[pct-l] stream crossing near miss

[kmurray at pol.net]

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.