[Texascavers] Fwd: NCRC Scholarships
There are scholarships available for the NCRC National Seminar this summer. Please see the info below if your interested. Submission deadline is less that a month away. DJ DJ Walker 512-751-6010 Please excuse misspellings and typos as this is coming from the tiny keyboard on my iPhone. Begin forwarded message: > > > The NCRC will be awarding three $330 scholarships to help students attend the > national weeklong seminar at Park City, KY July 24-August 1, 2015. To be > considered please send a caving resume, 2 letters of support from NSS > members, and a cover letter describing your financial need and how training > would benefit the caving community in your region. Letters from grotto > officers will be given the most weight. Letters from Regional Coordinators > will be given less weight. > > Submit your information to Roger Mortimer, 1455 N. Echo Avenue, Fresno, CA, > 93728. > All materials may be submitted electronically to > ncrc-scholars...@sbcglobal.net > All materials must arrive by April 26, 2015 to be considered. > Awards will be announced by May 26, 2015. ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] NCRC Level I Cave Rescue call in Colorado Bend State Park in February
Thanks Geary!! And the link to download the registration form is below: http://www.caves.org/commission/ncrc/national/ DJ Walker PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 dj.wal...@mac.com On Jan 5, 2011, at 7:22 PM, Geary Schindel wrote: Folks, I saw there is a Level I Cave Rescue Operations and Management Seminar that will be held from February 5 to 13, 2011 at Colorado Bend State Park, Bend, Texas. The NCRC courses are outstanding and also an excellent value. Contact DJ Walker for more information at 512 751-6010 Geary
[Texascavers] Cave Rescue Training in Austin Texas
All, Cave rescues are few and far between in the Austin area, but they do happen. As was highlighted during the Airmans event, these situations often require the combine efforts of rescue agencies and the caving community alike. In an effort to increase the working relationship between these two groups the Austin Fire Department will be conducting two joint cave rescue trainings in March. Three days at Whirlpool cave March 9, 10, & 11, 2010 --1:30 PM - 7:00 PM This training will be a one day class held three consecutive days (you would only need to attend one day). Topics covered will include: Cave environment (for new rescuers) Searching a cave for a lost person Litter handling Communications Incident Command The day will end with a Mock Rescue Three days at Midnight cave March 23, 24, & 25, 2010 -- 1:30 PM - 7:00 PM This training will be a one day class held three consecutive days (you would only need to attend one day). This will be a vertical rescue exercise giving participants the opportunity to participate in several evolutions raising and lowering, patients in litters, in and out of Midnight cave. There will be 10 slots for each day. Slots will be first come first serve. If you plan to attend, please e-mail Tommy Gillis: tommy.gil...@ci.austin.tx.us and let him know which day you will be there. Additionally, we hope to have a video posted on the web soon. It will cover various cave rescue topics and would be the primer for the above class or an opportunity to get a glimpse of the training for those who cannot attend. We wanted to get the above dates out for everyone to make plans and will get the video out when and if we can. Stay Safe, DJ DJ Walker PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 dj.wal...@mac.com
[Texascavers] NCRC OCR Feb. 27 & 28
http://www.caves.org/ncrc/national/ All, The National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) is hosting an Orientation to Cave Rescue (OCR) at Colorado Bend State Park, February 27 and 28, 2010. This is an opportunity to get a brief overview of some cave rescue techniques and meet members of local response teams who respond to cave rescue call outs. Additionally there will be a vertical workshop offered the day before (26th). This workshop will be free of charge and will provide an opportunity to learn or practice your vertical SRT skills. The link above will take you to the NCRC main webpage with all of the upcoming NCRC training. Just scroll down and click on the South Central Region link. Please contact the course coordinator Chris Jenkins (817-312-4945) if you have any questions regarding the seminar. Cave Safe, DJ DJ Walker PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 dj.wal...@mac.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue related
