Search on for Roy woman, Oregon man missing in Zion National Park

[Deathcricket]

OMG can I start cussing now please? Subway closed for re-evaluation? Park Rangers at fault because they didn't warn the hikers that fast moving water is treacherous?

This is not an amusement park people! This is mother F-ing nature at her finest. Respect her or die! You evaluate the conditions before you step foot into a canyon yourself!

Ok I need to go drink a mtn dew and do some yoga until my rage dies down......

[Iceaxe]

Here is the best account I have seen of what happened, where and why....


Hikers walk out of Zion Canyon on their own
By Mark Havnes - The Salt Lake Tribune

Zion National Park • Hikers love the narrow canyons and towering rock walls of the popular hike known as the Subway in Zion National Park. But those same features, complemented by a torrent of icy cold water, are what caused several adventurers to become briefly stranded.

Park officials began searching Sunday for Evgenia Buzulukova, 25, of Roy, and her friend Jonathan Wilson, 28, of Portland, Ore., after they failed to return from the hike they had planned to complete on Saturday.

Andrew Fitzgerald, a Zion ranger who coordinated the investigation, said Wednesday that the pair stalled at an area of the hike known as the Keyhole, along with seven other hikers.

Fitzgerald said Buzulukova and Wilson initially planned to enter the canyon by hiking and rappeling into the Subway from an area known as Russell Gulch. He described the route as “technical” and said it involved at least three rappels of up to 95 feet.

Fitzgerald said the pair changed course when their original plan appeared too difficult and took the traditional route down Wildcat Canyon. But they lost valuable time as the Left Fork of North Creek, which runs through the Subway, kept rising due to melting snowpack in surrounding mountains.

The couple built a fire for the night, even though park rules forbid backcountry fires, and hoped to finish their adventure on Sunday.

Fitzgerald said they had little food but were well equipped, including wetsuits. “They did have plenty of water and iodine pills to purify it,” he said.

On Sunday, the two reached the Keyhole, a narrow part of the canyon that forces the water higher up the walls and required a rappel in the middle of the stream, which was rushing so fast it blocked their way.

“They wisely decided that they could not go through safely,” said Fitzgerald. “They figured it would have been suicidal to go on, so they stopped to wait for the water to go down.”

Fitzgerald said that once hikers begin their descent, which requires a series of rappels, there is no going back.

While waiting, the two hikers trekked up the side of the canyon about 100 feet, unsuccessfully looking for a way out.

“There’s no getting out at that spot but down the canyon,” Fitzgerald said.

Attempts to reach the pair on Wednesday were not immediately successful.

Buzulukova and Wilson spent another unplanned night in the park and on Monday were joined by about seven other hikers whose progress was also halted by high, swift water.

Fitzgerald said one of the hikers was an experienced guide and was able to set up a “high wire” rope that the hikers used to cross the fast moving water and continue hiking.

“It [high wire] allowed them to get through the most treacherous portions,” he said.

Two of the hikers went out ahead of the others and contacted authorities at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Fitzgerald said a military helicopter from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada had just begun looking for the hikers using infrared technology and spotted them less than a mile from the trailhead.

Two paramedics were lowered from the helicopter to examine the hikers, but none required medical help and all were able to hike the rest of the way out on their own.

Park spokesman David Eaker said Wednesday that the search involved 25 park rangers, workers and volunteers. Dog teams were also used.

Searches are generally uncommon in the park because of limitations on where people can go, according to Eaker. He said rescues are more frequent when people have accidents. He said the couple did the right thing by getting the necessary backcountry permits for the Subway hike, so popular they are distributed through a lottery.

He said Buzulukova and Wilson also demonstrated good judgment. “They made the right choice when they realized they were in a situation beyond their capabilities,” said Eaker. “It’s always good when they turn out like this.”

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/51...tml.csp?page=1

[UtahAdventureGuide]

So rather than ask a few basic questions to determine the competency and preparedness of the group before issuing a permit they have closed the Subway for everyone indefinitely.

From the Backcountry Reservation System:
04/19/11. Multiple rescues have occurred over the last several days due to high water in the Keyhole Falls areas. The top down Left Fork trip is temporarily closed.

