by Jim Jacobs
Well, here we go again! It’s off to Mammoth Cave time! More fun, games and a bit of hard work thrown in for the bargain. Strike that. Reverse it. We get to have fun working our butts off, to be frank about it. Last time, we hauled 841 bags of wood, cable and other stuff from Vanderbilt Hall to the surface. Huff puff! You can read all about it later in this issue.
As usual, (other than the weekend at Mammoth), the closest I’ve been to a cave is reading “Beyond Mammoth Cave” by Roger Brucker and Jim Borden. If you liked “The Longest Cave”, you’ll love BMC! If you haven’t read TLC, GET IT! No caver should be without it. TLC takes the history of the exploration of Mammoth Cave and the Flint Ridge caves from the beginning up through the excitement of making the connection between them by the Cave Research Foundation. BMC takes it from there, with the establishment of the Central Kentucky Karst Conservancy, the discovery of Roppel and Morrison caves and much, much more! Our grotto mate Don Coons figured prominently in much of this exploration. It’s taken some real hard-core cavin’ to map some of those caves. One of the main problems is that you keep pushing and mapping, until it gets to the point that it takes ten hours of hard caving just to get to the last place that’s been mapped. Then you can survey for a while…remembering that you’ll have at least ten hours of hard going just to see the light of day again. Sometimes you can find a short cut. Another solution is to find a new entrance. Another is to dig and blast a new entrance. Then you have a new starting point for your mapping, by-passing some of that nasty stuff you had to go through to find it. Both books are great reading! You can get them from the NSS Bookstore, or online from Amazon.com. I admire those folks, but I guess I started caving a bit late in life to get out there on the edge.
STUFF HAPPENING: June 22-24, 2001 - 50th Annual SERA Summer Cave Carnival, hosted by the
Chattanooga Grotto. Located near Lafayette, GA at Smokey Caldwell's 200 acre Farm. Come help us celebrate 50 years of SERA in TAG! We will have caving trips, the best Munchie Stand ever, a dunking booth, door prizes, a DJ, a fire and top off the evening fireworks! Contact Wm. Shrewsbury at taglite@bigfoot.com or (423) 326-3316 for details. Get up-to-date information online at http://www.caves.org/grotto/chattanooga. We hope to see you there!
SPELEOFEST PRE-REGISTRATION THROUGH MAY 11th. ScottCundiff@aol.com. Anyone wanting to Pre-Register for Speleofest 2001 will have until May 11th to do so. However, we will be conducting 'ON-SITE' registration as well at the Metcalfe Co. Park during Memorial Day Weekend.
Please use our website at: http://www.caves.org/grotto/louisvillegrotto/speleofest/index.htm to print the pre-registration form and for more information on Speleofest 2001. Hope to see you there, Scott Cundiff,
Speleofest 2001 Chairman.
THE 24TH ANNUAL TAG FALL CAVE-IN, hosted by the Dogwood City Grotto, October 4-7, 2001 at the Sequoyah Caverns Campground, Valley Head, Alabama. I have registration forms if anyone is interested.
MVOR. Unfortunately, the MVOR takes place the same weekend (May 4-6) as the Mammoth Cave Restoration camp. The location is—believe it or not—Bob’s Chigger and Tick Ranch in southwestern Douglas County. Highlights include Garrison Cave and a restoration workshop at Fox Creek Cave. MSS president & archaeologist Matt Forir will speak on Lon Odell Cave. Contact information: website at http//members.aol.com/OHGhome or contact Carl & Lisa Thayer at thrfrm@ipa.net or (417) 537-8618.
Speaking of Mammoth Cave…we had quite a bit of excitement down that way a few years ago. It was August 19 and 20, 1993, so many of our current members are unfamiliar with these events. Since we are a bit short on current articles for this issue, I feel that these are worth a rerun. At the end of the week-long Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp that year, we were offered a reward trip, an opportunity to visit Floyd Collins’ Crystal Cave, to see Floyd’s famous “Lost Passage”. Just past a place called, “Ebb and Flow Falls”, is a crevice passage called, “Straddle Canyon” where one has to straddle a deep crevice, which varies from one to three feet wide. At one point, the ledge that John Marquart was stepping on broke under his weight, and he began to fall into the crevice. Thus began a series of events that kept us very busy for the next 24 hours or so, the first full-scale rescue at Mammoth Cave National Park. I have reprinted two of the articles from that issue. One was co-authored by Brian Braye and I. It was easy to edit, because he and I were in the cave at different times, but between us, we pretty much covered the whole rescue. He wrote his, I wrote mine, and I just stuck them together. Another thing worked out very well, and that was the photo record of the trip. I took pictures on the way in, and during the wait for the first rescue assessment team to reach us. When I was relieved and sent back topside (about twelve hours later), John asked me to take his camera up with me so that it didn’t get lost in the shuffle. I agreed, but in doing so, I forgot MY camera, leaving it at the rescue site. In the morning, Brian was in the party that was sent in to clean up the rescue site just after the doctor and his party began to escort John to the surface. Brian recognized my camera case, and had the presence of mind to go ahead and finish up the roll of film on the way out. In the morning, when they got John up to the Scotsman’s Trap, I was there with HIS camera and took pictures all the way to the cave entrance, (about ¾ mile), and into the ambulance. By a stroke of luck or two, we ended up with one of the best photo documentation records of a cave rescue ever!
At the time of writing this issue in 1993, I wrote that I very much admired the way the Park Service ran the rescue. I’ve had some rescue training and learned a lot since then, enough to modify my opinion somewhat, but not completely. The rescue was successful, and that is the most important thing. It was a rescue, not a body recovery, so enough things were done right. It was overkill more than anything. My biggest disappointment has been the Park Service’s reaction to the incident. They pretty much shut down all “reward trips” and visitation of wild (non-tourist) areas for our group, and I’m sure for others. This was a fairly predictable, conservative reaction for a bureaucracy which has to deal with large numbers of people, and must safeguard the public. Fear of liability and bad publicity must figure in as well. I hope that things will loosen up again in the future, and we’ll have another chance to see Floyd’s Lost Passage. I hear that it’s quite a sight. And the trip there is fun, too. I’d sure like to go all the way some day.
by Julie Angel
Hi Cavers,
Hope you're enjoying the beginning of spring and are able to do more caving
than I am!! Here are two items of interest that we'll be discussing at the next
meeting:
We've had a number of people express interest in attending the IMAX movie, Journey
Into Amazing Caves, as a group. It is scheduled to run through July 12, 2001
at the Cinedome (next to the Children's museum) in Indianapolis. As soon as
I get this semester and Differential Equations out of my hair, I'll be e-mailing
those who expressed interest to set up a date and time. Log on to www.amazingcaves.com
for more info. Will let everyone know when we're going in case anyone else wants
to join in. Should be lots of fun!
I received an e-mail from Rich Bell regarding a potential cave mapping project
he might be able to arrange in a very historic brewery cave in St. Louis, MO.
Rich would like to see this cave mapped and documented for historical purposes,
and was wondering if our grotto would be interested in taking on the project
(provided he can successfully approach the owners and convince them that this
would be a worthwhile endeavor.) We would need several people who are experienced
in mapping, and a strong commitment from us to see the project through. We'll
be discussing this at our upcoming meeting. If you'd be interested in participating,
but can't make the meeting, please e-mail me at jangel@soltec.net.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting, May 11th, 7 p.m.
See ya, Julie
IMAX Theatre SCHEDULE -Journey Into Amazing Caves
Showing March 16 - July 12, 2001
CineDome (next to Children's museum) 300+seating capacity
Saturday and Sunday Daytime Shows:
10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday Evening Shows:
6:30 p.m.
Admission:
Adults (18 and over) $6.50
Youth (2-17) $4.50
(No special Senior discount)
ILLINOIS CAVERNS - NEW OPERATING
HOURS
by John Schirle
As of April 15, 2001, Illinois Caverns will be open for visitors on the following new schedule:
SUMMER HOURS (April 15-October 15). Wednesday through Sunday, 8:30 am-3:30 pm.
WINTER HOURS (October 16-April 14). Thursday through Saturday, 8:30 am-3:30 pm.
The site will be open until 3:30 pm but they want people out of the cave by 2:30 pm.
Although this is, to some extent, due to budget cutbacks, the primary motivation is to lessen the environmental impact on the cave by too many visitors. Last year, Illinois Caverns had about 10,000 visitors, and the number has been growing at about 24% per year. A recent study of the cave by Ron Kerbo of the national Park Service recommended that visitation be limited in some fashion to further protect the environment.
[From a phone conversation with Chris Hespen, site naturalist at Illinois Caverns, March 9, 2001]
BENSON'S CAVE, NY
by Lara Storm
The cold morning air was an incentive to come to the cave already dressed,
but the hour-long drive and the thought of stiff rubbery neoprene forced us
out into the cold to change by the side of an old farm road. Snow blanketed
the fields surrounding the road. Reluctantly I took off my warm fleece pants
in order to begin the struggle with the old NRS farmer-janes. Stiff neoprene,
cold hands-I would be thankful for this later, I reminded myself. After stretching
the arm-loops farther than they wanted to go-up and over my shoulders-I started
putting on my other gear: fleece top, nylon coveralls, vertical gear-I felt
like a mule.
