American Caving Accidents

2009-2010

NSS News

October 2011, Part 2

National Speleological Society

Accident/Incident Report Form

Date of Accident or Incident: ___________________________ Day of Week: _________ Time: ____________________

Cave: ___________________________________________ State: _____________________ Country: __________________

Reported by:

Name _____________________________________________________ Telephone _______________________________

Address ____________________________________________________ Email ___________________________________

City __________________________________ State ________________ Country _____________ Postal Code __________

Name(s) of Person(s) Involved Age Sex Experience Affiliation Injuries or Comments

Describe the accident as completely as possible on the back of this form or on a separate sheet. If possible, obtain information from

those involved. Use additional sheets if necessary. A report in the style of American Caving Accidents is ideal. The following checklist

is suggested as a guide for information to be included. You can also report accidents on the Internet at www.caves.org/pub/aca.

The Accident/Incident

( ) Names and ages of persons involved.

( ) Events leading to accident/incident.

( ) Location (include state and county) and conditions in cave.

( ) Description of how the accident/incident occurred.

( ) Nature of injuries sustained.

( ) Analysis of main cause.

( ) Contributory causes (physical condition of caver, weather, equipment, clothing, etc.).

( ) What might have been done to prevent the accident?

Rescue or Response

( ) Actions taken following the accident/incident.

( ) Persons or organizations contacted for help.

( ) Details of rescue procedures.

Further details were reported in (please list name and date of publication or source, and attach copies if possible):

Newspapers ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Grotto Newsletter _______________________________________________________________________________________

Other (web site, television or radio station, etc.) _______________________________________________________________

Please return the completed report to the NSS

as soon as possible after the accident.

National Speleological Society

2813 Cave Avenue

Huntsville AL 35810-4431

NSS News

American Caving Accidents

October 2011 Volume 69, Number 10, Part 2

Features

Caver Input and American Caving Accidents ....................................... 1

An Overview of the 2009 and 2010 Incidents ........................................ 1

Caving Accident and Incident Statistics, 1986 – 2010 ........................... 6

2009 Reported Caving Accidents and Incidents ..................................... 7

2010 Reported Caving Accidents and Incidents ..................................... 8

Previously Unreported Accident and Incident Reports ........................ 10

2009 Caving Accident and Incident Reports ........................................ 11

2010 Caving Accident and Incident Reports ........................................ 18

2009 Cave Diving Accident and Incident Reports ............................... 25

2010 Cave Diving Accident and Incident Reports ............................... 26

2009 Caving-related Accident and Incident Reports ............................ 27

2010 Caving-related Accident and Incident Reports ............................ 28

The National Cave Rescue Commission ............................................... 31

Contributing Authors and Photographers:

Front Cover

Thunder Canyon Cave – looking up from below. Brent Colvin has been

stuck for almost 12 hours. Brent’s feet are visible below the San

Bernardino Cave Rescue Team member as they try to raise him.

Photo by Luca Chiarabini.

Back Cover

Thunder Canyon Cave – Brent Colvin (left) after being freed. He had been

stuck for over 12 hours. Photo by Luca Chiarabini.

American Caving Accidents

2009-2010

Editor

Ray Keeler

26406 N. 43

Avenue

Phoenix, AZ 85083

[email protected]

ACA 2009-2010

Review Committee

Andy Armstrong

Bonny Armstrong

Aaron Bird

George Dasher

Yvonne Droms

Mark Minton

Rene Ohms

Bill Putnam

Forrest Wilson

Deadline: The NSS News is distributed the last

week of the month preceding the date of

publication. Advertisements, articles, and

announcements should be sent to the NSS

News, P.O. Box 879, Angels Camp, CA 95222

by the 15th of the month, six weeks before the

month of issue (for example, material for March

should be submitted by January 15).

The NSS News (ISSN-0027-7010) is published

monthly, with the Members Manual and

American Caving Accidents published as

additional issues by the National Speleological

Society Inc., 2813 Cave Ave., Huntsville AL,

35810-4431.

Periodicals Postage Paid at Huntsville, AL and

additional mailing offices.

Tel: (256) 852-1300

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Email: [email protected]

www.caves.org

Regular membership in the NSS is $40 per year.

Subscriptions to the NSS News are $27 per

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available from the NSS Bookstore for $5.00

plus postage. Contact the Huntsville office for

membership applications, subscriptions, orders,

or for replacement of issues missing or damaged

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by the National Speleological

Society Inc.

publication may be reproduced

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National Speleological Society.

Postmaster:

Send address changes to

National Speleological Society

2813 Cave Ave.

Huntsville AL 35810-4431

Andy Armstrong

Bonny Armstrong

Rene Ohms

Forrest Wilson

Mike Bennett

Jansen Cardy

Luca Chiarabini

Caver Input and American Caving Accidents / Incidents

Ray Keeler

Welcome to another issue of American Caving Accidents. The

intent of the publication is to inform, educate, and promote safe

caving. A primary, contributing portion of this publication has

been from caver input. After all, those people reading the ACA

are part of the most organized caver communications network in

North America.

