Thanks for the clarification, Rick.
Phillip
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “TomJones”
Support.
Patient position of comfort is much more important than any position of doctrine. Even to the extent that when placed on a stretcher, if the patient can be immobilized in a position of comfort, this is much preferable to forcing them into a position of pain, so as to fit the rescuers idea of what position the patient should be in.
Tom
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick”
the crew did not “choose” to place him in any position.
per the accident report above-
“The patients position of choice was a loose fetal position on one side.”
he assumed this position on his own, lieing on the ground, as it was one which afforded him the least amount of pain, which as also stated, was excruciating on any movement. the team, lead in the medical regard by a current RN, opted to make him as comfortable and keep him as warm as possible without additional movement. He stayed in that position, without moving, until he was placed on the rescuers backboard, post IV and pain med treatment, roughly 10 hours later.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “phil”
My only question regards a medical response to the situation. Why did the crew choose to place the patient in a fetal position versus supine if their was an initial concern of spinal injury?
It has been a while since I have been certified but I seem to remember the importance of stabilize and immobilize the spine and neck even with the remotest of concerns. I am also fully aware of the difficulties of implementing ideal actions in extremely limiting environment.
Thoughts/Explanations?
Phillip >
TomJones
Yes, you could, and in some cases would. But it is not very high and spots well from below, and the climbing moves itself are not very hard.
Of course, in canyons, people should make their own decisions about what works for them here, there everywhere. First time I did this canyon, I rappelled that. After being shown the downclimb, it made sense and was reasonable, partly because of the holds on the wall that cannot be seen from above.
Tom
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, Louis Johnson wrote:
I’m a rookie at all of this, and have followed this story with > much interest. Much thanks to everyone who has contributed to the story > with either questions or comments, especially Rick.
I have one comment/question. Instead of a hand line for the difficult spot, > could you set up a top belay that would serve as security? It could be as > tight as needed. This would allow the down climber to have both hands free. > I’m just asking myself what would I do in this situation, this is all I’ve > come up with.
Thanks again. It’s great to learn from others challenges. >
Louis Johnson
I’m a rookie at all of this, and have followed this story with much interest. Much thanks to everyone who has contributed to the story with either questions or comments, especially Rick.
I have one comment/question. Instead of a hand line for the difficult spot, could you set up a top belay that would serve as security? It could be as tight as needed. This would allow the down climber to have both hands free. I’m just asking myself what would I do in this situation, this is all I’ve come up with.
Thanks again. It’s great to learn from others challenges.
On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 10:58 AM, TomJones ratagonia@gmail.com> wrote:
> **
> My apologies to Rick and the Group. I had misunderstood where the events > transpired, and Rick has clarified this to me this morning with pictures.
The sequence of spots in the canyon goes like this:
1. preliminary stuff > 2. chimney downclimb – high but not too hard, across then down > 3. very awkward downclimb or very awkward rappel > 4. downslide to a step-across > 5. trailing-arm downclimb to footholds on a wall > 6. downclimb through a hole into the darkness
The accident took place at #5, the trailing-arm downclimb onto some holds. > While balancy, this downclimb is reasonable with good coaching. A handline > from above helps with the balance. If going first, there is usually a > jumpdown the last few feet, and there can be rocks hidden in the dust at > the bottom. There is a low, small, sharp hold and I can usually get all the > way to the ground without jumping.
Sorry, Rick, for thinking you were at the much-harder spot up above. This > place, #5, is also a place I always downclimb and have clients downclimb, > without a belay, with coaching and spotting from below.
Tom
> — In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
the site is not your standard two wall slot canyon downclimb, it is a > fairly easy 8 ft drop on a flat wall, with several significant footholds. > it is routinely done as a wall climb, facing the wall and stepping down > three steps in a sequence. Since several in the group had not done this > downclimb before they were aided by a handline to assist in keeping their > balance, and also spotted from behind/below as they made those steps. In a > dozen+ times through this canyon I have never used a rap at this spot for > myself or anyone else in the group. This was a WMC group.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “cardlaw22” wrote:
Let me add a couple more questions since this is one (of many) canyon > I haven’t done. How stout of a down climb is this spot? Seems he was facing > the rock rather than being in the standard down climbing position. (Yes, I > know you can also down climb facing in sometimes. My preference is if I > can’t down climb facing out then I hook in and rap) Is this a standard hand > line spot or rap spot or down climb with optional hand line? Also, just > curious was this a friend group or a guided trip or a club thing or a > hook-up at Sandthrax and go kind of trip?
