Rescue in Pandora's

[ratagonia]

Capitol Reef National Park (UT)
Canyoneer Rescued From Pandora's Box

On Monday, September 6th, rangers rescued a canyoneer who was unable to complete his planned route due to an inability to make it through a narrow slot in a rock formation. The man and his partner, both from Salt Lake City, had descended into Pandora's Box Canyon the previous day. Pandora's Box is considered to be one of the more difficult canyons to negotiate on the Colorado Plateau because of the extremely narrow slots throughout the canyon. After completing numerous rappels and negotiating several slots, the man, who was quite fit but weighed around 230 pounds, found that he couldn't pass through a particularly tight section.

In an attempt to exit the canyon, the two men scrambled out a lateral canyon, only to find that they couldn't go any further. They decided that the more slender man would continue on and complete the canyon while the larger man stayed behind and awaited assistance. The former completed the slots, descended the 150-foot exit rappel, hiked nine miles to his bike, pedaled four miles to his car, then contacted rangers early on Monday morning. The rangers requested assistance from the Utah State Patrol, which dispatched a helicopter that landed near the stranded man. Members of the county SAR team helped him reach the ship. Neither of the canyoneers was injured. [Submitted by Scott Brown, Chief Ranger]

[Ryebrye]

Narrow slots should have one of those "If you can't squeeze through this --> <-- you are going to die in this canyon" things nearby somewhere. (Similar to those things for airport luggage)

Pandora's Box looks like a fun canyon (for those under 230LBs). I hope his bike was on the way to his car, otherwise he hiked an extra five miles and biked an extra four.

[Iceaxe]

I have no clue what or who's beta these guys were using.... but just for giggles whenever this stuff happens I look to see what mine says....



Warning:
Large frame canyoneers will have a difficult time descending Pandora's Box. My chest measurement is 43" of solid muscle. I found it necessary to climb up and over obstacles that Smurf sized canyoneers could squeeze through. If you have moderate climbing ability and help from friends you should not get trapped in this canyon if you are my size or slightly larger. Large frame canyoneers will have to work much harder than Smurf sized canyoneers to descend this route. Most of the squeeze obstacles can be defeated by climbing up and over them. Bring as small of pack as possible. You have been warned!

[CarpeyBiggs]

yeah, i'm somewhat surprised to hear someone got stuck in there, without actually being injured. you definitely have to go high in a few places, but it doesn't seem terribly hard. but, i am not 230 pounds, so it's just conjecture i suppose.

but yes ryebrye, the typical route out requires the use of a bike or shuttle.

[ratagonia]

Narrow slots should have one of those "If you can't squeeze through this --> <-- you are going to die in this canyon" things nearby somewhere. (Similar to those things for airport luggage)

Pandora's Box looks like a fun canyon (for those under 230LBs). I hope his bike was on the way to his car, otherwise he hiked an extra five miles and biked an extra four.

There are no Squeezes in Pandora's that cannot be climbed over at a reasonable level of difficulty. Some hefty guys have made it through Pandora's, though they had to work pretty hard for it. Very surprising. I suspect more of the panic attack than actual 'couldn't do it'.

Tom :moses:

[stefan]

yeah, i'm somewhat surprised to hear someone got stuck in there, without actually being injured. you definitely have to go high in a few places, but it doesn't seem terribly hard. but, i am not 230 pounds, so it's just conjecture i suppose.


having to stem repeatedly in a canyon can wipe someone out if they don't have the endurance/fitness for that kinda movement. increased bodyweight only exacerbates that.
getting up and over a tight section is affected by body size/weight (and fitness,strength,etc). bigger frames also change how/where you descend through the slot, for example, in a flaring section of a tight slot that drops into a bombay. this can affect the difficulty of the moves necessary to descend.
i can imagine fear of the unknown becoming an issue, asking the question "how much harder is this gonna get?"

[canyoncaver]

having to stem repeatedly in a canyon can wipe someone out if they don't have the endurance/fitness for that kinda movement. increased bodyweight only exacerbates that.
getting up and over a tight section is affected by body size/weight (and fitness,strength,etc). bigger frames also change how/where you descend through the slot, for example, in a flaring section of a tight slot that drops into a bombay. this can affect the difficulty of the moves necessary to descend.
i can imagine fear of the unknown becoming an issue, asking the question "how much harder is this gonna get?"