First, several of the incidents reported in this issue were

summarized based on public news-media accounts when no

caver input was available. Later, when the cavers involved either

sent in reports or were contacted for additional information, the

summaries were substantially corrected to more accurately

reflect the events that took place. Please, submit incident

information. The online form can be found at

http://www.caves.org/pub/aca/acaform.html. It is not enough to

assume someone else will take care of reporting the accident or

incident. Your perspective is important.

Sending an email to [email protected] goes to the ACA Editor.

Please send information you have heard. I usually write back

asking with whom contact should be made for additional data.

The Cave Rescue Forum on CaveChat on the NSS web page is

also an excellent medium for better understanding the events.

CaveChat is at http://www.forums.caves.org/.

Second, please do not be embarrassed about writing up and

sending in your own incident report. We all make mistakes and

we all learn about this activity called caving. Some cavers have

told me about incidents that would be very useful to relay to the

general community, but were unenthused about actually sitting

down and writing about the event.

I have found that by taking the time to put these events onto

paper (or into the computer), I learn so much more about the

sequences of events, the causes, and things that could have been

done to better the outcome.

During the 2009–2010 period there were three heart-wrenching

incidents where cavers became stuck. In two of the three

incidents, the cavers escaped with their lives. In the third

incident, rescuers were unable to get the man free. Please, if you

are going into tight passage, know your limits, talk with your

team, and make good decisions.

An Overview of the 2009 and 2010 Incidents

American Caving Accidents (ACA) is the journal of record for

caving accidents and safety incidents in North America. This

issue contains reports for incidents that occurred in 2009 and

2010. Following the custom of previous issues, the reports have

been separated into two general categories: regular caving and

cave diving. These two categories were further classified by

result or outcome and by causes and contributing factors. The

cave-diving incidents are grouped separately, and an overview is

presented at the end of this section.

Since 1994, we have used the category “difficulty on rope” to

encompass such problems as becoming stuck at the lip of a pit,

clothing or hair caught in the rappel device, jammed rappel

safety, or simply becoming unable to ascend or descend. Our

intent is to better describe these situations, which might

otherwise be lumped under “stuck,” “trapped and/or stranded,”

or perhaps “equipment problem.”

In reporting the number of incidents versus NSS membership

totals, only caving incidents involving fatalities, injury, or aid

were included. The reader should also be aware that the

members of the National Speleological Society constitute only a

portion of the population of active cavers. Further, not all

incidents are reported to ACA. Therefore, these numbers should

NSS Membership and

Number of Incidents

Yea

Members Incidents

1986 6741 45

1987 7203 48

1988 7873 49

1989 8514 51

1990 9028 55

1991 9777 54

1992 10492 60

1993 11164 64

1994 11460 57

1995 11836 44

1996 11140 43

1997 11470 43

1998 11685 32

1999 12098 44

2000 11773 40

2001 11967 34

2002 12261 31

2003 12264 35

2004 12020 23

2005 11658 26

2006 11664 36

2007 11552 26

2008 11651 22

2009 11588 20

2010 11044 25

Only incidents resulting in aid, injury, or fatality are

included. Membership figures include all classes of

membership.

Overview

not be considered reliable indicators of accident rates for caving

or used to draw conclusions about the relative degree of risk or

danger involved in caving.

Caving-Related Incidents are grouped separately from Caving

Incidents based on four primary criteria. First, if the incident

location was reported as a cave when in actuality it is not a cave,

then the incident is reported as caving related. Examples are

abandoned mines and rock shelters. Second, if the person was

not aware of the cave, did not intentionally enter the cave, or go

to see the cave, then it is a caving-related incident. For example,

if the person was running from the police at night and fell into

the entrance, then it is Caving Related. There are two of these in

this issue. However, if the person intentionally went to look at

the cave entrance and the person fell in, then this is a Caving

Incident. The third category is when animals are stuck or have

fallen into caves and a rescue effort is started. The fourth is a

catch-all category. Examples include someone living in an

unimproved cave and an incident occurred or something strange

was discovered in a cave. Finding 1,400 pounds of marijuana is

an example.

Incident Results

For some random reason, similar incidents of the same type

seem to occur in unexpected groups. In 2007-2008 it was cell

phones being able to connect from completely unexpected

locations to save lives. In 2009-2010 there were multiple sets of

clusters of incidents. The first set involved three incidents in

which cavers became seriously stuck. The second set involved

three people, all transients, in three different states that had been

living in unimproved caves when they died. The third included

three instances where bodies were found in caves. Finally, the

use of vegetable oil for lubricating tight spots shows up in three

different reports.

Fatalities

On average, there are three or four fatal, non-cave-diving caving

accidents in North America each year. When incidents involving

untrained and inadequately equipped spelunkers are excluded,

the average drops to one or two fatal accidents per year.

In the U.S., “cavers” generally consider “spelunkers” to be

people who have no real knowledge or understanding of caves

and caving safety, but who decide to enter a cave anyway,

usually without proper equipment.

In 2009 there were three caving fatalities and two diving

fatalities. Two of the caving fatalities occurred while the group

was well into the cave when the incident happened. These were

in Nutty Putty, Utah and Sloan’s Valley, Kentucky. The Blue

Spring free-diving fatality was placed under caving versus cave-

diving since the caver was going in with no breathing

equipment.

