ABC - Nightline - Canyoneering into the Depths of Americas Last Uncharted Land

[jman]

ABC - Nightline - Canyoneering into the Depths of Americas Last Uncharted Land


Reporter's Notebook, By MATT GUTMAN (@mattgutmanABC)
Oct. 2, 2012

Find out what happens on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET




There comes a moment when you're stuck in a canyon, with rock walls soaring on either side, that you realize there is no way out but down.
That's where I found myself when I went canyoneering deep into the mountain crevices of an Arizona chasm known as Bear Canyon with Rich Rudow and Todd Martin. They are part of a new generation of modern explorers who risk death for the privilege of being the first humans to see the last of the American unknown.


Credit: Todd Martin

Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET
Rudow and Martin are like the Lewis and Clark of canyoneering, seeing places no human eyes have graced before.

Bear Canyon, a few hours north of Phoenix, is a bunny slope when compared with Rudow and Martin's regular exploits, but it still is home to the natural beauty that draws these rugged canyoneers to explore them. These guys scale skyscraper-high cliffs, navigate slippery rappels and face the nagging realization that rescue is nearly impossible from previously uncharted slot canyons. Not cell phones, not even satellite phones, nor GPS will not work in these mountain fissures, so Rudow said their climbing gear means everything between life and death.

"Search-and-rescue guys can't even get to you fast," Rudow said. "If they knew where you were in the first place. You kind of push the edge and every once in a while you get into a pickle and every time you get into a pickle, you learn something new and try not to make that mistake again."


Canyoneering is a sport that includes rappelling, caving and climbing in which the climber knowingly maroons himself in the bowels of vertiginous slot canyons -- think the movie "127 Hours" and Aron Rolston cutting off his own arm. Rudow and Martin were part of the team behind the documentary titled "The Last of the Great Unknown" about exploring the hundreds of canyon tributaries that originate in the Grand Canyon.

Over the past few decades, canyoneering has emerged from the domain of a tiny subculture to nearly mainstream. There are now guidebooks, companies dedicated to outfitting these modern explorers and guided canyoneering tours at national parks. But few possess the fortitude of Martin and Rudow who go where cell phones don't reach and maps haven't been charted.

"Nightline" producer Ben Newman and I camped out with the canyoneering duo, getting up at the crack of dawn to gear up and begin the march to our climbing spot. We had no maps, no GPS, no satellites and no way to communicate with the outside world.

"We're leaving civilization, as much as it is, behind at this point," Rudow said.
He and Martin took us to what they called one of their favorite "bunny hills." Even though we're in the arid Arizona landscape, we donned wetsuits so we could stand the gauntlet of frigid water below us in the canyon. As we moved deeper into a narrower part of the mountain, the geography began to change around us as the light reflected off the walls. It was about a 15- to 20-foot drop below us.
We eventually reached a "pothole," a naturally forming pool of teeth-chattering water inside the canyon that can reach depths of 30 feet deep, according to Rudow.
"One of the important rules of thumb is you never commit the entire party to a pool like this or everyone gets trapped," Rudow said. "Send your most dispensable person first and see if they can flail their way out the other side."
Our senses are assaulted by the cold water and the cathedral-like canyon walls, but the view of the light falling on the mountain crevices was stunning.


Photo of a "pothole." Credit: Todd Martin

"I look at a place like this and I always have a sense of exhilaration," Rudow said. "We may be the first ones to ever see it."

But later into the climb, thunder starts rolling in and with it comes the threat of getting trapped by a flash flood -- one of the many dangers of exploring canyons. If that happened, we would be in bad shape.
"No way out of that," Rudow said.


Find out what happens on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET

[Bootboy]

No doubt a spike of SARs and accidents will follow this airing...

[Mountaineer]

I loved the rain being right on cue. Overall well done, you never know which sound bites the producers will choose. Great job to Rich and team.

[ratagonia]

Here's the video on youtube...

[Iceaxe]

Nice

[Taylor]

Woohoo! If anyone watched Nightline, that story would surely flood our canyons with new canyoneers. More nice exposure for Rich Rudow. We need to figure out a way to get "the last of the great unknown" on a big screen up here in the 801.

[spinesnaper]

Of course I am waiting for the reality TV series called "America's Most Dangerous Canyons" following Ram, Tom, and a handful of other professional canyoneers in their daily travels through the canyons of the Colorado Plateau. Remember that reality shows are all about the personalities. I think this show is going to do great. Time to call the Discovery Channel.

Ken

[yetigonecrazy]

Of course I am waiting for the reality TV series called "America's Most Dangerous Canyons" following Ram, Tom, and a handful of other professional canyoneers in their daily travels through the canyons of the Colorado Plateau. Remember that reality shows are all about the personalities. I think this show is going to do great. Time to call the Discovery Channel.

Ken

I dont know if you are joking or not but I think that actually may be a hit.....

