Zion Search and Rescue Blog

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Hmmmm.... this is new....

Every year, park rangers and search and rescue (SAR) personnel respond to approximately 250 emergency incidents in Zion National Park. In an effort to prevent these emergencies, the park will post certain incidents on this blog with the hope that everyone can learn from these experiences.

http://www.nps.gov/zion/blogs/sarblog.htm

This recent SAR should be of interest to canyoneers.

Canyoneer Injured in Jolley Gulch

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[TD]March 13, 2014 Posted by: Zion National Park
On Tuesday, March 11th, Zion dispatch received a report of an injured canyoneer in Jolley Gulch along the park's eastern boundary.

Initial responders discovered that the man had fallen approximately 30 feet unrestrained and bounced several times off the rock wall before landing on the canyon bottom. He was not wearing a helmet and suffered significant multi-system trauma.

Due to a lengthy carryout and his deteriorating condition, Grand Canyon helitack was asked to assist with a short-haul operation. In order to get to an appropriate short-haul extraction point, Zion rescuers needed to move the 250-pound man out of a pothole, perform a technical lowering operation, hand carry him down two more vertical drops up to ten feet in height, and navigate a slot canyon layered with snow and ice filled pools