This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The deaths of seven people during a September flash flood through a slot canyon in Zion National Park were the culmination of many factors, according to a new article in Outside Magazine.
The article puts the death of the Keyhole Seven — a reference to the victims and Keyhole Canyon — into context and asks what the National Park Service should do to protect adventure seekers.
Writer Grayson Schaffer calls the deaths "the worst canyoneering disaster in American history and the worst accident of any kind in Zion's 97 years." He also tells more about the victims from Keyhole Canyon.
Click here to read the article.
The same weather system also caused a flash flood that killed 13 people in Hildale and a man near Hurricane. The National Weather Service has called the floods one of the deadliest weather events in Utah history.
— Nate Carlisle