So the question becomes, "How much of a try did he give it?" Stemming, that is.

[Bo_Beck]

having to stem repeatedly in a canyon can wipe someone out if they don't have the endurance/fitness for that kinda movement. increased bodyweight only exacerbates that.
getting up and over a tight section is affected by body size/weight (and fitness,strength,etc). bigger frames also change how/where you descend through the slot, for example, in a flaring section of a tight slot that drops into a bombay. this can affect the difficulty of the moves necessary to descend.
i can imagine fear of the unknown becoming an issue, asking the question "how much harder is this gonna get?"

I took a hike through Pandoras a while back with Kip and crew, and Matt and another were a bit larger framed. One of them got stuck a couple times and needed "head/helmet" assists to get uncorked. I got my thick rubber knee pads jammed one time as well. At one spot, Courtney and I were up ahead (maybe mid-canyon?) and Courtney tried going under a jam and quit after maybe 8'. He told me to give it a go so I did and after maybe 60' and 5 minutes of tedious elbow crawling I made it through. When the others showed up, they asked how I got to where I was? I explained that I went down and through. Matt said that he had never seen anyone do that so he had to give it a go! Yep...he got stuck about half way through, and I tossed him a rope and a generous tug to get him uncorked! The rest of the group decided it prudent to stem up maybe 15' and over! That Pandoras Box is a skinny little canyon for sure! Lots of fun though.

[stefan]

I took a hike through Pandoras a while back with Kip and crew, and Matt and another were a bit larger framed. One of them got stuck a couple times and needed "head/helmet" assists to get uncorked. I got my thick rubber knee pads jammed one time as well. At one spot, Courtney and I were up ahead (maybe mid-canyon?) and Courtney tried going under a jam and quit after maybe 8'. He told me to give it a go so I did and after maybe 60' and 5 minutes of tedious elbow crawling I made it through. When the others showed up, they asked how I got to where I was? I explained that I went down and through. Matt said that he had never seen anyone do that so he had to give it a go! Yep...he got stuck about half way through, and I tossed him a rope and a generous tug to get him uncorked! The rest of the group decided it prudent to stem up maybe 15' and over! That Pandoras Box is a skinny little canyon for sure! Lots of fun though.

lots of fun, indeed. sounds like a great adventure, bo. it's a great wingate slot. my ribcage and hips find it hard to get through the narrowest slots, so i usually plan to go high. fortunately it can be as fun looking down on the bottom of the slot as being inside of it. have you been through shenanigans yet?

[Bo_Beck]

lots of fun, indeed. sounds like a great adventure, bo. it's a great wingate slot. my ribcage and hips find it hard to get through the narrowest slots, so i usually plan to go high. fortunately it can be as fun looking down on the bottom of the slot as being inside of it. have you been through shenanigans yet?

No Stefan, I haven't hiked any other slots out there. My first and only. Remember I'm a sheltered, isolated (by choice mostly) Zion Rap-N-Swim Kiddie! :-) My upcoming Colo. River--->Cataract Canyon Packraft ought to yield a bit more hiking out in the eastern boonies though! PSYCHED for sure!!!!!!

[stefan]

No Stefan, I haven't hiked any other slots out there. My first and only. Remember I'm a sheltered, isolated (by choice mostly) Zion Rap-N-Swim Kiddie! :-)

:haha: yeah ... aww, i hoped you were quietly exploring the middle east and faaar east of utah :wink: well shenanigans must be put high on your list!

of course, it's hard to blame you--it must be hard to leave when you live in paradise



My upcoming Colo. River--->Cataract Canyon Packraft ought to yield a bit more hiking out in the eastern boonies though! PSYCHED for sure!!!!!!sounds excellent :2thumbs:

[Iceaxe]

The details are now posted here:

I've Always Wanted to Ride In A Helicopter . . . (http://busterbluth52.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-always-wanted-to-ride-in-helicopter.html)

it's a really good read. :popcorn:

[Ryebrye]

The details are now posted here:

I've Always Wanted to Ride In A Helicopter . . . (http://busterbluth52.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-always-wanted-to-ride-in-helicopter.html)

it's a really good read. :popcorn:

FTA: After dropping one liter of water (leaving him with only 2)


This was bad. If we hadn't already committed to the canyon with a couple of rappels, I would have turned around right there. But we were in it, with no going back. There was no water anywhere in this canyon and once we exited, we still had eight miles to hike before we returned to civilization. I could do it on two liters, no problem. But his meant that I would have to budget my water. It's now something that I'll have to think about. And I prefer for basic survival not to be an issue when I'm just trying to have a good time.


