Boss Hog Accident report 03/31/12

[rick t]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]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

[Deathcricket]

I always cringe when I start reading about rescues in Hanksville, but it sounds like everything went pretty well this time. Thanks again for sharing the info! Wishing him a full recovery. :2thumbs:

[Scott Card]

:eek2: Thanks for posting. I hope the mending continues and he recovers fully. I hope his wife recovers too. Scary for all involved. Rescue can never come soon enough in those situations I would imagine.

Looks like, as Ram said on the Yahoo group, that the Chevron in Hanksville will get my business.

[Iceaxe]

Thanks Rick for taking the time to write up a really nice accident report. :2thumbs:

Also good to hear things turned out as well as can be expected. :nod:

[peakbaggers]

Excellent, informative, detailed report. Thanks for taking the time after such a difficult event. It benefits all.

[Dan-wild]

Wow. That is pretty scary. I just went through Boss Hog about a week ago (my TR is on the canyoneering forum BTW) and I can imagine how tricky a rescue would be in there. All that down climbing is a recipe for disaster. :eek2:

[ratagonia]

Thank you for the comprehensive report Rick. Really lays out the events. Glad everything turned out OK. Breaking those processes sure is painful!!!

Tom

[ratagonia]

Wow. That is pretty scary. I just went through Boss Hog about a week ago (my TR is on the canyoneering forum BTW) and I can imagine how tricky a rescue would be in there. All that down climbing is a recipe for disaster. :eek2:

Yeah, one would want to be real careful, like wearing HELMETS, right Dan? :roll:

Tom

[Brian in SLC]

Ouch. Glad everyone is going to be ok.

Is this the "spot"...?

52709

[killer]

Three cheers for the Wayne County SAR team and Duke and Jessy in particular (and everybody else involved). I saw them practicing on the cliffs near my house last year, not sure I could do that!

[ratagonia]

Ouch. Glad everyone is going to be ok.

Is this the "spot"...?

Not sure Rick is following over here. NO, this is not the spot. A bit further upcanyon, a drop that is often rappelled, though the rappel is only about 8 feet.

Tom

[stoysluttie1]

Thanks for the write up on this incident as we were trying to figure out why the chopper was flying circles over camp.

Makes me think, being we were camping at Blarney, if asking others for help would be appropriate (ask me anytime) in this scenario or is it better left to authorities?

I gotta say, i now carry a SPOT Connect for instances like this. $150 pus $100 annual subscription and this story makes me realize that yes, i'm glad its in my pack! Plus they cover SAR costs

[ratagonia]

Thanks for the write up on this incident as we were trying to figure out why the chopper was flying circles over camp.

Makes me think, being we were camping at Blarney, if asking others for help would be appropriate (ask me anytime) in this scenario or is it better left to authorities?

I gotta say, i now carry a SPOT Connect for instances like this. $150 pus $100 annual subscription and this story makes me realize that yes, i'm glad its in my pack! Plus they cover SAR costs

Well, it depends...

With indications of a spinal or pelvic injury, a professional rescue was going to be called. In other circumstances, where competent on-team medical personnel could stabilize the injury and make secure for evacuation, self-rescue might be appropriate - and recruiting nearby manpower might be a good idea.

Rescues always take longer than expected. So things like taking food, warm clothing and headlamps out to the team might be appreciated. Technical help could also be of assistance. Once the professional team arrives, they have to take over, and may or may not find untrained volunteers to be of assistance.

A SPOT may or may not have moved things along faster. Does that have text messaging with it? If so, stating the level of injury and terrain of incident could be super useful. Signalling a SPOT does not replace sending someone out to report, if possible. As discussed above, accurate reporting of incident details is useful to get the right resources to the site as soon as possible.

SAR costs? In the USA these are covered by the county, so there are no costs to the injured party.

Tom

[Brian in SLC]

How 'bout these spots? Both just up canyon.

52725

52724

Any of those canyons would be tough to get someone out of. Glad they weren't in deeper and that folks were able to rally.

Scary business.

[ratagonia]

How 'bout these spots? Both just up canyon.

52725


This is the approach to the 180 degree corner where the accident occurred. High chimney across down-climb, but not too hard.



52724


This is the same downclimb you showed before, from the top this time.