[Scott Card]

From the Backcountry Reservation System:
04/19/11. Multiple rescues have occurred over the last several days due to high water in the Keyhole Falls areas. The top down Left Fork trip is temporarily closed.

[peakbaggers]

Here in Coolorado, every time a person dies on a 14er or some other peak, there's always talk (TV news & editorials) about requiring a license to climb or the National Farce Service issuing a permit to climb and/or "evaluating" people's ability. Fortunately, nothing like that has happened yet, but a quota system will soon be coming at least on the 14ers and a few other popular trails, much like in California already. The 14ers are being "loved" to death. We will regret to see that day, but at least for now, we're still free to roam on the abundant National Forest Lands and climb 13ers to our hearts content.
Around 30 years ago now, went on a trip to the Grand Canyon with two other strong guys. We all had numurous Colorado peaks under our belt and were in good shape and had some previous Grand Canyon experience. We wanted to hike/backpack in an area with a non-maintained, primitive trail. Our permit was denied by the issuing ranger. When I argued with him and demanded a reason for the denial, I was only told, "In the Colorado mountains, you go up first, then come down. In the Grand Canyon, you go down first, then up." DuH!! Had to choose another hike to this one rangers liking.

[oval]

I'm just wondering about the Park's policy on when to send a rescue? After thinking about this a little bit, it got me to wondering: exactly how long after a permit is overdue does the park service call in a S&R?

It's sort of wierd to me that a couple could be over-due by 4 days, and still no one from the Park service or the S&R would have gone down the route that they had on the permit?

It also sort of strikes me as odd that the helicopters that were looking for them were not searching their permitted course initially. The initial report I heard said they were looking outside of the Park. And why even send in helicopters before sending someone down the route on foot?

This just strikes me as a really odd S&R situation, maybe someone could shed some light.

That being said, kudos to those canyoneers that took them through. Seriously good on them! Representing competent canyoning to the NPS by having prepared canyon skills and actually rescuing the other group should send a strong message to the NPS (I hope).

[Iceaxe]

DuH!! Had to choose another hike to this one rangers liking.

I've run into this before.... so I just picked up a permit to the nearest possible place to where I actually want to go and than make a "navigational error" to go where I wanted and not exactly where the permit says.... I've noticed they give tickets for no permit but they don't give tickets for being stupid and getting "lost"... so I've used that to my advantage before....

Come to think of it.... playing dumb has got me out of a lot of trouble before.

[Ryebrye]

Here is the best account I have seen of what happened, where and why....
Fitzgerald said that once hikers begin their descent, which requires a series of rappels, there is no going back.

False. I've done it. I've even done it in chest-high water - which is higher than what they were facing down there.

“There’s no getting out at that spot but down the canyon,” Fitzgerald said.

Again... false... but I already made that point.

“It [high wire] allowed them to get through the most treacherous portions,” he said.

Yeah, a high wire is a one way to get past that section. Going up and over the keyhole and down through the hole is easier if you are not fat.

It's quite sad that they are closing this area off right now because, in my opinion, the only time the Subway is worth doing is when it is flowing in high water. In low water the slogfest exit of the Subway outweighs the benefit of the Subway (and yes, I know other exits such as the MIA exit are worse exits - but I'd say Boundary Canyon is such a good canyon that it balances out the slogfest at the end - but the Subway is just kind of a "so so" pretty nature hike unless it's got flowing water in there)

Looks like the "bottom up" is still available. So... you could use Shane's trick and say "Oh. My map was upside down. Woops."

And as far as the Subway not being navigable upcanyon.. that's complete and total BS. Although if you have the skills it requires to make the upcanyon retreat, you probably also have the skills to keep going on downcanyon... But it CAN be done if you absolutely have to do it.

[Ryebrye]

That being said, kudos to those canyoneers that took them through. Seriously good on them! Representing competent canyoning to the NPS by having prepared canyon skills and actually rescuing the other group should send a strong message to the NPS (I hope).