Here's how they broke down:


Upon reaching what we thought had to be the final section before the rappel out of the canyon, the walls opened up. I remember noticing two washes on either side, intersecting the slot canyon. They looked like a way to scramble up and out of the canyon, if escaped proved necessary. Looking at that dark crevice, I swore under my breath (or possibly very loudly) sucked in my belly and began yet another birthing experience. This squeeze ended with a very tight crack that opened up into what appeared to be a ten foot drop. This is an obstacle that I cannot climb up and over. I would have to squeeze my way through this tiny orifice and then prepare for a reasonably long drop into a pool of stagnant water like the rancid turd that I felt like.

That last sentence was probably more graphic than it needed to be. Sorry.

I tried going feet first. No way. Feet first, sideways. No way. Head first (I have no idea how I was expecting to land safely that way). No friggen way. At this point we were both beat. We were sick of this canyon. It had scraped the ever loving hell out of our knees, hands and backs and we were just done. That 8 mile hike out loomed over my head and I cried mercy. I suggested we backtrack to the wash that was just behind us, hike up it to the top of the mesa and navigate our way back to the car. I had been beaten by Pandora. And I didn't care. I just wanted to get the hell out of there.


The rest of the article is amazingly long. I don't know the guy. I can't imagine that figuring out a way to get around that obstacle would take more effort than whatever else they ended up doing.

Also, going into a full day in the desert with 3 liters of water is like trying to drive across the desert on 1/4 tank of gas. If anything unexpected happens you can really be screwed (and in this case drinking your own pee)

[ratagonia]

The rest of the article is amazingly long. I don't know the guy. I can't imagine that figuring out a way to get around that obstacle would take more effort than whatever else they ended up doing.


Yeah, pretty long, but the guy has a sense of humor, and tells it like a story... I thought it was entertaining.

You can't??? Speaks to a lack of imagination on your part, Ryebrye. You done Pandora's? I cannot imagine trying to exit the canyon out the side. Even if you get out of the canyon itself, you likely end up on an isolated mesa piece. Lots of joints in the Wingate = lots of isolated mesa tops.



Also, going into a full day in the desert with 3 liters of water is like trying to drive across the desert on 1/4 tank of gas. If anything unexpected happens you can really be screwed (and in this case drinking your own pee)

I'd probably only go with 4; but then again, Pandora's is more of a late fall / winter / early spring canyon. That long entry and long exit require either a couple quarts of water or cool temperatures, or both.

Just chose the wrong canyon for his skill set.

One of them space emergency blankets mighta made the night a lot more pleasant.

Tom :moses:

[Ryebrye]

You can't??? Speaks to a lack of imagination on your part, Ryebrye. You done Pandora's? I cannot imagine trying to exit the canyon out the side. Even if you get out of the canyon itself, you likely end up on an isolated mesa piece. Lots of joints in the Wingate = lots of isolated mesa tops.


No, I haven't done it yet - but based on what everyone has been saying it should have been possible for them to pass by that section with a bit of thinking / creativity. Even if they spent an hour there trying to figure the section out - that'd still be a lot less effort than what they ended up doing.



I'd probably only go with 4; but then again, Pandora's is more of a late fall / winter / early spring canyon. That long entry and long exit require either a couple quarts of water or cool temperatures, or both.


4 is reasonable. I usually bring 6 and suck down about 2 of those on the approach.



One of them space emergency blankets mighta made the night a lot more pleasant.


Yep. They are also small and light and easy to put in your pack and forget about them until you need them. I usually have 2 of them plus a few other small and light emergency items.

[Iceaxe]

The rest of the article is amazingly long.

I found the story a very entertaining read.... the guy is a good writer and he has a great sense of humor. When he was alone on the mesa top I could feel his isolation.



Also, going into a full day in the desert with 3 liters of water is like trying to drive across the desert on 1/4 tank of gas.

I took 3 liters with me in that canyon and I ran out.... that is a long ass hike out. Not hard... just long....

[Bo_Beck]

I found the story a very entertaining read.... the guy is a good writer and he has a great sense of humor. When he was alone on the mesa top I could feel his isolation.

Totally agreed!