Any of those canyons would be tough to get someone out of. Glad they weren't in deeper and that folks were able to rally.

Scary business.

Amen Brother!

:moses:

[rick t]

this is not the spot, this is the slide, immediately above the spot. after the slide there is an easy 5 ft scramble to a lower deck.
THEN then 8 ft wall downclimb, with a pinch on the left, facing the wall, as you down climb. I have a shot i took of the patient laying on the deck below the wall, if I could figure out how to post it here.

rick t

[Brian in SLC]

Resize (or not, I think this site resizes automatically now?) and resave to your desktop (easier to find for me if I'm posting only a couple of pic's).

Then, in the tool bar above the window where you type...there's a bunch of icons. Hover over the one just left of the one that looks like a film strip and you see it'll say "Insert Image". Click on that bad boy, and, you can load a photo from the pop up that appears. Click on the "From Computor" tab, and, go to the bottom of the window and click on "Select Files". Voila, should pop up your desktop (or, wherever on your computor you store the photo). Click on the photo, click on "Open" then you'll pop back to the upload window. Upload File and you should be good to go.

Bet that up climb was semi spicy...yikes.

[Iceaxe]

Bogley doesn't let you attach pictures until you have 3 (or it could be 2 or 5 posts as we have tried lowering the number). It's a safety measure to prevent spammers and viruses.

[ratagonia]

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

here's the pic sent by Rick:

[penmartens]

While we are feeling warm and fuzzy about SARs, remember that they are volunteer organizations. When the county's budgeted money is spent, it is the volunteers who eat their own expenses to help others. Wayne County's SAR budget was cut drastically for this year. They probably had it spent in the first 2 weeks. I am certain that donations would be welcome.

[Brian in SLC]

Ahhh...so...in between a couple of my shots above...

This spot:

52744

I'd think some of the up climbing wouldn't be trivial...yikes...

[rick t]

thats it. it looks lots tougher from this perspective, 6+ feet above the head of the person in position to climb, than it really is.
The climb back out, with packs, was a lot like work; several interesting places, the crux being the corner drop above the slide.
Five of us did it, but the stalwarts were Kevin Earl and Zig Sondelski, who went BACK in to get the EMTs to the patient, and then had to climb back out a second time.

[Iceaxe]

While we are feeling warm and fuzzy about SARs, remember that they are volunteer organizations. When the county's budgeted money is spent, it is the volunteers who eat their own expenses to help others. Wayne County's SAR budget was cut drastically for this year. They probably had it spent in the first 2 weeks. I am certain that donations would be welcome.

Send donations here:

Wayne County Sheriff
Search and Rescue
PO Box 219
Loa, UT 84747


And below is a request posted by Wayne County SAR last year. It would not have made a difference in this SAR, but it could in others.


One small suggestion to those entering our canyons, if you could leave a detailed route map on the dash of your vehicle, visible through the windshield so we can know where to begin our search should you be overdue. We always begin our search at the vehicle. A good map or written instructions of your intended route could save precious time should a search occur. Stay safe and I hope you enjoy our canyons as much as I do. Thanks, Don

[ratagonia]

Send donations here:

Wayne County Sheriff
Search and Rescue
PO Box 219
Loa, UT 84747


And below is a request posted by Wayne County SAR last year. It would not have made a difference in this SAR, but it could in others.

Thanks Shane. Donation going out today.

Tom

[ddavis]

When I talked to Kevin at the side of the road while he was waiting for SAR, I noticed a small injury on the side of his nose and asked about it. All he had time to say was that the upclimb was hard and that he had had some trouble on part of it.

On another note, it was pretty weird to run into someone I see almost every day at work (I go past his office on the way to the printer) out in some random spot in southern Utah.

[ratagonia]

Send donations here:

Wayne County Sheriff
Search and Rescue
PO Box 219
Loa, UT 84747


And below is a request posted by Wayne County SAR last year. It would not have made a difference in this SAR, but it could in others.

also interesting to note - the Hog Canyons and most of North Wash is actually in Garfield County, the county seat being Panguitch, about 3-1/2 hours away. Good to see inter-county cooperation.

Tom

[rick t]

note- there were garfield county people there at the rescue as well. several tropic fire dept shirts were prominent. from escalante also.