ST. GEORGE – A 70-year-old man was rescued from Snow Canyon Tuesday afternoon after injuring his knee while hiking.

The man was hiking with two family members when he fell or stepped off of a rock on the Gila Trail in the petroglyphs area of Snow Canyon State Park, Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin Dye said.
Rescuers were called at 11:32 a.m. The man was only about a quarter-mile from the Ledges private development, where responders staged, but was in extremely rough terrain.
“Where he landed it looked to be like he was trying to go off kind of a pitched slope and started to slide and twisted his knee,” Dye said.

Rescuers reached the man and assessed his condition, then made a plan to get him out, Dye said.
The injured man was placed in a Stokes basket; several first responders carried him while one person was sent ahead 50 feet to cut a trail for access.
“The difficult part of some of these trails is they’re narrow which is great for hiking,” Dye said, “but once you’ve got a patient in a basket and you’ve got responders on either side, they’re not even on a trail. ”
“The difficulty is trying to access the trail and get back out and use an existing trail,” he said.

Nine first responders carried the man out, Washington County Search and Rescue Liason Darrell Cashin said.
The patient was brought back to the ambulance and was transported to Dixie Regional Medical center with a twisted knee, Dye said.
The search and rescue operation wrapped up a little after 1 p.m. Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue, Washington County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue and Gold Cross Ambulance responded to the accident.
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

First responders stage in the Ledges to reach a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders rescue a 70-year-old man from this rough terrain on the Gila Trail in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders carry a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders carry a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders carry a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders carry a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders carry a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders carry a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders attend to a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park Tuesday, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

First responders attend to a 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park Tuesday, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

A 70-year-old man who was injured while hiking in Snow Canyon State Park is loaded into a waiting ambulance, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2017 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.