what's scary is that this happened to people who were going to go climbing. i think they're lucky that they never made it onto the rock. otherwise, the rescue resources would've likely been much more necessary.

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I think I remember that trav. fondly

If you clipped in w/ a too-long sling, you could easily end-up in the middle of a cold, whitewater wave and too far below the rope to grab it...anyone here made a mistake before?

Agreed, the tyrolean is in fine shape with plenty of clearance if you clip in short...a quick draw worked perfectly.

here we go

Photo courtesy (I hope) of Helen Davis. Submitted By: Ben Walburn on Jul 5, 2011

Yeah, if you clip in too long, it becomes much much more difficult to pull along the line. Even stronger folks can get tired pretty quick if the technique is done poorly. Some think the only issue with the length of the tie-in has to do with distance to the water but it's much more about distance from the line vs ability to pull. Another issue is that lots of folks keep their packs on. If you're strong and fast on the line, this is no problem but it is much more work to keep your body upright with the pack on. I don't know if the folks in question were trying to get back across with packs still on but keep in mind that, if the technique was done poorly and they were tired after climbing it would be relatively easy to lack the strength to pull up from the middle of the line. And, as has been pointed out, this is the point where you are most likely to get wet on this line (I got a nice splashing going across it last weekend). If you're unsure of your ability, make sure you're tied in short and hook your pack on the line behind you with a sling connected to you so that it just pulls along the line with you. Much easier and way more fun.

You can cross even when the water is this high, you want to be careful not to drop in the river, that would be a wild ride! ;)

One more time!!! Submitted By: Hamlet73 on Jul 5, 2011

+1 for the jaws photo. Ha Ha! thats good shit.

Funny thing is I just watched Jaws last night, now why didn't I think of that?

Jaws photo = WIN!!!

I don't know if anyone uses this technique, but sometimes I'll clip the pack off to a cordelette, cross the tyrolean, then simply pull the pack across. If you can't get across a fukn tyrolean, you have no business being in the mountains (I wouldn't even consider bocan as such)

In any case, a fall into that creek would more than likely be fatal drowning time ending in death. That's some roiling, freezing water.

yes, but he only eats inner children

This is pathetic. What a waste of tax dollars. I hope they send these incompetent fools the bill.

hilarious, great effort john i really lold.

as for the women in trouble on the tyrolean...its pretty easy to see what's required to safely negotiate that obstacle. there's a lot to be said for knowing one's own abilities.

Just a side comment we used to have a similar set up here in Oootah, up Big Cottonwood Canyon for accessing land managed by the Forest Service (Salt Lake Slips). That is until there was an accident that resulted in a death. Once that made the news and the Forest Service knew about the traverse it was removed. It was re-established but continuously removed because of the liability issues. Whine about it as you will but it will not change the FS viewpoint, as once they knew about the issue they had to take action. To their credit an access trail was built that made crossing the creek unnecessary.

Not sure who the land managers are around Blob Rock sounds like City of Boulder?? But I would not be surprised to see similar action being taken - that is to have the rope removed.

Getting on and off the Tyrolean on the road side is a lot more problematic than on the Cob Rock side. I did this 3 weeks ago and had some problems caused by the rope being a little too slack on the return from a climb. Shorter or heavier climbers can have difficulty exiting the traverse and getting their feet back on the ground.
BITD, we used to wait for the creek to subside and climb in the Fall, or wade across in late Summer.

Yeah, it gets really high every year during the melt off. And no, there isn't too much hope if you go in. The only thing you really need to know about swift water like this is DON'T FALL IN!!! The tyrols are perfectly safe when done properly and by some time this fall, we'll be back to being able to wade across to Cob.