Some of the others had gone to set up the rope before changing into their clumsy
gear. I was glad that the hike was so short. Starting down the "trail",
my feet sunk down into the frothy snow, making every step a struggle. In a few
long minutes I stood at the top of a small sinkhole looking down into blackness.
Soon it was my turn to plunge into the darkness. I climbed down to a ledge at
the top of the drop to put my rack on the rope. I descended into the narrow
crack landing at the bottom about 60 feet down. There was little room at the
base of the drop, so I was instructed to move down the passage into the next
room.
After all had reached the bottom we split into two groups: "let's go shred
our knees" group, who went left, and the "let's get wet group,"
who went right. Needless to say, most of us went right. We just wanted to see
some cave. The few others who went left were in search of another entrance or
two. Six of us (I believe) headed down a cobble-paved crawlway-the knees were
off to a good start. I was using kneepads that had been through the Wayne's
crawlway once more than they should've been. The passage turned into an elevated
crawlway with the stream a few feet below. There was a crack connecting the
two levels, and it was a fairly constant struggle to keep oneself from slipping
into the crack. It really wasn't too bad. We could've been crawling in the trickle
below to justify to ourselves the layers of neoprene and fleece that were now
impeding our breathing. Turning a sharp corner the passage opened up a bit and
then split back into the two levels. In some places the crack was wide enough
for some of us to slither through. Farther down the passage, most of us were
able to weave through the winding canyon. But then the passage changed. Some
of it seems a blur. Maybe it was more of the same stuff, but soon we came to
"Lady's Limit". Why it is called this, I'm not sure, but I crawled
through the wet hands-and-knees-crawl bath just as easily as the other five
guys on the trip. This bath was the reason for the wetsuits, and while I admit
the water was worse than chilly, only our forearms and legs were really wet.
Somewhere in there we got to do a bit of walking, but in the end we were back
down on our hands and knees. After dropping down into a lower room we came to
a muddy crawlway. Just getting up to the crawl was difficult, as your knees
had the tendency to slide backwards down the slick mud slope. This last stretch
of the passage was a slanted tube that proved to be rather awkward. We crawled
until we reached the end of the cave-we were all dressed up with no place to
go...
So we turned around and went home.
TROY GETS A NEW TOY!
by Troy J. Simpson
I get this e-mail from Brett Bennett asking about a gear review on my thoughts
of the LED conversion of my headlamp. Now, my knee-jerk response is "well,
the light works really well in sunlight!" Seriously though, I decided to
take a calculated leap of faith and see about Brett converting one of my Petzl
Zoom headlamps into a LED array.
I first saw the 20-bulb array set-up that Marc Tiritilli had devised for Steve
Taylor. My initial reaction was to the efficiency of the set-up and how I could
do some serious saving on batteries. Marc and Brett then teamed up and developed
a board that would plug into a Petzl, like a normal bulb. I thought this would
be fine for me, but Brett, told me to wait and he would get it set up so I have
a dimmer switch to boot. O.K., sounds good to me. Well, in November I had a
chance to see one of Brett's pieces in action as Rich Bell brought his to Illinois
Caverns. I was satisfied with the output enough to give Brett the go ahead to
fix mine up.
Shortly after Christmas, I get a package in the mail from Brett. Woo Hoo; my
"new" headlamp is here!! That night, I immediately went to try it
outside. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with the output. Where was
the illuminating light? I was getting a very faint blue glow on the snow below
me, but 30 feet ahead, there was nothing. Not a problem, maybe my batteries
are dying and I need fresh ones. A couple of weeks later I showed off my new
toy and Brett suggested I make a minor adjustment to the battery power and include
6 volts instead of 4.5 volts. I still wasn't all that thrilled about the output
of light, but I was still basing my judgment on results from outside.
Within a week I would get my first true test, Sullivan Cave. The trip was exciting,
but I'll save that for my trip report. I was amongst the first into the cave,
so I got a chance to test my headlamp without the interference of other lights.
I was amazed at what my eyes saw! I was truly impressed with the amount of light
that was emitted in the cave. The 20 LED array provided a clear, soft glow that
could be seen 20+ meters ahead. This was not a beam light, but provided a light
that surrounded. I found the LED was especially helpful in walking passageways,
allowing me now to see from ceiling to floor without adjusting the beam. I found
the glow of the LED, to also help bring out the details of the formations. A
halogen beam tends to encircle what I'm looking at. Using the LED, the formations
seemed to gradually blend into the surrounding darkness. Using the dimmer switch
I was able to arrange my lunch without having to constantly adjust my beam when
I turned my head. The dimmer switch also allowed me to adjust the light output
when viewing maps and thus avoid getting the glare produced by intense light.
Another great advantage was the lack of worry about changing batteries after
a few hours. With the 4 AA arrangement, I figure to save 2 to 3 dollars each
trip on batteries alone. There are some drawbacks though. The LED doesn't provide
the "big beam" view when in very large passages. You can forget about
seeing that bat that is hanging 200 feet across a breakdown room. I also found
that it was sometimes difficult to point out formations to others, because the
LED's don't isolate light as well. I guess that is one more reason to carry
those mini-maglites.
I could go on and on, but I want to keep this brief (relatively speaking). Overall,
I'm more than pleased with my LED array; in fact I rank it nearly as high as
my Camelbak hydration system in terms of making my caving experience more enjoyable.
The cost can be considered steep, but to me, I feel it has already been worth
it.
MAMMOTH CAVE WEEKEND
CAMP
March 3-4, 2001
by Jim Jacobs
Marty and I gladly piled into the car for our first chance to go caving in
quite a while. Of course, this wasn't to be real hard-core caving. We weren't
going out on "the edge". We'd be doing volunteer work in the tourist
areas of Mammoth Cave. That's ok! It was a cave, and most importantly, it was
a chance to get to see old friends, some of whom we only get to see on occasions
like this. The drive to Kentucky seemed to fly by. It seemed more like an hour
or so rather than six and one half. We had stayed at the Maple Springs Station
bunkhouse on previous trips, but this time, we decided to stay at the Mammoth
Cave Hotel. I remembered what it was like, coming up the hill from the historic
entrance. At the top was the hotel. Then we had to cross over to the parking
lot, shed the outer, dirty layers, jump in the car for the trip back to Maple
Springs via the Green River ferry. Then to change clothes, clean up and get
ready for dinner. The cleaning up part usually meant waiting in line to get
into one of the showers. I thought back then just how nice it would be at the
top of the hill to be able to just pop into my room and right into the shower.
Okay, this time I still had to wait my turn for the shower, but there was only
one person ahead of me…Marty.
We got settled in our room, and went out to get a bite to eat. We got a good
night's sleep, and went to the Hotel restaurant to get some breakfast. It was
great to see old friends like Norm Rogers and Larry Matiz again. Larry quickly
noted that I had gained weight since the last time we had gotten together. I
told him that I would get even (I didn't). It was just good to renew old friendships.
The previous work group had, a few months ago, left quite a large amount of
wood, cable, and other stuff stashed out of sight at the Vanderbilt Hall, most
of it already bagged up. There was still quite a bit that needed to be cut and
bagged. There is electricity at VH, so one group stayed there with their Sawz-All
finishing up the cutting and bagging.
Since they had gotten it that far, it was our task to get the bags the rest
of the way out of the cave. We had quite a large group, over forty. Little did
we know just how much help that would be.
We started by lugging the sacks one or two at a time, and stashing them against
the cement wall just below Mammoth Dome where the Tower is. This took us up
to lunchtime, and we headed out to visit the snack shop near the visitor's center.
That afternoon, we went back down and spread out in a line, from where the bags
were, all the way up the tower, and up the stairs to the next level. It was
great to have that many people so that we could pass the bags all the way up
the tower without having to pile them up again or walk them part of the way
up. I ended up at the top of the stairs, so I took it as my task to find out
just how many damn bags we had. I HAD to know! So, as I piled the bags, I counted
them. Man! They just kept on coming! We were running out of room to stash them
at the top of the stairs. Luckily, the park service had provided a number of
wheelbarrows. The bad news was that they were all up at the Rotunda, which was
about half a mile away. So somebody had to go get them, one by one. Someone
would bring one down, and we would fill it and send them back up the avenue.
But it took quite a while to shuttle a wheelbarrow full of bags up and back,
and the bags were just FLYING up the tower. They were really piling up. Pam
Saberton was working with us at the top, and it was good to see her again. She
made a misstep on the trail about six months ago at the last field camp and
broke her ankle. It was still causing her some discomfort, so I was quite surprised
to see her working so hard. She and Marty were both slinging those heavy bags
with the best of them! I turned the counting over to someone else, and made
one trip with a wheelbarrow. But after hitting a bump and overturning most of
the load after reaching the Rotunda (huffing and puffing all the way), I decided
to leave that part of it for someone who's a bit younger, or at least in a little
better condition.
