Canyoneering death in the Subway

[Felicia]

Thank you to all persons involved in the SAR; I'm sure this has been a tough couple of days.

[shagdeuce]

What a nightmare for everyone involved. So sad.

[Iceaxe]

Man Dies Hanging Upside Down at Utah's Zion Park

By PAUL FOY Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY September 20, 2012 (AP)

A 74-year-old man was found dead after spending a night hanging upside down on his climbing ropes at Zion National Park, the park superintendent said Thursday.

Yoshio Hosobuchi was making a rappel in the Subway, a popular and demanding canyoneering route about 250 miles south of Salt Lake City.

His 61-year-old wife was unable to free the man, who was found hanging Wednesday over a waterfall, Park Superintendent Jock Whitworth said.

Hosobuchi was from Novato, Calif., and had no experience navigating the Subway. He was caught about midway in a narrow 9-mile chasm with fast-moving cold water.

His wife hiked out after some difficulty Wednesday to alert rangers, who had to wait until early Thursday to recover his body with a helicopter.

It was the first death of a hiker in the Subway in many years

[Iceaxe]

Man, 74, dies after hanging by foot overnight in Zion NP canyon
Tragedy

[erial]

This 74 year old gentleman from Novato may be an award winning neurosurgeon who once treated Terry Schiavo.

[Bootboy]

Is this the spot?


Granted, that picture is from 2005, and I haven't been back through subways since, but the if i remember correctly, the anchors are just down and to the side of that, and it's easily down climbable.

That's it. The log in the pic isn't there now but there is a shorter one at the head of that slot with my sling on it.

[spinesnaper]

Very sad occurrence in a place we all love so much. Life is finite and our time in the wilderness is precious.

Ken

[mtn_dude]

His repelling device jammed, possibly because of a knot, and he wound up upside down, his hands about five feet above the ground.

His wife, who had earlier managed to climb down to the canyon floor, tried to help him, but couldn’t.

That's just horrifying! I feel terrible for the wife.

[Stray]

As I study this accident, I am saddened and frustrated.

I was down in the Subway on the September 4 with my wife, a canyoneering friend and several beginners. When I told this story to my wife, she cried.

I am frustrated because this was completely avoidable: The rap off the log should not have been left. The subway does NOT require rappelling (unless you include Das Boot). None of my group rapped. At the final "mandatory" rap, I was providing a handline for my beginners when suddenly a group of experienced, irresponsible canyoneers showed up and proceeded to "build" the deadly anchor by throwing a log into the pool below and setup a rap off the other log in the waterfall.

Many inexperienced people do this canyon, rapping off a log is difficult, rapping in a waterfall is difficult. If you must get your trills in a "beginner" canyon, please climb back up and clean up after yourself.

[Brian in SLC]

Maybe not the time for self righteous indignation?

[Iceaxe]

The outdoors is a big playground that caters to a wide range of skill levels. I would hate to see everything dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. I believe you should be responsible for your own safety. If you want thrills with no risk perhaps Disneyland is a better vacation destination.

[deathtointernet]

I deeply disagree with the idea that this is somehow the fault of the canyoneer who built the anchor. Is the Subway an easy canyon? Yes, it absolutely can be, depending on your skill level. But I think the idea that there is such a thing as a 'beginner canyon' is deceptive. By their very natures canyons are dangerous... these are not places people were ever meant to visit. That we do so anyway requires us to accept a certain responsibility for our safety and indeed our lives. I understand that using judgement is one of the most difficult skills to learn, but it is without a doubt the single most important skill in canyoneering. An anchor doesn't have to be used because it's there. A path doesn't have to be followed because others went that way. We all have to decide for ourselves what we can do safely. If we cannot do that, then we have no business being in these canyons. Get more experience in escapable, non-technical routes, get more formal training, or go under the leadership of someone experienced.

That said, I wasn't there, I don't know all the details of what happened. Was this a bad judgement call? Was this just some freak accident? Likely a combination of the two, I suppose, but I don't know. It is a tragedy, and my heart goes out to the family members.

[Bootboy]

As I study this accident, I am saddened and frustrated.

I was down in the Subway on the September 4 with my wife, a canyoneering friend and several beginners. When I told this story to my wife, she cried.

