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desertgirl
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 3250
Location: Chandler, AZ
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 Posted: 9/11/2008, 3:29 pm Post subject: Grand Staircase - Egypt Slot # Three Deaths |
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Chopper Recovers Bodies Of Couple Who Drowned In Slot Canyon
Hikers Hit With Flash Flood At Grand Staircase
POSTED: 10:36 am MDT September 11, 2008
UPDATED: 2:58 pm MDT September 11, 2008
GARFIELD COUNTY, Utah -- The bodies of a California couple who drowned inside a slot canyon during a flash flood were recovered Thursday morning by a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter.
Kathy Chapple and her husband, Gordon Chapple, from Walnut Creek, Calif., were hiking with six others at the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument when a flash flood hit the Egypt Trailhead area at about 2:30 p.m., said the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.
"It was maybe two or three minutes from when the rain started to fall and when they were hit by the water. It was so fast they hardly had any time to react at all," said Becki Bronson, spokeswoman for the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.
The two guides, the Chapples' son and daughter, and the two other hikers in the group were able to cling to the side of the rock and crawl out because it was wide enough and the water was slow enough in that area to make that possible. But the Chapples, who were both 60 years old, were too far down the canyon and were swept away by the floodwaters, Bronson said. "They were not in a place where they could get themselves out. The water was too strong and the opening was too small too eddy out," she said.The survivors hiked out for about three hours and called 911 when their phones received a signal.
"That country is some of the most remote, dangerous terrain on earth. When we have to go in there we have to take a helicopter. It is just too dangerous to bring rescue crews in otherwise," Bronson said. "And getting any kind of signal is next to impossible."
The couple's bodies were spotted Wednesday night, downstream at a drainage, by search crews flying overhead in a Classic Life Guard Helicopter out of Page, Ariz. On Thursday morning, the Utah Highway Patrol chopper landed inside a wide part of the canyon and crews were able to retrieve the bodies. They flew the bodies to the Hole-In-The-Rock road, where a funeral home vehicle was waiting.
The others in the hiking group were identified Thursday afternoon as the victims' son and daughter -- Chris and Katie, 30-year-old Liz Fries, 33-year-old Tom Schrupp, and guides Elizabeth Kleiman and Cody Clapp from Capitol Reef Backcountry Outfitters. The hiking group had been riding horses, riding all-terrain vehicles and doing other outdoor activities with the guides since Monday.
On Wednesday, the group started their trek at 10:30 a.m. inside a canyon locals call Egypt Three or Egypt Slot Number Three.
Four hours later, it started to rain.
"This completely blindsided all of them. They did everything that was expected of them. They were with guides who were experienced, who live in the area, who understand the country, and they made an educated decision to take the risk to go into the slot canyon," Bronson said. "I believe that if the guides had any idea that it was going to rain, they wouldn't have gone in. They live in Wayne County, adjacent to Garfield County. They know what they are doing. I believe that they knew all the risks. But when it comes to slot canyons, it isn't enough to say that you've got all your equipment, and you've checked the forecasts and don't see a cloud in the sky. Storms can happen miles away that you don't even see."
Clapp is the founder of Backcountry Outfitters, and has guided hundreds of people since his professional guiding career began in 1994, according to the company's Web site. Kleiman, a former Denver resident, is a registered nurse who lives part-time in Wyoming and part-time in Utah. She has been guiding since 1998, according to the Web site.
The deaths are a reminder to hikers that going into a slot canyon is not to be an adventure to be taken lightly. Slot canyons are known for their narrow passageways. Rick Green, a professional guide from Escalante who aided in the search for the Chapples, said once you enter this particular slot canyon, you're committed for about three hours before you come to a place where you can get out safely.
"It's just extremely dangerous, and in my opinion, one of the most dangerous things anyone can do. Going into a slot canyon is a very dangerous risk even on the best of days. It could be sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. But everybody who enters a slot canyon is taking a big risk -- they are taking their lives in their own hands," Bronson said. "Drowning in slot canyons is more common than people think."