Once we got them all up to the top of the stairs, we started carrying them up
the avenue, by wheelbarrow and by hand. The dump trucks weren't coming until
the next morning, so we piled the bags along the side of the trail, at the base
of the big stairs. If I remember correctly, my final count was 841 bags! That
evening, we had supper in the Hotel dining room with a number of other folks
who had worked so hard that day.
The next morning, Marty and I headed toward home, leaving the final push up
the stairs to those hardy souls who were staying to finish up. I felt a bit
guilty, especially since it was raining like crazy and was going to be a miserable
morning for them, but we had already made our plans, and we were pretty tired
from the big push of the previous day.
We'll be heading back down on May 4th, so we'll have an oral report to make
at the meeting on the 11th.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
January 12, 2001
Called to order at 7:27 by Secretary Jim Jacobs filling in for President Julie Angel, who was ill. Present: Dave Carson (Treasurer), Earl Neller, Larry Bird, John Marquart, Leonard Storm, Brett Bennett, Angi Bennett, Nick and Annie Bennett, John Walther, Marc Tiritilli (At-Large Board Member), Troy J. Simpson, Troy R. Odgers.
OFFICER REPORTS: The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as published in the NEWS. The Treasurer's report was approved.
OLD BUSINESS: Troy passed around copies of the brochure that he designed. He did an outstanding job. We'll have copies made and get them placed in strategic spots. Brett asked for contributions for the I.S.S. report. It's due in mid-April. There was discussion about a clean-up at the Stemler Sinkhole to coincide with the I.S.S. meeting April 14-15.
Larry Bird reported on the state of the BlackBall Mine. He did some clean-up. Mapped it himself. The DNR is running patrols. Trespassers are fined. They are heading in the direction of getting it in shape for tours. He was last in there on December 11. The car is still stuck in the upper shaft. There are thousands of bats in the Zimmerman Mine. He did some temperature and humidity readings. The farmer planted corn over the top of the mine. Heritage Corridor is a company that does tours. They may be the company to work with on this. Their grant from the govt. went from $200,000 to $2 million. There might be bus tours and/or bike tours. The Conservation Police are still just allowing Larry to do things in the mine. No one else, yet. He has considered doing a bit of digging at the site of the little natural cave. May find artifacts. He also brought for us to look at, a photocopy of a Mammoth Cave trip report which was published in the newspaper in 1852.
TRIP REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS: Troy & Brett - Sullivan's Cave. January 20 with Boy Scouts and Ralph Sawyer. John Walther will take an ISU group to Maquokata (Iowa) on April 1st.
Adjourned to Tobin's for pizza.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Jacobs, Secretary
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
February 9, 2001
Called to order at 7:30 by Board Member-at-Large, Marc Tiritilli. Present: Tracy Tiritilli, Steve Taylor, Brett Bennett, Ralph Sawyer, Larry Bird, Treasurer Dave Carson (& Matthew), Secretary Jim Jacobs
OFFICER'S REPORTS: Treasurer's report delivered by Dave Carson. We have $291.47. Accepted. Minutes of the January meeting read by Jim Jacobs. Approved.
OLD BUSINESS: The Stemler Sinkhole cleanup and the Illinois Speleological Survey meeting will probably be moved to the next weekend (April 21 & April 22) rather than the weekend of the 15th, as originally scheduled, to avoid conflict with Easter. John Schirle is our representative for that meeting. (He and Brett Bennett alternate.) The ISS is in the process of selecting a new Chair of their Data Management Committee, since Rick Toomey is moving to Arizona. In many important respects, the whole character of the ISS hinges on this selection. Lack of confidence in the Data Manager may hinder data collection.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Mammoth Cave weekend field camp will take place on March 3-4. The MVOR this spring will be hosted by the Ozark Highland Grotto. The NSS convention will take place in July (23-27), in Mt. Vernon Kentucky. I've received a video on the convention, and I'll bring it to the next meeting. An I-Max film has been made on caving and will be released soon. The Indiana Karst Conservancy also has work weekends. You can link to their website from the NSS homepage. The Eastern Kentucky Rescue School will take place April 7 & 8. Marc Tiritilli is going and is open to share the ride and expenses with someone else who is interested.
TRIP REPORTS: Ralph Sawyer took scouts to Sullivan Cave. They got temporarily lost, but nothing serious. (See article, this issue - Ed.) Buckner's Cave is now closed Monday through Friday. They close the parking lot. The logging company now patrols the area and arrests people trying to cross the fields to get to Small Dull Cave. Marc T. gave a presentation for third graders at Metcalf School (in Normal).
Next meeting March 9. Adjourned.
Marc showed a video of an NCRC group learning to rig a "Flying W" highline system to raise a litter from a valley. Pizza at Tobin's.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Jacobs, Secretary
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
March 9, 2001
Called to order at 7:10 by Julie Angel (president). Present: Matt Angel, Phil VonDeBur, G. Dennis Campbell, Marc Tiritilli, John Schirle, Brett Bennett, Ralph Sawyer, Troy J. Simpson, Brian R Braye, David S. Carson, Jim Jacobs.
OFFICER'S REPORTS. Treasurer Dave Carson reported that our current balance is $290.68. Approved. The minutes of previous meetings were approved as published in the NEWS.
OLD BUSINESS: The IMAX caving movie has been released. It is being shown at many IMAX venues, including Indianapolis.
NEW BUSINESS/TRIP REPORTS: Reports on Mammoth Cave weekend restoration camp
that took place March 3-4. Heave ho! We moved 841 bags of wood, wire, etc. from
Vanderbilt Hall to the historical entrance.
John Schirle reported that Illinois Caverns is changing their visitation rules
and hours. [see article, this issue]. Basically, they're cutting back. They're
under budget cuts. There is a new changing facility, but it doesn't have electricity
yet. It also may be wise to take your own toilet paper, just in case. John found
two $1 bills and cheap headlamp in the main passage. There was discussion about
the "other" exits from the cave. Ralph Sawyer and his scout troop
are headed there on Sunday.
Pike Lumber Company controls much of the area around the Buckner's Cave area,
and is running patrols to keep people off the property. This affects people
wanting to hike over to Small Dull Cave and others.
Lara Storm sent a message. A caver friend of hers, Bob Svensson, died in a cave
diving accident. He had been with her on a trip that she recently reported on.
Brett Bennett talked to Larry Bird. They may have found an underground river.
They're going to check it out. No other details.
Dennis Campbell spent some time in China. He may do a presentation in the future.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: The next grotto meeting is April 13.
April 7-8 NCRC cave rescue weekend in Kentucky. Mark Tiritilli is participating.
May 5-6 is the next Mammoth Cave restoration project weekend.
ADJOURNED
Program: Jim Jacobs showed the video that the NSS provided promoting the upcoming
NSS Convention. John Schirle did a presentation on "Doing Presentations
on Caving". He showed a video on Kartchner Cave.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
April 13, 2001
PRESENT: Vice President, John Schirle, Brett (and Anne) Bennett, Don Coons, Jim Jacobs, new member Jeff Gosnell.
For the second time in our existence, there was no quorum present, so no official business could be conducted. The treasurer's report was read by secretary Jim Jacobs, who also read the minutes of the March meeting. The treasurer's report (balance of $310.68) will have to be continued until the May meeting for approval. The minutes for March and April will also have to be considered in May for approval as published in this issue of the NEWS.
We welcomed new member, Jeff Gosnell. His address is 30,000 Mission Camp Rd., Canton, IL 61520. Email, jeffery@davesworld.net.
We held a general wide-ranging discussion. Someone mentioned that we could practice vertical work at ISU's tower. I asked for confirmation and more details, since this would present a major change in their previous policy, which has been very restrictive as to who could use the facility. John Schirle went to the rescue training weekend in Kentucky with Marc Tiritilli. It was held at Climax Cave, near Climax, Kentucky. Don Coons had helped to run one in Hawaii. He has spent a lot of time exploring lava tube caves there over the past few years. He reports that in ways lave tubes are more fun to explore than limestone caves. There is a lot more walking passage as opposed to crawling. The ways that they are formed creates different sorts of passages than those created by water. He gave one example of a cave which is formed in a rift inside a volcano, which features four levels of stacked passages--big passages. They were able to survey over 2,000 ft.
We discussed the need for more planning, for meetings, programs, and activities.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
May 5-6. Mammoth Cave restoration weekend.
May 11. Next grotto meeting.
May 23-27. NSS Convention.
Caving in the New Year in
New Mexico.
by Steve Taylor and Barb Capocy
On the afternoon of December 30th, we (Barb Capocy and Steve Taylor) drove away from the Albuquerque airport ("Sunport" they call it) in a small rental car headed towards Grants, New Mexico and the lava just to its' south. We stayed the night in Grants then drove via scenic "Zuni Canyon" the back way into the western side of El Malpais National Monument, crossing the continental divide twice. There was snow on the ground, but bare rock showed through on the south and west facing slopes.
