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Stranded canyoneering group uses iPhone feature to get help in remote Utah slot canyon


Stranded canyoneering group uses iPhone feature to get help in remote Utah slot canyon on April 16, 2023. (Photo: Jeremy Mumford)
Stranded canyoneering group uses iPhone feature to get help in remote Utah slot canyon on April 16, 2023. (Photo: Jeremy Mumford)
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A pre-graduation trip for three BYU students turned into a challenging ordeal in the San Rafael Swell.

“We had read about this pretty cool canyon down there and we’ve been canyoneering for about a year,” said Bridger Woods.

Woods and two of his friends were canyoneering in ‘the squeeze’ in Emery County on Saturday, when they got into a tough situation with some very deep water and became stranded.

“Up until that point we’d been having a really great time,” said Jeremy Mumford. “We knew it was going to be a technical canyon so we came prepared.”

Woods said the group had done a lot of research on the canyon but they reached one deep pool that changed their day entirely.

“We suspect that Utah’s extra wet winter changed the canyon somewhat resulting in a much harder scenario than we were prepared for,” said Mumford to 2News’ Brian Schnee.

Woods said that he and Jeremy were in a deep pool for nearly an hour trying to hoist their pack onto an area to catch an ‘lip’ which allowed them to get a good grip and continue their journey.

“I went into hypothermic shock and started panicking and freezing up, and these two saw me and became very concerned,” said Mumford. The group then reached another deep area where the water was up to their chest and with another person on their shoulder, they couldn’t reach the top to move beyond the pool.

“We just reached that point where we couldn’t get him out, we couldn’t get me out, we kept Jeremy up above the rappel and it was about a 10 to 15 foot free-hanging rappel into this pothole and that’s when we realized, we’re stuck,” said Woods, who said he’d been in the cold water for nearly three hours at that point, who started to experience symptoms of hypothermia.

Stephen Watts brought his iPhone 14 and was able to use the S.O.S text message feature to call out for help.

“The canyon was about 500 feet deep of sheer, rock walls but about every 20 minutes a satellite would line up where we were in the canyon and by holding the phone up we could get a signal where we could text 911 to Emery County and that definitely saved our butts,” described Mumford.

“He tried calling first and then nothing,” said Watts. “It (the text) will be shared with emergency contacts so that’s how the other members of our group were able to see all of our communications inside the canyon with the Sheriff’s Office.”

Eventually the group were able to tie loops into their ropes to gain traction and clip their carabiners to get out of the deep slot.

“At that point I was just so cold and so out of it that I really reached a point where it was just like I just emotionally didn’t feel like I was going to get out of it, like I was just going to be stuck in that pothole until I either died or someone came and got us,” said Woods.

“Each time is taking more and more effort,” said Watts about trying to get up the rope and out of the deep pool. “He’s (Woods) is in hypothermic shock and he’s standing on my shoulders and standing on my helmet and I’m trying to lift, and he slips and falls for the third time and we’re all just like; what now.”

The group said they’ve taken several educational canyoneering classes and had emergency blankets to try and keep warm. They were able to locate enough driftwood to start a warming fire while waiting for help to arrive.

“The county, the paramedics, all the way from Arizona to helicopter crews from Salt Lake City, we just want to give a huge thank you to all the people who pitched in to save us,” said Mumford.

“I’ll be honest, I straight up cried when I saw the helicopter there, they were saying ‘hey, we see you,’” said Woods. “I just have so much gratitude for them and I wish I met them under different circumstances, they all seem like awesome people but again, just a huge, huge thank you.”

The group advises that others be as prepared as possible for an adventure that takes you into a unique and challenging location such as ‘the squeeze’. They advise taking a satellite phone, matches, emergency blankets along with extra clothing and food.

“We still had an emergency contact that would have called had the satellite phone not worked,” said Mumford, who mentioned they had another person ready to call for help if they didn’t communicate by 9 p.m.

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