Moab - 2nd Rope Swing Death

[Iceaxe]

DAY CANYON, Grand County

[Iceaxe]

I'm guessing this is the video that will be blamed for this accident.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdJc1_IBKJA

[recinutah]

Anybody have inside beta on how this happened? Did he forget to put himself on rappel?

[DOSS]

All of these recent accidents can all be blamed on GoPro.. for if they had not brought to the market a way to film and distribute these extreme acts people wouldn't be doing them... Everyone now lets sue gopro.. <tongue in cheek emoticon>

[oldno7]

ALL of these deaths can be prevented if we as a society demand "common sense" legislation to ban ropes.

[oldno7]

And if we can't ban ropes outright, we need to restrict their length.

Less people would die if they couldn't get ropes longer than 30'

[xxnitsuaxx]

I am curious - does anyone know what swing they're talking about or where it is? And how in the world does someone just unclip from the rope?

[yetigonecrazy]

I think the blame falls squarely on the top dogs at ESPN from the 1990s, as well as the makers of Mtn Dew. If they hadn't started the X Games extreme culture everyone would still be around.

[jman]

Anybody have inside beta on how this happened? Did he forget to put himself on rappel?

From the article, as well as personal experience off the corona arch swing last year my friends and I did.......after you stop swinging, you uncoil your rappel rope (which is attached to you), step into a stirrup and then transition from the swing rope to the rappel rope. It's similar to passing a knot on a rope. A lot of people out there think that you just uncoil the rope and slide down the rest of the rope....but I have never seen it done that way.

So my guess is, he wasn't clipped into either ropes (well, clipped in securely) when he was transitioning from rope to rope and fumbled up the connection somehow.

What a awful way to go!...

[Scott P]

I am curious - does anyone know what swing they're talking about or where it is?

The article says it was in Day Canyon (usually known as Abe Day Canyon), which is not too far from Gemini Bridges and the Colorado River, depending on which part of the canyon that you are in.

[Iceaxe]

Authorities ID man dead in Grand Co. canyon fall
By The AP
Monday, May 6, 2013

MOAB, Utah — Authorities have identified a 32-year-old man who was swinging on a rope in a Grand County canyon before falling to his death.

Deputies say Adam James Weber of the Salt Lake City area died after the accident about 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Day Canyon.

Grand County Sheriff’s Lt. Ken Neal says the man and a woman had been swinging on a rope attached to a cable stretched across the canyon. Neal says the pair reached a canyon wall to rappel down, but the man fell as he was getting out of his harness.

Officials say a medical helicopter crew reached the man while he was still alive, but he later died of his injuries.

The woman wasn’t hurt.

This is the third climbing-related death in Grand County this year.

[Scott P]

This is the third climbing-related death in Grand County this year.

How is this a climbing related death?:ne_nau:

[Iceaxe]

after you stop swinging, you uncoil your rappel rope (which is attached to you), step into a stirrup and then transition from the swing rope to the rappel rope. It's similar to passing a knot on a rope.

So not something beginners or those who have not practiced should be attempting.

Anyhoo.... Thanks for the explanation. I've had several people ask me how you get down and never had an answer. :2thumbs:

[Iceaxe]

How is this a climbing related death?:ne_nau:

Because the newspaper said so.... :lol8:

[oldno7]

How is this a climbing related death?:ne_nau:

Because it included the use of a rope.

[Scott P]

Because it included the use of a rope.

They might as well include rodeo accidents as climbing ones as well.

[accadacca]

Condolences to the family and anyone else involved.

Unfortunately this is really starting to put a black eye on the sport... :facepalm1:

[Iceaxe]

MOAB — A Salt Lake man died Sunday during a rappelling/rope swing accident.

Adam James Weber, 32, was killed after a 7:11 p.m. accident involving a rope swing combined with rappelling, according to the Grand County Sheriff's Office.

Weber and a woman were engaged in a tandem rope swing that included a rappel to the floor of Day Canyon after completion of the swing. Day Canyon is about seven miles west of state Route 191 and the Gemini Bridge Parking area.

As the man went to rappel down, he took his feet out of his stirrups and fell about 200 feet, said Grand County Chief Sheriff’s deputy Darrel Mecham. The woman was still clipped on the swing, and crews were able to get her down, while another crew in a helicopter went to the bottom of the canyon to locate her companion.

The sheriff's office said the distance of the rappel to the canyon floor after the swing was approximately 100 feet and the rope swing had been anchored to a metal airline cable. That cable had been anchored between the canyon walls, with a span that was approximately 600 feet.

It took several days to put the equipment into place and several people had successfully completed the rappel and the rope swing prior to Weber's fall.

Multiple agencies responded to the scene, but Weber succumbed to his injuries.

The sheriff's office advises recreationers that this is the third fatality the agency has investigated this year involving rope swings or rappelling and urges people to use extreme care and caution.

[TurboFan]

I blame Red Bull, Jackass, and Nitro Circus. And darwin.

[rockgremlin]

That sucks. In defense of the deceased, it's sometimes not easy to make the correct decisions when you're dangling from a rope 200 feet above the ground, and adrenaline is flooding your system.


Poor guy...sounds like he may have been in pain in his final moments. RIP.

[hesse15]

Condolences to the family and anyone else involved.
Unfortunately this is really starting to put a black eye on the sport... :facepalm1:

never understand why people think those swing stuff are interesting at all?
i found the Spain nepalese bridges over river fun,but they are super safe :bandit::popcorn:and just pure fun!!!

seems like a lot of people in Utah just like to kill themselves doing unsafe stuff!

