Pine Creek: SAR in Zion

[tanya]

Bo was on this one....



SLC Tribune



An injured climber was rescued in Zion National Park this morning after falling while rappelling the night before.
Park spokesman Ron Terry said the 47-year-old man, whose identity was not released, was canyoneering with a partner in Pine Canyon Monday evening, adjacent to the mile-long Zion Tunnel, when he fell 30 feet.
Terry said the victim's partner notified park officials about the accident just before 8 p.m. Monday. The injured man was stabilized at the scene later that night and was rescued by park rangers about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Rescuers hauled the victim up a cliff face in a stretcher and brought him in through a window cut in the Zion Tunnel to a waiting ambulance. Terry said it appeared the man suffered leg and pelvis injuries in the fall. The victim was taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George.
Terry said he did not know the cause of the accident.
In June, a 48-year-old California man died after falling 300 feet while rappelling near the Emerald Pools area of the park.
Also in June, a 53-year-old St. Louis man died when he fell 1,000 feet while hiking the popular Angels Landing trail.




Another article

Desert News



ZION NATIONAL PARK

[Alex]

Bummer, hope he recovers fast. At least he is there to tell the story! 30 feet is high enough to kick the bucket, the article didn't say anything about the head injury, so he must have been wearing a helmet :2thumbs:

After my little fall in Das Boot, I am a true believer in helmets now. :nod:

[Bo_Beck]

[quote="tanya"]Bo was on this one....


He was wearing a helmet.
A picture showing the type of highline with a reeve we used yesterday. Hope to actually get some photos from the rescue yesterday. This photo was taken a few years ago during training, but from the exact location.

[tanya]

A friend of his posted an update on his well being in the Zion Yahoo Group...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zion_National_Park_Hiking/message/43988

[tanya]

[quote=tanya]Bo was on this one....


He was wearing a helmet.
A picture showing the type of highline with a reeve we used yesterday. Hope to actually get some photos from the rescue yesterday. This photo was taken a few years ago during training, but from the exact location.

Thanks Bo! I always love your INSIDE info!!!! :2thumbs:

[rockgremlin]

That last rap out of Pine Creek....it can be a white knuckler fo sho. Sounds like not enough friction, and got going too fast...

Glad to hear he is doing well!

[Bo_Beck]

That last rap out of Pine Creek....it can be a white knuckler fo sho. Sounds like not enough friction, and got going too fast...

Glad to hear he is doing well!

He was a pretty big boy Too!

[Iceaxe]

I also like hearing the SAR side of the story. :2thumbs:

[Bo_Beck]

I also like hearing the SAR side of the story. :2thumbs:

The highline was set up yesterday by firing a 308 line gun
from the tunnel window to the Canyon Overlook buttress and ferrying
ropes back and forth to set up a single track kootenay highline. We
used taglines connected to a carriage system to affect horizontal
travel. We also implemented an Norwegian reeve. The taglines allowed us
to position the carriage with litter and attendant directly over the
patient (at the bottom of the last rappel) and then the reeve allowed
us to lower the litter and attendant 400+' directly to the awaiting
patient. The patient was loaded and then the medic and patient were
raised 400+' back up to the highline and then ferried to the tunnel
window and awaiting ambulance. I hope to have some photos of the
operation yesterday that shows a bit more clearly the operation.

[James_B_Wads2000]

I hope to have some photos of the
operation yesterday that shows a bit more clearly the operation.

Wow! Thanks Bo for the info. I would really be interested in seeing more pics.

I once stopped in the tunnel at this window to see my friends on top of the final rappel. I waved and screamed then raced down the tunnel. The ranger stopped me and asked if I had stopped. I admitted to it, she was not pleased.

James

[Jaxx]

nice, we are going down this weekend to do Pine Creek.
I am glad the guy is ok. These are the kinds of things that remind you to double check everything.

