Hiker’s leg gets wedged in canyon wall — and he hangs upside down for 3 hours
A hiker fell down a canyon wall in Utah and got his leg wedged — leaving him hanging upside down for more than three hours as rescuers tried to free him, authorities said.
The 32-year-old man was hiking near the “Lizard Head Wall” in Little Cottonwood Canyon with friends when he stumbled and fell a bit down the canyon, getting his leg wedged into the wall on his way down, Detective Arlan Bennett with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office told McClatchy News over the phone on Monday, April 14.
The hiker’s friends tried to dislodge him for about 20 minutes until they realized they weren’t going to be able to and called 911 for help, Bennett said.
The hiker was hanging upside down from about 1 p.m. until rescuers finally got him free around 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, Bennett said. He was flown to the University of Utah Hospital in critical condition.
Little Cottonwood Canyon is about a 25-mile drive southeast from Salt Lake City.
This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Hiker’s leg gets wedged in canyon wall — and he hangs upside down for 3 hours."
