EDEN -- Two snowboarders who spent the night on a mountain ridge amid below-freezing temperatures kept warm by starting a fire using a bandana and dry tree branches.
Rescue crews in a helicopter located the Ogden couple in an area just out of bounds of the Powder Mountain resort around 6:30 this morning.
Officials say the pair became lost sometime after 2 p.m. on Tuesday when heavy fog quickly formed in an in-bounds area where they were snowboarding.
The couple, identified as Steven Anderson and Julie-Anne Anderson, both 44, were dressed well for the conditions and stayed warm by starting a fire just after nightfall, said Sgt. Brandon Toll of the Weber County Sheriff's Office.
"When it started to get dark, they hunkered down and started a fire," Toll said. "They didn't have any survival gear like food or water, but they were clothed well."
A friend of the couple, who is also employed at the resort, called authorities around 12:30 this morning after finding the pair's truck in the parking lot, indicating both were still up on the mountain.
Crews went up to an area where the two were last seen snowboarding, but they were not there. The rescue group did find two fresh snowboard tracks, Toll said.
The trail led them down the mountain a bit, then up to the top of a peak, and finally down into an area that was not easily accessible on foot. Rescuers then dispatched a helicopter to continue following the tracks.
The two were found shortly afterward near Saddle Horse Lake and were flown to the bottom of the mountain, where they were given energy bars and water.
"They were very lucky," Toll said.
Both were in good shape and did not require any medical attention.
Toll said officials at the resort reported snowfall and heavy fog in the higher elevations over the course of the night.
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