Calling 911 is not mandated by law in the event of most lawful accidents, be it cave related or not. For example, if someone falls in their back yard and breaks their arm or leg, they are not required to call 911. A trip to the ER may be warranted but it is not required to call emergency services to provide the transportation. In many situations it may be advantageous to call 911 though not required. Many Emergency Medical Services (EMS) can provide advanced care (pain meds, cardiac care, anaphylactic meds, etc) that otherwise may not be readily available and can have a large baring on the final outcome. However, it does become a requirement to call the authorities when there is a death. The area is considered a crime scene if the person or persons are deceased. As this pertains to Cave events, 911 would only be mandated if there were a death. Though, the level of advanced care that potentially could be offered by EMS should be considered. A statement made earlier was a good perspective: "I think common sense would dictate that an "accident" is 911 worthy when you've exhausted your personal resources/contacts or feel that they may not be adequate." . Many times a "rescue" can be accomplished by the caving party. There are times when outside help will be needed. Where that help comes from will be different for each situation. It may be local cavers called to help or it may be from the 911 system. There are many 911 systems that have excellent cave rescue capabilities. Some have none. I would recommend, if someone has a major injury that 911 be contacted. Often the EMS personnel can work with you to provide the advanced medical care the patient needs. I would absolutely recommend that when there is a fatality, 911 must be contacted. When making that phone call inform the operator of the complexity of the cave. Inquire as to their abilities to perform cave rescue. Ask for the phone number for the agency responsible for cave rescue. Many of these organizations will be receptive to suggestions or recommendations for outside help. Once contacted local authorities have a legal obligation to respond and provide "assistance" and will do the best they can with what they have and know. I am a large proponent of integrating cavers into cave rescues. Though this can be a tricky issue. I would strongly urge everyone to build a relationship with emergency response organizations in the areas you cave. Try to build those relationships and link them up with training specific to cave rescue. Help them become aware of the difficulties, specialized training, special equipment, etc. This will help with integrating cavers into future rescue efforts. There is no question that cavers have knowledge, skills, and abilities that the average rescuer does not have. The same is true in the reverse, the average rescuer has knowledge, skills, and abilities that the average caver does not. The solution is to merge these two together. Combine training opportunities will help with integrating the two groups together. Throughout the US the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) has worked to make cave rescue a more readily available resource. NCRC offers Orientation to Cave Rescue's (OCR's). These OCR's are meant to provide an introduction to both of these groups as to what the others capabilities are. Additionally there are week long training seminars, teaching cave rescue skills. NCRC also has Regional Coordinators who can help provide training, aid in identifying rescue recourses and equipment, etc. NCRC is not a rescue team and cannot respond as such. Ultimately decisions will be made by the caving party and by responding agencies. NCRC's website and future training events can be found at ncrc.info Stay Safe, DJ DJ Walker PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 dj.wal...@mac.com On Nov 30, 2009, at 1:44 AM, Brian Riordan wrote: This law about calling 911 seems subjective. If we were required by law everytime there was a cave "accident" (whatever that is) I think I would have called it at least a half a dozen times by now. There are plenty of times I've been with someone "stuck" or have been stuck myself for far longer than I'd ever care for. Each time it has taken a great amount of willpower to remain calm, ignore the cramps and just stop moving and think for a few minutes. I've also had times where it was so tight, I felt like I was moving more with my ribs than with any help my arms could provide. I've grabbed a friends ankles and repeated the inch-worm movements backwards to pull them out of a tight spot. I can't imagine what chaos would have ensued if I had called 911 instead. I think common sense would dictate that an "accident" is 911 worthy when you've exhausted your pe
Re: [Texascavers] Figure-8 not proper for caving?
