RE: [Texascavers] dumb list

[Rod Goke]

Unfortunately, this kind of rope cutting is more than just a hypothetical possibility. A very serious accident of this type actually happen to a caver in the Colorado Grotto during the time that I was a member there before moving to Austin. He was rappelling down a cliff during a ropework practice and training session with a group of cavers, when his rain poncho got caught in his rack. He attempted to cut the poncho free with a knife, accidently cut his rope instead, and took a long fall onto the rocks below. The accident was not fatal, but it easily could have been if he had landed differently or if the falling distance had been a little longer. He did receive multiple fractures in the leg and hip and, even after many months of recovery, had to use a cane when walking. Like most of the serious accidents involving cavers I have known, this one did not happen to some novice caver who didn't know what he was doing. Instead, it happened to a very experienced caver who fully understood what he was doing. In fact this caver had been involved many times with teaching vertical techniques to new cavers, including the standard warnings about not using knives or other sharp objects near the climbing rope. Some people even recalled one or more earlier training sessions when this caver had done rope cutting demonstrations to show new cavers how easily a rope could be cut when it was under tension. He clearly understood the potential risk, but apparently was overly confident about his ability to cut only what he intended to cut while doing what he and other experienced cavers routinely warned new cavers not to do. In retrospect, it was easy to see multiple ways that this accident could have been avoided. If he had used an extra ascender or rappel safety device above his rack to temporarily relieve rope tension in the rack, then he probably could have removed the poncho from the rack with no cutting. If he did not have the equipment with him to do this, then other cavers nearby could have lowered extra equipment to him on another rope. If no equipment of this type had been available, they could have lowered a second rope to him, so that he could have attached the second rope to his harness like a belay to relieve tension on the rack. In fact, there was already a second climbing rope rigged near the one this caver was using, so, if necessary, another caver could have gone to his aid on the second rope. Of course, a poncho is not the best type of clothing to wear while rappelling, either, even if it is raining. The primary lesson from this incident is not so much that cavers need the equipment and knowhow to do things safely (which, of course, they do), but rather that they need to be diligent about actually using the safety equipment and knowledge they have instead of letting overconfidence tempt them into risky shortcuts. Rod -----Original Message----- From: Geary Schindel Sent: May 25, 2010 2:23 PM To: Charles Goldsmith Cc: Mixon Bill , Cavers Texas Subject: RE: [Texascavers] dumb list If you respond by cutting your hair out of a rack with a knife, then it is a very real possibility of cutting the rope and that gets you back on the list of 52 ways to die in a cave.   The times when I knife is a solution to a problem in vertical caving is very rare.  You can almost always find a technical solution using the tools you have on you – most importantly – your experience and your brain.   Geary   From: Charles Goldsmith [mailto:wo...@justfamily.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 2:19 PM To: Geary Schindel Cc: Mixon Bill; Cavers Texas Subject: Re: [Texascavers] dumb list   Depends on how much hair as well.. a few strands, would sting...  a whole pony tail worth of hair would be very painful     On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 2:17 PM, Geary Schindel <gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org> wrote: Remember, what doesn't kill you usually hurts like Hell.  Getting your hair caught in a rack usually ranks right up there in the "hurts like Hell" category. Geary -----Original Message----- From: Mixon Bill [mailto:bmixon...@austin.rr.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 2:08 PM To: Cavers Texas Subject: [Texascavers] dumb list That's a pretty silly list of 52 ways to die in a cave. Getting hair caught in a rack isn't likely to be fatal. Ditto for a lot of the others. Then of course the list actually only goes up to 47.... -- Mixon --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com