Date of Event: 12/17/2017

Canyon involved: Fish Creek/Zig Zag

Region: Central Arizona

Country: United States

Submitted by: Danielle Monroy

Source: Canyon Collective discussion

Injury: Hypothermia

Cause: Unprepared, Wrong bolts used, Rappelling error – no test pull, Stuck rope, Inadequate skills and equipment

Description of Event: Two canyoneers got their rope stuck 200 feet from the bottom of a 500 plus foot wall.

One canyoneer reported: “I was able to rescue climb up about 75′ above Kristy but here I was free hanging as the rock caved inwards and my top ascender was blocked by 9 inches of a ledge that I can’t get over. I couldn’t get any leverage with my feet to try and pop my ascender over the ledge. Now I’m stuck tied onto my ascenders hanging there 500 feet above the ground and I can’t go any higher because of the ledge but I can’t go down because well, ascenders don’t allow you to. Now I panic. I’ve gotta transfer to the other rope and if I undo one wrong connection, I fall to my death. I looped the rope through my belay on my harness, lock tied it around my thigh, and tried to figure out how to get off of my ascenders. I couldn’t get any slack on the rope because of my weight so I had to cut away the slings that connected me to them and leave them there and pray I didn’t drop. Cut. My thigh lock held and I was good. I unwrapped the rope from my leg and rappelled. Now we’re back to square one. Anchored in and can’t get our ropes down. ”

Another report notes: “He cut the ropes leaving him two pieces of 60 feet each, hoping to tie them together and complete the wall. At the next anchor he dropped them. Without the equipment to descend, they were forced to remain on a ledge until they were able to flag down a car passing on the road below. They waited on the ledge while temperatures dropped to 35 to 40 degrees by 11 pm when rescuers were able to reach them. They were rescued by helicopter and with a SAR team.”

Analysis:

  • Each canyon requires a different amount of rope. In general a team should carry the equivalent of three times the longest rappel. However if there is only one long rappel, three times its length is not needed. Rather, great care must be taken to protect the rappel side of the rope for the long rappel in order to be able to retrieve it.

  • Having a beacon or other device to reach help is important in areas without cell phone reception.

  • All canyoneers need to be able to ascend and descend rope using some type of rope grabs. The equipment to do so must be on their harness. Often times all that is needed is unweighting the rappel device to overcome a jammed rope. Ascending over an overhang can be a difficult task without more advanced gear such as is used by cavers. Doing so requires a lot of practice.