The message it should send, perhaps, is that people who know their stuff should be able to get permits and go through canyons because it increases the safety of all those involved.

Bo has rightfully earned the right to go into canyons and not be part of the quota for that reason - perhaps they should consider expanding that privilege out to some others...

But... more realistically... they will just shut the Subway down in the Spring now. Good thing there isn't a good flow guage they can use to measure the water in it - because otherwise they'd probably shut it off for good when there is any flow in it similar to how they do the Narrows.

[ratagonia]

I've been using the North Fork stream flow data since 2005 and it seems to be pretty consistent with the flow in The Subway. Ryan and I have done the Subway the first week in May every year since 2005 when water levels were almost 2000 CFS in the North Fork, today they are about 700 CFS which is a bit more than last year but nothing compared to 2005. Anyone know of a better way to judge the stream flow for The Subway? Any pics taken this week would be extremely helpful.

There may be an incidental correlation between the North Fork gage and flow in the Left Fork of North Creek, but the basins involved have very, VERY different melt-out dynamics. So yes, I think it is fair to say that they both melt out sometime in the spring. The North Fork has been in flood for a month, but I bet the Subway has not. The North Fork will be in flood for another month or two, but I don't think the Subway will last another 2 weeks at most.

Tom

[ratagonia]

The message it should send, perhaps, is that people who know their stuff should be able to get permits and go through canyons because it increases the safety of all those involved.

And how, exactly, is the Park Service supposed to determine such stuff?

Perhaps people who have taken an ACA course are thus qualified, right? (that's a troll, but the point is, that is the way the Park Service thinks, at times).

Tom

[ratagonia]

[quote="NPS Zion Press Release"]
Upper Portion of The Subway Route in Zion National Park Temporarily Closed

Date: April 21, 2011
Contact: Ray O'Neil, 435-772-7823
Contact: David Eaker, 435-772-7811

The upper portion of the Left Fork of North Creek (The Subway) route is currently closed until further notice due to a public safety stand down. This route is commonly referred as the 'top down' route that begins from the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead and enters the Left Fork (The Subway) through the lower section of Russell Gulch. The popular canyoneering route will be reopened when park rangers have evaluated the cause of recent incidents involving overdue hikers in the canyon and determine what additional information can be passed on to park visitors to increase their safety and awareness. Trips upstream from the Left Fork Trailhead along the Kolob Terrace Road are unaffected by the closure.

Over the last four days, nine groups have received wilderness permits to hike The Subway route from the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead through the Left Fork of North Creek. Only two of the groups completed the one day trip before dark. Due to high, cold water from recent snowmelt, four groups were unable to bypass an obstacle known as Keyhole Falls without assistance. Two of those groups spent at least one unintended overnight in the backcountry.

The route has been closed while the National Park Service evaluates information provided to park visitors. During spring snowmelt, conditions change daily if not hourly in the park's narrow canyons. It is very important that park visitors understand that their safety is their responsibility. If conditions are more challenging than expected, hikers must be prepared to re-evaluate their planned trip.

The Subway is a narrow canyon in the Kolob Terrace section of the park. It is a strenuous 9

[ratagonia]

http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisi...the-subway.htm

Where is this picture from? Anyone recognize it?

Tom

[Iceaxe]

And how, exactly, is the Park Service supposed to determine such stuff?

I've been trying to think of a reasonable gumbie filter but I keep coming back to a couple of basics.... It's not the NPS duty to be my mother (I already have one)... and in the end the NPS will probably just default to the lowest common denominator (which again means we are talking about my mother, or someone like her).... either way it sucks....

Think I'll just go do the Black Hole when its flowing so I don't have to put up with this crap.

[Iceaxe]

Where is this picture from? Anyone recognize it?

Looks like Das Boot when its in Das Hike conditions....


Das Boot filled with water

[ilipichicuma]

I was one of the people in the group that came in and pulled them out. Thanks for the pats on the back, and I'm glad it looks like the story's been gotten straight overall, because I didn't want it to look like we were stranded, too. Because we weren't.

[Brian in SLC]

Kudo's to you guys!