The two 2009 cave-diving fatalities were both in Florida.

In 2010 there were six caving fatalities and one cave-diving

fatality. Additionally, there were twelve caving-related fatalities

with six of these in one incident. There was a person with a

medical issue in New Mexico that ended up dead in a cave. A

person was free-diving a cave in Florida and drowned. A law

enforcement officer who was checking information on a case

went to Hilham Pit in Tennessee and fell into the pit. The two

fatalities in Coronado Cave in Arizona were a murder/suicide.

Finally, the man who fell into Sótano de Ahuihuitzcapa in

Mexico was a tourist just looking into the huge pit.

There was one cave-diving fatality in Florida.

The twelve caving-related fatalities in 2009 and 2010 included

three people living in caves when they died. They were all

transients. In addition to these fatalities, there were six bodies

found in a cave near Cancún Mexico. These were a result of

murders and the bodies were dumped in the cave. The incident

was probably drug related. A man was solo exploring an

abandoned mine in Oklahoma and drowned in a pool of water

inside the mine. A young girl was crushed by falling ice just

outside an ice cave in Washington and a missing open-water

scuba diver was found in a crevice in the entrance of a sea cave

on Santa Cruz Island in California.

Including the caving-related incidents, these add up to 23 deaths

over the two-year period, which is not a good way for caves to

be mentioned in the news media.

Injury and Aid

Injury and Aid are incidents where someone has been hurt or

stuck, and aid outside of the team members is contacted for

assistance to get the caver out. The primary causes for Injury and

Aid rescues are caver falls, rock-falls, or becoming stuck or

trapped. These accidents are discussed under Incident Types

below.

Caver fall incidents were the primary cause of injury and aid

rescues in 2009 and 2010. There were 10 in 2009 and 15 in

2010. Four deaths resulted from the falls. At least three falls

resulted in the caver becoming stuck or trapped and requiring

extrication.

With the thousands of trips each year and the wet and sometimes

slippery conditions, it is inevitable that slips and falls will

happen. The low incidence of falls in caves suggests that the vast

majority of people going into caves are caving safely and

maintaining a safe perspective with respect to traversing the cave

environment.

However, some of the falls in 2009 and 2010 were due to very

poor decisions. A primary “caver fall” contributor is spelunkers

wearing tennis shoes or shoes with very little tread. The Lava

River incident is a representative example.

Further poor decisions, including not wearing helmets, increased

the injury and aid statistics.

Injury, No Aid

These incidents resulted in injuries ranging from scrapes and

bruises to sprained ankles and broken legs. In each case, the

patient was able to exit the cave with minimal assistance from

members of the caving party.

Seven incidents are in this group. When the rigging failed during

the Nutty Putty rescue, the rescuer was able to reach the surface

under his own power after being injured. Caver fall contributed

to injuries in Bluff River, Scott Hollow, Benedicts, and a fourth

cave in West Virginia, as well as a college speleology course trip

Overview

in Bat Cave, Arkansas. Rock-fall was the cause of the

Lechuguilla Previously Unreported incident.

No Injury, Aid

Most incidents in this category are rescues of individuals that

cavers often refer to as “spelunkers”, those who were typically

poorly equipped and inexperienced, and are often stranded when

they break or lose their flashlights, run out of batteries, descend

pits hand over hand, or get lost. Sometimes, however, even

experienced and properly equipped cavers fall ill and need

assistance, or are trapped by rock-fall or flooded passage.

There were 10 with trips with no injury but aid was required in

2009 and 2010. These included Ten Mile Pit (Rabbit Cave)

where the spelunkers could not get back up the rope. Two

incidents were from being trapped in sea caves by the surf. Four

incidents occurred when cavers became stuck including Smith’s

Crack, Idaho, Rattlesnake or Gutter Cave in Massachusetts and

two incidents in talus caves on Old Man Mountain in Colorado.

Exhaustion was the reason for the Stoner’s Den rescue.

No Consequence

These incidents are typically of the “near miss” category. They

are included so that the reader will be aware of the many things

that can go wrong on a caving trip. Examples include carabiners

or mallion links becoming unscrewed while on rope, rock-fall

incidents, passage collapses not resulting in injury or requiring

aid, and individuals or groups who become lost or stranded, but

who are eventually able to find their way out or resolve their

difficulties without assistance.

There were three reports in 2009 and 2010. These included a

caver fall in Van Horn Arizona, rock-fall in an unnamed karst

feature in Georgia, and trapped by high water in Buckeye Creek

West Virginia.

Incident Types

Acetylene-related

Acetylene-related was a category primarily related to carbide

lamps and the carbide fuel used. As of 2010 there has not been

an acetylene-related incident in over 14 years. With the wide

availability of affordable, high-quality electric and LED

headlamps, carbide lights have largely been displaced in U.S.

caving.

Bad Air

None of the caving accidents and incidents reported in this issue

involved bad air.

