Date of Event: 8/5/2017
Canyon involved: Salmon River Gorge
Region: Oregon
Country: United States
Submitted by: Danielle Monroy
Source: www.ropewiki.com
Injury: Fracture
Cause: Jumping error
Description of Event: According to Jerry King’s Facebook account: “We had an epic rescue Saturday night and into Sunday. Twenty-two hours. A young man who was canyoneering in the upper Salmon River gorge leapt into the river at Frustration Falls and suffered a compound fracture of his ankle. [It is unclear whether anyone checked the depth of the water or searched for submerged hazards.] He was at the bottom of one of Clackamas County’s deepest, steepest and most remote wilderness canyons. We got the call at 5PM and spent much of the night hiking in 4 miles and deploying 2700′ of rope (roughly 200#). Once we reached him it was apparent that it would be better to have an Oregon National Guard helicopter drop a hoist and extract him. The first try was aborted because it was too dangerous and they returned to Salem, refueled, got another crew and better hoist mechanism and returned to pluck him off the river bottom at 11AM. Then began the work of gathering ropes and equipment, climbing out of the canyon and hiking 4 miles back to the road.”
Analysis: Pools should always be checked by someone who enters first via rappelling or other controlled means to ensure there are no hidden hazards and the depth is sufficient.
