Tourist Trap

[Iceaxe]

[B][I]Since the release of 127 Hours, a certain canyon in Utah has become a lot more popular

[canyoncaver]

I'm going to call foul on them linking the Cicotello rescue/incident to 127 hours. That was a tragic deal, and may have been caused by a bad judgement call, but those guys had been descending canyons for years. They were not Ralston copycats.

[Iceaxe]

I agree.... Louis had been descending canyons in Robbers Roost before Ralston came along.

FWIW: I just added the No Mans Tragedy for anyone that doesn't know the story.

No Mans Tragedy - The Death of Louis Cicotello (http://climb-utah.com/Roost/nomans2.htm)

[ratagonia]

I'm going to call foul on them linking the Cicotello rescue/incident to 127 hours. That was a tragic deal, and may have been caused by a bad judgement call, but those guys had been descending canyons for years. They were not Ralston copycats.

:2thumbs:

Tom

[Watsonater]

The supposed "blue lagoon" isn't even near canyon lands. It's the crater in midway at the homestead!

[oldno7]

The supposed "blue lagoon" isn't even near canyon lands. It's the crater in midway at the homestead!

WHAT???
You probably don't believe in Santa either......:ne_nau:

[spinesnaper]

I'm going to call foul on them linking the Cicotello rescue/incident to 127 hours. That was a tragic deal, and may have been caused by a bad judgement call, but those guys had been descending canyons for years. They were not Ralston copycats.

That was a sad incident and an amazing survival story. That is just Outside padding their story. Not a copy cat incident. Of course if you are reading that article with no knowledge of canyoneering, you would have no way of knowing that.

Ken

[accadacca]

The supposed "blue lagoon" isn't even near canyon lands. It's the crater in midway at the homestead!
:2thumbs: :lol8:

[rex welshon]

When I read the Outside article, I thought a response was called for, so I sent the following letter. I haven't seen a new issue yet, so I don't know if the letter was published.

To Editor,

I was surprised to see Louis Cicotello’s name mentioned in your article “Tourist Trap.” Louis and I canyoneered together from 1999 until his death this spring in No Man’s (I was not on that trip). Together we went through more than sixty canyons over the years (including Blue John twice, in 2001 and 2004), and he went through another thirty canyons with others. Suggesting that he was either a tourist canyoneer or a copy-cat canyoneer is about as wrong-headed as can be. At his death, he had probably done more than 600 rappels in a forty year climbing and twelve year canyoneering career; moreover, he was utterly expert and meticulous when setting anchors. No one knows what happened in No Man’s, but I do know that he was not an incompetent noob, much less an incompetent copy-cat noob.


Rex Welshon

[Iceaxe]

:2thumbs:

[TennesseeCanyoneer]

Here's my reply that I sent to the editors of Outside:

Today, January 16, 2012, I became aware of an article, "Tourist Trap," by Peter Vigneron that was published November 30, 2011 at Outsideonline.com (http://outsideonline.com/).


In his article, Mr. Vigneron refers to the death of my brother, Louis Cicotello, from a fall in No Mans Canyon, Utah, in March 2011. My brother's fall subsequently left me stranded for 145 hours until rescued by the Wayne County SAR team.


I know that Mr. Vigneron contacted Dr. Robert "Rex" Welshon to check facts about my brother prior to publishing the article. Rex also provided the author with my email address but I was never contacted. In a recent email exchange with him, Rex shared with me the following note he sent the editors of Outside:



"I was surprised to see Louis Cicotello’s name mentioned in your article “Tourist Trap.” Louis and I canyoneered together from 1999 until his death this spring in No Man’s (I was not on that trip). Together we went through more than sixty canyons over the years (including Blue John twice, in 2001 and 2004), and he went through another thirty canyons with others. Suggesting that he was either a tourist canyoneer or a copy-cat canyoneer is about as wrong-headed as can be. At his death, he had probably done more than 800 rappels in a forty year climbing and twelve year canyoneering career; moreover, he was utterly expert and meticulous when setting anchors. No one knows what happened in No Man’s, but I do know that he was not an incompetent noob, much less an incompetent copy-cat noob."


I concur with Rex. To insert my brother's death and my story of survival within the context of the article focusing on "copy-cat accident phenomenon" is disgraceful. Without the facts of our collective climbing and canyoneering experience, the details of that tragic day in March, and the narrative of my survival, Mr. Vigneron unwittingly misleads his readers to believe that my brother and me were two neophytes on an adventure to "out-Ralston Ralston." Nothing could be further from the truth.


There may come a day when I decide to share with the public the story of those 145 hours in No Mans Canyon. But until then, it is enough for me to let you and the readers of Outside know that the only trap here is the one Mr. Vigneron stepped into when he unwisely chose an example that doesn't fit the premise of his article.


Sincerely yours,


David Cicotello
Murfreesboro, TN

[TennesseeCanyoneer]

Also, here is the link to the online version of the article, including comments by Rex Welshon as well as the author who responded to my post.

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/outdoor-skills/survival/Tourist-Trap.html?page=all

[TennesseeCanyoneer]

I appreciate the support of this community to the article published in Outside.

[TennesseeCanyoneer]

I agree.... Louis had been descending canyons in Robbers Roost before Ralston came along.

FWIW: I just added the No Mans Tragedy for anyone that doesn't know the story.

No Mans Tragedy - The Death of Louis Cicotello (http://climb-utah.com/Roost/nomans2.htm)


Thanks to Shane Burrows for posting the account, a related article from the Nashville paper, and a photo of the memorial stone that was place near the site where my brother was found. The memorial was erected as part of a friends and family trip to No Mans Canyon in October 2011.

[trackrunner]

thanks for sharing David

[Iceaxe]

FWIW: The photo of the inscribed stone used on the web page was compliments of Devin Weaver, I appreciate him letting me use it. :2thumbs:

[Scott Card]

David and Rex, Well done. :2thumbs: I am glad you responded to the article. I am truly sorry for your loss. I started canyoneering in ernest right around the same time as you did. To lump your story with Ralston's is just not right. I know how I would feel if anyone of my regular group was called or implied to be a copy cat or a noob canyoneer.

Thanks for sharing.

[TennesseeCanyoneer]

David and Rex, Well done. :2thumbs: I am glad you responded to the article. I am truly sorry for your loss. I started canyoneering in ernest right around the same time as you did. To lump your story with Ralston's is just not right. I know how I would feel if anyone of my regular group was called or implied to be a copy cat or a noob canyoneer.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for your support.