Bogley

[ratagonia]

(The Teaser):

Das Boot, the Creation Story, Re-created
(April 25, 2008)
by Tom Jones ((c) 2008, Tom Jones)

I like playing the host. My home is Zion, one of the best homes in
the entire world, and I like showing it off to visitors, especially
those from foreign countries. Like Chicago.

Last year, a drought year, about the same time of year, I arranged a
Subway with a couple from Toronto who described themselves
as "strong hikers", but new to technical stuff. I walked in the
door of the Mean Bean at 8:03 to meet them, and there was a cozy
looking couple at the back table, just starting on breakfast. They
looked like strong hikers – for septuagenarians! Should I even
ask? What have I done? I stepped back outside to find a pasty-
looking, very polite couple in their early thirties raring to go –
whew!!! We had a great day out.

This year, a friend of a friend (and a regular customer) was coming
out for a Zion trip and looking for partners for Friday. I resisted
for awhile, but I love the Subway, and playing the host. A nice
casual Subway would be fun, so I proposed it to Karen from Chicago;
also inviting Sarah, one of our guide-aspirants at Zion Adventure
Company who needed to add The Subway to her canyon resume.

Knowing me, "just" doing the Subway would be insufficiently
complicated, so I push for extending with Das Boot. We would be
wearing drysuits from ZAC, so the extra cold water exposure should
not be a problem, and it should be full or flowing lightly, which
would be more fun. Not knowing any better, Karen and Sarah agreed
this would be a good idea.

(The rest of the story:)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canyons/message/44764

Hmmmmm. Didn't I just admonish Ol' # 007 about letting someone in his party get hypothermic? What goes around, comes around!

Tom

[Scott Card]

The teaser worked. It is after Midnight and I just read the tale. Yikes. More comments tomorrow.

[Ryebrye]

Great post Tom... I was expecting it to be a historical story - and was pleased to read that it is a current one... (I'm doing the Subway on Saturday)

Quote: We would be wearing drysuits from ZAC, so the extra cold water exposure should not be a problem....

Having been in groups with people renting drysuits before (can't remember if it was ZAC or the other guys) I knew right away where this story was headed. A leaky rental drysuit turned a fun trip through imlay into an epic struggle for survival when one of the girls in our group was borderline hypothermic...

Quote: She is having trouble moving here legs – the legs
of the suit are filled with water and not only weigh 20 lbs extra
each,

Yep... same thing happened to us - only in Imlay.. and the girl it happened to was already the weakest member of our team... The problem with the rental suits they had before was that they opted for the attached-bootie style of drysuit - presumably because it's easier to handle that than it is to handle slipping your feet through ankle gaskets... The problem, of course, is that you can't drain it. (I like his solution of poking it with a knife...) If it had ankle gaskets - at least you could take a finger and pull the gasket out and drain out the water from it. (From reading this story, it sounds like they actually did have ankle gaskets on these ones)

My two cents: If you are going to rent - rent a thick, full wetsuit. If you want a drysuit, buy your own drysuit (yeah, expensive, I know) - and maintain it properly.

I have an NRS drysuit that I've put through hell and it's never once leaked on me. (knock on wood). The price of a drysuit is the price of admission to cold-water canyons, plain and simple. I'd never rent a climbing rope, because I don't trust my life to someone else's treatment of a rope... same thing with a drysuit.

Also, from the points learned:
Quote: 2. What we (ZAC) do with the drysuits is insufficient. We must do
better.

If ZAC is indeed the company we rented from before, this is a lesson they should have learned last year when we basically told them in no uncertain terms what they could do with their drysuit rental practicies. For the $50 or so they charge for those things, they could spend 10 minutes on each one inspecting it and still make a profit on them.

In case I sounded like a little ass in my comments, I will now place this image of a rocking smiley face to lighten the tone ;)

:rockon:

Good story. Long read, but worth the read.

Oh, one more point:
Quote:
3. Doesn't matter that I am not officially the guide. As the only
one who has done the route before, it IS up to me to (carefully)
evaluate leakage and make a (smart) decision for the group.

In Zion, the permit holder is held responsible for the group. I read a report once of a group going into the subway wearing shorts and t-shirts and having to be rescued. The permit holder was given a citation... I can't find a link to it now - but after reading it I always make sure to make someone else put their name on the permits! :naughty:
----
Update: Oh wait... Tom - was this you in the story or someone else? When I read it, I was assuming it was someone else... Are you involved with ZAC these days?

[rockgremlin]

Definitely one of the best canyoneering tales I've ever read. Aint it funny how if you immerse yourself in this sport long enough you'll eventually have a similar experience or two -- no matter how cautious and careful you are.

Thanks for sharing! :2thumbs:

[ratagonia]

Ryebrye wrote: ----
Update: Oh wait... Tom - was this you in the story or someone else? When I read it, I was assuming it was someone else... Are you involved with ZAC these days?

I am a part-time canyon guide and instructor for ZAC this year, as I was last year, and thus partially involved in all other aspects. It's great. And there are a few things that need ironing out.

Tom

[Scott Card]

Again, Great read. Reminds me of doing Das Boot choprock style. I had my own screw up, near epic, in there.

My question is, what was your reasoning for setting up a guided rappel and not just blasting through to get your frozen friend out as soon as possible? Now this s a real question and I am not blasting you at all. I really appreciate understanding the reasons behind certain techniques. My thought is that she was already wet, had been swimming and getting her out and keeping her moving would be more important than avoiding the face shot? Just curious. :popcorn:

[ratagonia]

Scott Card wrote: Again, Great read. Reminds me of doing Das Boot choprock style. I had my own screw up, near epic, in there.

My question is, what was your reasoning for setting up a guided rappel and not just blasting through to get your frozen friend out as soon as possible? Now this s a real question and I am not blasting you at all. I really appreciate understanding the reasons behind certain techniques. My thought is that she was already wet, had been swimming and getting her out and keeping her moving would be more important than avoiding the face shot? Just curious. :popcorn:

Actually, the Guided Rappel I thought would be quicker and easier than the rappel through the waterfall. The suits do not have a neck seal, so taking the face shot gets more water in the suit, and the head wet. Splashing into the water and getting off rappel could also be a problem. Given the circumstance, I thought the Guided Rappel was the faster and warmer alternative. maybe not faster, but also not particularly slower, and definitely more under control.

My overall experience is that guided rappels are faster than doing it regular. Yes, some overhead setting it up (which becomes less with experience), but once it is set up, people go down it much faster than working down a difficult rappel. YMMV, CCPD.

Tom

[Felicia]

Very enjoyable reading! :2thumbs:

[deathcricket]

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You teasing bastage!!! Not I gotta wait to get home where the porn filter is turned off.
:frustrated:

[tanya]

Is your profile set to adult? :lol8:


Very nice Tom :2thumbs:

[Scott Card]

ratagonia wrote: Actually, the Guided Rappel I thought would be quicker and easier than the rappel through the waterfall. The suits do not have a neck seal, so taking the face shot gets more water in the suit, and the head wet. Splashing into the water and getting off rappel could also be a problem. Given the circumstance, I thought the Guided Rappel was the faster and warmer alternative. maybe not faster, but also not particularly slower, and definitely more under control.

My overall experience is that guided rappels are faster than doing it regular. Yes, some overhead setting it up (which becomes less with experience), but once it is set up, people go down it much faster than working down a difficult rappel. YMMV, CCPD.

Tom

Thanks, that makes sense particularly where the neck on the dry suit has no seal. To have a wet body core would have been particularly bad. Legs and feet are bad enough.