Incidents:Stuck rope and fractures in Kanagra Main

Stuck rope and fractures in Kanagra Main
Date	2019/11/23
Location	Kanangra Main
Severity	Injury
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	Yes
Rappel problem	No
Insufficient gear	No
Gear failure	No

Summary

Reproduced from https://canyoning.org.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=449 (Craig Flynn, Tim Vollmer)

Accounts

A group of 3 were descending Kanangra Main Canyon via the main wall. After successfully reaching the small ledge at the bottom of the usual R1 they attempted to retrieve their ropes. However, as the tail of the rope passed up through the anchor and began to fall it has become tangled and caught up above them. This ledge is approximately 55m down the 150m cliff face.

The decision was made by one of the party to ascend and attempt to free the tangle so the rope could be retrieved. Approximately 10m up he has fallen back down to the ledge, hitting one of the other party members and taking them both towards the edge. The other party member was clipped to a safety and had her friend on a belay at the time so managed to prevent them both going over the edge.

The person who fell suffered injuries including a fractured ankle, broken ribs and a punctured lung. To add insult to injury he was then bitten by a wasp.

Hearing the calls for help a nearby party assessed the situation and set off their PLB. Not realising this the original party also set off their PLB and a rescue was effected involving Toll Air, Blue Mt Police and Ambulance rescue and Oberon SES

Contributing Factors:

• None of the party had visited this canyon before.

• While a third rope was available they decided not to take it with them.

• There may have been subconscious pressure to stay in front of a larger party who were entering via the Slot.

• Ascending to free a stuck rope where the other end is no longer controlled is a huge risk and should be last option.

Commendable practices:

• PLBs were available and used.

• A member of the other party recognised where the nearest mobile phone reception was and made his way out to contact emergency personnel directly. This allowed for essential information to be passed on to rescue crews such as the exact location and nature of the incident.

Recommendations:

• Parties should carry enough rope to cover 3 x the longest abseil. Either a double-length rope plus a safety backup. Or a single-length rope and pull cord plus safety backup.

• When working close to edges canyoners should clip into a safety with a dynamic cows-tail type lanyard. This is especially pertinent on multi-pitch.

• Static style lanyards are fine for preventing falls however if there is a chance you could fall past the anchor the forces generated in arresting the fall are enough to cause serious injury or even melt the lanyard. Lanyards made from dynamic rope help to absorb much of that force.

• Even if a person is belayed and protected, a fall onto static rope is going to be nasty.

• Ascending to retrieve a stuck rope where the end is no longer in your control (ie both ends are not still reachable from the ground) should not be considered and all other options of pulling the rope should be exhausted including setting up Z hauls from various angles to attempt to break or free the tangle or cutting the rope where you can and leaving the stuck bit behind.

• All parties should carry at least 1 PLB. Consideration should be given to devices that also give direct communication capabilities when out of mobile service range. eg. SPOT-X, Garmin Inreach etc.

Rescue