We stopped a few spots along the way to take pictures -- cows, bluffs, and a lava/aspen/snow combination. Our first real stop was at the visitors center, where we interrogated the employees, learning that the best of the lava tubes were approachable only by four wheel drive. We opted instead for tubes in the more accessible El Calderon area, only a short drive from the visitors center. We spent time in the parking lot changing into caving gear, getting cameras ready, helmets, knee pads, etc. A short walk in the snow took us to the entrance of Junction Cave, an oft-visited tube near the parking lot. The ceiling collapse afforded entrance down a rubble sink in the snow down into the dry, rugged, and very dark cave. Not that I don't know what dark is - but the lava-colored walls do soak up a lot more light than do our midwestern limestone caves. We clamored about on the breakdown, finally reaching a closed area near the back of the cave (which we did not enter). Near this area, we noted a few bats hibernating singly on the ceiling. On the way back out, we checked out an interesting side passage that soon became crawly. Somewhere along the way we found fine white crystalline growths that looked much like snow. Accumulations of bat bones were observed several places.
After coming out of Junction Cave, we continued down the snowy trail across the lava. Soon we arrived at Double Sinks Cave. The entrance was quite impressive. Two huge holes in the snow and the blackness of going passage at the bottom of what appeared to be a 50-70 foot rope drop. We were not prepared to do the drop, so moved on after more photos.
After much trodding along the trail, we came to Bat and Xenolith caves at opposite ends of a lava tube collapse which formed a picturesque sink. Bat Cave is closed for the bats, and we only took photos by the entrance sign. Then we crawled into Xenolith Cave and strolled briefly down the borehole before coming to a short vertical drop equipped with a tree as a ladder. We opted not to trust the old tree (which is even shown on the map of the cave, published in the June 1997 NSS News). We hiked back to the rental car through the beautiful snow-covered lava field, entertaining ourselves with snowball ambushes and snow angels.
We drove north back to Grants, then after a short jaunt on the interstate, cruised back south on the eastern side of the lava flow. After passing through a corner of the Acoma Indian Reservation, we came to La Ventana, the "largest easily accessible natural bridge in New Mexico". The beautiful span of sandstone was within sight of the lava flow, and was lit by the remains of the sunset.
We continued south in the growing darkness after this satisfying day, thinking about the several hundred lava caves we were leaving behind, and about the adventure that lay before us. The first part of the adventure before us was a rather alarmingly remote, rough, snow and ice covered road which we traversed in darkness in our low-clearance rental car. After quite a long time (hours), innumerable cattle guard crossings, and several moments of uncertainty (too harrowing to recount here), we emerged unscathed at the other end in "Pie Town" which we recognized by the presence of a stop sign and a four-way intersection (no gas station, no "downtown"). We drove on into the darkness, heading east now and passing through what must be a quite scenic area. We spotted several Elk along the side of the road - thankfully they stayed along the side of the road. Eventually we arrived at the more sizable town of Socorro, where we spent the night.
The following morning we drove off in search of a recommended canyon which we never found, then drove to another area for which we had better directions. We hiked about in rugged desert terrain following ravines, bluff lines, and the contact between sandstone and limestone. Never found a cave, though.
Impulsively, we decided to drive to Carlsbad that evening. Along the way, we came across a BLM site called The Valley of Fires - a small recreation area in the Carrizozo Lava Flow. We stopped and trotted out onto the treacherous lava. It was a rugged and foreboding place -- very sharp, jagged, unstable lava with large crevasses. Cactus everywhere, and snow here and there. On summer nights, one can add rattlesnakes to the 'potential concerns' list, and it is said that it is not possible to carry enough water to last a full day on the lava flow during the heat of mid-summer. So many hazards and yet so beautiful. Completely taken by the place, plans are already in the works to return soon for a longer stay with more intensive vulcanospeleological investigations.
Reluctantly back on the road again, another long night drive. Through a mountain pass where we saw a Pronghorn Antelope on the shoulder of the road. On through Roswell (home to aliens, spaceships, and active imaginations - including ours when the fog settled in just before the city limits), through stinky (industrial) Artesia, and finally into Carlsbad.
The next morning, with an early start, we drove up to Carlsbad Caverns, drooling at the Swiss cheese bedrock cliffs along the way. We spent much of the morning doing the self-guided tour from the historic entrance down to the big room. Lots of photography. Found the spot where Barb had rappelled a few years back during a cleanup. General good time. An elevator ride back topside (some 750 feet up), and we secured tickets for the guided lower cave tour. By this time, it was sleeting outside. Future driving worries set aside, we set off with gloves and helmets for the lower cave tour with our National Park guides and about 8 other tourists. Elevator down, short walk on tourist trail, rope assisted descent down a flowstone, then three ladders, and there we were. We soon discovered a difference between our two guides.. One of the ladies was very personable and likable, but the other became quiet unbearable in personality (and she just wouldn't stop talking). This unfortunate personality clash caused us considerable distress during our tour of lower cave. Eventually the torture, and the tour of the beautiful passages, came to an end (about an hour later than advertised, thanks to the excessive monologue).
We scraped ice off of the rental car (which, of course, had no ice scraper) and headed down the canyon via the scenic route. Tonight, we would climb more mountains - up through Cloudcroft (a rich-folks ski town) and down the steep road on the other side, on into Alamogordo - a rather bland, desert town where we spent the night.
Our caving was over by now, but hey, gotta finish the story, right?
We drove another 25 miles to White Sands National Monument, and climbed about on the large dunes comprised of gypsum sand (so intensely white), still with a touch of snow on the ground. Continuing west, over a low mountain pass, down into Las Cruces, then north again almost to Socorro, where we spent several hours at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, a site that one really *must* see if you're in the area. Our bird list included about 8 Bald Eagles, several species of hawks, thousands of Snow Geese, and several hundred Sandhill Cranes. After that treat, we continued north, passing through Albuquerque on a whim to see Sante Fe. We struggled to find a stereotypically "Sante Fe" coffee shop without any luck and had to settle for a Starbucks. From there we drove south to Sandia Park, on the other side of the mountain from Albuquerque, where we stayed overnight with my sister before heading back to the "Sunport" early the next morning. Then, again, home to Illinois.
Piercing the Darkness
by Troy J. Simpson
The radiant sunbeams pierce the darkness
Like arrows that seek their target.
Their reach grows weak
As the black abyss gradually envelops them.
Faintly, the splinters of light disappear,
Like a shroud, all features are blanketed.
The cold, damp hole is all so quiet.
The voices of water trickling on the floor,
The only interruption in the cathedral silence.
The warmth of light is nowhere to be found.
A resounding boom echoes through the chasm.
The soft glow of light begins to overtake the blackness.
Colors jump out off the walls.
Browns, Yellows, Reds, Whites.
Stone Icicles, petrified by time, reach for the floor,
Arm-like pillars grasp for the ceiling.
The halo of light holds the darkness at bay,
The wonders of the subterranean are a secret no more.
The shroud once again covers the secret.
The darkness dwells over the mystery.
Safe again.
MY RESCUE FROM FLOYD
COLLINS' CRYSTAL CAVE
The Rescued Party's Account
by John R. Marquart
Copyright 1993 by John R. Marquart
The 5th-Annual NSS Cave Restoration Field Camp at Mammoth Cave National Park,
Kentucky, came to be the most memorable of my caving experiences with my rescue
from Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave. I will describe the events concerning this
rescue from my recollections supplemented by some discussions with others involved.
The accuracy of times and events described is the best that my memory allows,
since I certainly did not take written notes at the time. This account from
the injured party's view when combined with the accompanying account by Larry
Reece, who served as part of the rescue team, should give a fair representation
of the occurrences in this, the first "technical rescue" (beyond helping
people with minor injuries or simply pooped out on tourist trails), that the
National Park Service, NPS, has had to perform on Mammoth Cave National Park
property. I am sure that everyone involved learned some important lessons concerning
cave rescue, some of which I hope to pass on to you.
Thursday afternoon, August 19, 1993, was to be a fun payback for our volunteer
work. Bob Ward, Park Historian and NPS person in charge of our camp, arranged
for us to have this afternoon off from our work to do wild-cave trips of our
choice. We could explore cave areas well off the tourist trails. A group of
14 of us chose to follow our NSS leader, Norm Rogers, on a difficult trip to
Floyd's Lost Passage in Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave on the Flint Ridge area
of Mammoth Cave National Park. Crystal Cave and other caves of Flint Ridge connect
and they ultimately connect with Mammoth Cave on Mammoth Cave Ridge and other
caves on Joppa Ridge through a network of passages. Combined they make up a
single cave system totaling 340 miles in length, the longest cave system on
earth .
In the winter of 1916-17, Floyd Collins discovered a breathing sinkhole near
the Collins' house. After two weeks of digging, his tight crawlway opened into
a major cave with a huge trunk passage having 100 feet wide walls and a 75 foot
crescent shaped ceiling. The walls and ceiling glistened with gypsum flowers,
suggesting the name Crystal Cave to him. He went on to explore other huge trunk
passageways which he named, Valley of Decision, Devil's Kitchen, and Gypsum
Route. By 1919, Floyd opened Crystal Cave to paying tourists. The Collins family
was very poor, as were many in central Kentucky, a region with poor topsoil
and few other resources. The way out of poverty was to have a good tourist cave
to attract the increased influx of big-city, car vacationers. Unfortunately,
Crystal Cave was too far down poorly maintained dirt roads to attract many of
the tourists heading for the main attraction, Mammoth Cave. Floyd was looking
for an entrance to Crystal Cave that was closer to the main road, when on January
30, 1925, he made his fateful crawl into nearby Sand Cave. His entrapment and
death made world news at the time and folk history ever since .
