I haven't learned all the details of this death, but it does reinforce how we always require a facilitator/instructor to provide a safety belay for inexperienced climbers when they do an Austalian rappel from a tree. My suspicion is that this teenager did not have the proper training or experience to attempt this rappel. Although he/his family apparently lived near me, I didn't know him. How many of you would attempt a 300-foot Australian rappel...?


Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Monday, February 7, 2011
A 19-year-old from north Georgia fell to his death Sunday while rappelling in North Carolina.
Gregory Cooper, of Dawsonville, was with two friends when he dropped 300 feet to the bottom of Cullasaja Gorge, News 13 in Asheville, N.C., reported. The friends called 911, but Cooper died at the scene, according to the report.
Rescuers said Cooper had been practicing "Australian” rappelling, which involves rappelling down a rock cliff facing away from the cliff and toward the ground.
Cullasaja Gorge is located in western North Carolina and is about two hours from Cooper's home.

And here's two more adventure deaths near me that could have been avoided if college students would listen to their elders and actulally learn the right way to do stuff. I've worked with U. of Florida students several times in the past, and they're normally just as smart as any other students, but still...:

From News Channel 9 in Chattanooga, Tenn.:

Walker County, Georgia authorities say the two cavers found dead Saturday at Ellison's Cave on Pigeon Mountain are University of Florida students.

David Ashburn, Director of the Walker County Emergency Services, tells NewsChannel 9 both unidentified students are male.

Ashburn says one of those students used a rope to jump from a 125 ft. cliff in the cave. That's when another student climbed down the same rope to save him. The two young men hit a waterfall below, going out of the sight of their friends. There were 10 students at the site.

Ashburn says the friends called police around 2:19 p.m. He says it takes at least 30 minutes to walk from the cave to the park entrance where the students dialed 911. He says that, coupled with the fact that both men were T-shirts and shorts and were wet, they could have died from hypothermia. Ashburn says several other students were treated for minor hypothermia at the scene.

Some of the students had been to Pigeon Mountain before on school-authorized trips. But this weekend, they decided to make a trip on their own. Right now, Ashburn says the deaths are believed to be accidental.

The investigation is still underway. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, along with the Walker County Cave and Cliff Rescue team are recovering bodies and gathering evidence at the scene.

Ashburn says once they're done, both bodies will be tested at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Atlanta location for the official cause of death.

At that time, the official cause of death will be determined.

A similar incident happened with 3 other men more than 10 years ago at the cave, but signs are up to warn visitors of dangerous spots, Ashburn adds.

this is a very unfortunate death that may/could have been prevented. While they have not released the full details from the accident report, it is suspected that they were at Warm Up pit. I was actually bouncing a pit with some friends Saturday and one of the guys with me is on the Walker County Cave and Cliff resuce team and got called out to the rescue/recovery when were packing up. Based on where he said the area of the WMA the 911 call came from leads me to believe that they were at Warm Up pit. I personally have rappelled into the pit where they died this past May. It is a 125' rappell that is traditionally rigged to be out of the waterfall but if the water level is up, you will get some spray 1/2 way down. It is possible that they may have actually rigged the waterfall as someone who does not know what they are doing, may not know about warmup pit. Keep in mind that the hike to the entrace is about 2.2 miles and gains an elevation of close to 700-800 feet or more during that climb. It is a brutal hike to the cave if you are carrying gear. Once the two were in trouble, they yelled to their friends who exited the cave and ran down the hill who called 911. From the Pit they were at, it is about 1000' feet of horizontal cave to get out. By the time the rescue squad mustered and got on seen and got to the pit with the rescue gear, the pair had passed away. According to the latest story, the unofficial cause of death was hypothermia, not a rappelling accident. However an autopsy is being done for the official cause of death. As soon as I hear more official details from the rescue report, I will post. What scares me about this, is that if they were actually heading to do the big drop, not just warmup.

In another lifetime (ie: thirty or so years ago) I have done the rappel into the Cullasaja Gorge and I have also "done" Ellison's Cave, where these two events have just recently happened. In retrospect I now realize that I didn't know nearly enough to be doing what I was doing, but I was one of the lucky ones who made it without incident. I think the reason could be traced to the idea that I have always proceeded slowly and cautiously and shown great respect for the adventure at hand.

Both of these incidents, so far as can be understood from the news reports, involved descent rather than ascent, going down rather than going up. This gives credibility to the idea that most accidents involving roped climbing seem to happen during descent. Accident statistics tell us that most roped climbing accidents happen "on rappel", and that most alpine mountaineering accidents occur on the way down the mountain, rather than on the way up.

As a tree climbing instructor who regularly works with college-aged students I can tell you that my biggest problem is to keep students from "zooming" down the ropes during descent. They have watched all the movies and they want a part of that action. The faster the better! And a lot of them want to try the "Australian" rappel. My "fix" for all of that is to make them leave their ascender on the rope as they descend, moving the ascender down incrementally as they come down. Only when they have impressed me with a high degree of maturity will I allow them to remove the ascender and enjoy a smooth, but not necessarily speedy, trip to the ground.

I confess, however, that when the students aren't watching I will allow myself the thrill of a nice ride to the ground. The difference between me and them is that I am aware of my mortality....most of them are not.