Incident:Stuck rope at R2 anchor in Sentinel Falls 2019/09/08
| Incident:Stuck rope at R2 anchor in Sentinel Falls 2019/09/08 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2019/09/08 |
| Location | Sentinel Falls |
| 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 | Yes |
| Insufficient gear | No |
| Gear failure | No |
Summary[edit]
Our group missed the R2 anchor in the hallway DCR and continued rappelling to the bottom of R2. When the rope was pulled, it stuck in the R2 anchor hallway, pinched at the chockstone. Fortunately, a member of the group was able to upclimb R2 and retrieve the rope; it was stuck in such a way that it could not have been retrieved from the bottom. While this would not have prevented us from completing the canyon, it would have resulted in slower progress due to having fewer ropes available.
This incident reinforced the importance of being cognizant of surroundings even when securely on rope, and of refreshing on the beta. Careful consideration of where the rope would fall could have predicted the potential problem and allowed us to act preemptively, and noting that the hallway was the site of the R2 anchor could have prevented the problem altogether.