Bad News from Antelope Canyon

More of an announcement than a question. Flash floods in Antelope

Canyon (probably the most photographed of the slot canyons) killed

at least 1 person (possibly many more). You can find an update

on the <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/news/93408.asp">MSNBC</a> news

site.

 

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Be careful out there.

I posted something on this over in the original Q&A forum, with the hope that Dan (or one of the others with experience) might provide some general safety guidelines, and maybe some information about when the "rainy season" actually is. Anyone know?

I believe that this <em>is</em> the rainy season (or at least the

thunderstorm/flashflood season) in that area. I carry a radio

which receives the NWS broadcast info (164 MHz or thereabouts)

when I go on trips. However you would need to know the area

well to know that a thunderstorm that didn't drop any rain on

the canyon itself could result in such a disaster. I believe

there was a NWS (National Weather Service) warning in effect for the

area at the time of the incident.

Yes, at least August is the rainy season. I am curious to know how far before or after August the rainy season extends.

I too heard the news of the 11 dead from the flash flood in Antelope Canyon. Reality is that summer is the 'rainy season' if anything can really be called that in the desert areas. How do you think these canyons are formed? Any and all are POTENTIALLY dangerous. It may be a wonderfully clear day where you are and rains 30 miles away inundate a watershed. Thousands of small rivulets merge to dozens of small creeks to a few watersheds and you are in a funnel waiting to be flooded out. This CAN happen any time of the year, but with summer thunderstorms it is more likely. Having led 28 day desert survival trips(pick up the book Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Dean Olson-I did most of the original photo work) I am well aware of the problems. A few things can help out. First, the wate takes time to travel the distance to the canyon from the higher elevations. GENERALLY you are OK if out of the canyons by early afternoon. But nothing can save you from the untimely rainstorm except to keep aware of your surroundings. If you are in a slot canyon or even the larger ones, look up from time to time. We had a group going through one on escalante and in looking up the canyon walls, there was a 3-4 foot thick pine log wedged between the walls about 300 feet above us. The nearest pines were about 30 miles away. The tree did not fall from the sandstone rim above us.

If you are in the canyons and a flash flood comes your way you can tell by the change in air pressure and/or the sound. It pushes a wall of air and the sound is also projected. There may or may not be much vibration associated with it.

Climbing higher may or may not help, but it cannot hurt as if you are higher you may be above it OR may get hit by less force when the water comes. A really big danger isn't the water, but the logs, brush, boulders, rocks, limbs, etc. that will be pushed along in the wall.

Think of flash floods in the canyons as Tidal Waves and you get the idea. A lot of power. A major reality of the desert & outdoors in general is that death is just a part of your wilderness experience. This is not to trivialize the tragedy. It is just reality. Nature is real, not a Disney movie and neither Kind or Mean. It just is. Narrow canyons are and always will be dangerous. A few months ago near Moab one Touron IDIOT climbed down into a water depression that was wider at the bottom than at the top. Guess What??? The idiot did it without ropes and discovered he couldn't get out. He nearly became a victim of his own stupidity. That is STUPIDITY in Caps for a reason. A few days later when he was finally found-the jerk decided to sue the search & rescue folks for not finding him fast enough.

It is interesting to me to note that so far the only survivor of this Antelope Canyon disaster is the guide. The only one in the party with experience. His survival was a combination of that experience and a lot of luck as well. Was he to blame for the others? Probably not. It is an accident. Did his experience help? Probably, but anyone might have been that lucky. One limb in the wrong place or one boulder pushed by the water at the right time & he would be dead also.

It is a tragedy & as more and more people go into the rugged areas we will have more & more tragedies. In reality we have very, very few deaths and major injuries. Signing in won't save anyone, nor will suing the 'authorities'. paying attention will. So will having basic supplies. Water, food and some ropes. This past month a deer hunter was found-he disappeared 40 years ago. They know it was him because his rifle, wallet, etc were still with the body. The outdoors is not dangerous, just unforgiving. Don't get caught likethese folks did. But reality again is that it happened and will probably happen again no matter what anyeone does. Don't let it keep you from going to the out of the way locations.

ONE POLITICAL PLUG- Please write your representatives to pass laws so those injured on public lands cannot sue for their own stupidity and 'accidents' or acts of nature such as this. Accidents happen. The suits only serve to cut off access for us all as agencies close the areas to all after they happen. This is tragic, but fewer people died than in last weeks plane wreck in the phillipines and at least these folks died while doing something they wanted to do. Every letter will help. I wrote Orrin Hatch, Utah, months ago and have been pursuing this for quite awhile. Thanks.

"Monsoon season" in the SW, as far as I know, generally falls within the last couple of weeks of July through at least mid-August. There's annual variability, of course.

 

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11 people have apparently died, with one - the tour leader - surviving.

 

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One basic bit of safety knowledge in these areas that it often rains in the mountains, but not down below (this is also true in the Great Basin). In this case, apparently it wasn't raining in the canyon, just up high where it heads. Classic flash-flood conditions.

 

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They were apparently warned by rangers before heading in that there was a flash-flood alert. Anytime you see big cumulus or thunderheads in that country you should take great care before heading into any canyon that shows obvious signs of water erosion.

