Manual of U.S. Cave Rescue Techniques, third edition, edited by Anmar Mirza. National Cave Rescue Commission, 2015. ISBN 2370000230362. Approximately 250 pages, 8.5 by 11 inches, softbound, $50.
This book, a much-needed and thorough revision of the 1988 second edition, is a bound version of a collection of chapters, with pages numbered independently, that are used in looseleaf form during cave-rescue courses offered by the National Cave Rescue Commission of the NSS. The thirty-six chapters have version numbers, like software, ranging from 1.2 to 2.3, and presumably the looseleaf versions have been evolving and will continue to do so, but it is valuable that a bound book is available for permanent reference. Twenty authors are listed, plus whoever wrote the thirteen anonymous chapters. The numerous illustrations are clear and a lot better than those in the second edition. The National Cave Rescue Commission is charged with coordination between cavers and civil agencies, and a large fraction of its training customers are professional emergency personnel, so catering to them is not surprising. There are references to local protocols and Form 205 and even a few mentions of half-inch rope, which cavers haven't used since the Manila Age. I'd like to be there when a fireman encounters a 9-millimeter rope hanging in a pit. But there is a lot in the book that should be of interest even to cavers who hope never to be involved in a 911 emergency situation. There are succinct descriptions of various vertical systems and a good discussion of knots. A lot of the material about rigging is pertinent to any vertical caving, as long as one recognizes what some of it is important only when one is lifting a loaded litter with attendant. There is little about first-aid beyond stopping major blood loss and preventing hyperthermia, but realistically there is little that can be done in the cave. CPR is not likely to work in cases of trauma. There is a chapter on small-party self-rescue, and a lot of other things in the book are relevant to that, too, such as ways of lowering a person immobilized on rope besides the dangerous and "last-resort" pickoff. One thing worth noting is that a Gibbs-type ascender, rather than the toothed-cam sort, is preferable for many hauling uses, and a caving party might have a couple along, plus a small pulley or so, even if none is part of anyone's climbing system. Of course a large part of the book is devoted to packaging a patient in a litter and hauling it out of the cave. If it comes to that, the guys with flashing lights and their parasites the press will almost certainly be involved. I recommend the Manual of U.S. Cave Rescue Techniques to any serious caver, perhaps to be read selectively. Some precautions are in order. Parts will appeal most to caves who were in the military and enjoyed it, the reader will frequently encounter more than just a whiff of lawyers, and anyone who knows that "a patient should have their" is not good English will be driven mad. —Bill Mixon ---------------------------------------- He who renders warfare fatal to all engaged in it will be the greatest benefactor the world has yet known.--Sir Richard Burton ---------------------------------------- You may "reply" to the address this message (unless it's a TexasCavers list post) came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or sa...@mexicancaves.org _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