[accadacca]

:popcorn:

[tanya]

Awesome report Bo! :hail2thechief:

[Iceaxe]

From the NPS Morning Report

Injured Canyoneer Rescued In Highly Technical SAR
Zion National Park (UT)

Canyoneer Jim Turner, 47, of Salt Lake City, sustained serious injuries when he fell about 40 feet while completing the last, 100-foot rappel on the popular Pine Creek route on Monday, August 13th. Turner

[Jaxx]

Is there any info on why he fell?

[Iceaxe]

Is there any info on why he fell?

He lost control of the rappel. Not sure exactly why, but I'll try and get a few more details... or maybe Bo already knows the answer.

[oldno7]

not enough friction on his rappel device is what I've been told,probably a burnt hand to go with his broken bones.

[Bo_Beck]

not enough friction on his rappel device is what I've been told,probably a burnt hand to go with his broken bones.

He had a fractured bone in the lumbar spine, fractured pelvis and bruised right lung......fingers got burnt pretty bad as well.

[James_B_Wads2000]

[quote=oldno7]not enough friction on his rappel device

[pfinjt]

Hey Folks,

I'm the guy who was rescued by Zion SAR at the last rappel in Pine Creek.

Our rope measured 191 feet, just short of the 200 feet we would have needed to rig a douple line rappel, so I tied some pull cord to the rope and rigged a single line rappel with a biner block. I put two biners under the rappel device and put a biner on my leg loop to clip into if I needed to. Found I didn't have enough friction, but when the time came to clip into the leg biner, I couldn't get the rope clipped in. Made the mistake of just trying to finish the rappel and lost control. Don't know how far I fell, but I suppose it was about 30 feet or so. My brother hiked out to get help. SAR folks got to me about 9:40 and spent the night with me in the canyon.

My injuries aren't as bad as some have said. I have a small crack in a lumbar vertebra, a stretched pelvic tendon (NOT a fractured pelvis), a small bruise on my right lung, and of course rope burned hands. I'm mobile, but walking pretty slowly.

I feel very lucky and very stupid at the same time.

I did learn that the Zion SAR folks are incredibly competent and very professional. I can't say enough about how impressed I am with their work.

[Alex]

Good to see you posting here bud. Everyone make mistakes, thanks for giving us heads up to learn from yours :2thumbs:

Did you clip into the pull cord as well or just single lining it?

[Bo_Beck]

Hey Folks,

I'm the guy who was rescued by Zion SAR at the last rappel in Pine Creek.

Our rope measured 191 feet, just short of the 200 feet we would have needed to rig a douple line rappel, so I tied some pull cord to the rope and rigged a single line rappel with a biner block. I put two biners under the rappel device and put a biner on my leg loop to clip into if I needed to. Found I didn't have enough friction, but when the time came to clip into the leg biner, I couldn't get the rope clipped in. Made the mistake of just trying to finish the rappel and lost control. Don't know how far I fell, but I suppose it was about 30 feet or so. My brother hiked out to get help. SAR folks got to me about 9:40 and spent the night with me in the canyon.

My injuries aren't as bad as some have said. I have a small crack in a lumbar vertebra, a stretched pelvic tendon (NOT a fractured pelvis), a small bruise on my right lung, and of course rope burned hands. I'm mobile, but walking pretty slowly.

I feel very lucky and very stupid at the same time.

I did learn that the Zion SAR folks are incredibly competent and very professional. I can't say enough about how impressed I am with their work.

First I would like to express that I'm relieved that you are doing well and on the fast road to recovery. :nod:

Second I would like to apologize If I mistated the extent of your injuries. You certainly seemed to be in good spirits when we got a harness on you and loaded you into the litter. :whoops:

Third How was the ride back up? We had done a training using this Highline and Reeve at this location before, but had naver actually put it to use. I hope it was a smooth, uneventful trip? :popcorn:

Glad to have you around and Happy Canyons! :five:

[oldno7]

Did you clip into the pull cord as well or just single lining it?[/quote]



If he clipped both lines through his rappel device he would of had to pass a knot 10' +- off the deck. I think Jim has that ability but not practical.

when you think you need added friction through a leg loop you can run the rope through the leg biner pre rappel. If you find you don't need it then nothing changes,if you do need it you can just lift up on your brake hand employing a rope redirect and adding friction. On a figure 8 you can clip an additional biner through the small hole,if not enough friction yet run the redirected rope through the 2nd biner(fig8) creating a Z rig.