To learn more about the dangers and signs of bad air in caves,

see Bill Mixon’s article in the April 2000 ACA, and Bill Elliott’s

article in the December, 1997, ACA.

Caver Fall

Falls remain the leading type of incident or accident in caving,

accounting for a large proportion of reported injuries and

rescues. Ten of the reported incidents for 2009 and 15 incidents

in 2010 involved falls. The falls included both cavers and

spelunkers. Additionally, there was a fall in an abandoned mine.

Many of the incidents could have been prevented by the use of a

belay or having better foot gear. Cavers should consider using a

belay whenever the exposure of a climb or traverse is greater

than a body length.

A belay should always be used when climbing or descending a

cable ladder.

Cavers also fall on occasion while moving through “horizontal”

passages, and account for a number of accidents reported in this

issue. Cavers can reduce the risk of falls by wearing sturdy boots

with lug soles and maintaining “three points of contact” while

moving over uneven terrain.

Difficulty on Rope or Ladder

This category includes cavers who become stranded on rope and

require assistance, or who experience significant difficulties and

require assistance to complete their ascent or descent.

Aden Fumarole in New Mexico, Ten Mile Pit in Tennessee, and

Canteen Sinks Cave in Utah and the rescue in an unnamed pit in

British Columbia, Canada are listed here.

Cavers involved in these incidents are often relatively

inexperienced and sometimes unfamiliar with their gear. All four

of these incidents involved novices. The incident in British

Columbia involved someone who had to be rescued earlier in the

week from a cliff face in the area.

Others may be experienced cavers who are simply out of

practice or out of shape. Some incidents occur when cavers are

unable to deal with situations such as crossing the lip of a pit

with weight on the rope below, crossing an undercut or

overhanging lip, changing from rappel to ascent and vice versa,

or climbing a cable ladder.

Cavers must master their systems and know how their equipment

works. With practice, skilled cavers can perform a change-over

in less than 60 seconds. Spend time practicing; it could save

your life.

Drowning

Drowning incidents are infrequent in “dry caving,” but have

occurred when cavers became trapped by flooding or when they

attempted to free-dive through sumped passages.

Two cavers drowned trying to free-dive into caves in Florida. A

third person drowned when he went swimming in an

underground pool in an abandoned mine.

Equipment Problem

This catch-all category includes rigging failures, slipping

ascenders, light failure, rope failure, and misuse or lack of

equipment. There was one equipment-problem incident. The

rigging failed during the Nutty Putty Utah rescue attempt.

Exhaustion

Exhaustion is a contributing factor in a wide variety of incidents.

It was a contributing factor in the Scott Hollow, West Virginia

caver fall. Exhaustion also became a critical issue for the

patients during two rescues where cavers became stuck in Nutty

Putty, Utah and Thunder Canyon in California. Taking measures

to prevent exhaustion may be much easier than having to deal

with exhaustion, and a resulting incident.

Overview

Flooding

The lesson taught by flood entrapments is simple: pay attention

to the local weather conditions. Check the forecast for the caving

area, and be alert for the possibility of flooding. If the cave is

known to flood and you do not have a clear forecast, go

somewhere else. Also, know what the weather has been for the

last several days. Some caves may experience flooding several

days after a storm event. Snowmelt on a warm dry cave can also

cause a cave to flood. It is just not worth the risk of entrapment,

rescue, media attention, closed caves, injury, or death. For more

on the dangers of water caves, see George Dasher’s editorial in

the June 2003 ACA.

Buckeye Creek Cave in West Virginia is in this category. In this

case the project cavers had done everything right, including pre-

staging a rescue cache, checking the weather before the trip, and

then making the critical decision to wait until the water went

down. The result was no injury and no aid.

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is usually a secondary result in the reported

incidents, occurring subsequent to cavers becoming injured,

stranded, or trapped in a cave.

There was one incident in 2009 and 2010 involving

hypothermia. One of the side effects of the Thunder Canyon

incident was that the caver stuck in very tight, cold, windy

passage was becoming extremely cold. Hypothermia was a very

real threat.

Hypothermia also impairs your thinking and judgment, making

potentially deadly mistakes more likely.

Illness

There were no reported incidents of histoplasmosis infections, or

other infections due to caving in 2009 or 2010.

Lost

Most of these incidents involve untrained and ill-equipped

cavers, spelunkers, or novices with little experience. Many

escalate to the “stranded” category when batteries run out or

flashlights are broken. When found, lost cavers often require

treatment for hypothermia, sometimes including hospitalization.

There were no instances of cavers becoming lost during 2009

and 2010.

Medical Issue

Medical issues are events that happen during the caving trip.

These include heart attacks, nausea, overheating, or crawling and

injuring your knee.

The New Mexico incident in the unnamed cave was probably

more related to the person not taking her medication before

wandering off. She was found months later, dead in a cave.

Rock-fall

Rock-fall incidents accounted for several serious accidents and

incidents during the reporting period, resulting in injuries and

rescues, as well as two cases of entrapment. The most notable

rock-fall incidents were those in which cavers were pinned or

trapped in caves.

Three rock-fall incidents involved cavers including the

previously unreported 2007 Lechuguilla incident.

