Canyoneering Suspension Trauma Death?

While it is total conjecture on my part, it sounds like the death at the final rap out of Heaps Canyon in Zion may have been suspension trauma. 

For those unfamiliar, once you pass the final ledge, the remaining 280' is free hanging.

https://www.cedarcityutah.com/news/archive/2021/11/29/prc-31-year-old-pronounced-dead-after-being-lowered-from-rope-in-zion-national-park-2-people-rescued

Edit to add: Here's some commentary from Canyon Collective:

http://canyoncollective.com/threads/11-28-2021-death-in-heaps-canyon-zion-discussion.26641/

I have a few observations, that are probably clear to people familiar with the canyon, but perhaps bewildering to people who are not:

A. Heaps is a long and cold canyon. By the time most people get to the final rappel sequence, they are tired and hungry and their brain is not firing on all cylinders. The packs are heavy at this point.
B. The penultimate rappel is 145 feet and deceptively steep. The rappeller ends up at the outer edge of the Bird Perch. It takes a small effort to get onto the Bird Perch.
C. The rappel line from the Bird Perch anchor goes through a tight crack in the floor. Below the Bird Perch, the rappel is entirely free to the ground. To start the final rappel, a person rappels outside the crack, then swings underneath about 5 feet below the Perch. Ascending the rope from below the Bird Perch to the Bird Perch anchor is virtually impossible for all but 5.12 climbers.
D. I do not know where Mr. Arvig's rappel rope ended up, but it was likely in the crack, making ascending to the anchor impossible.

Final rap in Heaps:

What is suspension trauma?

Klaus theK wrote:

What is suspension trauma?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_trauma

Ugh, rappelling is the worst.  Condolences to the family.  This accident emphasizes how important it is to go into these types of adventures with a full bag of tricks and techniques.  If you watch the video, it's easy to see how someone might lower past the last anchor and then get stuck.  I think most climbers would be able to figure out a solution to ascend the rope (the crack looks pretty wide) but some might panic, tire themselves out, and then eventually die of suspension trauma (especially if it's dark).

It sucks to stop at a hanging belay/anchor, but it might be better to move that last rap location out onto the face of the rock, which might have prevented an accident like this.  It doesn't happen often, but I always hate it when a rap anchor is placed in a location that forces the rope to travel unnecessarily through a crack.

Thanks for sharing!!

Poor guy.  Could easily happen to anyone.  

This is what is lost in the media account:
"The rappel line from the Bird Perch anchor goes through a tight crack in the floor. Below the Bird Perch, the rappel is entirely free to the ground. To start the final rappel, a person rappels outside the crack, then swings underneath about 5 feet below the Perch. Ascending the rope from below the Bird Perch to the Bird Perch anchor is virtually impossible for all but 5.12 climbers."

At first I thought it was merely an issue of not having prusiks but this puts it into perspective.  Sad. 

Thanks for the thread. 

I think Jason summed it up well. Sad.  RIP, brother.

Just a note about this observation that Marc found:

Ascending the rope from below the Bird Perch to the Bird Perch anchor is virtually impossible for all but 5.12 climbers.

While ascending the rope in those  circumstances is about as challenging as normally can be, in this case the rappeler had significantly more rope above - over 145 ft - as it was hanging from the previous anchor.  That is, he rapped past the ledge that takes a “small effort to get on to ….” That would significantly ease the effort to work the rope out of the crack while ascending.

But like Jason and others have said: tired, cold, perhaps in the dark, ….

Bill Lawry wrote:

But like Jason and others have said: tired, cold, perhaps in the dark, ….

Yep. End of a long day, and they had issues with the raps before the final two. Looking at the time line, they did the canyon on Saturday. The SAR/recovery was on Sunday morning. Seems the two survivors spent the night on the Bird Perch while the body of their partner hung 20' below them.

Even though other causes of death are possible here, this is a good reminder about suspension trauma.  We tend to forget the danger.  

Suspension trauma.

Seriously good to know. Learn something everyday.

Leaving that long tail on the tag end of that rope is a recipe for disaster. Either close the system or shorten that tail before someone rappels off it by mistake.

Teton Climber wrote:

Suspension trauma.

Seriously good to know. Learn something everyday.

Yes.  I’m no medical expert, but you know that uncomfortable feeling in the lower body that develops while belaying at a hanging belay? I suspect that is the very beginnings of suspension trauma. And we delay the complete effect with all the squirming around we tend to do.

^^^Well said, Bill.^^^  Making the connection to a hanging belay puts the condition in context.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-019-04126-5

For anyone with more interest in the physiologic response to suspension trauma.  It can happen deceptively quick.  Movement of lower extremities to engage venous return to the heart is important.  Bill's point is well taken:  at hanging belays, we tend to move a lot, which prevents the circulatory collapse. 

It is worth reading the wiki page's TREATMENT tab. Obviously, it is wikipedia so more resources should be consulted but for hanging far from a wall, they suggest that how you move can be just as harmful as not moving. Depends on many factors.

Marc801 C wrote:

Yep. End of a long day, and they had issues with the raps before the final two. Looking at the time line, they did the canyon on Saturday. The SAR/recovery was on Sunday morning. Seems the two survivors spent the night on the Bird Perch while the body of their partner hung 20' below them.

Pretty horrific situation for all involved. My sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and his canyon partners.

My mentor warned me about this very early on. Since I've bought a big wall harness, I have been a lot less concerned about numbing out, although it does still happen occasionally. 

Jugging seems to help alleviate this, as does standing up into a sling. So if youre ever caught up, try your best to attach a long sling to the rope above you, and stand up into it regularly to take the weight off of your harness. I regularly am in a harness in free space just hanging for 8+ hours, and with the giant padded harness, and regular movement, I can go all day with no issues.

This is tragic. Hopefully some awareness online helps some people out there.

kind of reminds me of the death of Joe Crowe

Jay Crew wrote:

kind of reminds me of the death of Joe Crow

Re above.  Very sad situation as well.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=13315&tn=0&mr=0

I believe the 5.12 comment comes from that canyoneering forum, and was written by someone who might be familiar with the route, but not necessarily climbing.  It looks like wide hands to an offwidth, but would still present a legit challenge to a lot of climbers who are unfamiliar with dealing with weird situations like that.

Jason Kim wrote:

I believe the 5.12 comment comes from that canyoneering forum, and was written by someone who might be familiar with the route, but not necessarily climbing.  It looks like wide hands to an offwidth, but would still present a legit challenge to a lot of climbers who are unfamiliar with dealing with weird situations like that.

The person who wrote it, Tom Jones was a prolific climber before he became a prolific canyoneer. Regrading getting back over the overhang, it is not clear to exactly where the victim was hanging or what gear he had with him. The rappel anchor, a tree puts one to the climber's right of the bird perch, necessitating a swing to the left to get into the perch. Which is presumably why he missed it in the dark. That is the victim's rappel rope may or may not have been in the crack below perch.