Climber Survives 6 Days in Remote Utah Canyon on Orange Slices, Cashews
- Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:09am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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(AP) — No matter what, David Cicotello knew he had to survive. Cicotello, 57, was stranded on a ledge in No Man’s Canyon, in the rugged wilderness some 180 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. His climbing partner — 70-year-old brother Louis — laid motionless on the ground 100 feet below, having fallen while rappelling.
Cicotello made a “HELP” sign with some climbing equipment. And then he waited.
Over the next 146 hours — six days — he sipped water, nibbled an orange, a sandwich and a few cashews until rescuers arrived. Cicotello survived, but his brother did not.
David Cicotello‘s ordeal is a rare survival tale from the state’s unforgiving canyon lands.
“If you come down in this area, you better be prepared. It takes hours for search and rescue members to get there,” said Tal Ehlers, a member of the rescue team that found the Cicotellos on March 12.
David Cicotello, an admissions official at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., spoke to friends about the Utah trip and approved a written account. They shared it with The Associated Press. The family declined further comment.
According to the account, the brothers had explored canyons together for several years. On March 5, they set out on a six-day trip. David gave his fiancee a map of their planned camps.
He was supposed to call her Thursday evening, March 10.
70-year-old Louis Cicotello, who passed away. (Photo: AP)
By the second day, the brothers were in the North Fork of No Man’s Canyon. They rappelled 40 feet to the ledge in a crevice. There was 100 feet to go to the canyon bottom. The plan: Eat lunch after rappelling down, then walk an old horse trail back to the rim.
Louis set an anchor and fed rope through a rappel ring. And then went over the ledge. Moments later, the rope whipped through the ring and disappeared. David called out to his brother; there was no reply.
He tried to reach his brother, but couldn’t. He soon realized that he would have to stay on the ledge until Friday, a day after the brothers were to check in with family.
In his pack: A liter bottle of iced tea, a small bottle of water, an orange, a sandwich, a high energy bar, some cashews, some matches, a flashlight, a knife, a pair of wool socks and a jacket.
He had left his cell phone in his truck, knowing it wouldn’t work inside the canyon.
David allowed himself some water or tea and a few bites of food each day. To keep warm at night, he attached the wool socks to his baseball cap and lit small fires along the side of the ledge.
He passed the hours keeping vigil over his brother. Animals and birds drank from a pool at the foot of the slot canyon. A bat flew out each night from above.
Rescuers began their search on March 11, after relatives reported the brothers missing.
He was down to one slice of orange, a few cashews and an ounce of water. The sandwich and tea had turned rancid. He held on to that last ounce of water, telling himself he wouldn’t drink it until he heard a rescuer call his name.
He didn’t want to look at an empty water bottle.
David Cicotello was airlifted to a hospital in Moab, where he was treated for dehydration and minor injuries. Louis Cicotello’s body was recovered an hour after the rescue.
A memorial service for Louis Cicotello, a professor emeritus at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colo., was planned for Saturday in Colorado Springs.
___
Associated Press writer Brian Skoloff in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
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normanster
Posted on March 21, 2011 at 8:05amPeople screw up all the time, it’s what makes them human. They should be able to do whatever they want to do, do it right or wrong…but they should pay for any emergency services they cause to be expended. And, no, losing the brother is not “payment enough”. It’s a simple natural consequence and personal responsibility to have to pay the county for someone having to come to their rescue.
Report Post »HTuttle
Posted on March 19, 2011 at 8:12amKnot the end of your rappell rope. How any times does it need to be said?
Report Post »RebelElf
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 6:13pmMy dad and I call places like that ‘God’s Country’. The deceased was always in God’s hands. God bless the family.
Report Post »VLADTEPES
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 5:42pmDumbass, I guess the rest of us are paying for his recuse and his hospital stay. Should of left him there..
Report Post »HTuttle
Posted on March 19, 2011 at 8:16am“Should HAVE”. “Should OF” is meaningless. The contraction is “Should’VE”..
Report Post »Who’s the dumbass again?
welovetheUSA
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 1:21pmThese darn climbers should be put in a metal hospital……..all of them.
Report Post »NoSerfing
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 11:59amhttp://aronralston.blogspot.com/
Report Post »1Dave
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 11:09amGravity is a Law with instant punishment.
Report Post »A friend photographed his family on a canyon overlook.
Several years later they returned to re-do the photo.
The entire area they had been on was somewhere in the canyon bottom!
Being too careful is impossible.
run42k
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 11:05amI think the worst part would be knowing the lifeless body of his brother lay below and there was nothing he could do. Everything else is a lesson learned that will be on his mind for a long time. I hope he finds peace in this time of loss.
Report Post »lel2007
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 10:45am“water, nibbled an orange, a sandwich and a few cashews” ?????
Report Post »The guy was living high on the hog in the out-back.
TRUSTNO MAN
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 10:35am“Gravity is a harsh mistress”- The Tick
Report Post »Memorable moments are not always things one cares to remember.
