Cave-related rescue in Utah

[Bill Putnam]

Here's one from Friday's Salt Lake Tribune. It appears that the boys climbed up to a cave entrance on the mountainside and then could not get back down. Not really a "cave rescue" per se - it goes in the "caving-related" file.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5193778

Teens rescued after five hours trapped at mouth of cave
The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 February 2007

As two teens now know, it's easier to climb to Hognose Cave in the mountains north of Ogden than it is to get back down.

A rescue team that included 17 climbers spent about four hours Thursday night retrieving the two 16-year-olds from the mouth of the cave near 900 N. Mountain Road, according to Weber County Deputy Brent Butler.

Apparently lured by the spring-like weather, the boys decided to hike to the cave after school. They didn't have any gear or warm clothing, and the cell phones they carried didn't have service on the mountain, Butler said.

The deputy described the area of Hognose Cave as a "flytrap" on the mountain. "You can get up there on all fours, but once you're up it's really difficult to get back down without climbing gear," he said.

People who live at the base of the mountain heard the boys yelling for help and called 911 around 5 p.m. Rescuers called for the climbing teams an hour later.

One team of four climbers made their way from the bottom of the mountain and were able to talk to the boys, "who were a little upset and wanted to climb down," Butler said. The climbers had the teens stay put as another team rappelled from the top of the mountain with gear for the boys. A third team was on stand-by at the command center.

The rescuers helped the teens off the mountain and they were reunited with their parents by 10 p.m., Butler said.

There were no injuries to the boys or the rescuers.

--

Additional news links:

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_040000803.html

http://www.localnews8.com/story.cfm?nav ... toryID=979

[Ralph E. Powers]

The following is a cut/paste quote from a discussion board (that I own/moderate) that talks about the "cave-in-question". I think it's self-explainatory. The author is Dave Shurtz, founder of Utah Cave Search and Rescue.

This is not a cave number one. It is a shelter with a steep approach. There is an arch just above it which makes climbing out the top difficult for non climbers. It is possible to preassure walk up into the shelter but unnerving to try to do so in reverse. So many people have been rescued from this cliff that it has been nicknamed rescue cave by the local search and rescue. As far as I know there is no official name for the formation. It does have one interesting feature. Years ago I took Dale Green up there to see it. He indicated that at one time it may have been part of a cave based on the geology. With a pair of binoculars you can see the back of the shelter from below so it never gets into the dark. This is another typical "blow everything out of proportion" by the media. It seems that if you call it a cave it is news even if it is a lie.

--
Cave Dave Shurtz