"A storm could be literally miles away, you don't even have to be able to see the storm, for it to cause swift flooding in a slot canyon. As far as I'm concerned, if there is even one cloud in the sky anywhere, I wouldn't go near a slot canyon, it's just too risky and dangerous," said deputy Ray Gardner.
Three years ago, two students at Brigham Young University died in a deep slot canyon not too far away. They had on rappelling gear and wetsuits. They would swim in the pools of water and then hike or climb in the dry parts of the canyon, Bronson said.
"They died of hypothermia. The water was just too cold," Bronson said.
Then in March, a Brighton, Colo., man was rappelling with a group in the Three Forks area when he got stuck. The skinniest part of the narrows was smaller than 16 inches wide. Rob Lougee did not have the gear or the ability to back up and he couldn't go down, so he waited for help on a ledge about the size of a kitchen table. He spent the night there and was rescued the next morning by the Garfield County Search and Rescue team and a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter. |
Source: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/17448014/detail.html
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Suz
Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 3178
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| Posted: 9/11/2008, 5:38 pm Post subject: |
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Wow.........sad story. I'm sure that family is suffering. My heart goes out to them.
A well written article with lots of food for thought. If only those darn slot canyons weren't so pretty. |
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RedRoxx44
Queen of the Walkabout
Joined: 15 Jan 2004
Posts: 1165
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| Posted: 9/11/2008, 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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Very sad, that is a very tight one for quite a while, could see how that could happen. Terrible for the family. Tough but beautiful country. Unforgiving for sure.
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PageRob
Joined: 03 Mar 2005
Posts: 859
Location: Page, Az.
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| Posted: 9/13/2008, 3:32 pm Post subject: |
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Oh jeeze, sad to hear about. All too easy to happen.
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RedRoxx44
Queen of the Walkabout
Joined: 15 Jan 2004
Posts: 1165
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| Posted: 9/30/2008, 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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Appears some folks have their "p a nties in a twist" over in the Escalante area. More people equaling more trouble, as usual. This is taken from another board but was posted on Yahoo canyoneering groups. Please be careful out there and be prepared ( as possible).
{Quote}
I have been living and guiding in Escalante for 10 years and was the
first to arrive to the surviving hikers last Wed night. The scene
was emotional and unpleasant to say the least. The following morning
myself and two SAR team members performed the final task of victim
recovery, extremely unpleasant as well.
When you find a person/people in that state, you cannot help but ask
how the hell did these people end up here, at the bottom of the
canyon waiting to be placed in a bag? Freak storm? I don't think
so. It was completely obvious that this was no day to be in E3.
The sky was BLACK over area. ANYONE claiming that this storm was
unpredictable or that the skies "didn't look that bad" over Escalante
is kidding themselves into a false sense security. Can you really
look from Bryce and tell me what the flood potential is in
Escalante? And does the monsoon season end on the last day of
August? I will answer both questions for you. NO. Regarding
monsoons and floods, have a look at the video from a few years back
of a flood during one of my trips....a March monsoon? Risks for
flooding exists ALL YEAR LONG. Was it they're age that put them
there? They were the oldest members of the guided tour, yet in my
experience guiding folks, I've found that mature guests are by far
the easiest and safest to work with. They generally listen, follow
instructions, work hard and stay focused. They are also likely to
make a more mature decision on whether or not to enter sketchy
situations. So, IMO age is not a problem. Physical conditioning
plays more of a role than age. If your butt don't fit, it's hard to
pick up the pace. For the record, both victims looked to me to be
in pretty good shape for being 60.
IMO, people portraying this incident (from loosely gathered facts) as
a freak accident or as something unpredictable are being incredibly
disrespectful to the deceased and to they're families. What if some
of your family members had hired a guide and ended up in the same
position as the deceased? Would accept people describing it as an
unavoidable accident? I don't think so.
This has been the busiest season, by far, regarding SAR down here.