Any chance we could get a little info nourishment on the what's, where's and how's of it all?

[Iceaxe]

Kudo's to you guys!

Any chance we could get a little info nourishment on the what's, where's and how's of it all?

x2

And who's video footage was used on the news? I'd like to see a little more of that.

[ratagonia]

Kudo's to you guys!

Any chance we could get a little info nourishment on the what's, where's and how's of it all?

My correspondent Gavin Hawkley was in the Subway on April 19th, to good effect.
Here is his report:

Subway April 19, 2011

I and 4 friends decided that we were going to head down to Zion and run Das
Boot through the Subway. We were pumped to be getting into a new season of
canyoneering. We did keyhole the day before we were planning on the Subway and
ran into some other canyoneers. They had recently done the Subway and told us
that there was a lot of water and hydraulics that could potentially pull you
back into dangerous water if you weren't a strong swimmer. We thought that
sounded pretty cool so we were pretty excited to do the Subway the next day.
However, when we went to get our permits we were told that a few hikers were
missing and that they may have tried to do Das Boot or Russel Gulch. We
reevaluated and decided we would definitely take a good look at Das Boot before
we committed to that route.

The next day we left early, excited and ready for some adventure. We got a
little more than we had bargained for. When we arrived at the wildcat trailhead
it was crawling with rangers. They told us that some rangers had been down to
Das Boot looking for the couple and that the water looked very dangerous. These
rangers looked fairly on top of things so we believed them and told them we
would just do the regular Subway route. They also told us that another
Canyoneer, David, who had headed out the day before at 3 pm, had not yet
returned either. We told them we would keep an eye out for any of these people
and head down.

When we arrived at the entrance to the subway there was a lot of water coming
down from Russel Gulch. This section of the subway was usually dry with a few
pools but now it was flowing with water from edge to edge. It was a river. We
got into our 7mm wet suits, climbed into our neoprene booties and strapped on
our helmets and harnesses. We were ready for some interesting stuff. As we
were about to go down canyon a couple came down the trail who were going to do
it too. We got them to take a picture of us together and then we started down
canyon. As we began I looked back at the couple and wondered if they could
possibly have enough gear to safely get down the route; they only had one
backpack that the guy was wearing and it didn't seem full enough to have enough
protection from the very cold water. "But this is just the subway we're doing"
I thought, "they'll probably get a little cold and realize next time they should
bring a little better gear. Some natural consequences might get people to
prepare a little better. It's just the Subway, they'll be fine."

We started down the canyon which was a very different beast from what I'd seen
the previous times I'd done the subway. The water was flowing very rapidly and
anywhere the walls came together tightly it created hydraulic effects that would
pull you back into the whitewater falls. We used various methods to get past
these including handlines after the strongest person was across. We had been
going about 1.5-2 hours when we heard a whistle as we approached a particularly
narrow section. As I moved closer to the point where it narrowed up and the
water became very strong I could see around the corner a man stuck in a nook on
the side of the canyon. He yelled to us, "don't come down here, I've been here
since yesterday". I started thinking hard then.

-Hypothermic guy down canyon who could be next to useless or even dangerous to
himself or us, gotta get him out of there, got to keep my team safe, have to
assume that if he is stuck there then the water could be really bad here and I
don't want us getting stuck too- Luckily there was a ledge system above us that
was more than large enough to walk on. One guy from my team, Dustin, Was able
to get up on the ledge and anchor himself down. I had him toss me a rope from
above and I was able to stem/chimney/swing over to where David was stuck. He
was in bad shape but wasn't spouting nonsense. Mild Hypothermia I decided. He
repeated himself and worried about his sling and rope that didn't matter at all
but he did what I told him to and seemed to understand he wasn't quite on top of
things. I had my other friend Anthony come across too and we made sure he ate
some food and drank some water which he hadn't done in awhile.

Meanwhile Cliff and Mckell had been able to get on the ledge up by Dustin. I
hooked back on rope and climbed/got pulled up out of the section of canyon onto
the ledge system above. We then pulled out David followed by Anthony. After
doing a more thorough assessment of David I decided that he was in good enough
shape to move down canyon with us. As we moved he became more and more aware
and competent as his hypothermic symptoms disappeared. We went down the ledge a
little way and found an easy descent back into the main section of the canyon,
thus avoiding the spot where David had gotten stuck.

