[pct-l] stream crossing near miss

[Stephen]

Yeah and they tend to have a lot of accidents, seems a trait common to SC 
outings.  No disrepect to Mr Secor, but there are some interesting comments 
regarding him in a numberof peak registeries.
I've seen myself creeks I crossed one day become quite dangerous by late 
afternoon, or after bug thunder storms.  And the lesson in Secor's article 
is don't be stupid first.
I don't mean to be a smart ass but some of the stuff people do is not 
exactly right up there with wisdom and experience, and this kinda proves 
that.  So thanks for posting this, it might give folks the idea it might not 
be a bad idea to pack a little extra food providing they need to pause for a 
creek to settle down, or spend a few extra hours looking around while they 
wait for others.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <kmurray at pol.net>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 11:19 PM
Subject: [pct-l] stream crossing near miss


>I ran across this Trip Report by RJ Secor, one of the most prolific living
> climbers in the Sierra, and the author of the standard guide books of the
> Sierra, Mexican Volcanoes, and Acongacua:  quite sobering, as there are
> few more experienced than he and the people he goes out with:
>
> ===================
>
> Tehipite Dome via a perilous crossing of Crown Creek
>
> 4 Aug 1999 - RJ Secor
>
>
> Peaks: Tehipite Dome
>  (sorted/filed as Tehipite)
> Place: California
> On July 4, 1983 I almost drowned crossing Crown Creek after climbing
> Tehipite Dome. That was a heavy snow year, in fact we hiked on snow
> through the forest on the way to Crown Valley. We crossed Crown Creek in
> the morning without incident. The creek was 80 feet wide and about
> thigh-deep, as I recall. But there was a lot more water flowing in the
> afternoon. Nancy Gordon crossed first, on belay and this rope was used as
> a fixed rope for those who followed. I tied into another rope and clipped
> a carabiner from my tie-in to the fixed rope. My logic was that it is
> important to double up on protection and in this case I was afraid that I
> may not be able to hang onto the fixed rope in the swift current.
>
> I made it out half way through the now waist deep water to where the fixed
> rope assumed a V shape. The force of the moving water kept me from moving
> to the safety of either bank. While trying to release the "safety"
> carabiner I stumbled and my body folded itself in half, like closing a
> book. Dave Dykeman jumped in the water and crawled out along the fixed
> rope hand over hand, saw the problem, and ordered the fixed rope cut. Once
> this was accomplished he dragged me to the far bank, with my jockey shorts
> wrapped around my ankles.
>
> The rest of the party did what we should have done in the first place:
> they hiked upstream for two hours and found a better crossing. Other
> alternatives that have been suggested include crossing the stream while on
> belay. My fear of this is that the belay rope may get caught on a rock on
> the streambed, resulting in a "fixed" rope, and a drowned hiker with his
> jockey shorts wrapped around his ankles. A better option is this case
> would have been to have the hiker hold a stick upstream for balance or
> have the whole party link arms and cross together. Someone may stumble and
> be swept downstream, but as in river rafting, those who fall overboard
> float with their legs facing downstream to bounce off of obstacles before
> reaching shallow water.
>
> But the best option of all should have been to turn around and try
> Tehipite Dome later in the season. Years later, Dave Dykeman led Tehipite
> Dome as a day hike in October. We crossed Crown Creek on a series of
> randomly placed stepping stones and we never got our feet wet, either
> coming or going.
>
> But the lesson I learned is that one should never use ropes to cross a
> river. It is a deadly practice.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-l mailing list
> Pct-l at backcountry.net
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l