[rockgremlin]

seems like a lot of people in Utah just like to kill themselves doing unsafe stuff!


yup, that it's it. you nailed it. :roll:

[jguest]

From the article, as well as personal experience off the corona arch swing last year my friends and I did.......after you stop swinging, you uncoil your rappel rope (which is attached to you), step into a stirrup and then transition from the swing rope to the rappel rope. It's similar to passing a knot on a rope. A lot of people out there think that you just uncoil the rope and slide down the rest of the rope....but I have never seen it done that way.

So my guess is, he wasn't clipped into either ropes (well, clipped in securely) when he was transitioning from rope to rope and fumbled up the connection somehow.

What a awful way to go!...

Agreed. When we did the Corona Arch Rope swing last year I almost forgot to clip onto the rope with my belay device once when I was getting off the carabiners to rappel down. The adrenaline was still there and I was distracted by the people below who where talking to me. Luckily I caught my mistake before it was to late, but I can see this same mistake happening with this couple where he was distracted with her safety and whatnot and forgot to clip himself into the other rope before he got off the swing rope. :facepalm1: We all just need to be careful and double check what we are doing.

[phatch]

Adrenaline clouds your thinking. You have to have built the muscle memory and safety training through practice beforehand as Iceaxe mentioned for these sorts of activities.

[Wasatch Rebel]

I think I might know his parents. I need to call them and see. They're my neighbors.

[recinutah]

Condolences to the family and anyone else involved.

Unfortunately this is really starting to put a black eye on the sport... :facepalm1:

Climbing deaths have been around for decades and don't get much attention these days. Rope swings, on the other hand, are new and exotic. Probably no more dangerous, but people will think so due to the media exposure.

[recinutah]

...Probably no more dangerous, but people will think so due to the media exposure.

Actually, I take it back, they probably are more dangerous, but probably conducted mostly by people with more skill in rigging, anchoring, etc.

What I meant was rope swing fatality rates are probably no worse than climbing. That's still debatable, but makes a more accurate reflection of the opinion I was trying to express.

[jman]

Agreed. When we did the Corona Arch Rope swing last year I almost forgot to clip onto the rope with my belay device once when I was getting off the carabiners to rappel down. The adrenaline was still there and I was distracted by the people below who where talking to me. Luckily I caught my mistake before it was to late, but I can see this same mistake happening with this couple where he was distracted with her safety and whatnot and forgot to clip himself into the other rope before he got off the swing rope. :facepalm1: We all just need to be careful and double check what we are doing.

Well well well...look who it is...

Thanks for showing up Jeff, that just reminded me...I need to post our Dragonfly vid.

[bioject]

I'm guessing this is the video that will be blamed for this accident.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdJc1_IBKJA

I've rapped off the Corona Arch, but never swung off it. Thought about making a swing after seeing this video, but after going through the logistics in my head I decided that I didn't have enough experience to do it safely.

To my understand you would need at least two dynamic ropes as the swing and two additional dynamic or static lines. One static line would be packed away in a backpack that the person swinging would carry with them and would be attached to the two ropes via a prusik in order to rappel down once the swing was concluded. Another rope would be used to hoist the two dynamic ropes and rope for descending back to the jump site.

From what I recall in the video, they used every single bolt available and a lot of webbing. I think it was something like 16 individual anchors.

Finally you would need something that weighs about 160-200lbs to throw off the edge in order to test the length and stretch. I imagine you would want to throw it a couple dozen times at different weights just to make sure.

[jguest]

Well well well...look who it is...

Thanks for showing up Jeff, that just reminded me...I need to post our Dragonfly vid.

Hi Jman! Yes, I would have posted already, but have been busy at work. Go ahead and post it if you have the time.

[Wasatch Rebel]

So I found out for sure that it was my neighbor's son who was killed. I've talked to the parents about him in the past and he was pretty experienced as a peak bagger at least. Even experienced folk can make mistakes. Aron Ralston, for instance.

[Tlaloc]

...We all just need to be careful and double check what we are doing.

What do you mean by "WE"?

[ratagonia]

... but probably conducted mostly by people with more skill in rigging, anchoring, etc.



the evidence before us suggests otherwise.




Perhaps the FIRST people to do this were very careful and highly skilled in rigging. But now that anyone with a GoPro, a Red Bull and rope is looking to get in on that action, may I suggest that the people doing it NOW are not up to the task.

Tom

[xxnitsuaxx]

Perhaps the FIRST people to do this were very careful and highly skilled in rigging. But now that anyone with a GoPro, a Red Bull and rope is looking to get in on that action, may I suggest that the people doing it NOW are not up to the task.

Tom

I wish I had saved some of the e-mailed questions I got after the first video:

"Do you use static or dynamic ropes?"
"Will wakeboarding ropes work?"
"Do you guys just leave the ropes up there for us to use?"
"I've never used ropes but I'm good with engineering. Could you just send me a diagram?"

[Slot Machine]

But now that anyone with a GoPro, a Red Bull and rope is looking to get in on that action, may I suggest that the people doing it NOW are not up to the task.

66047

[Eric Holden]

I wish I had saved some of the e-mailed questions I got after the first video:

"Do you use static or dynamic ropes?"
"Will wakeboarding ropes work?"
"Do you guys just leave the ropes up there for us to use?"
"I've never used ropes but I'm good with engineering. Could you just send me a diagram?"

wow..... got to love it.

[Iceaxe]

I wish I had saved some of the e-mailed questions I got after the first video:

"Do you use static or dynamic ropes?"
"Will wakeboarding ropes work?"
"Do you guys just leave the ropes up there for us to use?"
"I've never used ropes but I'm good with engineering. Could you just send me a diagram?"

Dang... that had me laughing so hard I squirted Red Bull out of my nose all over my GoPro.


Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[Stray]

Dang... that had me laughing so hard I squirted Red Bull out of my nose all over my GoPro.


Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

LOL :lol8::cry1: