The NIGHTMARE in Antelope Canyon │Hiking Gone WRONG! 

Flash floods are terrifying because it doesn't even need to be raining where you are, for one to happen. When it rains in the mountains, water washes into creeks, streams and rivers, so in the mountains they can be easy to avoid by avoiding low land. But in places where rain is less frequent, the waterways are less obvious (canyons ARE a dead giveaway though) and on a relatively hot and clear day, you can just randomly be accosted by walls of water several feet high that have been traveling for a couple hours from a mountain miles and miles away where it rained particularly hard earlier in the day

My heart goes out to Pancho. There was really nothing he could have done. It's a miracle he even survived. Just a terrible tragedy.

Pancho wrote a book and returned to AC for a final visit. It seems he has been haunted by survivors guilt. I pray he finds some peace. Such a tragedy.

I went to Antelope canyon not too long ago. The weather was horrible the past few days and my parents (mom specifically) looked forward to visiting it for 2 years. When we got there the clouds were already looking bad, but it was miles away. We were let in regardless. Just a few minutes in, our guide was allerted by a few of the others who worked there. We had to evacuate due to potential flash flood danger. My mom was devastated, and while we were walking out, our guide mentioned this tragedy as well, he was even stuck there during a flood himself once. The canyon is a beutiful, yet ominous place, knowing the danger it can harbor.

Oh man... imagine your parents going off to do some sightseeing on their own and never coming back :(

Oh how awful for those children. Alone in a foreign country, unable to speak the language and your parents never come back. That just breaks my heart! Thank you for once again covering an event I hadn't heard before and as always, with compassion and respect for those involved. You've quickly become one of my favorite channels, and the first I've ever clicked the notifications bell. Can't wait for the next one!

Gotta feel for the guide. Worse feeling in the world is guilt. I couldn't image the guilt felt over someone's death

Around 15 years ago I visited Antelope Canyon with two of my daughters. We had a guide who was married to an indigenous woman and lived nearby so he was very familiar with Antelope Canyon. He took us in there and we were warned that it was the time of year where there could be flash floods. Since he was familiar with how the water flows down into the canyon he knew that we would be OK. At least six people had previously drowned in the area that we walked through. Everything worked out for us. It’s an incredibly beautiful/magnificent place but can also be extremely dangerous.

Poncho should've listened to that initial instinct that told him it was a bad idea.

I understand why Pancho feels survivors guilt as the guide of the group, but I think he did everything he possibly could, and I think the reason he survived in my opinion is probably because he knew the canyon well compared to the tourists, he may even have thought of what he might do in a situation like that. There was a level of familiarity with the canyon that the others didn't have, and I think that likely helped a little bit. But also, massive amounts of luck that he made it through. I hope he is doing well, happy and healthy today- blessed to be living life. I also have my heart out for the French kids who lost both of their parents in this tragedy overnight, in a foreign country where no one speaks their language. I can't imagine the trauma. I hope they are doing okay today.

If you're in a foreign country or somewhere dangerous that you're unfamiliar with, and you have a guide..always listen to the guide!! It amazes me how many people feel like nothing bad can never happen and ignore signs of danger. What a senseless tragedy. I hope the children can be whole one day.

I'm from Arizona. My mother remembers this event and saw it live on the news. I can tell you that storms here are absolutely bizarre. One area could be absolutely pouring and a few miles later, it could be as dry as bones. If you come to Arizona you should be very cautious of our weather, especially our heat and sudden storms.

I live in the general area, flash floods take out more people than you think. Even with this one, in the last five years there have been a few deaths including a family. The bad part is with some canyons trying to get out with a flood you actually cant. Because the water will sweep you under a boulder and you become trapped and its very hard to get out of that. There will be debris and mud (it can be like a lahar from a volcano) so it makes it much harder as well even if you aren't trapped. The basic advice is go during the high summer when it doesn't rain as often anywhere nearby. Or go to the top and lastly: Pictures on the internet are your friends for places you can't go.

I really love this channel because he gives the victims a tribute. It makes it seem less like it's just a story.

When booking a campsite near a similar slot canyon the park rangers told us not to enter the canyon if it had been raining that day within 100 miles. While hiking we saw huge logs wedged 100+ feet up from previous floods and the canyon was barely shoulder width at many points. I can’t even imagine how terrifying it would be to get caught in a flood there. You’d have no chance.

