Earlier this month 21 people were rescued from the Grand Staff Canyon in the Moab area of Utah after torrential rains kicked off flash floods. The following video was taken of man repelling down Morning Glory Natural Bridge (243 foot span/6th longest natural rock span in the US) during the event. Listen as a member of American Alpine Institute describes just how dangerous this maneuver was and how to avoid getting in precarious situations in the future:
“Rain can create significant issues in canyon adventures. Clearly there is significant hazard when you’re rappelling in a flash flood. But it should also be noted that the sandstone in Moab is very soft and can become saturated. This means that the bolts used on these moderate objectives may become suspect and hazardous. Indeed, they could even pull out.”