Date of Event: 4/8/2022
Canyon Involved: Monkey Face Falls
Region: Forrest Falls, CA
Country: USA
Submitted by: Randi Ball
Source: Participant
Injury: No Injuries
Cause: Rope stuck on pull, Inadequate equipment, Group dynamics
Description of Event: My girlfriend and I are fairly new to canyoneering (1 year). We had wetsuits. The conditions were chilly but nice in the sun. It was low water flow. We have both run this canyon many times. Today it was just the two of us.
We stuck our rope on the tree rappel (R6). There is a tree laying against the waterfall at the base of the rappel. My partner didn’t toss the pack over the tree, and our rope got stuck when we tried pulling it.
Fortunately, my partner had an Inreach. We messaged a few friends to come help us. One of them contacted a local SAR member, Sonny, who came with Juan, also from SAR. Sonny and Juan came quickly on an unofficial rescue. They descended the canyon to R6, freed our rope and continued with us to the exit.
Analysis: We only had enough rope and pull cord for the longest rappel. We were not prepared with extra rope in the event it became stuck. We got lucky. This could have ended really poorly.
I came home and decided to start back to L-1 with Uber Adventures. It’s not enough to know “what” we do. We want to know “why” and be able to apply it in different issues that come up. That day, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.