Scott Card
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
Rick
Thanks for the report. Thinking under the gun is always a challenge > and after the event, we can always come up with ideas and things we might > have done differently. You were there Rick….In retrospect, what would you > have done differently? Not so much the prevention of the accident, although > that would be interesting too…interested in what you think from the > moment the accident occurred onward. What went well, what do you wish you > did, had etc. OK if others interject without it seeming critical of the > actions taken?
Ram
RAM
I have just seen pictures of the spot and is not the spot mentioned below. It is a slab, where one can use an “arm bar” controlled slide on the belly into a round room I mentioned in my first post. By arm bar I mean wedging the left arm in the crack and doing a control slide down, off the friction from the arm. The last several feet are past where the arm bar works anymore and we do a straight legged capture to the ground. A long enough daisy chain system here would work too.The slide/climb wants to spill you out right, looking up canyon. Apologies about the confusion
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
I have downclimbed this drop a few times but hate it too, thus rap it almost always. I am like Scott….. If I can’t do it facing out, and here it is hard for me to do that, I tend to rap instead. As Tom said, many do downclimb it. YMMV
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “TomJones” wrote:
I’ve always found this downclimb extremely awkward and scary, so I don’t do it. I think I’ve done it twice. Also, it is hard to effectively spot from below, because the floor slopes away so quickly. But I know other people do this downclimb regularly and find it reasonable. Just not me.
Tom
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
the site is not your standard two wall slot canyon downclimb, it is a fairly easy 8 ft drop on a flat wall, with several significant footholds. it is routinely done as a wall climb, facing the wall and stepping down three steps in a sequence. Since several in the group had not done this downclimb before they were aided by a handline to assist in keeping their balance, and also spotted from behind/below as they made those steps. In a dozen+ times through this canyon I have never used a rap at this spot for myself or anyone else in the group. This was a WMC group.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “cardlaw22” wrote:
Let me add a couple more questions since this is one (of many) canyon I haven’t done. How stout of a down climb is this spot? Seems he was facing the rock rather than being in the standard down climbing position. (Yes, I know you can also down climb facing in sometimes. My preference is if I can’t down climb facing out then I hook in and rap) Is this a standard hand line spot or rap spot or down climb with optional hand line? Also, just curious was this a friend group or a guided trip or a club thing or a hook-up at Sandthrax and go kind of trip?
Scott Card
>
TomJones
My apologies to Rick and the Group. I had misunderstood where the events transpired, and Rick has clarified this to me this morning with pictures.
The sequence of spots in the canyon goes like this:
1. preliminary stuff 2. chimney downclimb – high but not too hard, across then down 3. very awkward downclimb or very awkward rappel 4. downslide to a step-across 5. trailing-arm downclimb to footholds on a wall 6. downclimb through a hole into the darkness
The accident took place at #5, the trailing-arm downclimb onto some holds. While balancy, this downclimb is reasonable with good coaching. A handline from above helps with the balance. If going first, there is usually a jumpdown the last few feet, and there can be rocks hidden in the dust at the bottom. There is a low, small, sharp hold and I can usually get all the way to the ground without jumping.
Sorry, Rick, for thinking you were at the much-harder spot up above. This place, #5, is also a place I always downclimb and have clients downclimb, without a belay, with coaching and spotting from below.
Tom
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
the site is not your standard two wall slot canyon downclimb, it is a fairly easy 8 ft drop on a flat wall, with several significant footholds. it is routinely done as a wall climb, facing the wall and stepping down three steps in a sequence. Since several in the group had not done this downclimb before they were aided by a handline to assist in keeping their balance, and also spotted from behind/below as they made those steps. In a dozen+ times through this canyon I have never used a rap at this spot for myself or anyone else in the group. This was a WMC group.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “cardlaw22” wrote:
Let me add a couple more questions since this is one (of many) canyon I haven’t done. How stout of a down climb is this spot? Seems he was facing the rock rather than being in the standard down climbing position. (Yes, I know you can also down climb facing in sometimes. My preference is if I can’t down climb facing out then I hook in and rap) Is this a standard hand line spot or rap spot or down climb with optional hand line? Also, just curious was this a friend group or a guided trip or a club thing or a hook-up at Sandthrax and go kind of trip?
Scott Card
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
Rick
Thanks for the report. Thinking under the gun is always a challenge and after the event, we can always come up with ideas and things we might have done differently. You were there Rick….In retrospect, what would you have done differently? Not so much the prevention of the accident, although that would be interesting too…interested in what you think from the moment the accident occurred onward. What went well, what do you wish you did, had etc. OK if others interject without it seeming critical of the actions taken?
