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rappelling from helicopters hovering above the desert at about 100 feet (30 m). The officers used a big, thick rope—about the width of a soda can— to slide down and then jump from when they got near to the ground. With the ropes, the team members also worked on hoisting each other to different heights. They used radios to communicate with the heli- copter and to practice finding their exact positions. About 150 miles (241 km) away, park rang- ers trained in search and rescue in Zion National Park were also training. In Zion, the rangers were working with ropes on the cliffs and steep paths. Sometimes, training doesn’t go as planned. It didn’t that day in Utah. A park ranger working in Zion lost her grip on her rope and fell 200 feet (60 m) over a cliff. She was badly hurt. Even if she was capable of getting up on her own, there was no way for her to get out of the steep canyon. The search and rescue personnel from Zion couldn’t find a way to reach her, either. A call to

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