Canyoneering fatality in Sierra Canyon in Arizona, near the Superstitions, on December 30th.

There is very little information on this incident at this time.

41 year old male deceased, cause seems to have been failure of a chockstone anchor during rappel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

https://gofund.me/82b8a06e

Were we able to acquire any more information?

From FB:

On December 30th 2021 while running Sierra Canyon in the Superstition Mountains, Brandon Levander lost his life in a rappelling accident. We approached R2 and decided to try and avoid the pool at the the base of the rappel by traversing LDC and setting another anchor outside of the watercourse. We identified a rock arch that we then evaluated, determined to be sufficient, and slung with webbing. Bob Conklin went down first, myself second, and Brandon last. Despite having confidence in the anchor, all three of us performed a soft start out of precaution to reduce the force applied on the arch. When Brandon passed over the edge, the rock arch blew and he flipped upside down falling head-first approximately 25-30 ft to the canyon floor. The webbing and quicklink, still intact, came down with him.
Brandon sustained a skull fracture from the fall and we requested evacuation using a Garmin InReach satellite device. At the hospital, he underwent brain surgery but was unfortunately unable to recover from his injuries.
Below is a picture of the rappel.

I had the chance to do some climbing and canyons with him. Brandon is an awesome guy.

Very sad.
This from ICAD. Some additional info from Scott's report above and analysis

https://canyonaccident.org/sierra-c...I4iFs8KRLg7Q7Vf1FetBALYX7MlxGJLGmpxFhhy35R1y4

Sierra Canyon 2021-12-30
Date of Event: 12/30/2021

Canyon Involved: Sierra Canyon

Region: Arizona

Country: United States

Submitted by: Nicholas Clegg

Source: First / Second Hand Account

Injury: Fatality

Cause: Fall or slip, Anchor Failure, Weather



Description of Event: On December 30th, 2021, three experienced canyoneers entered the rugged Superstition Wilderness of Arizona to complete a descent of Sierra Canyon – a fairly popular and well-trafficked route, for the area. The canyon is classified as 3B III, with a few deep pools but no particularly hazardous or challenging obstacles.

First-hand account per JJ Taylor:While running Sierra Canyon, Brandon Levander lost his life in a rappelling accident. We approached R2 and decided to try and avoid the pool at the base of the rappel by traversing LDC and setting another anchor outside of the watercourse. We identified a rock arch that we then evaluated, determined to be sufficient, and slung with webbing. Bob Conklin went down first, myself second, and Brandon last. Despite having confidence in the anchor, all three of us performed a soft start out of precaution to reduce the force applied on the arch. When Brandon passed over the edge, the rock arch blew and he flipped upside down falling head-first approximately 25 ft to the canyon floor. The webbing and quicklink, still intact, came down with him. Brandon sustained a skull fracture from the fall and we requested evacuation using his Garmin InReach satellite device. At the hospital, he underwent brain surgery but was unfortunately unable to recover from his injuries.



Analysis: Developing a strong understanding of the specific rock type and quality of a given canyon or area can be an effective means of mitigating some of the risk associated with natural anchor section and evaluation. There may exist a high degree of variation in quality and characteristics between rock inside vs outside of the watercourse. Even to experienced canyoneers, these differences may not be immediately apparent without some knowledge of the local geology and the ability to discern between various types of rock that may be encountered in certain geologically diverse environments.

Sometimes, canyoneers attempt to bypass water obstacles in an effort to stay dry. One should always consider the risk associated with hiking, downclimbing, or rappelling outside of the watercourse / established route, and weigh these risks against the benefits of staying dry. Additionally, recent weather can compromise the structural integrity of rock features, particularly those located outside of the drainage which have not been repeatedly scoured, in some capacity, by running water.

Though no substitute for proper anchor selection, deploying certain techniques and precautions such as soft starts, sending the heaviest team member(s) down first with a meat anchor backup, and applying a test load to the anchor in the direction of rappel may be warranted if an anchor is seemingly marginal or questionable.

Even small falls can have devastating consequences and the risks associated with navigating such obstacles should not be underestimated.

Lastly, carrying a satellite device when entering areas where cell service is unreliable is wise and could save you or a team member’s life.

Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

Thumbs up to the ICAD report. A thorough and complete coverage of the incident, leaving very few or no questions. Accidents do happen...most unfortunate.

Sad to hear. Some things are very hard to predict.

Last August, I was with two others in Dahlgren Canyon (north side of Colorado, just east of Utah 95 bridge) and we used this previously set up "rock arch" anchor. Hard start.

Wonder what their anchor looked like, and how it fractured.

Cheers - Jon

I don't know about the specific arch they used, but I have done a lot of canyons in the Superstitions and that specific canyon. With the mention of rock selection in the ICAD report and what I know of the Superstitions, there is a lot of really choosy rock in the Superstitions. There is a lot of volcanic ash that solidified into rock and it is very crumbly. It is pretty predominant in Sierra Canyon. The stream bottoms tend to be pretty solid but as soon as you leave bedrock, stuff tends to get pretty soft.

And when someone says "arch", i think like "Arches National Park" arch. So was this just a pair of hidey holes that interconnected? Vugs in scoria? Yeesh, that would be not good. Even the little "arch" we rapped off of back in August wasn't much of an "arch", more the thin side of an erosional hole.

Cheers - Jon

Just looked at the ICAD report.

"...Sierra Canyon consists largely of volcanic rock overlain with sedimentary and conglomerate..."

I can imagine all sorts of things, including poorly sorted and weakly cemented conglomerates, mudstones, yech.

Cheers - Jon