The rock-fall while on rope in Fang Cave, British Columbia

injured a caver below. The rock-fall in Upper Millerton Lake

Cave, California caused the caver to become trapped in a

desperate situation. The Lechuguilla rock-fall was just off of a

trail that had been in use almost twenty years. The area was

considered stable before the incident.

Stuck

Stuck is a serious situation. Stuck is an emergency and needs to

be addressed immediately and continuously until the situation is

resolved. Being stuck can kill the caver through hypothermia,

restricted breathing, restricted blood flow, and other

complications.

Getting stuck is usually not much of a problem for experienced

cavers. Most of us have been stuck in a tight passage at some

point, and have learned that a calm head and careful movement

can usually remedy the situation. Sometimes, however,

extracting a stuck caver from a tight passage or crevice can be

extremely difficult.

During the 2009 and 2010 period, there were three serious

incidents where cavers became extremely stuck. In many ways

the three accidents where the cavers became stuck differed

substantially. These differences included:

 The equipment used by the cavers.

 The reasons for the cavers to become stuck.

 The experience level of the cavers.

 The temperature differences and conditions between the

caves.

 Whether a rescue was called out.

 The understanding of the situation by surface rescue

personnel.

 The length of time of the rescue effort.

 The rescue success.

Two teams were properly equipped with standard horizontal

caving equipment including wetsuits. One team had hand-held

flashlights.

The cause in two incidents for the cavers to become stuck was

due to the cavers going into tight passage. The third incident was

due to rock-fall.

Two groups had experienced cavers. Of these two groups, one

group had experienced cavers who had been through the passage

before, positioned their team accordingly, and still a member

became stuck. The second group had only two people and the

rock-fall was not anticipated. A slip caused the caver to grab an

untested chock-stone. The third group was enjoying exploring

and pushed an unknown passage too hard.

The temperatures in two caves were cold (high 40s to low 50s)

and the third cave was in the “60-degree F” range.

Two accidents required rescues. The third was a self-rescue.

Overview

The experience of the surface command with cave rescue

differed substantially on the two incidents that required rescues.

The lengths of time for the rescue varied from one hour to 12

hours, to more than 27 hours.

Two rescues were successful; one was not.

Trapped or Stranded

This category is used to describe incidents in which the caver or

cavers were prevented from exiting the cave by rock-fall, light

failure, lack of equipment, equipment failure, or other causes. In

many of the reported incidents, “spelunkers” became stranded

due to inexperience, inadequate equipment, and/or poor

judgment.

In Rattlesnake Cave in Massachusetts, the caver went down a

narrow, vertical slot to a small room but was unable to get back

out without help. In British Columbia, the spelunkers went down

the pit without enough equipment or training to get back up. One

person was trapped in a California sea cave by heavy surf. One

group was stranded in Lariat Cave, Idaho by snow drifts not

allowing them to leave.

Other

This catch-all category includes sinkhole collapse, cuts by sharp

rocks, dislocated shoulders, twisted ankles and other joint

injuries, animal attacks, and other incidents not covered above,

including drug labs, explosives, or bodies found in caves.

The murder/suicide incident, bodies found in caves, and the

discovery of marijuana in a sea cave in California are

catagorized here.

Caving Accident and Incident Statistics

1986–2010

Result of Incident

Result 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Fatalit

4 3 4 1 4 6 55121444252 6 3 0 41435

Injury and Aid 10 15 11 16 18 16 1722191716221414201115 9 7 8 159998

Aid, no Injury 21 15 20 20 23 20 283326171613121815138 14 12 8 129745

Injury, no Aid 10 15 14 14 10 12 10411810428356 6 0 10 48216

No Consequence 19 16 12 21 9 12 163201211483124 5 1 0 10332

Total 64 64 61 72 64 66 76 67 77 56 54 47 40 47 41 36 35 40 23 26 35 26 25 20 26

Incidents

Involving Fatality,

Injury, or Aid

45 48 49 51 55 54 60 64 57 44 43 43 32 44 40 34 31 35 22 26 34 26 22 17 24

Incident Type

Type 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Caver Fall 25 14 20 19 22 22 22 19 20 15 21 27 15 20 17 13 20 14 5 10 12 11 11 10 13

Trapped/Stranded - - - - - - -11318181391714910 15 6 5 74333

Difficulty on Rope - - - - - - - -1146514315 5 1 2 21202

Rock-fall 12 17 7 11 11 12 161112105524233 5 3 7 45311

Lost 8 5 3 9 4 3 451274533311 5 4 2 34200

Flooding 1 3 3 4 2 2 13145214110 6 1 0 10010

Hypothermia 1 2 0 5 0 2 40366222311 3 0 1 21201

Illness 0 0 2 3 2 1 03301180222 1 2 2 00101

Exhaustion 0 1 1 3 0 2 42414112312 1 0 0 20101

Drowning 1 2 0 2 2 2 20001001010 3 1 0 11110

Stuck 3 1 0 1 1 3 55212015350 1 6 3 20223

Bad Air 3 2 1 1 1 2 11221010100 0 0 0 00000

Acetylene-related 3 0 1 1 0 0 01301000000 0 0 0 00000

Equipment 14 17 20 20 23 21 20111144210032 0 0 0 44211

Other 3 4 8 6 8 4 54663232332 1 1 1 10211

Caving-related

Incidents

- - - - - 2 102011521129 4 19 9 846215

Cave Diving Incidents

Result 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Fatality 7 5 9 4 8 2 56862205793 5 6 2 15621