Ram
Duke
Department of Natural Resources aka Fish and Game.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
Who is the DNR?
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Duke” wrote:
> the fact that there were 4 different agencies involved. Wayne County, Garfield County, NPS, and DNR were all involved. All in all things went pretty well, I hope this was a learning experience for all the agencies involved and that we will be better prepared to serve the canyoneering community in the future. >
RAM
Who is the DNR?
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Duke” wrote:
the fact that there were 4 different agencies involved. Wayne County, Garfield County, NPS, and DNR were all involved. All in all things went pretty well, I hope this was a learning experience for all the agencies involved and that we will be better prepared to serve the canyoneering community in the future.
Duke
Rick, you are exactly right. The helicopter was prematurely called. In my opinion, SAR should have located the patient prior to calling them. In addition to that the communication between the chopper and ground crew was not working very well due to the fact that there were 4 different agencies involved. Wayne County, Garfield County, NPS, and DNR were all involved. All in all things went pretty well, I hope this was a learning experience for all the agencies involved and that we will be better prepared to serve the canyoneering community in the future. We were grateful that you all were so willing to help us. — In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
tough job, being asked essentially to critique my own handling of the accident and rescue, right on the heels of it. > I regard the accident as an anomaly, four people in the group, and probably 50 anyway, previously in other groups have all descended this wall in the same fashion with me without incident, I don’t have a problem with what was being done. Obviously it wasn’t sufficient in this case, but its tough to try to cover everyone every second they are in a canyon, sometimes you have to make assumptions about what is an acceptable risk, and this spot was neither difficult or extremely exposed, and there was a handline in place.
the group did not have headlamps or warm clothing for everyone. even in a 3-4 hour canyon, starting at 930 am, with a forecast high of 82 that day, these should still be a given. We did have medical personnel and supplies. There was adequete food and water.
one thing I might have changed, in retrospect, in how the rescue was handled, is that i could have stationed one of the three people who went for help, on the rim directly over the scene. Since three of them exited the canyon from the accident site cleanly and timely, I did not anticipate that relocating the group or site would later be an issue, but then for that matter, I had guessed that there would be rescuers on the rim, pinpointing that location, before the arrival of a helicopter. That sequencing caught me off guard- I never would have guessed that a helicopter would be summoned without first locating the accident site and having a means to extricate the patient from the canyon and transfer him into the chopper. This was not a missing persons search, three people up at the trailhead had been at the accident site. Having the helicopter show up on site was a great boost to the group and the patients spirits, but that quickly turned to angst and frustration, after it left after having made four high passes through the area. Although even if there had been a man on the rim and the chopper were able to negotiate a landing on the shoulder inside the canyon, above the patient, I’m not sure what would have come next, as there was still no one else there on the ground at that point. But now I am second guessing the rescue team and process, and that is not what > I want to be doing. We are grateful for the response we got, and for all of the people who were involved in the rescue.
> — In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
Rick
Thanks for the report. Thinking under the gun is always a challenge and after the event, we can always come up with ideas and things we might have done differently. You were there Rick….In retrospect, what would you have done differently? Not so much the prevention of the accident, although that would be interesting too…interested in what you think from the moment the accident occurred onward. What went well, what do you wish you did, had etc. OK if others interject without it seeming critical of the actions taken?
Ram
>
TomJones
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
tough job, being asked essentially to critique my own handling of the accident and rescue, right on the heels of it.
one thing I might have changed, in retrospect, in how the rescue was handled, is that i could have stationed one of the three people who went for help, on the rim directly over the scene.
Seems like one of the toughest things in a rescue situation is getting the right information to the rescue team for most efficient execution of a rescue.
In Zion the rescue teams have a clear understanding of what canyoneering is, and of each canyon and respond with appropriate skills and resources. Elsewhere in Utah, SAR-teams tend to expect something other than a technically-challenging rescue, and it takes a while for them to figure out what resources to call out and get to the scene.
People calling for the rescue should make a clear mental or physical note of the conditions at the site, and carefully relay this information to the SAR team. Using keywords like “technical raise” help clue the SAR team into the difficulties ahead. Positioning someone of the rim will likely always be a good idea.
That said, seems like the rescue was handled really well.
Tom
cardlaw22
Amen, brother!
