Date of Event: 2022/03/19
Canyon Involved: Sad Cow
Region: Utah
Country: United States
Submitted by: Stephen Ziff
Source: group account
Injury: Fracture
Cause: Fall or slip, bad luck
Description of Event: A group of six adults and five teens met up to descend Sad Cow Canyon. Three adults had previously done the canyon and were familiar with the area. Four of the the adults were very experienced (hundreds of descents between them) and were not only familiar with anchors but adept and comfortable ghosting canyons (they carried and utilized fiddlesticks, sandtraps, potshots and ascenders). Four of the teens were also experienced, having descended dozens of canyons each. This group of 8 was also very comfortable at down climbing difficult descents and were familiar with and adept at spotting and capturing each other. For two of the adults and one of the teens, this was their first time doing technical canyoneering.
The objective of the day was to descend Sad Cow and return to our camp on the Burr Trail for dinner. We left the trailhead at 9:30am under partly cloudy skies and warm weather (in the mid to high 60s). The accident occurred at 2:25pm with about 5 minutes of technical canyon remaining (500 yards from the junction with the main canyon and trail). We had planned on being back around 5:00pm.
The victim (one of the experienced adults) attempted to avoid a puddle of water in the bottom of the canyon by swinging their left leg forward while their upper body was wedged in a slot. The sole of their shoe was caked in mud and slid off of the sidewall of the canyon and into the puddle and the lower fibula broke as a result of the uneven landing. Victim immediately identified that they had broken their ankle as they heard a snap and could not weigh their leg without considerable pain.
The victim was able to move on their own in the remaining section of slot canyon. Once we reached more open areas, they were transported using a combination of a piggyback, carried between two people using arms, carried between two people using slings, carried between four people using slings and lastly, on a stretcher that was constructed with wood found in the canyon and a rappel rope and small pack. We found the piggyback useful on certain terrain (bushy) and the slings helpful but hard on the backs of the rescuers. The stretcher was by far the most comfortable and efficient method we used and only took 20 minutes to construct.
Victim was moved approximately six miles (5.5 miles in a wash on a good trail) in just over four hours. The victim weighed 120 lbs.
Before we knew how fast we would be able to carry out the victim, we used our InReach to request a rescue. Once the signal was sent, received and contact was made via texting (which took 25-35 minutes and only once we were in a more open area), a decision was made by the participants, with the full consent of the victim, to cancel the rescue. This decision was made because by this point the victim was stable and we were confident in our ability to carry out a self rescue.
Analysis:
I think one should consider any dynamic movement as dangerous. Jumping and dynamic landings can be dangerous. In this case, it was trying to avoid the awkwardness of placing one’s feet in the canyon bottom.