Date of Event: 8/21/2017
Canyon involved: Wallace River
Region: Washington State, Snohomish County
Country: USA
Submitted by: Sandy Montanya
Source: Sandy Montanya (eye witness)
Injury: Broken Pelvis, Broken Back
Cause: Complacency, Inexperience, Release of brake rope, Loss of control on rappel, no backup, group dynamics
Description of Event: We had 5 people in our group. Three of us were very experienced. Three of us had done this canyon about 10 days prior. It was a beautiful sunny day. The day of the eclipse in fact. The person who fell, Nichole, had done one previous canyon and this was the 9th rappell of the day for Wallace River Canyon which was her second canyon. We bottom-belayed her for the first few rappells. After that, she communicated that she was solid, comfortable, and no longer needed to be belayed. We were now rappelling down a 300 foot waterfall that was broken up into three separate rappells with established anchors at the different stations. The experienced canyoneers sandwiched her between all of us for safety but there was really very little worry as her skills felt solid.
The accident occurred on the second stage (~110’) of the waterfall rappel. The first 40 feet or so Nichole used the wall in front of her to walk her feet down as she rappelled. The wall then dropped away and although we discussed and warned her that this would happen, she found herself in a free hanging rappel.
At that time, she lost her brake hand. It went over her head and she lost control of the rappel. She fell about 60 feet onto a ledge of boulders.
The person on the ground got to her immediately. The rest of us rapped down to her. We had Garmin inReach. Two of us are Trauma ICU nurses. We signaled for help using the SOS inReach. Nichole was badly injured and medically unstable.
Snohomish Search and Rescue was en route in less than 20 minutes; however, because of the logistics of the canyon, the narrow area we were in, etc. it ultimately took more than 4 hours to air lift her out of the canyon. The rescue involved about 75-100 ground and air rescue crew. Nichole spent time in the trauma ICU, the hospital, and about 3 months in a wheelchair. She has had additional surgeries but is walking and continues progressing towards the life that she had prior to the fall.
Analysis: We were rappelling into water and on a ledge so a bottom belay would have prevented the ultimate fall but probably not realistic in this situation. She was rappelling with an ATC so maybe a device with more resistance would have helped as well. An ATC was her rappel device that she was most comfortable with. More experience on free hanging rappelling would probably have better prepared her to control her descent. We have discussed this for hundreds of hours. If only…
ICAD Analysis:
Positional changes and movements tend to be inherently more dangerous than being static because system forces change and dynamics change when transitions occur. For instance, going over lips or edges, changing the angles of rappel mid rappel (to say, avoid an obstacle or deal with a problem), or moving from one rock in a stream to another changes how weights and forces are distributed on surfaces or anchors that hold us. Hands can get caught between rocks and ropes, or unexpected balance losses due to a moving rock or tensioned rope slipping off of an edge or obstacle can damage equipment and anchors, startle rappelers, and can lead to injuries.
Thus, “areas of transition” should be evaluated with a additional consideration, particularly when flowing water is involved (eg. going from no water flow to water flow, or areas where water flow dynamics change due to obstacles (eg. rooster tails, hydraulics, siphons, etc)). Overhangs and cracks for example, tend to be locations where rappel devices, hands, shoes, and ropes can get caught, or unlocked carabiners can pop open. Flowing water or heavy packs can cause inversions or loss of footing and control.
Anchor locations should be decided not just based on the strength of the anchor, but in a location that is easy and safe to initially access, easy to man, easy to pull from, easy to start a rappel on, and less likely to be damaged by fast moving water or flooding. Oftentimes, it is difficult or impossible to fulfill all of these criteria, so tradeoffs must be made and decisions to place anchors in a certain location must necessarily involve (and should consciously involve) a decision to increase risks in other categories.
Experience and comfort (part of mindset) play a big role in safety as well. Being “too experienced” and too comfortable can be just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than being inexperienced and uncomfortable due to a lack of experience. It is important that regardless of the level of experience, we evaluate the situation with as fresh a pair of eyes as possible; many accidents or injuries occur “after we’ve done it before” or after “we’ve done it this way and have never had a problem.” We always need to be vigilant and cautious to be safe, and evaluate situations as they occur on that day at that time, even if we have significant prior experience.
Although one could say this incident happened partly because of inexperience or improper equipment, canyoneers need to be cognizant of the fact that this could happen to anyone, regardless of experience level. Canyoneering is an inherently dangerous activity, and no one is immune from making mistakes or having a problem; thus, safety measures and safety mindset should always be discussed and taken, contingencies should always be evaluated and prepared, and we should be prepared for the worst even though we hope and plan for the best. In this case, having the medical experience on hand and an Inreach may very well have been the difference between life and death.