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OGDEN — Quicksand rescues, like the one at Zion National Park over the weekend, are very rare.
In TV shows and on the big screen, quicksand is depicted as a sort of nature-made trap that can swallow bodies whole. In reality, those on-screen quicksand drownings just don’t happen, according to Dr. Liz Balgord, an earth and environmental science professor at Weber State University.
“We’re less dense than quicksand, so we will float,” Balgord said. “It’s just that your legs will go in first, because they’re more dense than the upper-body.”
While Balgord said quicksand is fairly common along riverbanks in Central and Southern Utah, it is rare to hear of someone becoming trapped in it.
A hiker was pulled from quicksand over the weekend at Zion National Park, in what turned out to be a two-day rescue.
Park rangers said the Arizona man’s hiking partner couldn’t get him out, as he was trapped up to his knee.
“I was kind of surprised just by the severity of what happened and how stuck that person actually was,” Balgord said, adding that in those cases, the elements become the greater danger. “It’s not that you’re going to drown in the quicksand. It’s that you get stuck, and you can’t get out, and then you either have issues with hypothermia or heat stroke, depending on where you are, and what the temperature is at that time.”
Balgord said in most cases, people are able to free themselves from the quicksand.
“Kind of the first rule is to always stay calm,” Balgord explained. “As you’re shaking, that’s causing the sand around you to lose its strength. It’s going to allow you to continue sinking in it.”
She said slow, deliberate movements are what get you out.
In my @KSL5TV story tonight, about why #quicksand rescues, like the one over the weekend at @ZionNPS are so rare, @KSL_AlexCabrero makes a brief cameo. Will you be able to tell it's him? Probably not. For a look at his informative 2014 story, go here: https://t.co/KzJuIeqSSfpic.twitter.com/To7QdhrBvA
— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) February 18, 2019
“Stop kind of that aggressive struggle, but then move pretty quickly to get yourself kind of out,” Balgord said. “If you’re horizontal, you’ll be able to float better and get yourself out of there more quickly.”
Balgord added that quicksand cannot be detected by simply looking at it. Hikers can poke and test the ground ahead with a stick. Even better, stay away from the potentially risky areas.
“If you can stay on the solid rock, you’re never going to have quicksand there,” Balgord said.