The conditions would need to be defined more. Blanket statements like this always concern me. Tell me more about what you intend to do with it. So, to minimally define some conditions and my respective answer/ opinion: Are they good for vertical drops over a 100 feet? I would be looking for a different device. Will they work? Yes. Are they the best for the job? No. As Fofo said figure 8 descenders (eight plate) tend to twist the rope. The longer the drop the more twist you are going to get. Are they good for drops under a 100 feet? They can be. I would not take an eight plate specifically to do the one nuisance drop between several bigger drops. If the vertical section is one 50 footer right at the beginning or middle of my trip and then I am taking my vert gear off for the rest of the trip, then yes an eight plate might be a good idea. Its small, light weight, and effective for these kind of jobs. Are they good for vertical through trips where I am rappelling double ropes and pulling them behind me? I would say this is an excellent application for them. There are other devices that will do this job also but an eight plate would work well also. Are they good for low angle slopes that require a rope but are not pure vertical? Absolutely. Another thing about an eight plate is they do not provide just a whole lot of friction. So feeding rope into it when minimal friction is needed is an attribute of the eight plate (but is also a down fall). Are they good for those trips were I am going to be taking a lot of heavy stuff with me? I might be looking for a different device. As stated above they don't provide just a whole lot of friction. More specifically you cannot vary the friction much on the fly. If you are accustom to rappelling with it and now you add a lot of extra weight, be careful. You can double wrap them but now you are stuck with a lot of friction and potently have increased your rope twist issue. Are they good for dirty gritty caves (oh, wait isn't that most of them)? Maybe better defined as: Are they good for use with dirty gritty ropes? Probably not the best choice. Again, will it physically work? Yes. But there are probably better devices out there. I have seen quite a few eight plates with the anodizing wore through were the rope rubs. I have even seen one where it was close to wearing all the way through to the other side. It doesn't take much to wear one like that. Dirty rope is hard on almost all gear that will be used in conjunction with it. I could probably go on for some time defining conditions and giving an opinion. But I am sure you all have better things to do today. Stay Safe, DJ Walker DJ Walker PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 dj.wal...@mac.com On Jun 11, 2009, at 8:24 AM, Fofo wrote: Hey, Lyndon. It sounds like he is talking about the descender, not the knot. The problem with the figure 8 descender is that it twists the rope. Since caving rope is a bunch of parallel fibers encased in a sheath, going through the figure 8 will impart a twist on these and in the end (after repeated use with a figure of 8) you end up with a rope that kinks by itself. It is a compact and lightweight descender, convenient for nuisance drops, on short pieces of rope for which you don't care much. - Fofo Lyndon Tiu wrote, on 11/6/09 6:12: On Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:04:44 -0500 dlocklea...@gmail.com wrote: Everybody else appeared to use a rock-climbers tiny Figure-8.( I think most caver's would agree that this type of Figure-8 is not proper vertical equipment for caving. ) Can someone on this list knowledgeable with vertical caving please explain to me why so? Thanks. -- Lyndon Tiu - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] NCRC Class
Hello all, I want to say thank you for all who participated in the Orientation to Cave Rescue several weeks ago. The event was a great success and we hope to do more of them in the future. Below is the link to an article that was in the Temple Telegram. http://www.temple-telegram.com/story/2008/03/31/48309 FYI, there is still time to register for the NCRC National Seminar in Mentone AL May 3-11, 2008. Stay Safe, DJ DJ Walker PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 wakefir...@yahoo.com
[Texascavers] NCRC Course reminder
Just a reminder about the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) Orientation to Cave Rescue (OCR) in a couple of weeks (March 15-16) at Colorado Bend SP. There is still room in the course and time to sign up. Check the links below. Thanks, DJ Walker NCRC web site: ncrc.info Flier: http://www.caves.org/io/ncrc/OCRRegFormTexas08RevC.pdf DJ Walker PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 wakefir...@yahoo.com
[Texascavers] Two Day Cave Rescue Course in March
