Date of Event: 10/9/2012
Canyon involved: Heaps Canyon
Region: Zion National Park, Utah
Country: United States
Submitted by: Henry Moon
Source: Interview with Sam and NPS report
Injury: Abrasion or Laceration, Psychological
Cause: Inadequate equipment, Exposure, Inexperience, Canyon difficulty underestimated

Description of Event: Rescue from Heaps: October 9, 2012

Day 1: Saturday, October 6

On October 6, 2012, Sam and Laura set out to do Heaps Canyon in Zion National Park. They picked up their Heaps permit at the ZNP Backcountry Desk around 9 am, telling the ranger that they expected to complete the canyon in one day. They also said they were prepared to spend the night if necessary. Sam’s pack was large and heavy, loaded down with the bulk of their equipment, which included 550 feet of rope, a 330’ pull cord and “about 8 pounds of emergency stuff.” Laura wore a smaller day pack.

The pair hiked up the West Rim Trail and began descending the Gunsight entry route, arriving at the first rappel around lunch time. The Gunsight proved to be much slower than anticipated: there were practically no fixed anchors and Sam said the route looked as if it had been scoured by floods. There were no signs of any recent descent and they found the process of building natural anchors to be slow and challenging.

At the bottom of a rappel, Laura’s foot slipped and her ankle scraped into a crack in the rock. The injury was described as “road rash” which they treated with antibacterial ointment and an Ace bandage. Laura had had past problems with the ankle and though the injury wasn’t serious, it slowed progress further and had a negative impact on her mental state. Sam said later, “If we had someone who had done the canyon, I suspect we would of climbed out after Laura got hurt. If not we would of gone a lot faster. We stopped a lot to gage our location and decide on which route to take.” That day they made it to a point about about 3/4 of the way down the Gunsight, where they bivied.

Day 2: Sunday, October 7

Sam and Laura rose early and continued down the Gunsight toward Heaps Canyon. Progress was significantly slower than the day before. Laura had experienced a significant loss of confidence from the previous day’s ankle injury. Physically, she was moving very slowly and had also become hyper-cautious, questioning every move they made. The effect of this was a tendency to over-think every anchor placement, which led to many time-consuming discussions and anchor reconfigurations.

They eventually made their way into Heaps and camped somewhere before the crossroads. Sleeping was comfortably warm the first two nights of the trip as there was ample fuel at both bivy sites for a small fire.

Day 3: Monday, October 8

Progress continued slowly and with difficulty. Laura was clearly very discouraged and showing signs of mild hypothermia. At around 3 pm they arrived at a wide, sandy spot about somewhere between 1000’ – 2000’ into the 3rd narrows section. Laura expressed a strong desire to try climbing out of the canyon to warm up in the sunlight, tantalizingly out of reach over 100’ overhead. There was a good view of the sky there, and it appeared that an exit might be possible. Gear was unpacked and options for climbing out were explored, but without success. The walls were covered in damp moss, so free-climbing was ruled out, and the nearest viable hook point was far out of reach. Up to this point, Sam had not wanted to push Laura, fearing that in her weakened state she might get seriously hurt due to a misstep or error. Now, having failed to realize an escape, Sam pushed to keep moving down canyon as he was concerned that night would fall before they could exit the narrows. They had no clear picture of the terrain ahead and the prospect of treading water in the dark was a prime motivator. They had about 2 more hours until sunset.

While re-packing their gear, a helicopter was heard briefly overhead. They waved but were unsure they were seen, and the helicopter left. After pausing for a short prayer, they resumed movement and Laura seemed to be doing better. A short distance down canyon, they encountered a 30’ drop and began rigging a rappel. At this point they again heard the helicopter and Laura was elated. With greatly improved mood and energy, Laura left her pack with Sam and went back up canyon to try and signal the helicopter. Sam re-packed the gear and followed her back to the sandy spot. Laura had been successful: the helicopter dropped a bag of supplies (food, sleeping pad, radio) and left. Radio communication proved to be patchy as the canyoneers’ ability to transmit was limited. However, they could receive well and understood that the helicopter would return to retrieve them the next day.

In contrast to the first two nights, the last night in the canyon was “miserable” as there was no possibility for a fire. The next day (Day 4) the two were hauled out of the Heaps narrows by a rope rescue team. They then hiked a short distance to where the helicopter had landed and were flown out.

