boracayjohnny
09-21-2012, 10:53am
Man, 74, dies after hanging by foot overnight in Zion NP canyon | The Salt Lake Tribune (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54933651-78/canyon-hosobuchi-park-zion.html.csp)
Yoshio Hosobuchi, a retired neurosurgeon from Novato, Calif., spent the past few years traveling with his wife as they crossed items off his bucket list. Last year, he hiked Kilimanjaro, and Wednesday the couple aimed to check off one more: the Subway Slot Canyon in Zion National Park.
But their daylong adventure ended in unimaginable tragedy. Hosobuchi, 74, lost consciousness and died after hanging upside-down overnight in a waterfall, unable to free a foot that became stuck as he rappelled down the canyon wall. The accident occurred Tuesday night, and Hosobuchi had passed away by the time park rangers arrived Wednesday morning.
"He was unable to pull himself up to reach his foot. …This was an extremely tragic, awful way for him to die," Zion spokeswoman Aly Baltrus said Thursday, adding that the exact cause of death awaited an autopsy by the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office.
When Hosobuchi and his 61-year-old wife reached the waterfall, with the canyon floor about 15 feet below them, Hosobuchi rappelled from an anchor in the waterfall instead of crossing it and rappelling from an anchor on the other side, Baltrus said. His repelling device jammed, possibly because of a knot, and he wound up upside down, his hands about five feet above the ground.
His wife, who had earlier managed to climb down to the canyon floor, tried to help him, but couldn’t. And they were the last ones in the canyon, having been passed by several groups throughout the day.
Hosobuchi’s wife tried in vain to locate help Tuesday night, but apparently became disoriented about halfway through the nine-mile route in the remote, rugged area.
"The partner was caught by darkness and was unfamiliar with the exit route, and could not make it out of the canyon until Wednesday morning," Baltrus explained.
A canyoneer from a group that had passed the couple earlier in the day had called park dispatchers at 9 p.m. to tell them that at their current pace, Hosobuchi and his wife would probably have to spend the night in the canyon. Based on that, rangers began looking for the overdue couple on Wednesday morning and ran into Hosobuchi’s wife on the trail about 11:45 a.m. as she was hiking out.
The park’s search and rescue team found the victim about an hour later.
Baltrus said the couple were relatively new to canyoneering, and had not been to the Subway area. Their only experience was an introductory course and completing a trip through Keyhole Canyon, elsewhere in the park.
Yoshio Hosobuchi, a retired neurosurgeon from Novato, Calif., spent the past few years traveling with his wife as they crossed items off his bucket list. Last year, he hiked Kilimanjaro, and Wednesday the couple aimed to check off one more: the Subway Slot Canyon in Zion National Park.
But their daylong adventure ended in unimaginable tragedy. Hosobuchi, 74, lost consciousness and died after hanging upside-down overnight in a waterfall, unable to free a foot that became stuck as he rappelled down the canyon wall. The accident occurred Tuesday night, and Hosobuchi had passed away by the time park rangers arrived Wednesday morning.
"He was unable to pull himself up to reach his foot. …This was an extremely tragic, awful way for him to die," Zion spokeswoman Aly Baltrus said Thursday, adding that the exact cause of death awaited an autopsy by the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office.
When Hosobuchi and his 61-year-old wife reached the waterfall, with the canyon floor about 15 feet below them, Hosobuchi rappelled from an anchor in the waterfall instead of crossing it and rappelling from an anchor on the other side, Baltrus said. His repelling device jammed, possibly because of a knot, and he wound up upside down, his hands about five feet above the ground.
His wife, who had earlier managed to climb down to the canyon floor, tried to help him, but couldn’t. And they were the last ones in the canyon, having been passed by several groups throughout the day.
Hosobuchi’s wife tried in vain to locate help Tuesday night, but apparently became disoriented about halfway through the nine-mile route in the remote, rugged area.
"The partner was caught by darkness and was unfamiliar with the exit route, and could not make it out of the canyon until Wednesday morning," Baltrus explained.
A canyoneer from a group that had passed the couple earlier in the day had called park dispatchers at 9 p.m. to tell them that at their current pace, Hosobuchi and his wife would probably have to spend the night in the canyon. Based on that, rangers began looking for the overdue couple on Wednesday morning and ran into Hosobuchi’s wife on the trail about 11:45 a.m. as she was hiking out.
The park’s search and rescue team found the victim about an hour later.
Baltrus said the couple were relatively new to canyoneering, and had not been to the Subway area. Their only experience was an introductory course and completing a trip through Keyhole Canyon, elsewhere in the park.