Introduction and Background
Canyoneering is an increasingly popular outdoor activity within Zion National Park (ZNP) in Utah, yet the burden of this particular activity on search and rescue (SAR) resources is relatively unknown. ZNP maintains records from all SAR activations. Although a recent review of canyoneering rescue operations in Spain has been published, there has been no review of canyoneering SAR records in the United States until now.
Objectives
To examine demographics of parties involved, relevant injury patterns, and cost of SAR response in canyoneering-related SAR activations in ZNP from 2005 to 2015.
Methods
ZNP provided 221 SAR records for incidents in which the activity was noted to be “canyoneering” between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015. Annual reports of all ZNP SAR activations from 2005 to 2015 also were obtained.
Results
Out of 221 SAR activations from 2005 to 2015, there were 562 people involved. There was a male (n = 283) to female (n = 104) ratio of 2.7:1 for activations in which the sex of canyoneering parties was noted. One hundred eighteen people were recorded as ill or injured; there were 72 ill/injured men and 37 ill/injured women. The most common injuries were ankle injuries (25.2%), followed by other lower extremity injuries (15.9%), knee injuries (11.2%), and illnesses attributable to environment/exposure (11.2%). The most common age range of 378 canyoneers with recorded ages was 20-29 (n = 137, 36.2%). There were 11 total fatalities in the 10-year period, with primary contributing factors to deaths being flash flooding (n = 7), falls (n = 3), and drowning vs exposure (n = 1). Average cost of canyoneering-related SAR operations was $3483.33 over the 10-year period.
Conclusions
Canyoneering-related SAR contributes significantly to use of ZNP resources, with canyoneering-related SAR expenses making up 40.4% of the 10-year total SAR cost. Injury occurred in 51% of all canyoneering SAR activations in the 10-year period. Canyoneers should take measures to prevent lower extremity injuries as well as illness related to environment and exposure and should be prepared to manage such issues if they arise. Medical providers in national parks where canyoneering occurs should familiarize themselves with these injury patterns and methods to manage them in the backcountry.