Injury and Aid 0 0 0 0 0 0 00000001000 0 1 1 10000

Aid, no Injury 1 0 0 0 0 1 10010001001 0 0 0 00000

Injury, no Aid 0 0 0 0 0 0 00000010100 0 0 0 00000

No Consequence 1 2 1 1 0 5 10100000000 0 0 1 00110

Total Diving

Incidents

9 7 10 5 8 8 76972217894 5 7 4 25731

2009 Reported Caving Accidents and Incidents

20 caving incidents reported

Date Cave Location Result Incident Type

January 3 unnamed cave Tennessee injury and aid caver fall

January 24 Pettijohns Cave Georgia injury and aid caver fall

February 10 unnamed cave Georgia no injury, no aid rock-fall

February 15 Stephens Gap Cave Alabama injury and aid caver fall

February 28 Bryant Mountain Cave (ABA 355) Alabama injury and aid caver fall

April 11 Lower Van Horn Cave Arizona no injury, no aid caver fall

May 15 Carter County Saltpeter Cave Tennessee injury and aid caver fall

May 22 Ten Mile Pit (Rabbit Cave) Tennessee no injury, aid stranded

May 30 Blue Springs Florida fatality drowning

June 28 Harding Point Cave Arizona injury and aid caver fall

June 28 Buckeye Creek Cave West Virginia no injury, no aid trapped, high water

August 6 King Philip’s Cave Connecticut injury and aid caver fall

September 8 unnamed sea cave California no injury, aid trapped

September 9 Smith's Crack Idaho no injury, aid stuck

September 21 Hole in the Wall Sea Cave California no injury, aid trapped

October 17 Fang Cave British Columbia, Canada injury and aid rock-fall

ovember 24

utty Putty Cave Utah fatality stuck

ovember 25

utty Putty Cave Utah injury, no aid equipment problem

ovember 28 unnamed cave Oregon injury and aid caver fall

December 16 Sloans Valley Cave System Kentucky fatality caver fall

2009 Reported Caving Related Incidents

2 incidents reported

Date Cave Location Result Incident Type

July 9 abandoned lead mine

ew Hampshire injury and aid fall, stuck

September 19 unnamed sea cave Washington injury and aid other

2009 Reported Cave Diving Accidents and Incidents

3 incidents reported

Date Cave Location Result Incident Type

May Ginnie Springs Florida no injury, no aid equipment issues

September 4 Ginnie Springs Florida fatality drowning

ovember 3 Eagle's Nest Sink Florida fatality drowning

2010 Reported Caving Accidents and Incidents

26 caving incidents reported

Date Cave Location Result Incident Type

January 10 Upper Millerton Lake Cave California no injury, no aid rock-fall, stuck

January 23 Bluff River Cave Alabama injury, no aid caver fall

January 31 Scott Hollow Cave West Virginia injury, no aid caver fall

February 15 unnamed cave

ew Mexico fatality medical issue

February 15 Benedicts Cave West Virginia injury, no aid caver fall

March 6 unnamed cave Florida fatality drowning

March 9 Espey Cave Tennessee injury and aid caver fall

March 21 unnamed cave Illinois no injury, no aid overdue

March 26 Stoner’s Den Cave California no injury, aid exhaustion

April 6 Hilham Pit Tennessee fatality caver fall

May 3 Thunder Canyon Cave California injury and aid stuck, hypothermia

May 11 Raccoon Mountain Cavern Tennessee injury and aid caver fall

June 19 unnamed cave West Virginia injury, no aid caver fall

July 5 unnamed cave Colorado injury and aid stuck

July 19 Rattlesnake or Gutter Cave Massachusetts no injury, aid caver fall, trapped

August 2 Aden Fumarole

ew Mexico injury and aid difficulty on rope

August 20 unnamed cave Colorado no injury, aid caver fall, stuck

September 3 Bat Cave Arkansas injury, no aid caver fall

September 17 Lava River Cave Arizona injury and aid caver fall

October 6 Coronado Cave Arizona 2 fatalities murder/suicide

October 19 unnamed cave British Columbia, Canada no injury, aid difficulty on rope

