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Thread: Falling in a Mae West slot
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06-04-2013, 05:54 PM #1
Falling in a Mae West slot
If it happens and a body gets wedged in there good, how would they rescue someone? What if they were still alive? At least in a crevasse, freezing to death would come quickly.
If the walls are really twisted, it seems that trying to pull you out wouldn't work very well using a pulley system.
So far, I haven't heard of anyone (thank God) falling in a Mae West section of a canyon. As those routes get more popular though, it is probably only a matter of time.Utah is a very special and unique place. There is no where else like it on earth. Please take care of it and keep the remaining wild areas in pristine condition. The world will be a better place if you do.
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06-04-2013 05:54 PM # ADS
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06-04-2013, 06:09 PM #2
I hope to God myself or no one I'm with ever has to face this situation. I've always figured it would be an experienced canyoneer that just plain screws up, as the newbies seem to be extra cautious. Some of the best free climbers in the world have fallen to their deaths. Know your limits...or at least not to push them. I discovered a long time ago that cams, slings, nuts and the like are much more important to me than bragging rights or glory.
I think that a lot more people fall into slots than we know and we simply don't hear about it because they escaped with their lives. Ralston comes to mind. We hear about people dying on rappel, or some crazy rope stunt...but I agree, it's only a matter of time before they have to fish a body out of a crack.The end of the world for some...
The foundation of paradise for others.
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06-04-2013, 06:24 PM #3Some of the best free climbers in the world have fallen to their deaths.
Yes. In something like a Mae West slot, I'm almost more afraid of surviving a fall and being stuck until I died as I would be if just killed instantly.
Know your limits...or at least not to push them.Utah is a very special and unique place. There is no where else like it on earth. Please take care of it and keep the remaining wild areas in pristine condition. The world will be a better place if you do.
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesDon liked this post
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06-04-2013, 07:45 PM #4
Don't I know it! I was solo in Cedar Mesa, all jacked up to get to a high ruin when I got myself cliffed out. I stood on that stupid ledge that I so foolishly dropped onto for a half hour praying to God...I made my peace and prepared to die...I had to make a 10 foot, 5.12 move with over 100 feet of space below. I was about 28 years old and had no real rock climbing experience.
I pulled it off...and then lay on the sandstone for 5 minutes crying like a baby. Lesson learned...never make a move onto a ledge if you can't see the the move to get off of it.The end of the world for some...
The foundation of paradise for others.
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesStarFangledNut liked this post
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06-04-2013, 07:49 PM #5
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesDon liked this post
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06-04-2013, 07:57 PM #6
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06-04-2013, 08:10 PM #7
I've given such a rescue a lot of thought.... and I think Nutty Putty Cave is a good example of how things could possibly play out.
Tap'n on my Galaxy G3
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06-04-2013, 08:36 PM #8
Wasn't there an incident where someone got stuck but after a few days they got skinny enough to escape?
Nutty Putty did not have such a good outcome.
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06-05-2013, 12:00 PM #9
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06-05-2013, 02:39 PM #10
There are several got stuck and escaped a couple days later stories floating around. One happened in Brimstone and one happened in the Squeeze Variation of Bluejohn.
Steve didn't get stuck and then get skinny to escape, but his story is a good read, here is the link to his story if you want the details.
Stuck in Chambers - May 2008
Steve Susswein & Sue Agranoff
http://climb-utah.com/Roost/chambers2.htm
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likeshesse15 liked this post
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06-05-2013, 03:36 PM #11
There was a scout who got stuck in zero g a few months ago. They had to rescue him using a pulley and hoist that was braced against the canyon walls. SAR was never called out as the scouts rescued him. But the boyscout leader I was talking said he lost his balance and wedged himself in there really good. Took them 1/4 day to pull him out. And didn't help that he was a large boy too.
●Canyoneering 'Canyon Conditions' @ www.candition.com
●Hiking Treks (my younger brother's website): hiking guides @ www.thetrekplanner.com
"He who walks on the edge...will eventually fall."
"There are two ways to die in the desert - dehydration and drowning." -overhearing a Park Ranger at Capitol Reef N.P.
"...the first law of gear-dynamics: gear is like a gas - it will expand to fit the available space." -Wortman, Outside magazine.
"SEND IT, BRO!!"
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06-05-2013, 03:38 PM #12
Also was a scout wedged in Zero-G that required Emery SAR. Which is where the bolt high on the wall came from.
Also this stuck scout story:
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthread.php?39710
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06-05-2013, 04:30 PM #13
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06-05-2013, 05:50 PM #14
Ey can never forget this one: [B]Tucson hiker:
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06-05-2013, 07:51 PM #15
Here is a link to the fat guy stuck in the Squeeze Variation of Bluejohn.
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthread.php?49821
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06-05-2013, 09:25 PM #16
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesDon liked this post
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06-06-2013, 08:39 AM #17
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06-06-2013, 01:28 PM #18
This thread reminded me of this story....
In 1981 famous climber Jim Wickwire was traversing a glacier on Denali (Mount McKinley) with a 25 year old Mount Rainier guide named Chris Kerrebrock in the lead. They were roped together and dragging a sled when a crevasse opened up and Kerrebrock fell in head first, dragging Wickwire in on top of him.
Wickwire was able to climb out but was unable to rescue Kerrebrock, who was alive but wedged in the crevasse upside down. Wickwire had a broken shoulder from the fall and after climbing out of the crevasse using crampons and ice ax tried to dislodge Kerrebrock using the rope, to no avail. Kerrebrock was still conscious and Wickwire anchored the rope to a snow picket and climbed down to Kerrebrock. He again tried to move or dislodge him but Kerrebrock remained stuck.
Resigned to his fate, the two men said their goodbyes and Kerrebrock passed away during the night.
Wickwire led rangers to the site of the accident and Kerrebroc's body was recovered.
Obviously not a canyoneering environment but....
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06-06-2013, 05:29 PM #19
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06-06-2013, 06:39 PM #20
I've done quite a bit of rock climbing, starting at about the age of 35. I dated a girl that was really into it and we would go to Yosemite, Vegas, Boulder, etc...We would climb all the really fun 5.9 and 5.10 stuff, because that was her limit. I've tried several 5.13 and up routes but really didn't enjoy them...It's tough trying to grip something that is about as big as a short stack of dimes.
So, 5.14d...that's like, really hard...right? At the time of the incident, I had no idea what to rate it, but for a guy that climbs things like a lizard, it was hard. I've been back there since, and my 5.12 rating is based on my somewhat limited experience...having only climbed about 100 named routes.
Tell ya what, Mr. Flatiron...perhaps you could take a look at it and give me your expert assessment of it's accurate rating? I'd hate for anyone to assume that I'm bragging about something that in fact was...easy?
It's easy enough to find. Go to Mule Canyon at the north end of Cedar Mesa. It's a pretty popular canyon, at least in the lower end. Walk nearly all the way to the end of it. There's a ruin up there called "Wall Ruins". To get to the cliff of "near death", climb up the gully of the side canyon the ruin is in, make the top and walk over the the other side, to where you are looking directly down at the wall ruins. Drop down to a nice, fat ledge...walk that until it stops cold. Look down at the ledge about 10 feet below...Imagine climbing up that. Not much there, dude.
5.12? 5.14d? (whatever that is) Hell, I don't know. It's mighty sketchy, though. But like I said, you're opinion of what it is would be helpful...The end of the world for some...
The foundation of paradise for others.
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