[Iceaxe]

Thanks for posting Jim. Most in the group find it useful to learn from these situations.

Happy you are doing well.

:2thumbs:

[rockgremlin]

Takes cahones to man up and openly admit to your errors on an open forum. Thanks for allowing us to learn from your experiences. Good to hear you're doing well, and that injuries aren't as serious as initially reported.

Oh yeah - welcome to the site!

[pfinjt]

Zion SAR rescuee here again:

Bo - no need for apologies, especially from you. You folks are amazing. The ride up was fine - nice and smooth. We ended up a little low at the tunnel window and got hung up. Finally added another pulley system to help a bit and then folks just manhandled me in (personhandled me in actually, there were women on the rescue team).

Alex - I didn't clip the second line. I put two biners under the rappel device for extra friction and clipped a biner to my leg loop to use if I needed it. Turns out I needed it. Brought myself to a stop to clip the leg biner but had trouble clipping it. That's when I said to myself, "Forget it, I'll just finish the rappel." Famous last words. I should have stopped myself more securely and clipped the leg biner. Would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

I bounced off a ledge on the way down, which was probably a good thing as it meant I had two 15 foot falls instead of one 30 foot fall.

[Iceaxe]

What type and brand of rappel device were you using?

And welcome to the group. :nod:

[Scott Card]

Were you using an ATC as your rap device (I take it the double biner comment) and was it an XP or a "regular" one? One skill (among many others) I still need to master is locking off with an ATC. Also, did you have a wet suit on? I find that a wet suit is great for a quick leg rap to create friction. Bare legs would be a bit painful. Also, did you have gloves? Finally, it has been referred to that you are no canyon dwarf. I find I am not one either and the skinny single ropes combined with gravity are much faster for us manly men and I seem to take more care on the single rope than do my smaller, more agile partners. We rarely have equal friction techniques due to our varied weights. Thanks for posting and taking questions. As others have said, we learn a lot from this kind of discussion, well, I learn a lot anyway. Glad you are going to be alright. :popcorn:

[pfinjt]

Iceaxe - Belay device was old style Black Diamond ATC. I've already put in an order for an ATC XP that I'll be using in the future.

[Iceaxe]

I've already put in an order for an ATC XP that I'll be using in the future.

So does this mean your wife/girlfriend/mom is going to let you go again? :lol8:

[pfinjt]

Scott - Rappel device was old style ATC. I did have a wetsuit on (good thing or you'd have read about me dying of hypothermia further up canyon - Pine Creek is full of water right now). Since I had a wetsuit, it was really stupid not to do a leg wrap to stop me securely until I clipped the leg biner (or just use the leg wrap as extra friction).

And yes, I'm not as small as I once was, so I need to be much more careful about extra friction.

I wasn't wearing gloves - I've never needed them. Gloves probably would have prevented the problem, but I think it's better to know how to rig for extra friction and have gloves only as an extra margin of safety. I'll take gloves in the future and will most likely use them on long rappels but most of my future practice will be on rigging for extra friction.

One more thing. I was using a new 9mm rope. I'd done a few rappels on it and figured I had its friction characteristics figure out, but clearly I didn't. I'd not done a long single line free rappel on that rope, so I should have been extra careful. Instead, I told myself that since I've done long rappels on single line 8mm, I'd have no problems on this 9mm. Again, bad assumption on my part.

