said.
Grimley has spent the past four New Year's Eves on the mountain, Malan said. Grimley declined to comment Wednesday when contacted by the Deseret News, though he did say he was feeling fine after his overnight adventure.
Luckily, the young men had some supplies, but not enough to adequately withstand the winter weather, Rugg said.
"They were somewhat prepared, but I think they were surprised at how bad the storm got yesterday and last night," he said. "Those boys are very fortunate."
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com