With Floyd's death, knowledge of all but the tourist trail areas of Crystal
Cave was lost for decades. Later explorations into a labyrinth of seemingly
insignificant crawlways past Scotchman's Trap led to Floyd's Lost Passage, a
huge trunk passage where artifacts of Floyd's solo trips in the 1920's are found
to this day. There are cans of kerosene for his lanterns and stoves, bean cans,
and other items exactly as he had left them over 70 years ago . Scotchman's
Trap is so named because the Scotch are supposed to be very tight and so is
the passage beyond. That was an understatement as I was about to learn.
It was about 1:30 p.m. Thursday when the 14 of us drove down the dirt road to
the old Collins' house and hiked 300 feet further down some stone steps to the
small, rectangular cave entrance that Floyd Collins had dug 76 years before.
Inside, Norm reached through a hole in a heavy steel door to unlock a padlock
and lead us into Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave. The narrow sinkhole entrance soon
opened into the Grand Canyon Passage. The limestone walls and ceiling were richly
coated with glistening white gypsum crystals. When the Collins' family sold
the cave to a developer, the deal included leaving Floyd's body there as a tourist
attraction. Here we saw a rock slab where a bronze casket containing Floyd's
body had remained for decades. The casket was now gone, since Mammoth Cave National
Park obtained the cave and had him buried in a cemetery on park property. His
funeral was only a few months ago and some of our NSS colleagues had attended
it. One of Norm's sons thoughtfully laid down on the slab for my photographic
reenactment. Some of the group crawled under a overhanging ledge to see Floyd's
signature smoked into the ceiling. With Norm expressing concern that we move
on with such a large group, I passed on this experience, figuring to do it on
the way out. I never got to have the opportunity, as fate would have it.
Abandoned tourist trails of concrete sidewalks and fallen down wooden handrails
took us through another mile of huge trunk passages. We passed rapidly through
the Valley of Decision, the Devil's Kitchen, and the Gypsum Route. We moved
along rapidly since our goal wasn't here in the tourist part of the cave, but
far back into the lower levels. At about 2:30 p.m., we arrived at our breaking-off
point, Scotchman's Trap. Beyond was a half-mile of passage starting with a tolerable
stoop-walk, then a duck-walk, and turning into a belly-crawl barely the size
of my body. It was tight and soon I felt the abrasion of the gypsum sand burning
my eyes and penetrating my kneepads to abrade my knees. I wondered if the rewards
ahead were worth the pains.
Ahead lay the much-dreaded obstacles: the "S-Curve", very tight and
only passable while crawling on your side while worming your body around the
sharp s-bend, and the "Keyhole", the tightest slot on our route, where
we passed from one passage to an adjoining one. It was a triangular slot only
10 inches high at one side of the triangle by 24 inches wide. I fit, but barely.
The Keyhole gave me the most problem and as I tried to squeeze through, my clothing
snagged on the rough rock. Finally, with some effort, I was through. I thought
of how much I wouldn't relish the trip back out. How little I know then about
how difficult it was actually to be!
The passages made a confusing three-dimensional maze. They branched off sideways
and also vertically up and down. It would be very easy to get lost, especially
to overshoot the Keyhole on the way out. Norm, who had explored these passages
before, led and at each branch passed the word back through each of us to tell
our tail man, Steve Gentry, to attach flagging tape to the walls so we could
find our way back out. Steve, a very capable caver from Louisville dressed in
cave-worn suit of yellow ballistic nylon, was assigned to be the last person
through and to keep tabs on those ahead. I could see that his attire was more
appropriate to this cave than mine, which consisted of a tee shirt and jeans,
since his slide more easily through these passages. I tend to overheat in the
humid, cave atmosphere and perspire a lot, so I tend to dress lightly. I carry
some backup clothing in my pack to use when we stop for a while. At periodic
times, Norm would tell us to count off to make sure that we all followed. In
these tight passages, he had no way of communicating with any of us except to
pass the word back man to man.
Once out of the tight crawlways, we entered deep fault-fissure canyons that
we had to negotiate by chimneying high above the floor. The cave leveled out
for a brief time as we came to Flow and Ebb Falls, a trickle of water falling
from a high dome and vanishing into a small hole in the floor to finally dropping
to the canyon floor far below. This had supplied Floyd with the only water supply
from Scotchman's Trap until deep into Floyd's Lost Passage. I was third from
the rear of our group of 14 when we again began to traverse a deep, narrow fissure
canyon, Straddle Canyon. This time, there were narrow ledges on the canyon wall
to traverse a fault crack which projected high above and below us. The canyon
floor lay in a deep crack about 40 feet below. We were almost through the hard
part of the route and not far from our objective, Floyd's Lost Passage.
Then at 4:00 p.m., two and a half hours into our trip, it happened! Jim crossed
a ledge on the left side of the canyon slot with no problem. Now under my weight,
Jim's 150 pounds plus 50, I felt the ledge give way and heard the crash of rocks
that were my only foot hold tumble deep into the canyon below. Things happened
too fast for my memory to recall, but my instinct was to break my fall. A second
later, I found that I was securely jammed crosswise in the fissure by my outstretched
arms. I had only fallen about four feet and was secure, but then the bad news.
I couldn't move my right arm to climb back to the ledges. My shoulder was dislocated.
My arm was out of its socket and now positioned painfully above my shoulder
blade.
I called to the group to come back to my aid and to get me out of here. Steve
Gentry was first to me and refused to try to move me until he had determined
the extent of my injuries. After concluding that it was safe to move me, Steve,
Jim Jacobs and others then climbed into the fissure that held me and with my
assistance, got me back to the ledge level. They helped me about twenty feet
back into the passage from which we had come. There a solid floor bridged the
canyon. This small area turned out to be my home for a long time to come. It
was apparent that my only disability was my dislocated right arm, which gave
quite a bit of pain. I ask my colleagues to try to put my shoulder back into
its socket. None of us, including myself, had any idea of how hard to pull and
with what kind of motion, but they tried. It was futile. The pain and danger
of doing me more bodily damage was too great. I clearly needed a doctor and
more help. I couldn't travel on my own and a rescue in this cave, with its mixture
of vertical exposure and very tight crawls, was going to be very difficult.
A litter or skid, no matter how small, couldn't negotiate the body sized winding
passages, vertical corkscrew climbs, and deep fissures. The Keyhole and the
S-Curve seemed like the most formidable obstacles.
Within a half-hour, the rescue plan was begun. Norm was to lead most of our
party out of the cave to alert the park rangers that a rescue was needed and
to get medical help to me. Four were to stay with me until help arrived. Steve
Gentry and Larry Matiz had cave rescue training and previous rescue experience
and elected to stay, along with Jim Jacobs and Matt Reece. Those exiting left
behind their food, water, spare carbide, and some dry clothing. My tee shirt
and jeans were very wet with my sweat and the first concern was hypothermia
at the 56 degree Fahrenheit temperature. I was to remain immobile on the limestone
floor of the passage until help came. My colleagues removed my tee shirt and
got me into a polyproplyene shirt and skull cap that I had in my pack and a
dry zipper sweater left by one of Norm's sons. They fashioned a sling from some
cloth and secured my injured arm tightly across my chest by tying one-inch tubular
webbing around me. A space blanket and some dry clothes were spread beneath
me and I was covered with a couple more space blankets.
As long as I didn't move at all, the pain was fairly tolerable. I was given
some mild pain tablets, which helped. I soon ask for some more, but was told
that they were in limited supply and I couldn't eat them "like popcorn".
I felt relieved that my friends were doing all the right things and that it
would all work out. Two years before, I had taken a two-day short-course in
cave rescue for the National Cave Rescue Commission, NCRC. It was now paying
dividends by boosting my confidence. I could picture what was to be done to
get me out and knew that I needed to be patient for a long wait for it to be
done right. It was about 5:00 p.m. and I tried to estimate when various parts
of my rescue might occur. The accident had happened at 4:00 and Norm's group
was heading out by 4:30. I guessed that it would take two hours for them to
exit the cave, another two to get rangers and a doctor, and two more to get
back to me. If all went well, a doctor might be here by 10:30 or 11:00 p.m.
and I might be on my way out. My estimates were only right to a point, but it
helped my moral to make plans. Matt heated some Pepsi right in the can that
had been left with our supplies. To keep up my body heat, he wanted me to drink
it hot. To my surprise, I actually liked it that way.
It was about 9:30 p.m. when we heard voices coming through the passage. It was
Team #1 of the rescue parties consisting of Ranger Henry Holman leading three
NPS team members, two of whom were EMTs. It was a full hour earlier than I had
estimated that a rescue team could be organized and make it back to my location.