One of my goals as the Regional Coordinator of the NCRC is to increase participation between emergency response groups and the caving community. Both of these groups have tremendous attributes that need to be brought together. Accident victims can only benefit, if we identify how we can help each other. There are many emergency response organizations that know very little about the cave environment. I feel it is important for those agencies to identify the abilities of cavers and how we can help. At the same time it is important for cavers to know how we can fit into their emergency operations. In the spirit of all of this: The South-Central Region of the NCRC is hosting a two day Orientation to Cave Rescue (OCR) March 15 & 16 at Colorado Bend State Park. A flier and registration form can be found at ncrc.info. Please come out to an NCRC course sometime. They can be informative and a heck of a lot of fun. Thanks and Cave Safe, DJ Walker South-Central Regional Coordinator National Cave Rescue Commission PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 wakefir...@yahoo.com
[Texascavers] Cave Rescue Contact info
Hello everyone, My name is DJ Walker and I live in Austin Texas. In May ’07 I accepted the position of Regional Coordinator of the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) of the NSS. I have fielded several requests to post my contact information on Cave-Tex for cave rescue related issues. Where I feel this may be somewhat appropriate, I did not want to post my phone number with any impression that it would be, or that I perceive it to be, the end all phone number for Cave Rescue in Texas or the South-Central Region of the US. Several issues ago in the Texas Caver I submitted an article about what to do in the event of a caving accident. I cut and pasted it below. Toward the end, it suggests to contact local authorities in the event that outside assistance is deemed necessary. I would like to stress the importance of this. The NCRC is not a response team and I as a representative of NCRC can only provide assistance if the local authorities accept that offer. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the local authorities to provide emergency services. My contact information is below. If I can be of any assistance please feel free to give me a call or shoot me an e-mail. Thanks and Cave Safe, DJ Walker South-Central Regional Coordinator National Cave Rescue Commission PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 wakefir...@yahoo.com A quick look at how to deal with a caving accident As cavers we always try to keep safety as a priority. Though we attempt to cave safely the possibility of accidents is ever present. As reported in the National Speleological Society (NSS) publication American Caveing Accidents, many caveing accidents occur every year. The April 2000 issue Part 2, statistics report that a total of 808 reported accidents with a yearly average of 61 reported accidents occurred between years 1986-1998. 90% of those accidents were fatalities or required aid from other people to exit the cave. It is important to note that these are only the reported accidents that occurred. Many accidents happen and are not reported. With these numbers, and imagining the number of caving trip taken, it could be surmised that we are, in general, very safe and take measures to minimize injury. But they also tell use the sobering truth, accidents do happen. In the event of an accident, what are you going to do? What steps should be taken? Before we embark on what to do after an accident occurs we should take a moment and address accident prevention. The best way to deal with an accident is not to have one at all. Take note of a few safety tips: 1. Pack your equipment appropriately. Keep emergency and first aid equipment available and pack stuff to sustain yourself longer than your planed trip time. 2. Be proactive with Safety Checks. Have a buddy do a safety check of your gear, and safety check your buddies. Make sure vertical gear is on properly and that all equipment is in working order and ready for use. 3. Always double check rigging. More than one person checking rigging ensures mistakes are kept to a minimum. 4. Don’t take unnecessary risks. Protect climbs, rigg approach lines, know what’s below you, etc… 5. Always let someone know of your plans. Letting someone know about your plans and an itinerary can benefit you in the long run by allowing Search and Rescue personnel to locate you faster. Even with all of the accident prevention in the world, the reality is that accidents happen. This is not intended to be a guide for cave rescue techniques or accident management. Rather it is a list of suggestions about appropriate actions to take. For more information about cave rescue contact The National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). The NCRC received its charter from the NSS in 1979, and serves as the Society’s representative on issues of cave rescue training and operations. It is a volunteer group developed primarily to train and track cave rescue resources throughout the United States. The NCRC is specifically NOT a functional cave rescue team, rather it provides training and development opportunities for persons and organizations engaged in cave rescue activities. Thus, while many of the persons associated with the NCRC perform rescues, they do this as members of their local rescue squads, civil defense units, or cave rescue groups. The NCRC is a component of the Department of the Administrative Vice-President of the NSS. When the unexpected happens and an accident occurs the first thing to remember is stay calm. The accident may be serious but if composure is not kept it could become catastrophic. There is nothing getting excited or angry is going to do to help the situation. In fact it could have ill effects on the outcome. So what to do now? Many decisions need to be made and some need to be made in a timely fashion. Here are a few suggestions on how to manage an accident: Make access to the victim safety