I just discovered your channel and have already binge watched every episode. I love the way you tell the stories. I can understand why people hike, climb mountains, deep sea dive but will never understand the appeal of underground caving. RIP to all the adventurous souls who have lost their lives in these episodes.

This is devastating. I don’t feel like anyone made any mistakes, it was just a sudden flood with no warning. The bit with the kids in the hotel made me cry, I can only imagine how scared they were and then when they eventually got answers, it’s the worst thing in the world.

I lived in Page, AZ which is right down the highway to Antelope Canyon. My dad was a police officer who investigated this incident. My friends and I were actually at the lake (Lake Powell) the day this happened. The details I heard throughout the investigation still haunts me and I will never go to Anyelope Canyon again.

I'm grateful that the children are still alive, saddened that they lost their parents, and the hotel staff were wonderful. There were tears, imagining it were their children, wanting to provide the comfort they would hope their own would receive. Natural disasters can't be prevented and leaves the question of "why?" unanswered. I know what survivor's guilt, when you were in charge, feels like. It destroys part of us forever. Even when family's forgive us, it takes decades to forgive ourselves. He couldn't have changed anything. Even if the person could've changed the outcome, realize they they wish, every minute of every day, that they could go back in time and do that, or at least die along with them. You could never be as cruel to them as they are to themselves, so find it in your heart to forgive them and help them forgive themselves. No one should wake up every day thinking, "I caused people to die", for the rest of their lives. After I broke down and left work, I went to a secluded beach along the river and frankly speaking, wasn't sure if I would come home that day. But, a mother and her sweet 6 year old son were there (during a school hours, which was quite odd) and the kid actually changed my mind. Not that I told him anything, and of course wouldn't have done anything in front of him. I could've waited for them to leave. But, it was his unsolicited kindness, humour and persistence to offer food, show me something he'd found a/o play, that saved me from myself. It still took years to forgive myself but he did the most important thing which was to prevent me from ending my life. Sorry, that was just a side story there but it still brings tears. They had no obvious reason to be there at all, in fact. IT wasn't a particularly nice day out but I'm glad they were. I even thought they were just illusions at times, but I'm sure they were real, of course. Point being, Pancho, forgive yourself.

I had never heard of this incident before, so much loss of life. Thank you for telling their story and for doing so in such a beautiful way. ♡ You put extra work into these so many other channels do not give, like your sources and references. I hope your channel continues to grow, you certainly deserve it.

Sometimes saying no and having people angry with you is better than saying yes and having those people pass away.

Poor Pancho...I bet there were times after this happened that he wishes he would have died that day. I can imagine the victims families would want to put all the blame on him but I don't believe it was his fault. I am sure he agonizes everyday, wishing he would have followed his gut and not led them in there. But I don't think the tour group would have appreciated that, it probably would have really pissed them all off. If Pancho said "guys, I know you guys payed all this money, I know we could have gone to the Grand Canyon, but we drove all the way out here instead...but I don't think we should go in the canyon" They would have been like "What the hell...WHY NOT?!" "I have a bad feeling" I imagine their response would have been something like: "Why do you have a bad feeling though? People go in and out of this canyon all the time. There are people down there now and they're fine. There is not a cloud in the sky...and you expect us to not go in because you have a 'bad feeling'?!" I don't think Pancho should bear any responsibility for the tragedy at all. But I imagine he blames himself...I cannot imagine the weight of that guilt.

I lived in Santa Barbara when we got 12.5 inches of rain in 24 hours, the roads coming down the mountain were raging rivers and the streams blew through houses with little resistance 😲. I saw water rise 4 feet in 15 minutes, flash floods are nothing to mess with.

when i was in antalope canyon they told us about this tragedy and all i could think was how absolutely terrifying that must have been, i wanted the tour to be over as fast as possible. absolutely beautiful and when you are in the canyon its easy to see how its a death trap

Dude, in the last year I have watched RU-vidrs do stuff that's so stupid while alone filming videos that I cannot even believe that RU-vid didn't delete their videos. One example is a man who went to explore a remote cave that was full of dead birds, smelled like gas, who said it was an extinct hot spring while noticing bubbling water at the bottom. Don't go into some remote cave, even with a guide, without noticing details like whether ladders are attached properly or googling what hazards there could be if you go in there.

