Hex anchor blew out - Rattlesnake Canyon
| Hex anchor blew out - Rattlesnake Canyon | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2025/04/13 |
| Location | Rattlesnake Canyon (Joshua Tree National Park) |
| Severity | No loss |
| Canyoneering-related | Yes |
| SAR involvement | No |
| Navigation problem | No |
| Environmental problem | No |
| Communication problem | No |
| Planning problem | No |
| Skills problem | No |
| Body movement problem | No |
| Rigging problem | No |
| Rappel problem | No |
| Insufficient gear | No |
| Gear failure | Yes |
Summary[edit]
Hex anchor on second rappel blew out for last person on rappel. No injuries. Had to improvise sand anchor to continue.
Accounts[edit]
We down climbed the first possible rappel and setup a rope at the second rappel point. We considered setting up our rope on the first rappels chock stone but decided to use the existing curved hex that was at the second rappel with a meat anchor as backup. After 1 adult and 3 kids went down the rappel I gathered all the back up gear rechecked the hex and started the rappel as last man. The rappel went smoothly down to the little ledge that is still several feet above the water. After arriving at the ledge I stepped off to go down the last few feet and suddenly found myself in the water. I surfaced to discover that the Hex had blown out. If the hex had blown out earlier it could have been a bad fall but thankfully I received zero injuries. Unfortunately we intended to do the next rappel as a multi stage from the anchor that just blew out. We searched the level we were on but did not find any good location to use as a new anchor point. I decided I would create a wet sand anchor using my Rodcle backpack but first I sent the others down using me as a meat anchor. I then filled my pack about 75% full with the sand from the 2ft deep water. Not trusting that any of the attachment points on my pack would be strong enough I girth hitched the entire pack with a sling and connected the rope to it as well as the carry handle of the pack. I attached a pull sling to the waist belt and my partner tested the function from below. I then rappelled, the make shift sand anchor worked well and we were able to pull the whole thing down after I was off rappel. This whole incident could have been much worse and I am so happy for the free lesson. If there had not been sand in the water I am not sure what I would have done for an anchor.