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
Lets all be honest about this. It can happen anywhere, to anyone, even on easier ground than this spot. How many steps a day? 10,000? 20,00o? How many people? How many days? How many steps is that? Only takes one bad one. >
cardlaw22
Thank you for being there for us. I look forward to buying a burger and meeting you one of these days. Now if only one of the waiters at Rays in Green River would join your team I would be covered by all the places I stop between Utah County and and the North Wash. 😉
Scott Card
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Duke” wrote:
> thanks for all your help in getting us into the canyon. Zig and Kevin were extremely helpful and it was reassuring to us with the great deal of caution and safety that they used in getting us to where Gene was at. We appreciate all of your kind words, we enjoy helping others in need and will continue to do so. The high angle rescue is new to us, we joined the team last summer as they were in need of emts’ it has been such a great experience. Now we plan on getting some experience on the canyoneering end of things. We are very happy that everything turned out fairly well as compared to what it could have been. Thanks to you all
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
Our group warmed up Friday with a quick four man scamper through Monkee Business, which was fun, and uncharacteristically dry. Saturday morning, picking up three more canyoneers, we headed for the Hogs, the access road being the worst I have ever seen, markedly worse than last year, which had been a significant low point up until then. Why is it the county roads folks only want to grade cowpaths, yet can’t be bothered to maintain the well used actual roads they have? Sorry, off point, and in fact the rocky streambed section of the road out to the Poison Springs had been recently bladed, as of Sunday.
We rallied up the road in two Jeeps, and dropped in to Boss Hog, the weather being sunny and clear, but with gusting winds. We had little trouble with the always interesting tight hairpin corner drop off, and then the slide to the deck which follows, and were working on the next corner pinch downclimb, with 4 people down, and I was spotting number five. I had just guided his feet to the first big foothold two feet down on the left, my hand was still on the left foot, when somehow, inexplicably, he lost his grip on the handline. In another couple of seconds I would have stepped back from the wall to point out the next step for the right foot, with a hand near his back or butt, and could have pinned him against the wall had he come loose. But at the moment he came off the hand line I was close to the wall and my hands were on his feet, so his body pivoted from his feet, which were solid, and I was unable to stop him as he went flying over my shoulder, falling some 6 feet, and landing on his back on a crossing rib of stone on the canyon floor. It was immediately clear that he had suffered serious injury, which he was concious to confirm in his pain, to one of the earlier people down, now the newly attendant, RN. The pain radiated from his back in the area of his right hip, our early diagnosis was a possible broken back and or hip. Pain on movement, on a scale of 1-10 was an 11. The patients position of choice was a loose fetal position on one side, so we padded and insulated the suspected damaged area underneath with a pair of neoprene shorts, put a stocking cap on his head, an extra sweatshirt over him, and an emergency space blanket over the top, carefully tucked in all around. It was decided that the fastest way out was to go back up, so a strong 3 man team, actually two guys and a girl, headed out to call for help- it was clear a technical evacuation was going to be needed. I helped get them back up the crux, the tight hairpin corner dropoff, no mean feat, especially for the large framed 6’4″ 220 lb plus member of the group, and they were then off on their own, climbing up the drop in above, with their packs, something hours later I would come to a greater appreciation of, as I did the same. They drove clear back to Sandthrax, dropping one man there to collect gear and additional headlamps, and headed for Hanksville, not getting cell phone service until they were within a mile of town. The first response from the service 911 connected them with was that they would send out an ambulance right away. After much further explanation, about the location, roads, and need for a technical high angle rescue team, the gears started moving to gather the needed personnel from multiple distant locations and counties. No offense is intended if our groups rough and very loose time line is less than right on, perhaps an official report will later have a more accurate record, but the fall took place at 10:30 am, we spent about half an hour evaluating the situation and in initial treatment of the patient, the three canyoneer go for help team left about 11:00, reached the cars at roughly noon, the first phone contact with authorities may have been sometime about 1:00. It was close to 2:30 when the phone duo had made a rendezvous with the first responders and made it back to camp to pick up the gear and the third member, and then maybe 300 or 330 when they started to collect at the trailhead with other early responders. A helicopter from Page, AZ landed and took on one of the canyoneers to locate the injured party, but from the air the canyons just looked like a bunch of squiggly lines, and they were unable to locate the in canyon group from above. The canyon group was tremendously frustrated by the helicopters multiple high passes and it occurred to me that we should have also spotted one person on the rim above the patient to facilitate their location. The