Incidents:Man falls in Heaps Canyon

Man falls in Heaps Canyon
Date	2024/10/06
Location	Heaps Canyon
Severity	Fatality
Canyoneering-related	Yes
SAR involvement	Yes
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

A canyoneer fell an estimated 150-200ft on the final rappel due to loosing control of their brake strand.

It was confirmed by members of the party the victim was using a Kong Hydrobot descender.

The victim survived the fall, but died before reaching hospital.

Extract from NPS statement...

The deceased, a 40-year-old man, was canyoneering with three others when he fell between 150 and 200 feet at approximately 6 pm. The group of four were following their permitted itinerary through Heaps Canyon when the incident occurred.
After receiving the report of the fall, Zion National Park Technical Search and Rescue Team and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene and rendered emergency medical care. The man was extracted by a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter to a helispot near Watchman Campground, where he received additional aid from Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue and Intermountain Life Flight. The man was pronounced dead before he could be transported by air ambulance to a hospital.
The morning of Oct. 6, two of the three remaining canyoneers were extracted safely by DPS helicopter. Zion’s search and rescue team assisted the third with rappelling down the canyon, reaching the ground safely at approximately 2:00 pm.