If America is enraptured with everything from Deadliest Catch to Yukon Men to Lobstermen to Honey Boo Boo.....I dunno. People might watch it.

Great clip though. That canyon looked fun. Is it a side fork of West Clear Creek? Certainly looks like it....

[Eric Holden]

If America is enraptured with everything from Deadliest Catch to Yukon Men to Lobstermen to Honey Boo Boo.....I dunno. People might watch it.

I don't know.... Canyoneering can't really compete with the glory of Honey Boo Boo....

[Iceaxe]

MMMmmmm..... did someone say "pickles".

[MrAdam]

That canyon looked fun. Is it a side fork of West Clear Creek? Certainly looks like it....

Yup, it is Bear Canyon, the prettiest West Clear Creek canyon for sure. Its also one of the least technical, only 2 rappels upto about 25'.

[spinesnaper]

I dont know if you are joking or not but I think that actually may be a hit.....

If America is enraptured with everything from Deadliest Catch to Yukon Men to Lobstermen to Honey Boo Boo.....I dunno. People might watch it.

Great clip though. That canyon looked fun. Is it a side fork of West Clear Creek? Certainly looks like it....

Joking...Joking. But seriously, it could be a hit show.

To happen you need someone enterprising to function as an associate producer to line up the talent and pitch the show to Discovery. Of course the community may be upset with the impact of such a show. If you think 127 hours brought in throngs into canyoneering, wait until you have a hit show beaming into family homes. Of course if you think the bearing sea is tough on camera gear, image what a canyon would do to a $20K camera.

Ken

[Bootboy]

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty selfish when it comes to the outdoors. I'm cool sharing it with people who come by it honestly but I'll be damned if a tv show about a recreational activity (not a miserable and dangerous way of life i.e. crab fishing) drive hoards of unprepared mouth breathers into the outdoors. My fathers job was to teach people that wilderness and the outdoors and recreation therein, play important roles in a healthy society but, the other part of his job was to prepare people with the necessary skills to do so safely and responsibly.

I'm rambling, ignore me. I'm just gonna go to bed.

[Slot Machine]

The TV show sounds like a great idea!

The "luring affect" of the show will all depend on how you portray the difficulties of canyoneering. 127 Hours made canyoneering look like an ultra-simple sandstone frolic unless a one-in-a-million boulder rolls onto your arm; of course that would entice people.

Shoot, there is something wrong with you if you didn't want to slide down that chimney and plunge into the Blue Pool.

Conversely, Bear Grylls makes everything look insanely difficult on his show. That is a good approach if you want to be socially responsible. You don't see people on the news making ladders out of vines or rafts out of garbage, do you?

Heck, a short clip of me trying to force my way through Shenany would be enough to scare most reasonable people into never trying a canyon in the first place.

Bob

[mzamp]

If you descend Sundance Canyon (Bear Canyon's next door neighbor) and look around after you rappel the 180footer you will see tons of graffiti and trash. Why? Because Sundance is short, easy approach, not very technical, and has the WOW factor from the one big rappel...which attract all sorts of idiots that think it is cool to write on the rocks, and dump their trash between the rocks. So – I would rather not bring attention to canyoneering.
I miss the days, not so long ago that I could spend a week in west clear creek and not encounter another person. Access into the canyon was very limited. Now there seems to be an exit at each side canyon.

[ratagonia]

If you descend Sundance Canyon (Bear Canyon's next door neighbor) and look around after you rappel the 180footer you will see tons of graffiti and trash. Why? Because Sundance is short, easy approach, not very technical, and has the WOW factor from the one big rappel...which attract all sorts of idiots that think it is cool to write on the rocks, and dump their trash between the rocks. So – I would rather not bring attention to canyoneering.
I miss the days, not so long ago that I could spend a week in west clear creek and not encounter another person. Access into the canyon was very limited. Now there seems to be an exit at each side canyon.

Ya don't think those are from people hiking in from the bottom. Bunch of fire rings, soda bottles, etc. in the area too... seems like the easy access from the trail makes is a good overnight hike for those who are not really into hiking.

Seems a more likely explanation than a bunch of cretinous canyoneers...

Tom

[mzamp]

Ya don't think those are from people hiking in from the bottom. Bunch of fire rings, soda bottles, etc. in the area too... seems like the easy access from the trail makes is a good overnight hike for those who are not really into hiking.

Seems a more likely explanation than a bunch of cretinous canyoneers...

Tom

No - I don't think it is from cretinous canyoneers (and I admit I had to google cretinous ). Canyoneers have probably had very little impact to WCC. I guess the point I was making is that years ago it would have been a full day's slog to even get there because the entry points were furhter away and there wasn't a use trail on the canyon floor. So putting pristine areas on TV would just draw attention to it even from non-canyoneers.

I suppose the internet plays a big role in that too. I used to go to the library and research for places to go, and hang out at the local shops to talk with others to get info. Now it's easy to get the info which is both a blessing and sometimes curse.