Even as an American, I can tell you not even most Americans respect how UNIMAGINABLY wild and dangerous this country can be. But damn it's beautiful, and I encourage anyone wanting to see any part of our big old country to come on over! Most of us are overly friendly and excited to share what we have!

This is why I check the weather for rain, both upstream and downstream when I go caving, which is not the same as exploring a deep canyon, but the devastating results of flash flooding are basically the same, but with even less options of escape. Perhaps during this tragedy, that option was not available to any of them, but either way, this was a very unfair and unexpected situation for all these unfortunate people... what a terrible set of circumstances.

This is the first video I've watched of yours... you are truly a gifted story teller (and props to the writers as well). For this 14 minutes I was totally captivated. Thank you for sharing this story with us.

So glad I know I'd be with the claustrophobic bus sitters.

My family was caught in this flood. We were in another narrow canyon on the lake and luckily had gotten in our boats to high tail it out of there. The amount of crushing waterfalls was insane. We barely made it out. I mainly wanted to mention this to talk about the storm as we were able to see it coming. It really wasn't much. A raincloud off in the distance. We purposely started heading out of the canyon early to not possibly get caught in it. However, the drive was long and slow due to the narrow passage. Before rain hit there was a huge crash as lightning hit the lake up ahead. You could feel the heat of it. Then the the rain and it was barely even just a few minutes later when land and water was coming down all around us. My dad's boat started to choke down so he made the choice to risk it and haul ass. We had 2 boats and there was also 12 of us. My brother back in Utah heard the news of 11 of a group of 12 dying in a flood. He knew we were close to that canyon, but didn't know we had changed plans and decided to fish down in another instead of hike. This was before cellphones were common so it wasn't until later when we were near a phone and called him to tell him about our experience. That was when we heard about the hikers. He that it was us. This is nothing against the hikers. Based on what I saw I know they were taking completely by surprise and my heart goes out. However, if you are in a canyon in the desert and see any chance of rain, leave at once.

I went to a antelope canyon a few weeks ago, and the tour guider talked about this incident. I like this video because it reminded me how I felt when I was there.

Keep your head up poncho you did everything you could possibly do first you tried to talk them out of going there and explained that it was not a good idea to go there and secondly to help during the flood and by sheer luck you managed to survive. So be grateful be thankful and use this as a new lease on a new life

FYI. Guides are NOT paid to “do what the group wanted” they are paid to keep people safe.

Impressed with the variety and quantity of your content. Love the videos, but don't put too much pressure on yourself to put out such frequent videos. Happy to be part of your community. Take care x

Panjo did the best he could, he deserves to hear this and have this terrible weight off his shoulders.

With flash floods it's not just the water it's all the debris that comes with it. Logs , stones, sand branches etc. The guide was very lucky indeed ☆

the quality of your videos gets better and better with each upload and i love the variety of stories you cover so you’re not boxed into a corner. cant wait to see how much more you grow !

Those poor French children, alone in a foreign country with nobody speaking their language and their parents have died and they had no clue. And Pancho... Just an awful tragedy, heartbreaking.

When I was a teen I used to be bothered by the amount of rules and restrictions in travel places. Now that I’m getting older, I understand that most of those rules were created based on someone’s tragic death!

Ryan, I love your content so much. I'm so glad I've been here to watch you grow. My friend also really enjoys your content. Thank you for all the time and love you put into your content. We are so proud of you! 💜

My head shot up as soon as the narrator mentioned it was on the Navajo reservation. It's always a shock whenever we get mentioned, I've drove past the area many times to get to Page. Very beautiful place, such a tragedy this happened

I'm glad you put that arrow in the thumbnail. I would have been TOTALLY lost without it!

Another great video! I’ve never heard this story before, it’s always nice to hear something new. Keep up the wonderful work! You are appreciated. 😊

Rest in peace to them all, very sad story. Great video though! you’re doing a great job with these. You put so much detail into the narration.