Henry was to direct the rescue from the "Incident Command Center"
and was here to examine me and the cave to plan the rescue operation. He then
sent messages with my NSS colleagues, Steve, Larry and Matt to begin implementation
of the rescue. Jim Jacobs elected to stay longer, saying that I needed someone
there whom I knew. My estimate of 10:30 for the beginning of my evacuation from
the cave at first seemed to me to have been conservative, but as it turned out,
it was much too optimistic. This was only the beginning of a long series of
steps in my rescue. I had hoped that the EMTs could get my shoulder back in
joint or, at least, give me a shot to deaden the pain so I might become mobile.
The answer was "No, only a doctor can do that and one is being sought".
I had to settle for more aspirin and Tylenol pain tablets. More space blankets
were put on me and I was given sandwiches that had been left by my group. They
where smashed flat by being dragged through all those crawlways in backpacks.
I was handed a meatloaf sandwich which was smashed to about a quarter inch thick.
I chased it down with some Gatoraid.
Around midnight, we again heard voices approaching. Norm Rogers and Larry Bundy,
from our NSS group, were leading Rescue Team #2 to us. Norm only stayed a short
time and then started the long trip back out, to continue his role as liaison
between our NSS group and the rangers, and as a guide through the complicated
maze of passages. Team #2 relieved Team #1. One of them, Kevin Neff, stayed
while the rest of Team #1 followed Norm out. Apparently, the plan was for Team
#3, led by Park Ecologist Rick Olsen, to follow Team #2 in, about a half-hour
later. Rick was to be in charge of getting me out of the cave. I had heard from
mutual caving friends that Rick was a very capable caver. He lived in Illinois
and operated an electron microscope at the University of Illinois, where I teach
part-time (in addition to my full-time position at Eastern Illinois University).
Recently, Rick was hired by Mammoth Cave National Park. Small world, I thought,
but that isn't unusual, cavers are a small, select group.
As the hours mounted, and I lay immobile with the cold, hard limestone floor
sapping up my body heat, I would occasionally start shivering. When shivers
overtook me several times, my rescuers had me stand, which although quite painful,
did help me throw off the shivers. The space blankets and thin layer of clothing
above and below me were a godsend, but not actually adequate for the many hours
that had passed and had yet to come. Fortunately, I do not get cold easily,
but my rescuers were very concerned. If I did lose my body core heat, then it
would be very difficult to restore it under existing conditions. As the NPS
team's concern grew, they dispatched two of their team with a note that a sleeping
bag and air mattress was absolutely needed to keep me from hypothermia. I told
Jim Jacobs that I was well tended to and that he had better go out too. He had
been in the cave for about eleven hours so far and was tiring. He, Henry, and
Kevin left for the surface.
Carbide lamps were held under the space blankets, and heat packs were applied.
After the heat packs were exhausted, there was even talk of lying next to me
to supply body heat. The rescuers were more concerned than I thought necessary
at this stage, but I appreciated their concern for my welfare. I had little
to do but lie there watching the flames of their carbide lamps light up the
narrow fissure that rose high into the ceiling and to think and try to plan
on what to expect next. I tried to sleep, but the effort was futile. I didn't
feel tired, just anxious to be able to move again and start out of here.
More hours went by. The rescue party was visibly puzzled and began to express
their concern. Where is Team #3? Weren't they to come a half-hour after their
team did? Also, where was the sleeping bag? Plenty of time had past for the
four-hour turn around time to go out and back to us. Several times someone would
say that he had heard someone approaching and everyone would became totally
silent. The winding cave passages absorbed sound like they did light. To be
heard or seen, an approaching party had to be very close. Each time, the sounds
proved to be only a occasional dripping of water or an echo from our own sounds.
Several disturbing scenarios were proposed. Had the Team #3 become lost in the
labyrinth of passages? Were they trying to find their way back on course, either
to us or to get back out? Had a rescuer himself been in an accident in this
difficult cave? Had rescue operations stopped to rescue a rescuer? Then, most
disturbing, had there been a collapse which sealed us in? It wouldn't take much
to block the narrow crawlways. What then? One of the rescue team said that there
was another way out via the Austin entrance, but it was miles away and a 12-hour
trip for someone in good shape. I didn't say anything, but I didn't think it
a good idea to suggest such scenarios in front of the victim, me!
Finally about 5:30 a.m. Friday morning, everyone again went silent. This time
the sounds steadily intensified as Team #3 approached. Rick Olsen appeared leading
three other team members and Dr. Gary Howerton. Rick was to lead my movement
out once Dr. Howerton had repositioned my shoulder. With them, they carried
a sleeping bag. Finally! Team #3 had been held back until the much-needed doctor
had arrived to join them. That explained the long worrisome wait that Team #2
and I had, but it certainly would have helped to have known about this change
in plans, and the sleeping bag had been needed many hours ago.
Dr. Howerton explained that I must be mobile and in good senses to make it out
of the cave on my own power. He wanted to try to reposition my shoulder without
using any pain killers. The sleeping bag now served only one purpose, as a spread
for me to lie on, while Dr. Howerton removed a boot, placed his foot in my arm
pit, and pulled hard on my arm. The pain caused my muscles to involuntarily
fight back. My shoulder slid into joint and right back out. He would have to
give me a pain shot. A shot of Valium was administered and he again pulled on
my arm, first straight out and then with my elbow at a right angle. This time,
it went into joint and was stayed there. He then gave me a shot of a counteractant.
In a short time, the drugged effect of the Valium was gone and I felt as conscious
as ever. I didn't know that medications existed, that can turn you on and off
like a light switch, but was glad that they do. The pain was much less now and
my arm was again tightly strapped across my chest. Dr. Howerton warned me that
the Valium had a longer lifetime than the counteractant and that it might again
take over. This didn't prove to be the case and I remained alert all the way
out.
At about 6:00 a.m., 16 1/2 hours after entering the cave and 14 hours after
my accident, I was finally mobile and ready to begin the difficult trip out.
I ask Rick how he planned to get me past some of the obstacles ahead. I would
have to keep my damaged right arm away from any contact with the rocks and make
do only with my left arm. I am right handed and my right arm is stronger, but
now useless. The pain was quite tolerable as long as I didn't make any such
contact with it. He told me not think ahead. Each obstacle would be overcome
as a goal in itself. Then we would attack the next. Limited by the tight passages,
the team had brought in a minimum of rescue equipment. They had 200 foot of
PMI static rope, a seat harness, a kit to place expansion bolts in the walls,
and a backboard. The backboard was a desperation device. It was the only type
of litter or skid that would fit through the passages. If necessary, it would
be strapped to my back and I would be dragged along. I wondered how they could
manage that, since my body alone hardly fit through many of the passages.
The first obstacle was to get across the fissure canyon that we had chimneyed
across just before my accident. I couldn't chimney and Rick secured the rope
as a traverse line along the walls of the canyon. He then helped me into the
seat harness and handed me a huge carabinier, which I clipped between my seat
harness and the rope. It turned out to be very easy to traverse the wall to
solid footing on the far side. At each obstacle, Rick would go ahead and would
try to place himself in my situation. While holding his right arm across his
chest, he would try to get across the obstacle. He would then come back to me
saying "John, I think that it will work, if you do it this way". He
was usually right. Occasionally, it seemed easier to me to do it some other
way, but usually, I tried it his way and it worked. There were more canyons
to traverse ahead. This time, Rick said that there were narrow ledges high up
in the canyons and that he thought I could stay out of the canyons by crawling
these ledges. The ledges were narrow, sloped downward toward the canyon drop,
and were covered with loose gypsum. They offered considerable vertical exposure,
but Rick and his colleagues jammed their bodies across the canyon fissures to
back me up if I slipped. Each time, I made the crawl unassisted, but was very
grateful for the security of their backup. At one place, it was necessary to
cross the canyon from a ledge on one side to one on the other. My rescuer's
bodies made me a human bridge with which to do the crossing. More climbs lay
ahead, such as the "Corkscrew", a vertical winding climb. I was able
to negotiate it unassisted. Now the vertical exposure was over and long, tight
crawls lie ahead. The rope, which had only been used once, was no longer needed
and was abandoned as surplus baggage. I think that the backboard was also abandoned,
since it hadn't been needed at all. I wore the seat harness all the rest of
the way out, but never used it again.
We arrived at the Keyhole. There was no way that I would fit with my arm strapped
across my chest, so we undertook the unpleasant chore of unstrapping it and
moving it to my side. I recalled the difficultly that I had getting through
on the way in with my clothing snagging and wanted a minimum of interference
this time. I removed my helmet, had the sweater unzipped and spread aside, and
the polypropylene undershirt pulled up around my neck. Rick and another team
member crawled through to the other side, leaving two of the team on my side.
I slid my legs through the slot, then my waist, but my bare chest hung up in
the crack. Instead of struggling to get through, I ask Rick to pull me on through
by my feet. It worked and I was through.
Now came the tight crawls and the worry of the S-Curve. When the ceiling was
high enough, I crawled on my knees using my left arm for support. When the ceiling
got lower, I laid on my left side and acted like a worm, inching along. Rick
went into the S-Curve mimicking my plight and came back saying that he thought
it was passable by crawling on my left side while keeping my injured arm elevated.
It worked. I don't think it would have worked if I had to crawl on my right
side with an injured left arm, although, I imagine that Rick's ingenuity would
have gotten me through somehow.