[Texascavers] Airmans Cave Rescue
Hello everyone, I know there has been much discussion about the event at Airman's cave last Sunday. I think it may be appropriate to ensure that all of the fact are out in the open. I have "Cut and Pasted" a report on the event below. This report has been sent to the American Caving Accidents editor. As the new National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) Regional Coordinator and an Austin Firefighter I want to send a deep thank you to the Central Texas caving community. I was at the incident from the very begging and it was very clear to me we needed cavers. This is the second incident I have assisted in coordinating since I took the Regional Coordinator's position in May 07. At both incidents cavers where the ones who found the person/persons whom needed help. These incidents highlight the need for Cavers and Rescuers to meet and work together. I have coordinated a week long NCRC cave rescue seminar for the past 3 years at Colorado Bend State Park. This year we intend to change the format a bit. I hope to offer a two day Orientation to Cave Rescue (OCR). The dates and location are TBA. Though we hope to be at Colorado Bend SP toward the end of February. The focus of the OCR will be to allow cavers and rescuers to work together and discuss/practice cave rescue techniques. You can also check the NCRC web site at ncrc.info for up to date information on up coming courses and other cave rescue related topics. If there is anything I can do please contact me at the number/addresses below. Stay Safe, DJ Walker PO Box 90146 Austin, TX 78709 512-751-6010 wakefir...@yahoo.com Airmans Cave Rescue Austin Texas October 14, 2007 Around 11:00 AM on October 13, 2007 a group of three (two females and one male) entered Airmans Cave in Austin Texas for a recreational caving trip. The plan was to travel to the end of the cave and back. The group had left instructions with a third party to call for help if they had not returned by midnight October 13. Early in the morning on October 14 (approximately 5:30 AM) notification was made to emergency response agencies that the group had failed to return by the pre-specified time. A Cave Rescue Alarm was initiated by the Austin Fire Department (AFD) and the Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical System (A/TCEMS). Upon arrival a rescuer from AFD entered the cave to do a recon and look for clues that the group was still in the cave. The rescuer found a cell phone just inside the entrance and several full bottles of water stashed inside. (The cell phone was later determined to be one of the lost parties.) Eventually the group’s vehicle was located at a common parking location for this cave. The first rescuer happened to be the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) Regional Coordinator. After conducting the recon trip and exiting the cave he conferred with the incident command post and the Regional Coordinator assumed a liaison role to assist in providing outside caver/cave rescue resources. A decision was made to request local cavers and utilize their expertise and assistance with the search. He started the process of contacting local cavers. This cave is strictly a horizontal cave, mostly hands and knees/belly crawling passage, with an extremely tight entrance called the key hole. This cave has over 10,000 feet of mapped cave passage. A trip to the back usually takes 12-15 hours round trip by an experienced group. The expected circumstances were that the group was just overdue and was not expected to have any injuries. The cave environment in Airmans is not prone to cause injuries. Though the cave does have sections that are very maze-like and inexperienced parties have a tendency to get lost. AFD and A/TCEMS called back off duty members of their Special Operations sections whom had cave rescue training and were small enough to squeeze into the small entrance. A Communication Team was created to push hard wire communication into the cave. Rescue workers from both agencies assembled teams to stage medical equipment, specialized extrication equipment, food, water and other logistical support items into the cave. Eventually the Communication Team laid over 3000 feet of wire and provided communications from a location that was several hours travel time from the entrance. This provided communication with teams operating inside the cave to the command structure outside. In addition, there were two staging locations set up several hours travel time into the cave. This would allow medical and other logistical items to more expediently be provided to support the operation underground. Several local cavers arrived shortly after their request. Initially two cavers who had a history of relatively fast trip times in this cave were assigned the task of doing a hasty search. Their main focus was to travel to the back of the cave and return to the communication station, in cave, and give a r
