Man Exploring Death Valley National Park Dies in 30-Foot Fall After Canyoneering Mistake

Officials reported that a 54-year-old man died on December 3 after falling approximately 30 feet while exploring a canyon in Death Valley National Park in California. According to a news release from the National Park Service on Monday, the unidentified man was using rappelling equipment to enter Mosaic Canyon when he may have made an oversight in properly securing it before falling.

Canyoneering

To descend deeply into canyons, canyoneering, an extreme sport, combines hiking, climbing, and rappelling. This man was reportedly engaging in this dangerous sport alone.

Abby Wines, a park spokesperson, said that they advise anyone venturing into the backcountry to communicate their intentions to someone else. The 1.7 million visitors the park receives yearly are not counted. Wines enjoy canyoneering a lot. She added that the search did not begin in time to save the man's life and that he had not been reported missing. Additionally, a satellite communication system might have saved lives.

Investigation

According to the release, a campsite host noticed a tent on a site after the registered dates, which alerted park rangers to the possibility that someone had gone missing. Climbing equipment and a package bearing a name and address were found by rangers as they packed up the abandoned tent. The details on the registry matched the ones on the package in the tent, so they kept up their investigation and checked the license plate numbers on a car that was left overnight at the Mosaic Canyon Trailhead, according to the press release.

The National Park Service, together with Inyo County Search and Rescue, and the Inyo County Sheriff's Office were among the organizations that participated in the search and body recovery. The VX-31 rescue helicopter from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and the H-82 helicopter from the California Highway Patrol assisted, SF Gate reports.

Rappelling Mishap

The West Fork route in Mosaic Canyon, one of the park's 100 recognized canyoneering routes, is where the man's body was discovered. According to a press release, this is not a descent that is frequently made.

The man's rope was found by park rangers and the search and rescue team, but they found that it wasn't long enough to make a long rappel to the ground.

According to the release by the National Park Service, the man attached some webbing to the end of the rope, but it looks like he made a mistake when he disconnected his rappel device to pass the knot connecting the rope and webbing.

Read also: After 20 Years, Missing Man Finally Identified Through DNA as One of Lake Mead Corpses 

Canyoneering Trends

In response to the effects of canyoneering's rising popularity, Death Valley is contemplating a new permit system, according to BluuGnome.

This is because the park is worried about several issues. Anchor bolts are one of them; they are prohibited in Death Valley National Park. Use the many local natural anchoring possibilities, BluuGnome advises. In the past few months, illegal bolts have shown up in Rainbow and Helios Canyons.

Human waste disposal practices are another problem. In addition to packing out all toilet paper, BluuGnome advises digging a cathole that is at least 6 inches deep and 200 yards away from any water source or camping area.

Lastly, it is forbidden to gather firewood inside the national park.

Related article: Man Died of Extreme Heat at Death Valley National Park As Temperatures Reach 100 Degrees