Preston, I agree about the knife issue around loaded ropes. There are some real horror stories here. I wrote an article on the use of knives in vertical caving and if you use a safety ascender (Quick Attachment Safety), you should be able to unload your rappel device, pull out the stuck item, rethread the rappel device, transfer your weight from your QAS to your rappel device and keep going. This is a pretty basic vertical skill. I require it for any vertical cave that isn't a controlled beginner trip.
Geary -----Original Message----- From: Preston Forsythe [mailto:pns_...@bellsouth.net] Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 4:25 PM To: texascavers@texascavers.com; Mark Minton Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas Be very careful using a knife on rope. Some of you will remember the demonstration on stage at a UTG meeting around 1977, when Steven Bittinger, I think it was, gave a demonstration on rope hanging only a foot or two above the stage floor, where he took a knife and barely touched the rope above him, with the rope fully loaded with his weight. The rope was cut instantly and he hit the floor. Whether you are flicking a pebble out of your cam-actually never had that happen, or cutting your pony tail out of your rack, please be careful. I suggest letting all of your hair pull out of your scalp without using a knife is safer but painful, because I have had that happen, but not as painful as what could happen if the rope was cut. Preston in KY --------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Minton" <mmin...@caver.net> To: <texascavers@texascavers.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 3:35 PM Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas > This guy was described as an experienced caver, but he must not > have been very experienced with vertical work. I'm sure most of us have > been in very muddy vertical caves, and it's amazing to me that vertical > gear functions pretty well even when it is essentially unrecognizably > dirty. The trick is that you sometimes have to thumb the cams, (push them > closed) in order for them to bite on ascent when mud overwhelms the > spring. I have seen cams temporarily fail when a chip of rock gets caught > between the cam and the frame of the ascender. Depending upon where it is > lodged, the rock can either prevent the cam from closing all the way, in > which case the ascender will slip, or it can prevent the cam from opening > so that it might not slid up properly. Both of these are fairly easily > diagnosed and corrected, especially if you have a knife or other small > tool to remove the rock chip. > > I, too, was amused by the assertion that they had to use headlamps > because it was night... > > Mark > > At 10:58 AM 7/10/2013, Karen Perry wrote: >>What cracked me up laughing when I first got a copy of the report (via >>CCNP) was that they had to use headlights because it was at night & dark. >>Guess the cave wasn't in the dark otherwise??? LOL!!!! >>Karen >> >>From: Logan McNatt <lmcn...@austin.rr.com> >>To: Geary Schindel <gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org> >>Cc: Texas Cavers <texascavers@texascavers.com> >>Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 11:09 PM >>Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas >> >>"a fused wad of metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the >>victim's original ascending system." >> >>Hope they took some photos, and preserved it for a museum piece. >> >>On 7/9/2013 11:01 PM, Geary Schindel wrote: >>>National Park Morning Report >>>June 27. >>> >>>Buffalo National Scenic River (AR) >>>Rangers Conduct Technical Rescue Of Trapped Caver >>> >>>Late on the night of June 22nd, the Searcy County Sheriff's Office called >>>the park and asked for assistance with the rescue of a man trapped at the >>>bottom of a 30-foot pit a quarter-mile inside of Kristin's Cave, not far >>>from the park boundary near Cozahome. >>>Rangers/technical rescue technicians Dale Johannsen, Mark Miller, Melissa >>>Moses and Kevin Moses joined a Marshall Police Department officer and a >>>Searcy County deputy and worked their way to the man's location to assess >>>the situation, an effort that required negotiating several vertical >>>obstacles along the way and conducting a severity probability exposure >>>(SPE) risk analysis to help mitigate hazards. >>>After locating and making voice contact with the man, who was an >>>experienced caver and a member of a caving club out of Little Rock, they >>>determined that he was thirsty, hungry and cold but otherwise okay and >>>capable of ascending under his own power. The cause of his becoming >>>stranded was that his equipment, including his rope, had been rendered >>>useless by a heavy accumulation of thick, sticky, stubborn cave mud. >>>Miller rappelled into the pit and provided the caver with water, food, a >>>thermal layer and clean ascending equipment. Belayed from above, the >>>caver was then able to ascend most of the pit on a new rope under his own >>>power, though rescuers used a raising system to assist him with the last >>>ten feet or so. Miller then followed, bringing with him a fused wad of >>>metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the victim's original >>>ascending system. >>>The rescue party emerged from the cave four-and-a-half hours after they >>>entered; because this particular mission occurred during nighttime hours, >>>the rescuers were forced to conduct the entire operation by headlamp. By >>>the time they emerged, the victim had been underground for 17 hours. >>>Kevin Moses served as incident commander. >>>[Submitted by Jason Flood, Lower Buffalo District Ranger] >> >>Please reply to mmin...@caver.net >>Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