I realized things were a little more serious now and went into – get down
canyon mode – as opposed to just having a fun time. But David was doing well,
we would be okay I thought. Around a few more bend though we came across our
next surprise. There in the curve of the canyon was a bunch of clothes, some
food, and a pair of nice shoes just sitting there. I thought, "Oh crap. I've
read about this stuff before. Somebody got stuck here, went crazy hypothermic
and is running around in the nude singing chants to the canyon gods and kissing
rocks." We started yelling and searched the surrounding slopes for anyone who
might be there. I still do not know where those clothes came from or why they
were there but I'm grateful that we stopped and yelled because from way down
canyon my friend Cliff heard a faint reply.

We moved down canyon and continued to call out. Replies came and eventually I
was able to spot a girl up on a ledge about 100 feet up above the canyon floor.
I climbed up as close as I could safely and she said her name was Jen and she
had been there since Saturday!

It was now Tuesday and I realized that this was not going to be anything close
to a normal day in a canyon. She told me they hadn't had food for a day and
half but that they did have water. The slope was too dangerous for me to climb
up I decided, about 30 feet of exposed climbing so I grabbed the dry bag out of
my pack and told them to get a rope and we would tie the bag to it so they could
get some food. I had Dustin stay there to tie it on the rope and then I moved
down canyon a bit with Anthony to try and find a safer way up to them. We found
a way up a little further down canyon and got up to there ledge. It was a
little out of the way and not terribly visible which is why I think they weren't
spotted by other groups that had come down Sunday. They had a fire going and
had Iodine drops so they were not in terrible shape. They were tired,
exhausted, and Jon seemed kind of shaky but doing remarkably well all things
considered. Honestly I had figured they were dead when I heard from search and
rescue that they had been missing for 4 days. But now I had a real situation on
my hands. There was no way they were going to be able to recover quickly and to
the level that David had. They were going to be moving slow, have bad reflexes,
probably impaired decision making abilities, and who knew what else. The
reason they had stopped was that the next section looked even worse than what we
had already done and they didn't think they could do it. I decided that the
best option we had was to split my team up and leave two of them with the now 3
people who needed rescuing and take myself and two of the most competent from my
team and head down canyon as quickly as I could and get search and rescue the
specific location of the group. It crossed my mind what had happened to that
first couple we had seen as we entered the canyon and who had seemed so ill
prepared for this ever more dangerous canyon. I didn't wonder long though.

Just as I had finished deciding what we would do this guy popped up from the
other side of the ledge and said "is everything okay here?" I looked at him and
thought "what the heck is going on?" The guy looked tough with a full beard and
long hair, sinewy muscles and a capable look about him. I'm pretty sure the
first thing I said was "did you just climb up that cliff over there?" and he
simply replied "yes." We talked a bit and he told me he'd picked up the couple
we'd left at the beginning of the canyon. They had been trying to do the canyon
in only dry pants with no upper body protection. Awesome. I should note now
that this guy does not want to be known or mentioned by name so I will refer to
him as simply Canyonman. He is a trained guide and has been doing canyons for
about 13 years I think he said. I thought… this is good.

He had medical training and did another evaluation of Jen and Jon and decided
that they were doing okay. I then talked with Canyonman about my plan and he
said it would be better to get these people out of the canyon if we could and
that he didn't have a lot of confidence in park search and rescue. I decided I
would trust him and so we got the group together and told them our options.
Either divide up and send a team ahead to get help, or go as one big group (11
people now) and get through the rest of the way. We took a vote and it was
decided to go together. We got to the next obstacle and Canyonman set up at the
anchor. I then dropped down through a natural arch there and swam as hard as I
could through the hydraulic section and tied my end of a rope to a fallen tree
in the watercourse. We rigged up a zipline type of thing with Canyonman
belaying them from the top as they passed over and past the dangerous water
section to me. Anthony and Cliff also helped at strategic points to make sure
people were always clipped in and always on belay.

