| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seneff, Jeff | 23 | Male | Lacerations; soreness | Head; leg |
Saturday, July 31, Jeff Seneff (23) and Paul Jahner from Idaho Falls, Idaho, went exploring in Fossil Mountain Ice Cave in Teton County, Wyoming. They descended the 1st drop of 20-25 feet, a steep slope of water ice, on a 1/2 inch polypropylene, laid rope, using the rope as a handline. This is the way the drop is usually done by visitors to the cave. At the second drop, however, their lack of expertise showed.
At this 45 foot, partly free drop, there is a 9 mm nylon rope connecting two bolts to serve as an anchor point. To this they tied a 1/2 inch hemp rope using a granny knot. Seneff then descended, hand-over-hand It is reported in a news article that Jahner also descended, but this was not verified by the rescuers. At any rate, when Seneff went to ascend, again hand-over-hand, he made it nearly to the top before tiring and losing his grip. He fell 40 feet, possibly landing on breakdown, suffering head injuries.
Jahner exited successfully, went down the trail to the nearest ranch and called Driggs Hospital which in turn called the County Sheriff. Then he and a quickly arriving deputy went back to the cave and threw a sleeping bag down to Seneff. To expedite the rescue the Sheriff used the Forest Service rescue call-up list, obtaining three climbing rangers from Grand Teton National Park and Chris Albers and Warren Anderson, cavers very familiar with the cave, from Wilson, Wyoming. These people drove to Teton Pass where they, with rescue gear, were ferried by helicopter to a spot near the cave.
At the accident scene, Albers and one ranger descended to the victim who was found to have only head lacerations and a sore leg. He had lost some blood, but had no back injuries. Despite the sleeping bag he was cold. After bandaging his head they put him in a climbing harness and put crampons on his boots. He was winched up the drop and 'walked' out of the cave. By that time it was late at night. Seneff was then helped down a 1500 foot scree slope to the trail where, as a passenger on a motorcycle, he rode out to the roadhead, a few miles away. At the road he was taken by Sheriff's car to the hospital in Driggs.
An exotic location, but the same old bit - a caver outside the caving community using the time-honored (in fiction). but useless vertical method of climbing a rope hand-over-hand. Considering the below freezing temperature of the cave the victim is lucky competent rescuers were so available.