Date of Event: 5/10/2020
Canyon involved: Upper Lulumahu
Region: Hawauu
Country: USA
Submitted by: Jim Harrison
Source: Part of group/eye-witness
Injury: Abrasion or Laceration
Cause: Rappel error, Anchor error, Fall or slip, Panic
Description of Event: We were anchored to 2 trees, a dead (but solid) one and a very alive one. The third member of our group started to rappel, and as he went over the edge, he thought he saw the dead tree break. In his panic, he let go of his brake rope to try and grab the cliff, but began to freefall down the 80-ft waterfall with rocks below. One of the crew members on the ground jumped on the rope and performed a fireman’s belay, stopping the fall after maybe 15 feet. The tree hadn’t broken, but the webbing on it shifted and gave the impression that it was going to give out.
Analysis: What went wrong in this situation was mainly the anchor and the way it was constructed. The way the webbing was tied (by a previous group), allowed it to extend about 6 inches, giving the impression that the anchor was failing to the man on rappel. I do not know what I would’ve done in that situation, as grabbing the cliff would make more sense that gripping the rope if the anchor had truly broken, but the fireman’s belay undoubtedly saved this persons life. Since that incident, we have employed a bottom belay at every possible rappel.
ICAD Analysis:
Anchors should be inspected before each use, and monitored by the person manning a rappel at each drop. Slack in anchor systems can introduce shock loads, which greatly amplify forces on anchors; thus, anchors should be constructed in a way to facilitate a safe rappel (eg. anchor redundancy and strength, direction of rappel, safety of access in various conditions, ease of inspection, no slack in the system, etc) and ensure that the rope can be pulled while minimizing snag hazards on the pull.
Smooth rappelling technique, reduced angle starts from the anchor, and anchor backups can also be used to mitigate rappelling forces on marginal anchors. Anchors that are suspect should be replaced and/or backed up as appropriate. In the event of anchor failure, little can be done except to ensure the brake hand is tightened; slack introduced into systems (eg. ropes can get caught on objects and slip off later) can feel like an anchor failure, but there is no better option than to brake as much as possible; if the anchor hasn’t failed and instead the rope has slipped or slack has been introduced, a hard brake will keep the rappeler suspended and prevent a fall. If the anchor has failed, it will be nearly impossible to hang on to any object, as the weight of the falling anchor will eventually rip any objects attached to it (including the rappeler) down toward the ground.
Fireman’s belays can add some level of additional safety, but are not always applicable based on the canyon conditions. It also exposes the belayer to risk of falling objects, and the forces of a stopping a falling rappeler can dramatically move, shift, and injure belayers if they are not properly anchored or prepared for the shock load. Thus, it is not advisable for just anyone to perform belays (fireman or otherwise); belaying is a skill that requires training and practice to perform properly.
Accidents and mishaps can occur at any time; thus, it is prudent for any group canyoning to be prepared for worst, and be able to summon for help (Eg. SPOT or Inreach type devices), assist injured canyoneers (medical supplies, emergency blankets, trash bags, etc), and continue down canyon (spare equipment, ropes, experienced canyoneers) if necessary in the event of an emergency.