I am frustrated because this was completely avoidable: The rap off the log should not have been left. The subway does NOT require rappelling (unless you include Das Boot). None of my group rapped. At the final "mandatory" rap, I was providing a handline for my beginners when suddenly a group of experienced, irresponsible canyoneers showed up and proceeded to "build" the deadly anchor by throwing a log into the pool below and setup a rap off the other log in the waterfall.

Many inexperienced people do this canyon, rapping off a log is difficult, rapping in a waterfall is difficult. If you must get your trills in a "beginner" canyon, please climb back up and clean up after yourself.

Funny how you didn't have the nuts to say anything to me at the time but now that something tragic has happened, you take the opportunity to demonstrate your wisdom and you entitle yourself to be right about an issue that was, at the time, a non issue. Your attitude kinda sickens me.

I built that anchor. It was safe. You must not have been paying attention. I didn't throw any log down the slot. I moved 1 log. Period. One, uno, einz.... And I built a safe anchor off of it to experience a neat piece of that canyon that most people avoid. Yeah it was slightly riskier than the bolted rap but as a canyoneer, your responsibility is to evaluate anchors and make your own judgement call.
Yes I am somewhat experienced, I am not, however, irresponsible. Hell, I made and used a natural anchor. Hows that for ethics? There was an old sling on the log that was already there, I added another log and actually made it safer than it was by raising the anchor point above your feet.

You can go back to knowing it all, but don't bother sharing it. Hypocrite.

[Stray]

It was terrible tragey. I reread what I said and didn't mean to place any blame. I am sorry.

Earlier in the day, I meet two "hikers" whos total experience with canyoneering was 15 minutes with the people who rented them their equipment. When I told they didn't have to rappel this canyon at all they said, "we rented the equipment we want to use it!"

[dlofting]

Wow, this is a tragic accident that I feel terrible about.

It makes me feel even worse that someone is trying to put blame on the person who built the anchor...that is totally WRONG. Accidents happen in canyonnering. That is something you have to accept if you want to pursue the sport. You can do everything "right" and still end up a victim of circumstances and nature.

Please don't try to affix blame - it doesn't help anyone, least of all the relatives and friends of the man who died.

[dlofting]

Thanks for you second post, Stray.

[Iceaxe]

FWIW the new log actually makes the route safer for everyone. The new log makes reaching the standard anchors easier as it creates a better walkway over the waterfall.

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[Bo_Beck]

FWIW the new log actually makes the route safer for everyone. The new log makes reaching the standard anchors easier as it creates a better walkway over the waterfall.

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???? 16 going on 17 years volunteering my services with ZNP with an average of 6 SARS on the way, within and exiting The Left Fork. I have responded to one injury sustained from the descent at the old anchors within this time frame. 2 weeks of a new anchor yielded a fatality. Safer? Maybe I'm not seeing this right? Please correct me if I'm wrong Shane? I can see that sometime in the future new anchors will be needed as the log wedged in the wash will dissappear and access to the ledge containing the "old" anchors may be compromised? Thanks, Bo

[Bo_Beck]

???? 16 going on 17 years volunteering my services with ZNP with an average of 6 SARS on the way, within and exiting The Left Fork. I have responded to one injury sustained from the descent at the old anchors within this time frame. 2 weeks of a new anchor yielded a fatality. Safer? Maybe I'm not seeing this right? Please correct me if I'm wrong Shane? I can see that sometime in the future new anchors will be needed as the log wedged in the wash will dissappear and access to the ledge containing the "old" anchors may be compromised? Thanks, Bo

Bump: I'm sorry...I see that you refer to the log placement making access safer and not the new anchor that was constructed for descent into the waterfall....

[xxnitsuaxx]

Many inexperienced people do this canyon, rapping off a log is difficult, rapping in a waterfall is difficult. If you must get your trills in a "beginner" canyon, please climb back up and clean up after yourself.

People still make the decision to rappel off the log. People also make the decision to be self-righteous dickheads under fake names online. That's a lot of chest-thumping from someone trying to be badass about doing the Subway "properly". Seriously dude? You're bragging about doing the Subway without rapping? You want a cookie or a sticker? Post your name and take responsibility for your comments like a man. I hope to run into you in a canyon some day and have you try and critique my techniques.

Austin Baird