Three hikers in their 20s were rescued from steep, off-trail terrain on Mt. Superior in Little Cottonwood Canyon late Friday, Sept. 11.

Salt Lake County Search and Rescue (SLCoSAR) dispatched crews to the west side of Mt. Superior's South Ridge around 10:30 p.m., ABC4 reported. The three had set out around 7:30 p.m. with a larger group planning to camp overnight on the peak. When the rest of the group pulled ahead, the three fell behind, lost the trail and wandered into steep terrain where they got stuck in a spot they could neither climb above nor safely descend.

Two SAR teams scrambled to the hikers carrying ropes, harnesses, helmets, extra lights and warm layers. Volunteers rigged a short, roped belay for each hiker and guided them down to easier ground. After hiking back to the road, all three were safely off the mountain just after 1 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, officials confirmed.

No injuries were reported.

The rescue marks the second overnight SAR operation on a Wasatch peak in less than a week. On Sept. 6, volunteers spent 11.5 hours bringing two cold, altitude-sick hikers down from the top of Lone Peak, a separate mountain, Gephardt Daily reported. After that rescue, SLCoSAR warned that valley temperatures in the 90s can mask freezing conditions above 11,000 feet and urged hikers to carry extra headlamp batteries as nights grow longer.

Little Cottonwood Canyon has seen serious backcountry incidents this summer. On Aug. 19, a 16-year-old boy died after falling several hundred feet while scrambling along the ridgeline of Devil's Castle near Alta, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Following the Mt. Superior rescue, SLCoSAR repeated its fall safety message: start early, bring a solid plan and sharpen route-finding skills before heading into the backcountry as daylight shrinks. The agency urged hikers not to push past terrain they cannot reverse, saying it would rather respond to an early call for help than a fall.