Man dies hanging in climbing gear at Zion National Park

SALT LAKE CITY – A 74-year-old man was found dead after spending a night hanging upside down on his climbing ropes at Zion National Park, the park superintendent said Thursday.

Yoshio Hosobuchi was making a rappel in the Subway, a popular and demanding canyoneering route about 250 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Hosobuchi's 61-year-old wife was unable to free him. He was found hanging Thursday over a waterfall, Park Superintendent Jock Whitworth said.

Hosobuchi was from Novato, Calif., and had no experience navigating the Subway. He was caught about midway in a narrow 9-mile chasm with fast-moving cold water.

His wife hiked out after some difficulty Wednesday to alert rangers, who had to wait until early Thursday to recover his body with a helicopter.

It was the first death of a hiker in the Subway in many years; park officials were unable to immediately determine when the last death occurred there, although they are frequently called to rescue distressed hikers.

“We're still investigating it,” Whitworth said. “It was not real clear to us what happened.”

What is known is that the man bypassed a more gentle descent down a rock slab for a vertical descent that left him unable to use his feet to maintain traction with rock, he said.

Hanging in a harness for too long, especially upside down, can cut off a climber's blood circulation, said Mike Banach, a guide who is familiar with the Subway.

Banach said the accident happened at a 30-foot drop that isn't considered difficult if done correctly. He called the death puzzling.

Whitworth summed up the dangers of the subterranean route in a statement.

“The Subway is deceiving. It is a very popular trail, but very difficult – the nine-mile hike requires rappelling and ascending skills, extensive route finding experience, and swimming through several cold and deep pools,” Whitworth said.

“Unfortunately, its location inside the wilderness also means that rescues are not always possible or timely enough. Sound decision making and problem solving are critical."