Incidents:Fatality in Bottomless Pit
| Fatality in Bottomless Pit | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2019/03/23 |
| Location | Bottomless_Pit_Canyon |
| Severity | Fatality |
| Canyoneering-related | Yes
|
| SAR involvement | Yes
|
| Navigation problem | No
|
| Swift water problem | |
| Environmental problem | No
|
| Communication problem | Yes
|
| Planning problem | No
|
| Skills problem | Yes
|
| Body movement problem | No
|
| Rigging problem | Yes
|
| Rappel problem | Yes
|
| Insufficient gear | No
|
| Gear failure | No
|
Summary[edit]
Matthew Yaussi fell while rappelling a 380 ft drop around 8:30pm (after dark). He was part of a group of two, and his partner had already completed the rappel. A second or third-hand report indicates that he may have lost control during the rappel.
Accounts[edit]
Information from Abby Wines: Observation from Nov. 2, 2024: Our group saw ropes hanging from the intermediate ledge that can be used to break up the 380' rappel into smaller chunks. Two C-IV ropes were joined with what appeared from a distance to be a single overhand knot. The knot was blocked against the rapide (no carabiner there). One rope reached the ground and the surviving canyoneer cut the rope at the height she could reach (likely to salvage her own ability to continue out of the canyon). The other rope has been blown by wind up onto a ledge, but appeared to be shorter than the length of the rappel. I couldn't tell from a distance which side of the rope was blocked. I work in Death Valley National Park, and spoke with a park ranger that interviewed the surviving canyoneer. She told the rangers that she rappeled first (I don't recall now if it was a rap/lower scenario or not), then yelled up instructions to Matthew to change the block. I think that meant switching the block to the other side of the rapide. He was not a very experience canyoneering, and she was communicating up a nearly 300-foot cliff.