chopper ran low on gas, dropped off the spotter, and headed off to refuel, only to subsequently be pulled off on another, higher priority call, leaving the rescue air supportless. Having figured out what had happened when the helicopter left, tremendously frustrated in still having no one contact us from the rim, and foreseeing the oncoming loss of daylight, shortly after 5 pm I decided to leave the stabilized patient with his wife in the canyon and climb out with the other canyoneer in the group to meet the rescuers, and pinpoint the spot on the rim over the accident. Shortly after exiting, and determining that location, the first group of rescuers arrived on scene at the rim. After some consultation, the decision was made to send the 2 EMTs present, notably Duke Alvey and his wife Jessica, the proprietors of Stans Chevron and Burger Shack in Hanksville, down into the canyon to attend to the patient, led by two of the original climb out group canyon team. Experienced Boss Hoggers can appreciate the pluck and determination of this non canyoneering EMT team, with their huge packs and loads of gear, in volunteering to climb down into the canyon; it took a heroic effort just to get to the patient, and needless to say, it took them awhile to get there. Kudos also to the two canyoneers who volunteered to go back down with them, assisting the EMTs, knowing in doing so they were commiting to climb back up out of the canyon a second time, no small piece of work either. Standing on the sidelines at this point, trying to remain close enough to keep up with what was going on without being in the way of the gathering rescue team, it seemed to take forever as the personnel, officials and volunteer SAR team members, and pieces were assembled, trickling in from distant locations, spread over at least two counties, Wayne and Garfield, including NPS personnel from Lake Powell, who were at Hite when the call came in. Not being able to list all of the people, or knowing where they all came from, we were never the less grateful for each and every one of them and the roles they each played in the rescue, we counted at least 33 people who participated, not including the original helicopter crew or the original canyoneers.
As light faded, and the vortex was assembled and bolted down right on the lip of the canyon wall, I was alarmed to hear the comment that if we were in a national park jurisdiction the rescue would be postponed due to darkness, it was deeply troubling to hear the patient being repeatedly referred to as “stable”. Admittedly not a medical practitioner, I was uncomfortable with this description of a 66 year old man, with a possible broken back and or hip, who had been laying in the same spot on the ground in the canyon for 10 hours now. The two attending EMTs had started an IV, so he was receiving fluids and pain meds, but it was still hard for me to consider the “stable” description without cringing. The assembly of the hardware and rigging, with its redundant miles of rope was completed just as daylight was lost, but having it all in place facilitated the headlamp lighted continuation of the rescue. A second helicopter, this time from Provo, had in the meantime been summoned, and arrived on the scene after dark. After circling the scene a couple of times, and surveying the strobed potential LZ on the shoulder inside the canyon, the pilot demurred, and set down instead up on the rim overhead, due to the strong and gusting winds.
The team then divided in two, half working on getting the littered patient on up the final 60 ft barrier wall to the chopper, while the balance stayed on the shoulder: extracting the remaining EMTs and the long suffering wife of the patient. It was approximately 10:30, 12 hours after the fall, when the helicopter took off, first to refuel in Richfield, and then on to the hospital in Provo. The patient was still conscious enough to later report that he did not enjoy the ride, as the flight were continuously buffeted by high winds from the passing storm front.
The medical report today is extremely positive- the back per se was not broken, 4 “transverse process” bones, or spurs off the vertebrae which protect the spinal cord, were broken on his right side. He is expected to regain full mobility, and to be released in a couple of days, resuming action in maybe a month.
Again, many thanks are due to all of the officials and volunteers who lent their time and talents and equipment to this difficult all day extraction effort which continued well after dark, with its attendant complications. In such an obscure location, in the middle of nowhere, it takes a considerable time and effort to gather such a large and diverse group with all of the gear needed to coordinate such an operation. And then some time to put the right people on the right teams, to handle the many different tasks. While in my type A rush rush mind it was at times frustrating to see progress so slow in the making, it was gratifying and very impressive to see it all come together and work as well as it did.
A tremendous job done by a wide ranging and colorful cast of characters, who worked well together despite representing multiple different entities. Our hats, or helmets, are off to the folks who have put together, trained, equipped, and coordinated this gang. Thank you all again.
rick thompson
>
cardlaw22
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
tough job, being asked essentially to critique my own handling of the accident and rescue, right on the heels of it.
Rick
I can only imagine. My questions are me trying to evaluate my own actions as I also take groups, particularly youth groups, out fairly often. I am glad for your responses and appreciate your perspective while it is fresh, painful and uncomfortable as it may be. Thanks.
