Date of Event: 8/25/2013
Canyon involved: Behunin
Region: Utah Zion National Park
Country: USA
Informant: Dave Nally

Source of Information: “Deaths & Rescues in Zion National Park” by Dave Nally

Injuries incurred: Hypothermia, Psychological

Possible causes: Swiftwater, Flash Flood Weather

Description of Event: On August 25, 2013, a group of four canyoneers, barely made it down the final rappel in Behunin, just as the steady rain began to pour down like mad. After the fourth man got down off the rope, they all cheered (an online video was posted), thinking that they were “off the hook.” But then the pour-off 165 feet above them immediately began flashing so hard, that they could not pull their rope down in time. Not wanting to abandon their rope, the foursome took cover nearby, and was soon trapped under a boulder for quite some time, as immense waterfalls penned them in. They became hypothermic while huddling under the boulder for more than an hour, due to copious amounts of floodwater spurting through the boulder cracks, and squirting on them from all angles.

The trip leader, Eric Hanson, admits that they made a big mistake in doing the canyon that day, because they knew ahead of time that the weather forecast predicted a good chance of rain. The second mistake he admits was that they took their time in doing the canyon (with little urgency), instead of trying to complete it by early afternoon―which is usually when heavy monsoonal storms usually begin hitting the park.

Analysis: See Narrative