Unlike most narrators in this genre, you have given a gravitas to the situation and you brought tears to my eyes because you put me in the place of not only those that perished, but of poor Pancho the survivor who never really escaped that canyon. Thank you for treating this with the dignity it deserves. 💔

I have lived in Arizona almost my entire life. If you are not from here please do do not do big hikes when you are here. It takes years to get used to the heat and dry climate here. Tourists die here every year because they underestimate the heat and the storms that come out of nowhere.

such high quality videos and great coverage, you definitely deserve more subscribers love how you’re not like most other tragedy-based channels where you’re trying to sound ominous or scary or anything enjoyable change of pace for these kinds of videos, feels like a breath of fresh air among the crowd

Flash floods are terrifying, especially for the lack of warning sometimes. My mother nearly died in a flash flood in I believe it was the late 70s or the early 1980s when she was in Ecuador in the Peace Corp. She only found out later that there had been some rains far upriver in the mountains. She and some women were doing wash in the river. They had almost no warning but something about the atmosphere at the river spooked everyone but my mom. They just had a bad feeling and yelled at my mom to get out of the water. My mom followed them out of the water because they were clearly spooked but reacted too slow and was the last one out. By the time she felt the vibrations and heard the rumbling in the distance it was already too late. She was close to shore but swept off her feet by the current suddenly whipping faster and it went from waist deep to over her head almost instantly. The few times she surfaced she could see a second wave coming from up river and that one was carrying debris and whole trees. She was very lucky that this one woman risked running out on this outcropping, grabbing a branch and swinging her to shore, then helped pull her farther up the bank even while she was still in shock and coughing up water so they didn't both get caught by the second wave. She still has no clue how the lady did it because the force of a flood often is enough to overpower someone trying to grab someone in the water, and she was like a whole head shorter, but she was just a real strong lady and running on adrenaline I guess. She was very grateful but the woman just waved it off like it was nbd. I have that woman to thank for being born because this happened a few years before I was. When my mom finally looked back at the river from where they were all safe after, on slightly higher ground, she said it had widened to twice its usual size. Like even after she was saved, they had to keep moving to higher ground because it kept eating into the bank. Even for the women that lived there and had their instincts trip, they only escaped by seconds. They had no tangible warning and probably were picking up on something really subtle like some of the sounds around them changing slightly. My mom remembers that it had seemed oddly quiet before the rumbling, like the bugs and birds had cleared out ahead of time and thinks it might have been they recognized that as a warning sign.

Thanks Ryan! What a sad sad event. Condolences to all the families. May your loved ones rest in peace ☆

literally binged all your videos. great content 🫶

JUST FOUND YOUR CHANNEL!!!!! Can’t express how long I’ve been looking for a constant natural disaster story’s keep it going man 👍🏽🤙🏼🕺🏼

love the consistent uploads!! notifs on now ❤ keep up the interesting tales!

Great channel great content thank you for all the hard work

Very well done! Thank you for being respectful and not over sensationalizing the event. I've become a new subscriber.

This has got to be the saddest accident. I just came from another video of yours where the people were warned and went anyways and unlike them these people had no way of knowing what was coming. There was no signs, no one thought it would rain, no warnings, no proper implements set in place to get in and out of the canyon, this is so sad;; I feel bad for the tour guide as well because I cant imagine how hard it was to have to choose to let go when he realized he didnt have the strength to hold onto the other two people. The guilt had to be eating him alive and it wasnt even his fault. It wasnt any of their faults;; this is just so sad;;

Brilliant upload as usual. Thank you very much 😊

My condolences to any of the families that lost their loved ones. An unexpected, chance tragedy. RIP for all those that perished.

Found your channel last night my man. Great content! Truly enjoy it from start to finish. I instantly subscribed! Have a great day all the way from North Carolina!

I was hiking and sightseeing on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon that day. I recall seeing that huge storm but the odd thing about it, it sat there for more than an hour without moving as they almost always do. We were shocked when we got home and heard the tragic news.

I never put my life in a situation where I don't have some form of escape of exit strategy....rule 1) don't go down canyons that you can't climb out with your hands......I'd always expect possible flash floods......happens all the time. Nature is unpredictable! 🙏

You're doing a good job of finding lesser known tragedies

Wow, never heard of this. Excellent telling, thank you.

I really enjoyed the way you delivered in the research for this video thank you very much

Awesome content, great narration, please keep posting! Good luck with new channel!

Thank you for this awesome recap; I’ve always wanted to go to Antelope canyon (I live in Arizona), but I heard about this flash flood and was forever traumatized. I’m glad they have more restrictions, warnings and safety measures in place, but this one event was enough to damage my soul. Thanks again for the video.