The long crawls to follow turned from my side worm-crawl, to a duck-walk, and
to a stoop-walk. The cave was opening up and we were moving on. I was getting
enthusiastic about getting out of here, but Rick periodically ordered me to
stop and rest. He didn't want my excitement to cause some careless gesture.
The news came in from rangers waiting at Scotchman's Trap that once I got there,
I was to be transported to the cave entrance on a litter. I protested this decision,
saying that I had done the difficult part myself and didn't need or want to
be put in a litter when we got to tourist trails. Rick supported my desire and
sent word out that I had done an "aided self-rescue" so far and that
a litter wasn't needed. We went on to walking passage. The first time that I
had stood upright in hours.
We climbed out of Scotchman's Trap at about 11:00 a.m. Friday and were met by
rangers, many of my NSS friends, and other rescuers. The ranger in charge said
that his orders were to carry me out in a Stokes litter, but that he would let
me get out of the litter near the entrance and walk out of the cave unaided.
Their worry was that once on tourist trails, I might get too anxious to do the
remaining distance out and fall in my rush. It made sense and I agreed to be
strapped in the litter for my trip through the same trunk passages that I had
entered a day earlier. As I was carried toward the entrance, I heard my friends
sing the theme song to Gilligan's Island, "...a three-hour tour...".
How appropriate, what was to have been a 7-hour cave trip turned into a 22-hour
ordeal. Usually six litter bearers carried me, changing teams frequently.
At the Grand Canyon Passage my litter bearers halted, I was unstrapped, and
climbed out of the stretcher. One expressed concern on how much I staggered
when I tried to get my ground-legs, but I explained that I had hardly walked
upright for the 19 1/2 since my accident and had to get used to it again. It
was now almost 11:30 a.m. when I walked up the last flight of stone stairs and
out of the darkness of Floyd Collins Crystal Cave and into the noonday sun.
I squinted. My eyes had become accustom to the darkness of the cave.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I was met by a network TV camera crew
for a short statement, "...Yes, I planned on caving again...". At
the top of the hill, near the Collins' house, a group applauded my safe return.
I recognized many as my NSS friends. It felt good to see how much my plight
had concerned them. An ambulance awaited to take me to a hospital in Glasgow,
Kentucky for x-rays. On the way to the hospital, I talked with the ambulance
paramedics and learned that they and Dr. Howerton, who treated me in the cave,
were the same medical personal that on last Memorial Day had been belatedly
called to assist an unfortunate caver, William Coughlin, of suburban Chicago.
Coughlin, a novice to caving, died in the private, commercial Buzzard's Roost
Cave, just outside Mammoth Cave National Park. The paramedics said that they
were alerted too late to save his life. They expressed happiness that this time
things were done right. The difference was that in my case, knowledgeable and
capable people were with me when my accident happened and were in charge throughout
the operation. Whereas, after Coughlin fell unbelayed from a cable ladder, his
companions had him try to do a self-rescue which resulted in further injuries
and ultimately, in his death. Steve Gentry, Rick Olsen and fellow NNG'r Don
Coons were called out for this belated rescue attempt, and were involved in
the body recovery. At the time of this writing, Don is on his way to Kentucky
to testify as an expert witness to the Coroner's Inquest concerning the handling
of this incident by the trip guide.
At T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow, my shoulder was x-rayed, the many
layers of cave dirt cleaned off of me by having me sit in a whirlpool bath,
and my arm and shoulder put in a fresh sling. Jim Jacobs brought clean clothes
and I was released to return with him to our field camp. At the hospital door,
we were met by Cynthia Crossley Eagles a reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal
for an interview. Her story appeared in the August 21th edition. This newspaper
has a distinguished record of reporting on cave accidents and rescues and had
sent Cynthia to cover mine. In 1925, their 21 year-old, cub-reporter William
Burke "Skeets" Miller pushed his tiny 110-pound body through the dangerous
crawls of Sand Cave seven times to take warm food, drink , and electric lights
for heat to the trapped Floyd Collins. Skeets comforted the unfortunate man
and tried in vain to free him. Skeets was given exclusive authority to report
to the world on the "rescue". On his eighth trip to Floyd in a week,
Skeets found that the perilous passage had collapsed. This collapse finally
sealed the doom for Floyd Collins, whose body was not reached until weeks later.
With two cave deaths with which to compare my successful rescue, how thankful
I am and will always be to my dedicated and capable rescuers. My shoulder will
soon mend and I will cave again. My special thanks and gratitude to my NSS buddies,
who took my safe return so much to their hearts; Ranger Henry Holman of the
Mammoth Cave National Park Service, who commanded a well organized and well
operated rescue; all NPS personnel, who showed so much concern and devotion
to my welfare; Dr. Gary Howerton, whose medical treatment was paramount to the
success of the rescue; the Bowling Green Cave and Rock Rescue Team, who assisted
in the rescue; and all that participated and prayed for my rescue. Thank you
all!
Analysis:
Much went on beyond my view that made for a successful rescue. I will comment
only on things of which I have direct knowledge.
My NSS colleagues acted very responsibly from the onset, which set the tone
for a successful rescue. Steve Gentry was correct in refusing my plea to be
moved until he had determined that it was safe. Action in moving me to a safe
place and stabilizing me there until medical help could be brought to me was
correct. The division of forces to leave four with me and have the rest exit
the cave to alert the NPS was well planned. The NSS group operated swiftly,
but with forethought and without careless haste. Under the difficult conditions
imposed by the cave, the 5 1/2 hours response time from my fall until NPS Team
#1 NPS arrived to me was very prompt, an hour faster than I had thought possible.
The capable actions and obvious concern of all involved gave me the necessary
faith to remain optimistic throughout the long ordeal. Their continued hard
work and support through a long and tiring rescue verifies my belief that we
cavers are a small, but dedicated bunch of the most loyal friends that exists.
The NPS properly assumed command of the situation and operated a well-organized
and well-executed rescue. Their effort to cover every possible eventuality and
to supply abundant manpower to the operation made it go smoothly. I am very
fortunate that my rescue occurred on property within their control and not elsewhere,
like at Buzzards Roost. The NPS and EMT personnel who treated me in the cave
did a fine job and continually showed their deep concern for my safety.
Dr. Howerton served his profession beyond the normal call of duty by making
the difficult trip into and out of the cave to treat my injury in the early
hours. His medical assistance was paramount in allowing the rescue to go off
as smoothly as it did. I shudder at the thought of what I would have had to
endure had Dr. Howerton not been willing and able to get to me and to reset
my shoulder.
All others who contributed to the effort did so with unselfish devotion to my
rescue. I am very touched by how many people took my plight to heart and freely
assisted in its successful outcome or stood by on call if needed.
The positive aspects far outweigh any negatives, but with the aim that constructive
criticism will make any future rescue better, I will express a few suggestions:
Communication could be improved. The 4-hour turn around time, from the cave
entrance to the accident site and back, presented a major problem. A "runner
team" would have helped much to let NPS personnel at the accident site
understand what was going on and when to expect various stages of the rescue.
This was particularly true when Team #2 was expecting Team #3 within a half-hour,
but it turned out to be much longer due, apparently, to changes in the overall
rescue plan. In a hazardous cave, such as this one, it would not be unadvisable
to send a solo "runner". At least two should make up a "runner
team". This would present a demand upon personnel needed in later stages
of the rescue, but it appears that sufficient personnel were available to have
made this possible.
The first or, at least, the second team to the injured party should have tried
to bring any supplies that were deemed necessary in case of a long delay in
the rescue. Food, water, mild pain tablets, and carbide were left in abundant
supply by the NSS party, but a sleeping bag and air mattress would have made
the fight against hypothermia much easier.
Rescuers should not express their concerns of possible problems in the rescue
in front of the injured party. Better communication would have helped to have
eliminated the anxiety of my rescuers that something was wrong. They were very
concerned for my welfare, which I very much appreciate, but they should try
to be optimistic themselves, especially verbally. It is all right to make contingency
plans, but do so in a positive manner. As it appears after reading Larry Reece's
report, the scenarios of difficulty weren't entirely wrong. A group of rescuers
had become temporarily lost by overshooting the Keyhole on their way out. This
may have contributed to the communication problem cited above by delaying messages
sent from the accident site. Perhaps clearer markers were needed to mark the
routes.
TROOP 64 VENTURES
INTO SULLIVAN CAVE
by Ralph Sawyer
I think I'm going to be disappointed this time. We have been in Sullivan Cave
now for over four hours. Things didn't begin well. Despite verbal instructions
from the cave patron, it took us an hour just to find the Backbreaker passage,
less than 100 feet from the entrance. During that hour none of the seven Venture
Scouts from Troop 64 complained, but at this stage of the game, after much backtracking
and frustration, I and the Scouts need to find the Mountain Room soon or we
will have to exit the cave skunked. If that happens I don't know if they will
ever want to return to Sullivan Cave.