 

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Mornings are safer than afternoons, not only for flash floods but for lightning attacks in the mountains (ask Dan Smith about lightning! Hell, ask me for that matter, I've met four people who've been struck and lived, years ago I had my shoulder-length hair stand straight on end while bolts hit all around me, I'm VERY careful these days).

Afternoon heat causes morning cumulus to build into thunderheads which then crack, boom, and dump water like crazy. If you're in a slot canyon, you drown; on top of an exposed ridge, you fry.

 

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Don't simply assume morning's OK, though. When banding hawks at 9,000 feet in the Great Basin, one morning about 6 AM I saw a teensy, weensy cloud let loose a big, big bolt of lightning that smacked a nearby exposed ridge about 1,000 feet BELOW me - and it was cold, to boot. Ain't supposed to happen, right? :)

 

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I would never head into a slot canyon when warned of the possibility of flash floods, as this tour group did. I expect this may be one of those sad cases where the pressure to deliver on an expected highlight of the tour (these were mostly Europeans) caused the leader to exercise poor judgement. See it all the time in mountaineering, like on Everest a couple of years ago. As someone who's led backpacking trips, I'm aware of the implicit pressure to deliver that works to counterbalances one's common sense when you're the leader.

Oh Man ! I cancelled my trip to Antelope Canyon last week because the weather in the Southwest Utah was already so bad for my taste that I decided to go back to Colorado and planned a different (and delayed) trip in Utah (that has just ended today).

 

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Trust me, I did not regret this decision. I have been warned of such flash flood danger by the following article I read months ago before I went to Antelope Canyon for the first time in may (it is written in plain, red, big letters that August and September are the dangerous months out there):

 

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http://www.apogeephoto.com/mag1-5/mag1-5rh.shtml

 

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After a first visit at Antelope and after I watched on TV a documentary about flash flood in US southern washes, I realized the potential danger of such flood within a slot canyon: you could be drown in less than a minute and there is no way you can get out quickly because the canyon IS really very narrow and very crowded too (people plus tens of tripods in your way out).

 

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The Upper Antelope Canyon seems to be safer than the Lower part anyway, especially because the first one is accessible by foot and it is not very long at all. The Lower Antelope can only be accessible by several ladders and seems to be deeper than the Upper part. The Lower Antelope is also much more longer than the Upper Antelope.

 

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Here is an excerpt of the article I pointed: "The middle of summer is not a good time to visit, to explore, and to photograph the slot canyons. Temperatures can reach well over a hundred degrees F. and summer rains make August and September the most dangerous months to explore these canyons. Summer monsoons, sweeping up from the Gulf of Mexico, bring heavy rainstorms to the southwest. Most of the flash floods in the canyons occur during August and September. You do not want to be in the slot canyons during a flash flood. The last half of October and the first two weeks of November are usually dry and are a great time to photograph the canyons. This is also the peak of the autumn color on the desert. All the cottonwoods along the streams turn yellow in late October. By mid-November, the first winter storms can bring rain or snow to this part of the desert.

April can be cool and wet. May, especially the last two weeks of the month, is a safe time to enter the canyons. June is usually dry but can be quite warm in northern Arizona. Visitors to the area in the warmer months usually come for the boating on Lake Powell."

 

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I would never enter a slot Canyon unless the weather is perfectly clear (plus on a photographic point of view, you need the maximum light available for best photos, so it is no use to get in and have a chance to loose your life for crappy shots).

 

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If you plan to take pictures in Antelope Canyon and the weather is bad, you should consider to change your plan accordingly and focus your effort on one or two of the following photographic opportunities that are located very close to this area: Paria Canyon (some parts might be dangerous in bad weather too), Vermillion Cliff, Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge, Paria Movie Set, Pink Sand Dune State Park, Grand Canyon North and South Rim (lightnings might be a danger), Zion Ntl Park, Monument Valley (terrific under a bad weather and not dangerous), Wupatki Ntl Monument, Sunset Crater 9near Flagstaff).

 

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"Be careful out there" but on the other hand don't be paranoid: if the weather is OK, then Antelope is a heaven for photographers. Anyway you are warned.

 

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Vincent.

All those who read & hear of this don't panic. It is a normal hazard that general knowledg, precautions, preparation and willingness to forego certain trips at certain times will help make safe.

All the canyons are the result of erosion & this can and does happen anywhere water runs off. I was trapped for 2 days while I used an army entrenching tool & my 4wd truck to move rocks to rebuild the crossing in a wash. Gool ol DRY death valley.

It is not solace to the families, but it has happened before & will again. Just as the recent death of a very experienced bear photographer, things happen.

Generally, plan & prepare & be aware of the weather & any warnings. Then, luck is on your side. This year is a bit different as we are having much more rain than normal. The Bear river here in N. Utah is currently running 10 times normal flow. The El Nino condition has the state water people expecting more moisture and a wet winter which means more flooding next year also.

Don't let this keep you away tho. Play it safe & shoot. Just have a few contingency plans in case your prime spot is too wet or is closed.

On fallout of this tragedy will be that the bureaucrats

will try to seal off access to the canyons at any hint of rain.

This is a classic problem facing rockclimbers; wresting access

from the bureaucrats.

I doubt if they'll go that far.... if bureaucrats react like that to bad accidents they would have closed off most of the Alaska decades ago.