Everyone made it safely down but it became apparent the person with the most
issues then was Jon. He was very unsure of his feet and would fall down
constantly in the water. As we moved down canyon we had to keep one person with
him always to keep him from falling and hurting himself. We made sure each of
the people we were concerned about had someone watching them and next to them
the whole time. We had to get past another waterfall and down another rappel
but those went without too much incident, just very slowly because we had to
make sure that these people were on belay at all times even for minor stuff,
otherwise a slip could get them pulled into some dangerous stuff.

We were past the technical section! But it was about 6:30 pm already and I
knew there as no way we were making our way out of this before nightfall.
Helicopters had passed over a few times but hadn't seen us and we hadn't run
into anyone as we came out and I didn't hold out much hope of seeing anyone
helpful. We were on our own. We started moving very slowly, 1-2 mph is where I
would put our pace at. Jen was tired but moving well. David was fully
recovered. The couple, named Brooke and another Jon (I'll call him Jon 2),
Canyonman had picked up were doing fine. Brooke had her nerves hit a bit (I
don't think this was quite the adventure they'd envisioned) but didn't let that
stop her from moving on. After about a half hour and as the canyon became
easier Brooke and Jon 2 decided that they would go on ahead and try and send
back help to us since it was obvious were moving too slowly to get to the cars
anytime soon. Jon 1 was moving very slowly and was very unsure of his feet. We
kept moving.

As darkness approached we were still a few hours away from the cars. I worried
about sprained ankles and other falls that would come as it became very dark.
Helicopters continued to pass over from time to time but we didn't count on any
help. It got dark. We kept our headlamps off for as long as we could and I
kicked myself for not remembering mine. Luckily we had about 4 or 5 headlamps
that worked and we made due. We had to do a few more river crossings (and it
really was a river) so I went first and we set up a handline for the others as
they came along as I anchored my side and Cliff on his side. Here Canyonman
made a big difference again. I had only done subway a few times and knew more
or less where the exit was but it was dark and I was worried. He knew exactly
where it was though. After we crossed the river a few times with more handlines
and even over a tree once, we were able to find the exit trail.

We hiked up it with breaks fairly often for Jon who was very tired at this
point. But we kept on moving and got up onto the top of the reef there.
Helicopters were now passing over more frequently, they could see our headlamps,
but we didn't really care because we were almost to the parking lot. But about
5 minutes out this copter came screaming over really close to us, shot dust into
our eyes, and pass over a little ways. We kind of looked at each other
confused, couldn't figure out what that was about and so we just kept on hiking.
About two minutes later we hear shouts from behind us and see headlamps shining.
At this point Canyonman said "rangers…see ya" and took off up the trail because
he didn't want to be known or talked to when the reports were put together. The
men coming out of the woods weren't actually rangers but were air force and had
rappelled out of their Blackhawk helicopter. They came up asking where Jon was
and wanted to give medical attention.

Apparently Brooke and Jon 2 had gotten out earlier and phoned in that we were
still down there. But the message that Jon 1 was having difficulty walking got
turned into, "we heard Jon can't walk and you guys were carrying him". We told
them this was not the case and that we would just like to walk the rest of the
way to the cars. They looked at each other and said "okay… why don't you lead
the way." So now we had two air force guys join the back of our party and we
continued hiking to the parking lot. We got to the parking lot, gave some hugs,
handshakes and high fives. About 10 minutes after arriving at the parking lot a
ranger showed up who asked us if we needed water. We had Gatorade and water in
our cars. The ranger asked me for an explanation of what had happened and I
gave a brief explanation while he recorded audio of it. He got our names and
numbers and that was it. My group went and picked up our car from the wildcat
trailhead and headed back to Mosquito Cove for a much needed warm sleeping bag.

[ilipichicuma]

x2

And who's video footage was used on the news? I'd like to see a little more of that.

That footage came from our friend Anthony Dunster. The guy is always taking pictures and shooting videos when we're in canyons. Once he gets all of the pictures to me I'll put some up here with Gavin's trip report.