[pfinjt]

So does this mean your wife/girlfriend/mom is going to let you go again? :lol8:

My wife may never let me out of the house again. My timing on this was impeccable. Her birthday was yesterday and needless to say I didn't get much birthday shopping done. We had to cancel our trip to San Francisco to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, which is next week. We're moving to a new house, but I'm specifically prohibited from lifting anything for several weeks. I'm surprised she didn't lock me out of the house when I got home. I think she's should have her middle name officially changed to "long suffering".

I probably won't even say the word "canyon" for quite some time. Still, a guy can still order gear, can't he?

[Scott Card]

I probably won't even say the word "canyon" for quite some time. Still, a guy can still order gear, can't he?
:roflol: That is great. I think most of us can understand exactly what you are saying. :lol8:

[Scout Master]

Finally, it has been referred to that you are no canyon dwarf. I find I am not one either and the skinny single ropes combined with gravity are much faster for us manly men

I am a rather large scout my self and have burned more than a few pairs of gloves. I would love to see some photo's and or diagrams of some of these rappel techniques for long rappels and large people.

[Bo_Beck]

[quote="pfinjt"]Zion SAR rescuee here again:

Bo - no need for apologies, especially from you. You folks are amazing. The ride up was fine - nice and smooth. We ended up a little low at the tunnel window and got hung up. Finally added another pulley system to help a bit and then folks just manhandled me in (personhandled me in actually, there were women on the rescue team).

I just want to say; I had an episode and quite possibly will have another?
My first trip thru Heaps quite a few years ago placed me in the hospital for 3 nites and 4 days. A contusion (from playing roller hockey) seemed to love "canyon bugs" and a nice little staff infection found it's way into my hip, eventually locating my bloodstream ( people have often wondered why I'm "loco"). After 4 days of penecillin and open surgery "sitz bathe's" they released me. Only to see me 3 more times to close the wound from falls sustained during roller hockey tournaments. I finally agreed to be "Calm" and normal. That got boring reeeeeeeal fast! Since that initial Heaps trip I've found myself just desiring more excitement and fun. I have not regretted ONE MOMENT!

Get well...don't forget your wifes birthday ( give a 2 week buffer) and certainly don't screw up your next anniversary and I guarantee....you'll be just like me.........................begging to go do a canyon or hike and "I promise that I'll pull weeds tomorrow!" (could depend on how tolerant, or dedicated you might be)

God Bless understanding wives and tolerant city codes!

You're alive and have learned from EXPERIENCE.....now "Go git 'er' done!

[bruce from bryce]

Jim - glad to hear that your injuries were not as severe as initially reported.
Question: how much water at the bottom and do you think that cushioned (water is a cushion?) your impact?

Question 2: did you cut the rope yourself or did someone sell you a 191' rope? :ne_nau:

Thanks and get well soon.

bruce from bryce
p.s. tragic as the circumstances concerning your wife's birthday, your anniversary and moving into a new home are, there is some humour in the whole thing (my opinion) and it seems like something out of a Chevy Chase movie.

[pfinjt]

Bo - thanks for the encouragement. I'll be back, but the Zion backcountry folks may have me flagged and charge me double for the permit next time.

Bruce - I bought the rope in April, uncoiled it and put it in the rope bag. Used it for the first time in Keyhole last Sunday. It was soaked the whole time that day, so maybe shrinkage set in? (I spread it out to dry in the hotel room that night.) That would be about 4% shrinkage - not completely out of line, I guess.

The water at the bottom didn't absorb my impact at all because I bounced off a sloping upper ledge, slid out a ways, and missed the water. I landed in the sand - brushed sand off my face and out of my hair for two days.

[Brian in SLC]

Bo - thanks for the encouragement. I'll be back, but the Zion backcountry folks may have me flagged and charge me double for the permit next time.

Jim Jim Jim...

Ooohhh, I'll bet the wife was pissed. Say hi for me!

You're in big trouble, dude. No climbing partner of mine is allowed to be a gumby. When the wife is done kickin' your arse, let me know, and I'll take my turn.

