Then I get this email:
hi
i was just looking through your website about some of the canyons you had been
through. i started canyoneering in high school as a really impetuous and not
very smart kid who loved the desert. well, several years later and some after
some tough lessons and soo many close calls i am still hopelessly addicted to a
deep tight slot.
actually the reason i felt like writing was because of your quandry canyon
story. Last September (1999) me and two of my friends had a similar experience,
possibly hanging off of your anchors. Instead of exiting at Allen's suggested
point, i decided that since there were anchors placed that meant someone had
been through so we pressed on.
while i was reading your description of being stuck in the pot hole my
heart stared racing and the adrenalin kickin in as i was thrust back to the
moment when the first member of our group slipped on that same rappel and ended
up floating in the hole. she was shorter and couldn't reach bottom, so i
dropped in to help her unhook, then we both spent 30-45 minutes trying
desperately to climb out where you did, we didn't succeed though.
hypothermia was setting in and i got scared. since i was the most
experienced i couldn't show that though. our other friend, who was still above the pot hole lowered
down some webbing and helped pull the first girl out. then he and she both
helped pull on me (i'm much bigger though) as i scrambled back up out, i had to
heel hook that smaller natural bridge where the old webbing was and do un ugly
knee lock to squirm out all shivering and exhausted.
finally, after warming back up and making sure everyone stayed calm, i
tied all three backpacks to a long piece of webbing which i secured to my
harness, i climbed back up to the anchor, hooked in and then threw the three
packs over into the next hole with me attached to give me some leverage on the
undercut wall... it didn't help much, but slowly, very slowly, i edged out and
squeaked over the lip.
i've had some close calls, but this was one of the closest... perhaps,
someone whould go remove that anchor and place a better positioned one, just so
more people don't end up stuck in that hole, i think we were both very lucky.
maybe we should be responsible to help make sure this doesn't happen again?
just a thought...
myke bybee