So sad. Brought tears to my eyes. What a horrible brutal way to pass. You know you are gonna pass so that makes it even more horrible. Felt so sorry for those two French kids who lost their parents. That's something that will always be with them. Hope they found a nice home with relatives. Hope that guide was able to recover emotionally.

My hometown is downstream from some mountains and there's only a small creek that runs through town that empties into a larger river. Any time the snow in the mountains melts a lot quicker than usual there's a flash flood. The creek becomes a river and the river itself overflows its banks. Usually it's just people's basements that flood but there have been several times where the water is up to the roof. Luckily since everyone is well aware of it the moment the creek starts swelling they get out quickly. I can't imagine being caught completely unaware like these poor people.

Nice! More hiking and you added some mountain terrain. Awesome to learn about but also very tragic. Feels bad that this happened to them. :/

So glad I found this channel! Keep up the good work man 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I remember when this happened, but the details are fuzzy. I was a young kid in western CO, and my parents used it to illustrate the importance of knowing flash flood areas. This is the first time I really understood it though, thanks.

I've seen a couple videos of antelope canyon flooded all the way to the top and that is absolutely terrifying to watch from above the rim of the canyon. I wouldn't even want to think about being caught IN the canyon in a flash flood.

i'll never forget being in Zions Canyon, Utah and having a flash flood come running through the slot canyons, having to run for high ground... the sound is unforgettable, unsettling.

I’ve been to Lower Antelope Canyon. It’s a beautiful place. Now there’s just too many people going through it.

Omg that is so sad and heartbreaking, especially for those 2 poor children back at the hotel waiting for their parents to return and never did. Prayers to all the people who passed away that day and to all the family members that are left behind 😇🙏🥺

Man, I already love this channel 🖤 you're doing a great job, love the content! Can't even tell this is a newer channel

I love your stuff mate. So many people are just covering murders now, I love that you cover other tragic moments in history. I just binged all your videos. I wish you had more

Great series. Thank you. For a future story, you might want to look for two separate incidents involving small boats on Alberta lakes where a storm came up suddenly and lives were lost. Each case involved a family of four. In the first case, the each child was wearing live jacket (pfd), the adults, not. It was the same for the second group except that the mother was wearing a pfd. In all cases, those with pfds survived and those without, didn't. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKET WHILE A SMALL BOAT, FOLKS.

I just visited this spot .They mentioned this tragedy. It was horrifying. So sad. Your narrative was give me more details.

Loving the videos!

You have the perfect voice and style for narrating sad stories. 👍🤗

I being a long time resident of Southern Utah, this is my basic instinct of not treading our beautiful landscape too lightly or carelessly, always watch the weather, use common sense and never travel alone and unprepared.

I could listen to your voice all day, perfect for this type of content.

Absolutely great video!!

I used to perform environmental air emissions tests at the Navajo power plant outside of Page... beautiful place....

Something to think about is a lot of times the front end of any flash flood holds a great deal of debris, big branches, rocks, boulders, etc. It isn't just water where a person can try to protect themselves from hitting the sides of the canyon. You are being hit from behind, the side, things flowing up from the bottom, etc.

Some nice editing in this one man, can see your skills improving!

A very sad story but Brilliantly told.👍👍👍

I'd visited both lower and upper Antelope Canyon over the summer and our tour guide did mention to us about this tragedy. Very sad indeed! 🙏

These stories serve to make you think very carefully when being in unusual circumstances and then as well appreciate the beauty of life.. you can be on top of the world then next minute gone

So very Tragic. Hadn’t heard about this event. God bless these people😔 Subscribed

Sad story, thx for sharing. I had know clue this happened.

Enjoy your content very much. You should cover the Gerrish family. Really sad hiking tragedy. 😢

Excellent narrating, I subscribed

Subscribed thanks for the content 🙏

I'm glad i found this channel. I subscribed 👍🏻

I heard about these people from my tour guide when I visited Antelope Canyon. It is such a tragedy.

Great narration.

It's so sad. I hope Pancho knows he did all he could to save his group. He had noway of knowing the weather farther up the canyon. Thank you for treating the victims with respect and telling their story. Hopefully the hard lessons learned are something that sticks out in ppl's minds, so they stay safe should they visit similar places.

The poor kids losing there parents so sad R.I.P all who perished

It'd be pretty cool if you covered The Hoosac Tunnel. Love the content man! Keep it up!