Incident:Exhaustion in The Squeeze 2023/04/15
| Incident:Exhaustion in The Squeeze 2023/04/15 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2023/04/15 |
| Location | The Squeeze |
| Severity | No loss |
| Canyoneering-related | Yes |
| SAR involvement | Yes |
| Navigation problem | No |
| Environmental problem | Yes |
| Communication problem | No |
| Planning problem | Yes |
| Skills problem | Yes |
| Body movement problem | No |
| Rigging problem | No |
| Rappel problem | No |
| Insufficient gear | Yes |
| Gear failure | No |
Summary
EMERY COUNTY, Utah — Three people had to be flown out of Squeeze Canyon after a rappelling accident Saturday evening.
According to the Emery County Sheriff’s Office, one of the three canyoners texted 911 at approximately 5:30 p.m., saying two were trapped in water in a difficult rappel slot.
Emery County Sheriff Search and Rescue Rope Team members and two Department of Public Safety helicopters staged at Goblin Valley State Park.
According to the sheriff’s office, the canyoners texted 911 two hours later, informing first responders that they were two-thirds through the canyon but hadn’t reached the 100-foot rappel area.
“The text also stated that two of the subjects had been standing in water for over two hours and that one was experiencing severe hypothermia,” according to the sheriff’s office Facebook post. “The person stated that the subjects had now been removed from the water and were wrapped in emergency blankets.”
The canyoners sent a third text saying they were able to start a fire with driftwood in the canyon, and the person experiencing hypothermia was recovering. However, they soon ran out of wood and had to use headlamps to signal rescue teams.
At approximately 11 p.m., helicopter teams found the canyoners, and they were hoisted to safety and provided first aid on the ground at the staging area.
Accounts
A number of factors played into how this canyoneering trip became an incident. These factors include:
- Lack of experience with potholes/overconfidence in canyoneering ability
- Assuming canyon conditions (optimistically hoped the potholes would be full and not require specialized pothole knowledge/equipment)
- Going too early in the season/inadequate wetsuit thickness for the low temperature of the water
- Starting the trail too late in the day
- Forgetting the lunch food in the cars in our rush to start the trail
Things we got VERY lucky on:
- Accidentally owning a satellite phone (iPhone 14)
- A tiny sliver of sky with satellite reception (the canyon was very deep)
- Driftwood present in the area we were trapped in (there was about 100 feet of canyon floor between the previous and next rappel)
Things we did right:
- Had emergency first aid + emergency kit with blankets, fire starter
- Emergency contacts with hard deadlines on when to call emergency services if they did not hear from us
- Made sure to have our phone batteries topped off, and used airplane mode to preserve battery life
- Recognized we where in over our heads and called emergency services
- Made sure to have one person at the top of the rope on the final pothole our team members could not escape from
The aftermath of the experience:
- A ridiculous amount of media coverage (due to the use of the iPhone SOS feature)
- An email from Tim Cook, and a team member being featured in an iPhone commercial
- Some PTSD, regret, and many lessons learned
- Getting flamed on canyoneering forums (Tom Jones does not mince words)
If anybody is interested in a more detailed account of this incident, please reach out to user:Canyonman117.