We keep going over the map, a barely readable photocopy of a photocopy. The
map is indispensable but is fully understandable only in hindsight, once we
have confirmed our location. But that's the trick isn't it -- confirming our
location. Brett Bennett theorizes we are in Grand Canyon while I argue with
a Scout about whether a compass can "go bad". Troy Simpson wonders
if we have somehow skirted the edge of the Mountain Room without seeing it.
I am having serious doubts about my memory, both short term (instructions from
the cave patron) and long term (my numerous trips to this cave long ago). We
begin backtracking, carefully checking the shadows on both sides of the passage,
high and low, for an entry crawl. Twice someone shouts back to us they are sure
they have found it. Twice they are forced to admit they are wrong. We keep numbering
off to make sure we don't leave a caver in one of these side crawls.
Taking up the rear, I am resigned to the fact that we are on a slow exit from
the cave. The Backbreaker awaits us, the ceiling just high enough to make crawling
ridiculous. We will exit stooped in surrender through the 1200 feet of passage.
They are excited up ahead. Big deal, we've been through this before. But this
time it is the real thing. Troy has wriggled through a small hole under a ledge.
The hole has opened up immediately into a tall crevice (just like on the map!)and
then The Mountain Room, over a hundred feet wide with a sixty foot high ceiling,
filled with a breakdown mountain capped with an impressive stalagmite, made
more wonderful by the difficulty we have overcome to achieve it.
I am only slightly jealous of Troy because I have just shed thirty years. I
am time traveling, checking out the Flood Passage just off the Mountain Room
with my buddies from Explorer Post 1 of Champaign Illinois. I am twenty pounds
lighter. My hair is thick and wavy. Girls think I'm cute.
So we meet the challenge of the Backbreaker bowed but triumphant, our goal attained.
I'm hot. I can't stand up straight and sweat drips from my eyebrows to my glasses.
My helmet keeps scraping the ceiling. One of the Scouts asks me how soon we
can come back and I can't stop grinning. With over nine miles of passages mapped
(we traveled about 3200 feet and back) Sullivan Cave, south of Bloomington Indiana,
beckons us to return. On our next visit we anticipate a rapid trip to the Mountain
Room, then exploration of a stream passage that connects to the subterranean
Sullivan River, where we hope to see crayfish and a fish called sculpin or miller's
thumb. Sullivan Cave is owned and managed by the Indiana Karst Conservancy (www.caves.org/conservancy/ikc).
Special thanks are due the IKC, Brett Bennett, Nick Bennett, and Troy Simpson
for their assistance and guidance.
Photo caption: Somewhere in Sullivan Cave with the Venture Patrol of
Troop 64, with Nick Bennett and Troy Simpson. Photo by Brett Bennett
SPELEOFEST PRE-REGISTRATION
THROUGH MAY 11th
Scott Cundiff
ScottCundiff@aol.com
Anyone wanting to Pre-Register for Speleofest 2001 will have until May 11th
to do so. However, we will be conducting 'ON-SITE' registration as well at
the Metcalfe Co. Park during Memorial Day Weekend.
Please use our website at: http://www.caves.org/grotto/louisvillegrotto/speleofest/index.htm to print the pre-registration form and for more information on Speleofest 2001.
Hope to see you there,
Scott Cundiff
Speleofest 2001 Chairman
CRYSTAL CAVE RESCUE
by Brian Braye and Jim Jacobs
Aug 19 - 2:00pm. The group of fourteen NSS cavers entered Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave.
Aug 19 ? 4:00pm. While straddling a canyon passage just beyond Ebb n Flow Falls (two hours in), John Marquart stepped on a rock shelf that others had stepped on as they passed. The rock broke and John fell feet first into the canyon, which is 3' wide and about 20' deep. Reaching out with his arms to stop his decent, he jammed his right arm upward, dislocating his right shoulder. Those of us who are ahead are called back by those with him. When we arrive, John is still in the canyon from the waist down, being stabilized by Steve Gentry, who had dropped down to a ledge to support him from below, and by Jim Jacobs, who had his arm hooked under John's left shoulder. They helped him to his feet and assisted him back a few feet to a place where he could rest without being in danger of falling. He was evaluated, and it was determined that his only injury was to his shoulder, which was dislocated vertically nearly an inch.
4:30pm. We discussed what should be done. It was decided that four people (Steve Gentry, Jim Jacobs, Matt Reese, and Larry Matiz) would stay with John while the rest returned to the surface to summon help. Everyone dug into their packs and left their water, food, space blankets, and clothing to help John stay as comfortable as possible. We knew that this would take a while to resolve. Norm Rogers wrote down vital information on John's condition, symptoms, and medical information, along with a list of items that may be needed.
4:45pm. The other nine people in the group started back to the entrance with
Norm Rogers in the lead. They traveled quickly, resting when necessary (no need
to have two casualties), arriving at the main entrance in one and one half hours.
Back at the injury site, John was helped out of his soaked T-shirt into two
sweaters, the inner one being a polypro that he had in his pack. He was given
ibuprofen to ease the pain. Other spare clothing was arranged as a makeshift
mattress, and his bootlaces were loosened. Carbide lamps were kept handy to
provide warmth and light, and so save their batteries. A couple of times he
began to shiver, so they helped him to sit up, and tented the space blankets
and put a carbide light between his legs. It was no big job to keep John's spirits
up. He is a hardened caver, has had cave rescue training, and is a natural optimist.
He and Jim (co-editor of their grotto newsletter) held a lively discussion about
who would write the trip report. (Those editors are all alike). During the wait,
he developed quite a taste for Pepsi heated right in the can on a wing stove.
6:15pm. Two people (Kurt Rothberger and John Benton) were assigned to stay at the entrance to allow no one but authorized persons into the cave. A third, (Steve Patruniak) also volunteered to stay also. The rest of the party left immediately for the Ranger Station to notify the Park Service.
6:30pm. The Park Service was notified, and a command post set up at the fire station. The call went out for Park Service personnel to report for duty. The NSS camp was notified (they were already aware, as they had a scanner in the camp. A team of four Rangers (two with EMT training) prepares to enter the cave to assess the situation.
7:00pm.The first team left, and teams two and three were organized from NSS members and Park personnel and put on standby. Others were sent back to camp to rest or help with food preparation.
9:00 pm. Norm Rogers returned pretty well exhausted from leading group two to the site of the injury (his second trip in and out). He headed back to camp to get some sleep.
9:40pm. The first team, led by Scene Director Henry Holman, arrived with Kevin Neff and two paramedics. Henry determined that, since John's condition was stable, and he was in no immediate danger, that it would be best to try to get a doctor down to the site to reset the shoulder, which would enable John to assist in his own rescue. Movement too soon risked further injury, shock and/or unconsciousness due to the intense pain. He reasoned that premature movement could jeopardize John's life. Further, the Doctor's presence would be necessary in case of other possible problems during the evacuation. Messengers were dispatched to the surface with information and orders for necessary items. Other helpers arrived later.
Aug 20, 12:30am. While John (a chemistry professor) is lecturing the paramedics on the chemistry of carbide, Henry, Kevin and Jim head for the surface. The timing is just coincidence. Jim had been in the cave for nearly 12 hours. The three of them made it to Scotchman's trap in less than 45 minutes. Just past the trap, they met the actual rescue team who were escorting the doctor, who had come in from Bowling Green. They exchanged information, and confirmed the plans for evacuation.
1:00am.The rescue team was sent in. One member was a doctor with some caving experience. The others are top people, experienced in cave rescue. When they arrived at John's location, the doctor attempted to set the shoulder, but it dislocated again. He then gave John an injection of Valium, which put him out. He again set John's arm, and this time it stayed in. After allowing John to sleep for a while. He gave him an injection to bring him back to full alertness. About 3:00 am the group started out of the cave traveling at a slow pace. John is able to handle most of the cave on his own, receiving help when needed.
3:00am. Brian Braye is awakened to join nine others on a fourth team to go in to assist in bringing John out if needed. They got to the cave at 5:00 am, and made it to Scotchman's Trap at 5:15. They traveled toward the Canyon area. As they approached the Mason jars just before the Shark formation, they met the medical team with John on their way out. Four of them volunteered to travel to the Canyons to recover gear and bring out equipment. They arrived at the Canyons about 7:00 am and begin cleanup. After gathering everything, they headed back out catching up to the medical team and others before they reach the keyhole. They followed and rested as the medical team insisted that John rest. He had more energy than his "rescuers" at this point.
11:00am. John and the crew exited Scotchman's and rested in the tourist passage for a while. John was reluctantly placed on a litter and carried to near the main entrance.
12:00am. John walked unassisted from the mouth of the cave and up the hill to be interviewed by the media.
12:15pm. John continued up the hill to the support center to be greeted by the cheers of all those assembled. He was placed in a rescue vehicle and transported to the hospital. The teams and support personnel return to the fire station, demobilize and are debriefed.
6:00pm. John returned from hospital in good spirits and is welcomed back to camp. We watched the TV interview with John on the 6:00 news. All got a good night's sleep.
Aug 21 ? 9:30am. Ranger Bob Ward conducted a one on one interview with NSS members to define what worked well and what needed improvement on the rescue.
10:30am. John, driven by Brian, and followed by Jim, return to Charleston,
IL.