How many have you helped?

[jman]

After talking to a buddy who got back from a trip to Escalante he posted the following on Facebook, after going through Coyote Gulch this last weekend:

1. A pack was dropped off a 40ft cliff
2. Everyone ran out of water at the halfway point (I found a seep after an hour of hiking up canyon to refill the water)
3. My phone got wet inside a life proof case (a waterproof case I've used previously)
4. A girl got heat exhaustion and I had to walk with her in 50 ft increments up a 1.5 mile sand dune
5. They got the car stuck in sand and didn't have a tow strap. I used climbing rope to pull them out
6. One car got a flat tire, there was no jack to switch the tire. (A truck stopped and helped)
7. The spare became flat a few minutes later
8. My insurance covered the tow to Beaver for a tire as theirs would have cost $350
9. They all hate me very much and yelled at me many times

And More:
The group leader didn't like me changing his plans, but I found a horror story about where he wanted to go to convince him otherwise
-one member of the group wanted to leave important gear so she wouldn't have to carry it and after no one was going to stop her, I had to be VERY insistent on her taking it with her. This caused her to be upset and several others to be upset at me for being forceful.
-same person wanted to start the sunny sand dune while shaking and looking dehydrated. As she started up the trail I had to once again be forceful with everyone to stop and take a break before continuing.
-the group leader was mad that I told him we needed to find out about towing before spending 4+ hours waiting for a car to get a tire and come back with it
-the group leader was very mad about me correcting him on travel distances that he was wrong about
-there was a lot of panicking for sake of panicking that I had to put an end to
-when the car was stuck they kept making it much worse so that it was completely high centered and the wheels would spin when idling. I had to demand they stop getting it stuck worse because they would not listen to me

Thankfully, my buddy Dave and his friend helped, rather rescued, the other 8 people who were ill-prepared for this type of hike and logistics, let alone rational thinking.

I'm sure we can nitpick at the details, but the point of this is more and more people are going unprepared for the desert....well..any hiking/canyoneering adventure it seems!

Obviously, there are a handful of factors are work here but what are you thoughts (not on this particular case, but in general)? Is there anything more that we can do? I strongly believe that education is the silver bullet if you will in my humble opinion, but it seems like no one is listening?

Anyway, Quickly thinking over the years I can vividly recall:

1) helping a individual through Pinecreek as he was just "waiting" to be rescued in Pinecreek because he was too cold to move. We gave him a top layer of a wetsuit and literally dragged him through the water until we reached the sun and was fine after that. He was even saying to us, "can I use your phone so I can call 911 (in the canyon)" It makes you wonder if he did anything different the next trip or just had the "meh...I'm all warm now. All is well." no lessons learns.

2) I can think of dozens of sole-canyoneers and families that we have assisted in the Subway at 4 particular areas (1st big rock downclimb, bowling ball swim, keyhole falls, and last rap). *Almost* GUARANTEED if you go through it - you will run into a group who is not prepared, shivering to death because no one brought a wetsuit or anything warm and dry, and has 12 people, and is taking over an hour to do one rappel or downclimb. No ropes, no wetsuits, no skills, no leadership, no beta.

3) Helped a family get through Keyhole once because their 10foot rope (!!!) wasn't long enough for the 2nd rappel (or downclimb as they thought). Bad beta?? no beta?

4) came across a individual who was not prepared for Mount Olympus (hike) and brought only a 20oz bottle of water and was sufferring from heat exhaustion near the summit. A group of us got together, stayed with the individual for a good hour, gave him our water and fruit snacks until he came to. Afterwards, we decided NOT to summit and walk back down with him to make sure he would be okay.
5) many other times! (and guaranteed - A LOT MORE TO COME!)

ugh...

[2065toyota]

Last trip through Subway there was a group of 8 at the last rap that no ropes and no harnesses

[jman]

Last trip through Subway there was a group of 8 at the last rap that no ropes and no harnesses

Hopefully you asked 'em why they weren't prepared?

[2065toyota]

Hopefully you asked 'em why they weren't prepared?

No. It was obvious though.

There ended up being like 20 people bottle necked there. I gave the group my harness, jumped the gap and told them to drop it off to me down canyon and went and ate lunch while they dealt with their dilemna

[TommyBoy]

make em downclimb it. It can be done.

[deagol]

sounds like someone should build an amusement park in SLC

[erial]

asked and answered . . .

[Bootboy]

I hate to sound misanthropic, but, give it enough time and humans can and will ruin just about anything.

I've had similar experiences helping hopelessly unprepared people, less in the canyons than in the mountains or while BC skiing, but the frequency appears to become more likely. I kindly and patiently help them because it's the right thing to do, but afterward I have given them a stern and uninhibited scolding and a warning that they are libel to get somebody killed and they should either get some education or, preferably, stay out of these places.

Enough of these goo-knobbers go out and F-up, and we're looking at closures and permits. Not to mention the attendant garbage and damage these types do.

Heaven help us...

[hank moon]

I hate to sound misanthropic...

i don't believe you :)

[Iceaxe]

Some people at the shallow end of the gene pool need to be weeded out.... looks like someone passed up a great chance to make this happen.

[Mountaineer]

Seems all the help has been in Zion.

* Last trip to Keyhole the group didn't know how to down climb and got their rope stuck when they anchored to a rock

* Trip to Spry where the group deployed their rope and got it tangled and couldn't fix it

* Loss of control and offering help on how to add friction

However, many other areas I've been I haven't come across others in the canyon. So... Most likely Zion is just popular.

Whenever I run low on gear, I plan a trip to Zion! Ha ha.

But ... Hopefully someone returns the favor when I take my spill...

[canyonexplorer]

I dislike the burden of dealing with permits and other red tape but perhaps Zion should have visitors take a quick online test to demonstrate very basic canyoneering knowledge before issuing them a permit. Like driving a car on public roads. You need to demonstrate some competence first. Idiots can cost their own life and the lives of others.

[Iceaxe]

Iperhaps Zion should have visitors take a quick online test to demonstrate very basic canyoneering knowledge before issuing them a permit.

It's never going to happen. If the park puts requirements on obtaining a permit they also assume liability. Meaning if you get lost or hurt you can sue the park for being dumb enough to issue an unprepared/unskilled canyoneer a permit. By issuing a permit to anyone that requests one with no restrictions Zion assumes no responsibility.



Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[jman]

It's never going to happen. If the park puts requirements on obtaining a permit they also assume liability. Meaning if you get lost or hurt you can sue the park for being dumb enough to issue an unprepared/unskilled canyoneer a permit. By issuing a permit to anyone that requests one with no restrictions Zion assumes no responsibility.



Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

X2. Yeah, that pretty much explains it pretty well.

I don't doubt that those ideas would help people, but in the end, in the real world (as they say), it's all about liability. And liability=money. It's a business model, and again even though those ideas are good and sound (generally speaking), one person will ALWAYS ruin for the rest of the group. A sad reality, huh?