Remember this…..God knew and the Devil knew what the result is ALWAYS going to be. Tempt neither! “Be Prepared”- Boy Scouts of America and John the Baptist.
seaweaver
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 9:47amhow stupid people can be
Darwin Award winners
stupidity and recklessness!
these guys were living…not sitting safe in a chair commenting on how others live their lives.
somehow I do not think Darwin could have foreseen a chair on rollers growing out of a humans butt.
cw
Report Post »lel2007
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 10:48amDawin didn’t foresee much at all. Given what biologists know today, Dawin would never have published.
Report Post »brntout
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 9:02amMaybe it’s just me,but how does a rope just whip through an “anchor” ring when it is passed through one time so tension is required to be released to allow the user to descend?Why was the brother not on the other end of the rope as safety anchor? Although it’s a tragic occurrence, to many whys
Report Post »Sheepdog911
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 9:39amOnly an idiot would go climbing with only one rope. OK, two idiots. Great, though senseless, survival story.
Report Post »commonsense68130
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 3:42pm@Sheepdog911 – You sound like a complete a$$. Evidently, you don‘t know how to live a full life and it’s obvious you haven’t lost anyone you truly care about. Obviously you are a visitor from HP.
Report Post »ronmorgen
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 9:00amOnly a small bottle of water left for six days. He must have gotten very thirsty. Sorry for the loss of your brother friend.
Report Post »ares338
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:55amAs a boy scout, I was taught to “BE PREPARED”. They obviously never joined.
Report Post »werkenstiff
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 12:04pmC’mon, he was obviously prepared enough to survive 6 days, and that is all he needed.
Report Post »Politicus
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:29pmYeah. He could have eaten his brother.
Report Post »catndahat
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:47am@creestoff:
Absolutely right. Why do so many people think they have to do such extreme ‘adventure’ treks in barely survivable areas….and then when they go wrong, expect authorities to come rescue them? I am so sick of hearing about people getting stranded because of their own stupidity and recklessness! It’s utterly selfish.
Report Post »912828Buckeye
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:42amLewis died doing something he loved.
Report Post »Repelling and hiking at 70 years old I would say he lived a
active, happy life.
walkwithme1966
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 11:22amThat is a good way to look at it. I just can’t get my mind around being alone on a ledge for 6 days -by yourself. That is what would get to me – the loneliness. Has anyone seen the movie about the young guy whose arm was trapped by a boulder – 127 Hours – that is a great movie but talk about being trapped!!!! Totally alone, with arm trapped by a boulder and in a narrow crevice – that is a nightmare situation for me!!! http://wp.me/pYLB7-KJ
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:18amWhat a sad/happy story. My heart goes out to Mr Cicotello for the loss of his brother; I can’t imagine being stuck and not knowing if he were dead or severely injured. God bless.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:18amWhen you’re 70, maybe you should think about giving up rock climbing in remote areas. Perhaps take up something safe, like backpacking in the mountains of Iran and Afghanistan?
Report Post »Arshloch
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 3:02pmClimbing at 70 is much safer than walking in a city at night. 20 year olds fall at least as often as older climbers. Only city mice are afraid of unpopulared areas.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:15amI pray for a swift and complete recovery for him, thanks given to the Almighty for bringing him out alive and prayers of peace, comfort and sustaining unto the family for the loss of one. May the memories of him live on long in their lives.
Report Post »quarter horseman
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:14amI pray for his family.
Report Post »Creestof
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:25amThough this tale is an inspiration to the will to survive, it also shows how stupid people can be. A 57 year old and a 70 year old go hiking/climbing/rappeling in a remote canyon with a rather large window of time before they’d be missed…without much food or water…no means of usable communication?
This was foolhardy beyond belief. One dead, one barely survives…and one heck of a lot of people put through hell worrying (and grieving) …just for a hoot?
Unbelieveable.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 8:45amI feel sorry for the family they left behind, but I have seen far too many episodes of the exact same thing on Animal Planet and other shows. Don’t these people think it could happen to them? Were they never Boy Scouts and to “Be Prepared?” You got to use some common sense when doing things like this. I pray for the survivor and the family of the victim.
Report Post »Sheepdog911
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 9:34amDarwin Award winners. I feel for the family, but as Forrest would say “Stupid is, as stupid does.”
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on March 18, 2011 at 1:05pmThey were living part of their BUCKET LIST. Good for them.
Report Post »joseph Fawcett
Posted on March 19, 2011 at 12:32amI live in a Valley that has two mountian ranges in Southern Colorado. One range are HUGE mountains and every summer people go up unprepared and some actually die. We have a rescue team that has to go out after these people. What gets me the most is they go out in bad weather or dangerous conditions. They don’t get the fact that the mountains are a dangerous place to go if you are not prepared or know exactly what you are doing. Our county has to pay out a lot for out of county people to be rescued or recovered. That is a shame and expensive.
http://www.josephfawcettart.com western artist
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