Scott Card
Duke
thanks for all your help in getting us into the canyon. Zig and Kevin were extremely helpful and it was reassuring to us with the great deal of caution and safety that they used in getting us to where Gene was at. We appreciate all of your kind words, we enjoy helping others in need and will continue to do so. The high angle rescue is new to us, we joined the team last summer as they were in need of emts’ it has been such a great experience. Now we plan on getting some experience on the canyoneering end of things. We are very happy that everything turned out fairly well as compared to what it could have been. Thanks to you all
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
Our group warmed up Friday with a quick four man scamper through Monkee Business, which was fun, and uncharacteristically dry. Saturday morning, picking up three more canyoneers, we headed for the Hogs, the access road being the worst I have ever seen, markedly worse than last year, which had been a significant low point up until then. Why is it the county roads folks only want to grade cowpaths, yet can’t be bothered to maintain the well used actual roads they have? Sorry, off point, and in fact the rocky streambed section of the road out to the Poison Springs had been recently bladed, as of Sunday. > We rallied up the road in two Jeeps, and dropped in to Boss Hog, the weather being sunny and clear, but with gusting winds. We had little trouble with the always interesting tight hairpin corner drop off, and then the slide to the deck which follows, and were working on the next corner pinch downclimb, with 4 people down, and I was spotting number five. I had just guided his feet to the first big foothold two feet down on the left, my hand was still on the left foot, when somehow, inexplicably, he lost his grip on the handline. In another couple of seconds I would have stepped back from the wall to point out the next step for the right foot, with a hand near his back or butt, and could have pinned him against the wall had he come loose. But at the moment he came off the hand line I was close to the wall and my hands were on his feet, so his body pivoted from his feet, which were solid, and I was unable to stop him as he went flying over my shoulder, falling some 6 feet, and landing on his back on a crossing rib of stone on the canyon floor. It was immediately clear that he had suffered serious injury, which he was concious to confirm in his pain, to one of the earlier people down, now the newly attendant, RN. The pain radiated from his back in the area of his right hip, our early diagnosis was a possible broken back and or hip. Pain on movement, on a scale of 1-10 was an 11. The patients position of choice was a loose fetal position on one side, so we padded and insulated the suspected damaged area underneath with a pair of neoprene shorts, put a stocking cap on his head, an extra sweatshirt over him, and an emergency space blanket over the top, carefully tucked in all around. It was decided that the fastest way out was to go back up, so a strong 3 man team, actually two guys and a girl, headed out to call for help- it was clear a technical evacuation was going to be needed. I helped get them back up the crux, the tight hairpin corner dropoff, no mean feat, especially for the large framed 6’4″ 220 lb plus member of the group, and they were then off on their own, climbing up the drop in above, with their packs, something hours later I would come to a greater appreciation of, as I did the same. They drove clear back to Sandthrax, dropping one man there to collect gear and additional headlamps, and headed for Hanksville, not getting cell phone service until they were within a mile of town. The first response from the service 911 connected them with was that they would send out an ambulance right away. After much further explanation, about the location, roads, and need for a technical high angle rescue team, the gears started moving to gather the needed personnel from multiple distant locations and counties. No offense is intended if our groups rough and very loose time line is less than right on, perhaps an official report will later have a more accurate record, but the fall took place at 10:30 am, we spent about half an hour evaluating the situation and in initial treatment of the patient, the three canyoneer go for help team left about 11:00, reached the cars at roughly noon, the first phone contact with authorities may have been sometime about 1:00. It was close to 2:30 when the phone duo had made a rendezvous with the first responders and made it back to camp to pick up the gear and the third member, and then maybe 300 or 330 when they started to collect at the trailhead with other early responders. A helicopter from Page, AZ landed and took on one of the canyoneers to locate the injured party, but from the air the canyons just looked like a bunch of squiggly lines, and they were unable to locate the in canyon group from above. The canyon group was tremendously frustrated by the helicopters multiple high passes and it occurred to me that we should have also spotted one person on the rim above the patient to facilitate their location. The chopper ran low on gas, dropped off the spotter, and headed off to refuel, only to subsequently be pulled off on another, higher priority call, leaving the rescue air supportless. Having figured out what had happened when the helicopter left, tremendously frustrated in still having no one contact us from the rim, and foreseeing the oncoming loss of daylight, shortly after 5 pm I decided to leave the stabilized patient with his wife in the canyon and climb out with the other canyoneer in the group to meet the rescuers, and pinpoint the spot on the rim over the accident. Shortly after exiting, and determining that location, the first