ovember 7 Canteen Sinks Cave Utah injury and aid difficulty on rope

ovember 11 Fang Cave British Columbia, Canada 2 injuries and aid caver fall

ovember 17 Spring Hill Saltpeter Cave Tennessee injury and aid caver fall

December 21 Sótano de Ahuihuitzcapa Veracruz, Mexico fatality caver fall

December 29 Lariat Cave Idaho no injury, aid stranded

2010 Reported Cave Diving Accidents and Incidents

1 incident reported

Date Cave Location Result Incident Type

July 8 Peacock Springs Florida fatality drowning

2010 Reported Caving-Related Incidents

15 incidents reported

Date Cave Location Result Incident Type

April 21 unnamed cave Idaho fatality living in cave

May 18 unnamed cave Arizona fatality living in cave

May 30 unnamed abandoned mine Oklahoma fatality drowning

June 6 unnamed cave Cancún, Mexico 6 fatalities murder

June 6 unnamed sea cave California no consequence other, drug stash

June 8 Bums Cave Virginia fatality living in cave

June 11 Cool Caves (abandoned mine) Pennsylvania no injury, aid stuck

July unnamed cave Arizona no consequence other, drug spotter

July 30 Cool Caves (abandoned mine) Pennsylvania injury and aid fall

July 31 Big Four Ice Caves Washington fatality ice fall

August 11 unnamed cave Illinois dog rescued dog stranded in cave

October 30 unnamed cave

orth Carolina dog rescued dog stranded in cave

ovember 5 unnamed cave Tennessee 2 injuries and aid fell in entrance

ovember 27 unnamed abandoned mine Pennsylvania injury and aid stuck

December 5 unnamed California fatality other, body found in cave

Acknowledgments

As always, we are all indebted to the people who have contributed reports for this issue. Their willingness to share their experiences

makes American Caving Accidents a valuable resource for all cavers. Several notable correspondents have contributed a substantial

portion of the material for these reports. They include: Andy and Bonny Armstrong, Rene Ohms, Aaron Bird, and Bill Putnam. Many

valuable comments, proof reading, corrections, and suggestions were provided by reviewers Bonny Armstrong, George Dasher,

Yvonne Droms, Mark Minton, Rene Ohms, Bill Putnam, and Forrest Wilson. Dive-related comments were provided by Forrest

Wilson.

Acronyms and Explanations

BORSTAR Border Patrol Search Trauma And Rescue

Ferno Washington Plastic rescue stretcher used to transport over rough terrain

KED Kendrick Extrication Device (similar to the Oregon Spine Splint, or OSS)

MA Mechanical Advantage. Used in technical rope-hauling systems

MRA Mountain Rescue Association

Puka Ceiling collapse in a lava tube forming an entrance

SAR Search and Rescue

Short-haul Rope hanging below a helicopter used to transport patients and rescuers out of (and into) rough terrain.

SITLA Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration

Stokes Litter Aluminum or hard-plastic rescue stretcher used to transport patients over rough terrain

Z-rig A rescue haul technique that allows rescuers to raise a patient

Previously Unreported Caving Accident and Incident Reports

6 June 2007

Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico

rock-fall, injury, no aid

Daryl Greaser, Mike Bennett, Mark “Elvis” Andrich, Doug

Warner, and Dan Lamping were part of a six-person, multi-day

underground camp in the Near East branch of the cave. The

expedition goals included fixing previous survey blunders, lead

checking and re-sketching. On the 4

day of the camp, Daryl,

Elvis, Mike and Dan were checking survey blunders just off one

of the main Near East trails. Mike and Daryl were above re-

shooting a 20-foot long survey shot down a 45-degree, cemented

breakdown slope to Mike and Daryl below.

As Mike was leaning over the boulder taking the shot and Daryl

was standing next to Mike, two boulders next to GV23 broke

loose and rolled down the slope towards Dan and Mark. Daryl

was able to ride the smaller rock down about one third of the

way before being thrown off. Dan and Mark were able to jump

to safe passage. The smaller of the two boulders, 30 by 18 by 24

inches and about 300 lbs, rolled over Daryl’s right foot and

injured his toes. The larger boulder, 6 by 2 by 3 feet and well

over 1000 pounds, slid down and crashed into the rock holding

the lower station, moving it 18 inches.

The “small rock” that fell hitting Daryl Greaser. Photo by Mike

Bennett.

The grouped immediately checked to see that everyone was safe.

Mike had hung on to the GV23 boulder, which fortunately did

not fall, though the move caused a minor injury to his upper rib

cage. Mark and Dan were fine, and they removed Daryl’s boot to

tend to his wounds, which turned out to be two painfully

smashed toes and a one-inch long laceration on the back of his

right arm.

With nothing broken and no external bleeding, Daryl took some

pain medication and the team returned slowly to the Rusticles

Camp. The boot was removed and the foot raised. By the next

morning Daryl’s first two toes’ area was very darkly bruised. He

was still able to help with surveying, and the following day was

able to exit the cave with little difficulty.

1. Daryl Greaser, Incident Report, 2 September 2011.

2. Mark Andrich, Lechuguilla Cave Newsletter, Issue 3 Winter

2007-2008, “Near East Expedition,” Winter 2007-2008.

Comments: Daryl and the rest of the team were extremely lucky

the injuries were not more extensive. They realized that there

was no way to prevent the accident, especially considering this

was in a high-traffic area and presumably stable. The trail had

been used for almost 20 years. As Daryl puts it, “We know

complacency kills, and therefore I use a higher level of scrutiny

when traveling through breakdown.”

The “large rock” in front of the caver’s left knee that missed the

two cavers below. Photo by Mike Bennett.

