Incident:Awkward rappel start with slip and fall in Rubio Canyon 2020/01/20

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Incident:Awkward rappel start with slip and fall in Rubio Canyon 2020/01/20
Date 2020/01/20
Location Rubio Canyon
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 Yes
Rigging problem No
Rappel problem Yes
Insufficient gear No
Gear failure No

Summary

A fairly new canyoneer was beginning one of the Leontine extension rappels and stood up while navigating the edge. The anchor was below the attachment point of the canyoneer's device to their harness, and the edge was slick with algae. This resulted in a slip and substantial (~5 feet) fall with fortunately no injuries. This underscored the importance of starting awkward and/or slippery rappels with good body position and minimizing risk of a fall by keeping close to the ground and to the edge. Better body movement could have made this experience much more comfortable, and could prevent a serious injury in other circumstances.

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