Canyoneering Fatalities

[rockgremlin]

Just wondering what the statistics are on this. Is there a resource that tracks fatalities in slot canyons? Also, on a percentage basis, what is the highest cause of death? I'm guessing the most common categories are:

1. Hypothermia
2. Drowning/Flash flood
3. Falling rock or other debris
4. Fall due to failure of rappel setup (ie the anchor fails, or the rappel line is cut on a sharp edge, etc)
5. Non-rappel related falls
6. Other?

Of these, my opinion is that the most common killer would probably be flash floods, followed by hypothermia.

Thoughts anyone? Am I totally off base?

[stefan]

so i don't know if this tallies all flashflood deaths, as i am sure there are some which aren't known.

but here are the known FF deaths in utah tallied by the NWS

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/projects/disasters/flood_stats/flood_deaths.php

[price1869]

Of these, my opinion is that the most common killer would probably be flash floods, followed by hypothermia.

Thoughts anyone? Am I totally off base?

You're way off. The most common cause of death is stupidity, closely followed by someone else's stupidity. :nono:

[rockgremlin]

Of these, my opinion is that the most common killer would probably be flash floods, followed by hypothermia.

Thoughts anyone? Am I totally off base?

You're way off. The most common cause of death is stupidity, closely followed by someone else's stupidity. :nono:

:lol8: Ya, and if you're in a Nat'l Park, you can blame it on the stupidity of the park rangers for issuing a permit...(coughKolob....cough, cough). Sorry, Ive got a cold.