Give me a jingle, we should, uhh, catch up.

So, Jim, what ya been up to?

Cheers, and, glad your ok (!!!).

-Brian in SLC
ps: I have this new song, called, "Fu#$ the biner block". I'll sing it to you. Its kinda catchy.

[AFI]

Can the last rap in Pine Creek be done DRT with a 60 M rope? We are headed down this weekend and I know it is close on length...

[CarpeyBiggs]

Can the last rap in Pine Creek be done DRT with a 60 M rope? We are headed down this weekend and I know it is close on length...

Yeah, it can, but.... It will be close, depending on how close your rope is to 200. It measures at dead on 100 to the water from the anchor.

[Brian in SLC]

Can the last rap in Pine Creek be done DRT with a 60 M rope? We are headed down this weekend and I know it is close on length...

Yep.

Jim measured his rope and was nervious about the length being only 191 feet. Even if only 3% elongation, he'd have easily had enough for that rappel if he'd doubled his rope.

-Brian in SLC

[Jaxx]

When I did this last we had a rope that was a 60m rope (I did not personally measure it). We reached the bottom with a little to spare with the stretch.

[AFI]

Thanks - good to know, after reading this string we will double up for sure.

[Iceaxe]

Here is a useful little tidbit..... when you are about 30' off the deck you can tell if your rope will reach or not.... if you find your rope is short its pretty simple to swing into the alcove and then downclimb where the spring gushes from the wall.... the downclimb is not the greatest, usually ends up being a slide into the water. This alcove is the same ledge Jim mentions hitting on his fall.

Occasionally one of our group will swing into the alcove to take pictures.

[Scott Card]

If you rap the watercourse proper, you come down into the alcove. And yes, Shane is right, a bit of a slide to the bottom. A partner spot is helpful unless you left a big 'ole boy in the alcove then your partner spot will be a bit of a bowling pin spot. The landing is not bad, been there done that. :haha:

[pfinjt]

Jim T here.

Brian is right - we'd have been fine if we'd doubled the rope. Even a little rope stretch would have been enough. We'd had two different people (one at the Zion backcountry desk and one at a shop) tell us to be very certain we had enough rope, so as Brian says, I was nervous about rope length.

I measured enough rope to be sure it would be long enough and rigged the rap single line with a biner block. I threw down the second line, wasn't absolutely certain the second line was close enough to the ground to let us rerig as a double line rap, so we went single. The rest, of course, is history.

One more thing - Pine Creek Canyon is absolutely full of water right now. For example, if you check out the pictures of the Great Cathedral on Tom Jones's site, the Cathedral is dry. When we rapped it, we landed in water over our heads. Take a wetsuit. The water in the very first pothole before the first rap was over our heads. Lots of fun swims. Have fun and be careful.

[Scott Card]

One more thing - Pine Creek Canyon is absolutely full of water right now. When we rapped it [the cathedral], we landed in water over our heads.

When full, this is a fun spot to set the ropes a bit short.....oh wait, did I say that on this thread. Sorry (it is fun to set them short and do the plung though) YMMV, enter at your own risk, FDIC insured..etc.

[CarpeyBiggs]

When it's full, I hear a ropeless descent is the best (and simplest, after all, you don't have any ropes to worry about.)

[Scott Card]

Huh.... I wonder why my edit didn't show up. I was talking about the Cathedral rap only.... Remember me? I am the brake pedal to slow Spiderman's gas pedal. I am the cautious one, the old one with creaky bones. BTW, I hear we may meet in Sept for a Kolob run?

[CarpeyBiggs]

BTW, I hear we may meet in Sept for a Kolob run?

I hope so. We may have another surprise in the works as well... Might cost you a Sunday though.

[Scott Card]

BTW, I hear we may meet in Sept for a Kolob run?

I hope so. We may have another surprise in the works as well... Might cost you a Sunday though.

So I have heard. Can't do the Sunday though. Too many commitments. I have said Friday and Saturday marked out though.