Flash floods are more likely when the monsoon sets in. And the countless side and slot canyons of the Colorado Plateau present a perilous scenario. Earlier this year, four people died in a flash flood in Buckskin Gulch. Back in 1997, at Antelope Canyon, he drowned 12 tourists. Only one survived. About a month later, Flagstaff photographer Elias Butler nearly had the same experience at Zion Canyon Narrows. Writer Scott Cybony recounts this story in his latest Canyon commentary. flash flood.

He entered the Zion Canyon Narrows under the blue sky. Photographer Elias Butler moved quickly, hoping to reach the most spectacular sections before the storm hit. He stopped where the Virgin River filled the canyon wall to wall and the cliffs reached a thousand feet.

“The place had a really eerie atmosphere, like being in hell,” he later told me. Cliffs loom overhead, canyons shrouded in shadow, and hypnotic water music playing. Then I began to hear thunder rumble far upstream and echo off the walls. There was a feeling in my heart that I shouldn’t have been there. “

A sense of dread grew, and Elias held up his camera. “Suddenly there was a really strong wind coming from upstream. When I heard this crash, I looked upstream, and there was a wave of water crashing against the opposite wall, and I only saw it for a second, and the second I saw it, I was like, ‘I’m dead.’ rice field.”

A flash flood rushed toward him just fifty feet away. The photographer grabbed his equipment and ran. “I don’t think I’ve ever run faster than this in my life. I don’t think I could. I was flying. My feet were in the air, over rocks, through water. Normally It’s hard to get over.”

It approached swiftly, and a muddy stream surged towards him. He rounded a corner and scaled the embankment just before the flash flood passed by. “I staggered up onto the bank,” he said. “I ran 100 yards and immediately fell down on the sand. I lay on my back and my whole body was shaking. “I gasped and looked up at the sky and said, ‘Thank you, thank you.’ The roar of the river echoed through the valley, and with no chance of escape he could only wait for the flood to stop. he retreats.

His troubles worsened, and a thunderstorm rolled through the valley, sending downpours of rain. He wore only shorts, a T-shirt and a rain shell. The rain extinguished his campfire, leaving him to wait for the night with water running down his body. And the river kept flashing.

“It was terrifying,” he continued. “As the thunder roared, I could feel the thunder vibrate in the rocks. A bolt of lightning flashed across the canyon and I saw a series of waterfalls cascading down from the other side of the canyon. It was a sight, a nightmare, but beautiful at the same time.”

After many hours, the dark dawn finally came. By late afternoon, the water level had dropped enough that Elias decided to escape by floating down the canyon. “As I slowly entered the river, I looked upstream and felt complete dread. bottom.”

He wobbled through the narrow canyon, looking up at the cliffs above until the canyon widened. He then ran along the bank to improve his time. As I turned the corner, I saw four men in dry suits crossing the river. One of them spotted him and shouted, “Elias?” It was a search party looking for him.

“Immediately they gave me warm clothes and hot soup,” he recalled. “We walked to the trailhead together. My girlfriend was there too and I couldn’t believe it. She thought I was dead. “