Date of Event: 4/12/2014
Canyon involved: Middle Fork of Lytle Creek
Region: California
Country: United States
Submitted by: Dan Halim
Source: www.ropewiki.com
Injury: Yes – no details
Cause: Rappel error, Equipment misuse
Description of Event: A canyoneer fell during a guided rappel on the last drop.
Randy Worth: Party of three ahead of us. On last rappel they did a guided rappel. Last guy down fell. We don’t know the exact failure. His tether on the guideline held. I inspected his rappel device carabiner. The gate was on the wrong side (outside). He had somehow forced it open in an improper way.
Duffy Knox: At the bottom of the last rappel we met another group of people who had a rappelling accident. After making sure the victim was warm enough and had water, food and pain meds, we went to the confluence with the main creek and met another member of the injured man’s party there. We helped talk the helicopter in, then ran back up to the waterfall’s base to help in any way we could. We helped get the victim onto a stretcher, then carried him to the closest open spot and stabilized him until they could lift him out.