A man who had lost his way in the alpine around Haeckel Hill last night was found at midnight and safely escorted down early this morning.

Whitehorse RCMP Cpl. Natasha Dunmall said the 31-year-old Whitehorse resident was dirt biking alone when he became disoriented and lost his sense of direction and location.

He was able to call police for assistance at 5:38 p.m. Tuesday before his cell phone died.

RCMP officers, together with members of the local search and rescue unit, set up a command post at the foot of Haeckel Hill and began a search.

They were assisted by a helicopter on loan from Yukon Wildland Fire Management.

The chopper crew was able to locate dirt bike tracks on the ground and in the snow, enabling the search team to zero in the location.

Cpl. Cameron Long, the police dog handler and search and rescue co-ordinator for the RCMP, police dog Crash and a member of the local search and rescue team located the man at midnight.

They decided to camp until daybreak and were able to make their way down early this morning, arriving at the yard of Castle Rock Enterprises next to Haeckel Hill at 6 a.m.

Dunmall said it’s to the lost man’s credit that he did have a communication device and once he determined he was lost, he stayed where he was.

“The cell phone did die, but he was able to get that call out and then he stayed in that one spot, and did not continue to move around.”