NPS report:

Rangers Rescue Two Overdue Canyoneers at Zion National Park
Date: October 10, 2012
Contact: Aly Baltrus

On Tuesday, October 9, Zion National Park Rangers rescued canyoneers overdue from a hike that began Saturday, October 6. The two visitors, a 41 year old man and a 26 year old female, were attempting Heaps Canyon, one of Zion National Park’s more difficult canyoneering routes. Heaps Canyon is eleven miles long and involves a 300 foot free hanging rappel, swimming through cold water, and numerous other obstacles, including slick rock potholes which can be difficult to traverse.

At approximately 9 a.m. on Saturday, the pair picked up their wilderness permit and said they estimated completing it in a day. The park ranger notified them that most people start pre-dawn in order to make Heaps Canyon a day trip. The pair said they were prepared to spend the night if necessary. While the two were never reported overdue, rangers did note that their vehicle was still parked at a trailhead on the morning of the Monday, October 8.

A helicopter from Grand Canyon was called in for the search. The helicopter crew was able to locate the canyoneers in the lower reaches of Heaps Canyon late in the afternoon of the October 8. After three days of travelling, the two had only completed about two thirds of the canyon. Some of the canyon’s most difficult obstacles still lay ahead. The crew was able to get a radio to the pair who stated that they were not able to complete the canyon without assistance. On the morning of the Tuesday, October 9, a ranger and firefighter were inserted to a bench above the two canyoneers. They cleared a helispot which enabled the helicopter to land with additional rescuers. The six member rescue team lowered a ranger from the bench 125 feet down to the stranded pair and then hauled all three people back to the bench. The two canyoneers did not require medical assistance.

The successful conclusion to the search was in part because the hikers had obtained a backcountry hiking permit which included information useful to the searchers. However, wilderness hikers should always inform someone of their plans along with an expected completion time. Had rangers not noticed the canyoneers’ vehicle at the trailhead, it is unclear when or if the two would have been reported overdue. The group also had far less experience than most Heap’s Canyon travelers. While canyon hiking (canyoneering) in Zion can be a challenging and rewarding activity, it is not one that should be entered into lightly.

Additional information and Analysis:
Prior to the Heaps trip, Sam and Laura had completed a dozen easy canyons in the San Gabriel Mountains (near Los Angeles, CA) as well as two Zion canyons: Pine Creek (2010) and Behunin (2011). Both Zion trips had gone smoothly and they were looking for a greater challenge in 2012. After reading about Heaps in Tom Jones’ guidebook, “Zion: Canyoneering” and researching online beta sites, Sam’s perception was that Heaps looked like “a big Pine Creek.” This major mis-assessment of one of Zion’s most difficult canyons resulted in the pair’s decision to attempt Heaps without having a clear picture of what they were getting into. Key points from available beta were taken lightly or ignored, especially the suggestions on bringing a Heaps veteran, group size considerations, managing cold water exposure and prerequisite canyoneering experience. As Sam reflected, “Obviously, I think we kinda jumped the gun with that one.”

Once in the Gunsight, the pair’s lack of practical experience with using and building natural anchors became apparent. Laura had taken some canyoneering courses and both had watched several how-to videos but neither had any in-canyon anchor-building experience. Progress was therefore very slow, exacerbated by the effects of Laura’s ankle injury. After entering Heaps proper, their non-draining packs and thin (3mm) wetsuits added to the impediments. Said Sam: “At one point we walked for an hour to avoid a pool only to return to the pool. We thought we could go around the pools.”

Laura’s attitude and abilities declined progressively during the trip. At the time, Sam thought this was mostly due to a combination of physical factors: her ankle injury, pre-trip marathon training (lack of rest and low body fat), low upper body strength, thin wetsuit and a non-draining pack. She often struggled in places where making progress should have been relatively easy. Despite this, Sam saw her abilities revive considerably when the prospect of rescue was apparent. So much so, that he thought in retrospect she could have completed the canyon with proper coaching. Sam’s scouting background and military service (Operations Desert Storm and Restore Hope) had prepared him for dealing with adverse circumstances, and helping partners in difficulty. However, he had developed a fixed image of Laura as possessing a high degree of mental toughness and had seen nothing in their prior trips to shake that picture. As a result, he missed an opportunity to draw on his background, help his partner recover, and perhaps turn the trip around. Sam considers this his greatest mistake on the trip.