Date of Event: 8/20/2005
Canyon involved: Englestead Hollow
Region: ZION, Utah
Country: United States
Submitted by: Hank Moon
Source: Yahoo Canyons Group Archive, Canyon Collective
Injury: Partial toe amputation
Description of Event, from Benny R:
We did Englestead on Saturday. We met a group of 11 people from St. George at the 300 foot rappel. From our conversation, I understood that the leader of the group works with Bo. We combined our 300 foot rope with theirs to make it easier for all. We passed them at about the third rappel. About 30 minutes down canyon, the leader of this group and another caught up to us and passed us, saying that a large rock (200 pounds?) had fallen on someone’s foot and basically severed his big toe. We offered to help, but there wasn’t much we could do. Three of the group stayed behind with the injured, these two raced down to find a ranger (and made it in record time I would guess — a full 3 hours faster than us and we were moving well) and the other 5 worked their way down the canyon behind us. We saw a helicopter fly away as we drove into Zion Ponderosa Ranch for the shuttle. I always wondered how rescues in Englestead work since it is out of the park, but just barely. The group had a permit and were planning on going through to the Narrows.
From Bo Beck:
It was Zack’s Brother in Law….He lost his left big toe…..sandals! Maybe could have been saved if he’d been wearing shoes or boots?…..It happened after the canyon opens up, after the 4th rappel then you come to some boulders to climb over….he grabbed a boulder to scramble over and it slid back onto his foot….It nearly severed the left big toe just in front of the joint, so he didn’t lose the whole toe. He’s in the hospital for a couple days to watch infection…A 580 foot raise to the South West rim and a helicopter ride to awaiting medical attention. Hopefully it doesn’t interfere with his balance too much? Another argument to wearing protective boots or shoes while in canyons?