An Edmonton climber says he was fortunate to find two lost hikers when he made his way down an icy Washington mountain.
Phill Michael was descending from the peak of Mount Rainier on September 16 when a thick fog moved in, cutting his visibility to just a few metres.
He heard two voices in the distance -- a young Seattle couple trapped on the mountain and unprepared for the fierce storm about to hit.
"By the time we hooked up and determined yes, they were definitely having a problem, you couldn't see farther than 20 feet and sometimes even less so," Michael told CTV Edmonton by phone from Washington. "It was just like being in the dark."
The two hikers hadn't checked the weather forecast before making their way to the mountain, and had no tent.
Their friend had reported them missing the previous day.
"I don't think they really realized that if they hadn't have run into somebody -- because there was nobody else in that area by that point -- that would have been the end of their lives," said Michael, who owns a travel company called Secret Spot Adventures.
He set up a temporary shelter to protect the group until the storm passed -- which ended up taking two days.
"I've only been rescued once myself," he said. "When I was 19 I fell off a waterfall and broke my leg. So maybe I learned from that experience. Maybe I learned that every time I see someone in need, I ought to be there the way they were there for me."
Michael, who had major heart surgery in 2003, said his next challenge will be climbing Mount Everest next year.
With a report from CTV Edmonton