Boy Scouts without compasses/maps climbing out of the wrong side of
Coyote Gulch (totally stupid), "experienced hikers" huddled under a
bush (30 plus hrs) in Egypt with no food or water, wearing flip flops
and lots of blisters, "canyoneers" in E2 taking 40 hrs to complete
because "they know what they are doing" and "don't need any help",
lost guide service vans, people heading into technical canyons without
ANY equipment,etc, etc, etc. And now this. IMO this is total
Bull@#$% and completely unacceptable. This is not my town and this
is not my desert, however myself and a few others are the ones who
have volunteered to to come out and assist the folks who are getting
themselves in trouble here, so I feel my opinion here bears a little
weight here.
Penalty points are high here in Escalante. If you have not seen the
Egypt canyons flood, you should, before you start leading people in there.
Bring a compass and map to accompany your Kelsey's guide to
canyoneering for dummies. Bring a shovel to dig out your stuck
vehicle. Seek out and accept advise and information on the
conditions down here. Don't blindly trust your "leader", use your
natural instincts and don't be afraid to verbalize them to your
group (most times people report "not feeling right" about the
decision that put them in the predicament). And don't believe
the "facts" that show up on websites. For instance, ALL of the
Egypt canyons flooded during the last event, not just E3. What if someone
starts down in there thinking its dry? Tease out beta from as many
sources as possible to try and get the clearest picture of the
situation.
If this message upsets you, then it is designed for you. If you are
an experienced canyoneer then I am just beating a dead horse, but it
won't bother you much. If your one of the many "experts" I am
running into down here in trouble, then I'm sure your ego must defend
itself.
I'm not here to assign blame to the latest tragedy, despite KSL's
attempt to make it sound that way. The lawyers can fight that one
out. What I am trying to do is send a STRONG signal to the
canyoneers with a few years of experience who may be visiting
Escalante in the future.......have your sh#$ in a pile when you get
here. Ram and I have been talking for months about the dramatic
increase in visitors/problems down here. Please lets do our best to
inform family and friends of the risks of canyoneering here. We
love visitors and there's plenty of room for everybody, just respect
the remote nature and potential risks of these canyons.
Pardon the typo's as well as the "off color" language, recent events
have heightened the emotions here a bit.
Regards, Rick Green
PS We are glad to provide current information on the canyons to
anyone who has the need, just call 1800 UEXPLORE and ask for me.
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GeorgAz
Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 809
Location: Scottsdale
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| Posted: 10/1/2008, 5:48 am Post subject: |
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In my limited experience, this seems like a bad time of year for any type of narrow canyon with monsoons still evident. I would only have the guts to go to the "Wave" or Antelope which is less forbidding. Slots scare the porridge outta me!  How sad for all concerned...  |
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Shawn
I'll sell you map to Lost Dutchman mine!
Joined: 03 Jan 2003
Posts: 2589
Location: Ahwatukee, AZ
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| Posted: 10/1/2008, 5:59 am Post subject: |
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Amen, I've been in one serious slot-Buckskin Gulch-and was uncomfortable the entire day. The place in incredible but there really is no escape for several miles. I often wonder if the time to do those isn't the dead of winter, when hopefully any pools would be frozen, and there wouldn't be any (much) threat of rain.
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RedRoxx44
Queen of the Walkabout
Joined: 15 Jan 2004
Posts: 1165
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Hikngrl
Canyoneering is my 'Happy Place'
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 5517
Location: Peoria, AZ
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| Posted: 10/15/2008, 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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That was interesting Letty, thank you. I found it interesting that it takes so little rain fall to create such a flood. 0.3 in n an hour to create a possibly 20 ft deep flood in the canyon. I also found it interesting that there was a forcast of a moderate possibility of flash flooding predicted for this area a day before the actual flood. I wonder if there are any guide lines or restrictions placed on guide companies as to when they should or must call off a hike in the face of possible floods. Moderate risk seems to be enough that in my opinion no guide company should have been taking people into such a narrow slot canyon at that time.
Just my thoughts...
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