group of rescuers arrived on scene at the rim. After some consultation, the decision was made to send the 2 EMTs present, notably Duke Alvey and his wife Jessica, the proprietors of Stans Chevron and Burger Shack in Hanksville, down into the canyon to attend to the patient, led by two of the original climb out group canyon team. Experienced Boss Hoggers can appreciate the pluck and determination of this non canyoneering EMT team, with their huge packs and loads of gear, in volunteering to climb down into the canyon; it took a heroic effort just to get to the patient, and needless to say, it took them awhile to get there. Kudos also to the two canyoneers who volunteered to go back down with them, assisting the EMTs, knowing in doing so they were commiting to climb back up out of the canyon a second time, no small piece of work either. Standing on the sidelines at this point, trying to remain close enough to keep up with what was going on without being in the way of the gathering rescue team, it seemed to take forever as the personnel, officials and volunteer SAR team members, and pieces were assembled, trickling in from distant locations, spread over at least two counties, Wayne and Garfield, including NPS personnel from Lake Powell, who were at Hite when the call came in. Not being able to list all of the people, or knowing where they all came from, we were never the less grateful for each and every one of them and the roles they each played in the rescue, we counted at least 33 people who participated, not including the original helicopter crew or the original canyoneers. > As light faded, and the vortex was assembled and bolted down right on the lip of the canyon wall, I was alarmed to hear the comment that if we were in a national park jurisdiction the rescue would be postponed due to darkness, it was deeply troubling to hear the patient being repeatedly referred to as “stable”. Admittedly not a medical practitioner, I was uncomfortable with this description of a 66 year old man, with a possible broken back and or hip, who had been laying in the same spot on the ground in the canyon for 10 hours now. The two attending EMTs had started an IV, so he was receiving fluids and pain meds, but it was still hard for me to consider the “stable” description without cringing. The assembly of the hardware and rigging, with its redundant miles of rope was completed just as daylight was lost, but having it all in place facilitated the headlamp lighted continuation of the rescue. A second helicopter, this time from Provo, had in the meantime been summoned, and arrived on the scene after dark. After circling the scene a couple of times, and surveying the strobed potential LZ on the shoulder inside the canyon, the pilot demurred, and set down instead up on the rim overhead, due to the strong and gusting winds. > The team then divided in two, half working on getting the littered patient on up the final 60 ft barrier wall to the chopper, while the balance stayed on the shoulder: extracting the remaining EMTs and the long suffering wife of the patient. It was approximately 10:30, 12 hours after the fall, when the helicopter took off, first to refuel in Richfield, and then on to the hospital in Provo. The patient was still conscious enough to later report that he did not enjoy the ride, as the flight were continuously buffeted by high winds from the passing storm front. > The medical report today is extremely positive- the back per se was not broken, 4 “transverse process” bones, or spurs off the vertebrae which protect the spinal cord, were broken on his right side. He is expected to regain full mobility, and to be released in a couple of days, resuming action in maybe a month. > Again, many thanks are due to all of the officials and volunteers who lent their time and talents and equipment to this difficult all day extraction effort which continued well after dark, with its attendant complications. In such an obscure location, in the middle of nowhere, it takes a considerable time and effort to gather such a large and diverse group with all of the gear needed to coordinate such an operation. And then some time to put the right people on the right teams, to handle the many different tasks. While in my type A rush rush mind it was at times frustrating to see progress so slow in the making, it was gratifying and very impressive to see it all come together and work as well as it did. > A tremendous job done by a wide ranging and colorful cast of characters, who worked well together despite representing multiple different entities. Our hats, or helmets, are off to the folks who have put together, trained, equipped, and coordinated this gang. Thank you all again. > rick thompson >
RAM
Lets all be honest about this. It can happen anywhere, to anyone, even on easier ground than this spot. How many steps a day? 10,000? 20,00o? How many people? How many days? How many steps is that? Only takes one bad one.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote: > Obviously it wasn’t sufficient in this case, but its tough to try to cover everyone every second they are in a canyon, sometimes you have to make assumptions about what is an acceptable risk,
Rick
tough job, being asked essentially to critique my own handling of the accident and rescue, right on the heels of it. I regard the accident as an anomaly, four people in the group, and probably 50 anyway, previously in other groups have all descended this wall in the same fashion with me without incident, I don’t have a problem with what was being done. Obviously it wasn’t sufficient in this case, but its tough to try to cover everyone every second they are in a canyon, sometimes you have to make assumptions about what is an acceptable risk, and this spot was neither difficult or extremely exposed, and there was a handline in place.
the group did not have headlamps or warm clothing for everyone. even in a 3-4 hour canyon, starting at 930 am, with a forecast high of 82 that day, these should still be a given. We did have medical personnel and supplies. There was adequete food and water.
one thing I might have changed, in retrospect, in how the rescue was handled, is that i could have stationed one of the three people who went for help, on the rim directly over the scene. Since three of them exited the canyon from the accident site cleanly and timely, I did not anticipate that relocating the group or site would later be an issue, but then for that matter, I had guessed that there would be rescuers on the rim, pinpointing that location, before the arrival of a helicopter. That sequencing caught me off guard- I never would have guessed that a helicopter would be summoned without first locating the accident site and having a means to extricate the patient from the canyon and transfer him into the chopper. This was not a missing persons search, three people up at the trailhead had been at the accident site. Having the helicopter show up on site was a great boost to the group and the patients spirits, but that quickly turned to angst and frustration, after it left after having made four high passes through the area. Although even if there had been a man on the rim and the chopper were able to negotiate a landing on the shoulder inside the canyon, above the patient, I’m not sure what would have come next, as there was still no one else there on the ground at that point. But now I am second guessing the rescue team and process, and that is not what I want to be doing. We are grateful for the response we got, and for all of the people who were involved in the rescue.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
Rick
Thanks for the report. Thinking under the gun is always a challenge and after the event, we can always come up with ideas and things we might have done differently. You were there Rick….In retrospect, what would you have done differently? Not so much the prevention of the accident, although that would be interesting too…interested in what you think from the moment the accident occurred onward. What went well, what do you wish you did, had etc. OK if others interject without it seeming critical of the actions taken?
Ram >
RAM
I have downclimbed this drop a few times but hate it too, thus rap it almost always. I am like Scott….. If I can’t do it facing out, and here it is hard for me to do that, I tend to rap instead. As Tom said, many do downclimb it. YMMV
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “TomJones” wrote:
I’ve always found this downclimb extremely awkward and scary, so I don’t do it. I think I’ve done it twice. Also, it is hard to effectively spot from below, because the floor slopes away so quickly. But I know other people do this downclimb regularly and find it reasonable. Just not me.
Tom
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
the site is not your standard two wall slot canyon downclimb, it is a fairly easy 8 ft drop on a flat wall, with several significant footholds. it is routinely done as a wall climb, facing the wall and stepping down three steps in a sequence. Since several in the group had not done this downclimb before they were aided by a handline to assist in keeping their balance, and also spotted from behind/below as they made those steps. In a dozen+ times through this canyon I have never used a rap at this spot for myself or anyone else in the group. This was a WMC group.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “cardlaw22” wrote:
Let me add a couple more questions since this is one (of many) canyon I haven’t done. How stout of a down climb is this spot? Seems he was facing the rock rather than being in the standard down climbing position. (Yes, I know you can also down climb facing in sometimes. My preference is if I can’t down climb facing out then I hook in and rap) Is this a standard hand line spot or rap spot or down climb with optional hand line? Also, just curious was this a friend group or a guided trip or a club thing or a hook-up at Sandthrax and go kind of trip?
Scott Card
cardlaw22
Thanks for the reply.
Scott
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Rick” wrote:
the site is not your standard two wall slot canyon downclimb, it is a fairly easy 8 ft drop on a flat wall, with several significant footholds. it is routinely done as a wall climb, facing the wall and stepping down three steps in a sequence. Since several in the group had not done this downclimb before they were aided by a handline to assist in keeping their balance, and also spotted from behind/below as they made those steps. In a dozen+ times through this canyon I have never used a rap at this spot for myself or anyone else in the group. This was a WMC group.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “cardlaw22” wrote:
Let me add a couple more questions since this is one (of many) canyon I haven’t done. How stout of a down climb is this spot? Seems he was facing the rock rather than being in the standard down climbing position. (Yes, I know you can also down climb facing in sometimes. My preference is if I can’t down climb facing out then I hook in and rap) Is this a standard hand line spot or rap spot or down climb with optional hand line? Also, just curious was this a friend group or a guided trip or a club thing or a hook-up at Sandthrax and go kind of trip?
Scott Card
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
Rick
Thanks for the report. Thinking under the gun is always a challenge and after the event, we can always come up with ideas and things we might have done differently. You were there Rick….In retrospect, what would you have done differently? Not so much the prevention of the accident, although that would be interesting too…interested in what you think from the moment the accident occurred onward. What went well, what do you wish you did, had etc. OK if others interject without it seeming critical of the actions taken?
Ram