Report accidents and incidents

via the Internet at www.caves.org/pub/aca

or mail reports and information to:

American Caving Accidents

National Speleological Society

2813 Cave Avenue

Huntsville, Alabama 35810-4431

2009 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

3 January

unnamed cave, Tennessee

caver fall, injury, aid

Late Friday night after midnight, Jeremy Boon (20) and five

others were on a mountain in rural Putnam County searching for

caves. Boon was looking for a route in and started to climb

down, when he started an uncontrollable slide above the lip and

fell into the 75-foot pit. He suffered head and leg injuries as well

as abdominal pains. The others called 911 and the rescue was

started about 4 AM. Boon was packaged by rescuers of the

Putnam Emergency Management Agency, hauled up the pit, and

transported first to Cookeville Regional Hospital, and then to

Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.

Herald-Citizen Staff, Herald Citizen, “Mt. Juliet man rescued in

cave,” 5 January 2009.

Comments: It appears that Boon was very lucky he survived.

There is no mention of any equipment, lights, or safety

measures. Even if the group had adequate vertical training and

equipment, they certainly were not exercising safe vertical

protocols at the top of a pit.

24 January

Pettijohns Cave, Georgia

caver fall, injury, aid

Joyful Lee Rutherford, Joe Pierron, Derrick, Anton, Becky, and

John, all novice or first-time cavers, entered the cave about 4:30

PM. They were traversing the feature known as the bridge in the

“Bridge Room” when Rutherford fell about 30 to 35 feet,

breaking her lower leg. She was over 800 feet from the entrance.

Joe Pierron exited the cave with another member of the group to

seek help while the other three members stayed with Rutherford.

Four EMS agencies with 35 rescuers responded, including

Walker County Fire/EMS, Walker County Cave Rescue,

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Chattanooga-

Hamilton County Cave and Cliff Rescue. Command was set up

just before 8 PM, and communications and rescue equipment

was sent in. Communications from the patient to the surface was

achieved by 10:15 PM.

A doctor was guided to Rutherford, reaching her by 11:00 PM.

He administered medication, removed the temporary splint, set

the lower leg and ankle, and splinted it in a long extremity

vacuum splint. Heat packs, a Ferno Washington basket, and a

“Wiggys” exposure bag were brought in. Command was told

about 11:30 PM that the broken leg and ankle were confirmed

but there was no way to assess other injuries until Ms.

Rutherford reached hospital care.

Three rigging teams had prepared known obstacles and the

evacuation was underway before midnight. Rutherford reached

the entrance at 2:30 AM, and was transported by helicopter to

Erlanger Hospital just after 3 AM.

1. Unattributed, long narrative, unpublished, undated.

2. Bill Putnam, Incident Report, untitled, 19 February 2009

Comments: It was determined later at Erlanger Hospital, after

the rescue and transport, that Rutherford also experienced two

broken ribs, a 20% pneumothorax (partially collapsed lung), a

broken clavicle, and other injuries.

10 February

unnamed cave, Georgia

rock-fall, no injury, no aid

Ben Bain, David Bain (Ben’s father), Jonny Prouty, Jerry

Wallace, Marty Abercrombie, and Ben Castleberry had just dug

into a hole that had opened up as a result of a recent rainfall.

Jonny had gone to the bottom and found that the hole did not

meet Georgia Speleological Survey standards, so Jonny came

out and Ben went in to have a look. They had removed the

obviously loose rock (one had fallen already) and it seemed

sufficiently safe. Everyone had helmets and the necessary

protective gear.

Ben was climbing out of the tight entrance when the bedrock

protrusion he was using as a handhold broke off. The 2-foot-

long, 1-foot wide and 6-inch-thick rock pinned him just below

the left shoulder, knocking the wind out of him. The rock

weighed about 50 pounds. Ben was able to push the rock up

enough that he was able to wriggle out from beneath it. Those on

the surface were able to lower webbing, and hauled the rock out

of the entrance. Ben’s chest was sore and ended up lightly

bruised.

Jonny Prouty, Incident Report, untitled, 18 February 2009.

Comments: From the caver’s own analysis, they had under-

estimated the integrity of a newly opened cave and should have

been more careful about determining what was stable and what

was unstable. There was enough room below for Ben to get out

of the rock-fall zone while the rock was being hauled up,

allowing him to exit.

15 February

Stephens Gap Cave, Alabama

caver fall, injury, aid

Jordan Garren (16) and a couple of his friends thought it would

be fun to go into the cave. They used the horizontal entrance and

Jordan climbed down on the Pedestal, where he decided to

“relieve himself.” He lost his balance and fell approximately 25

feet, sustaining a broken pelvis, broken neck and back, broken

leg, and a huge open gash on his forehead.

His friends went for help and the Scottsboro-Jackson County

Rescue Squad responded. After packaging, Garren was

transported over a mile of rugged terrain to a waiting ambulance,

and then to an Air Evac helicopter.

2009 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

1. Kwmessman, CaveChat, “rescue (sic) at Stephens Gap,” 23

February 2009.

2. Dewayne Patterson, The Daily Sentinel, “Teenager

recovering after caving accident,” 17 February 2009.

Comments: There has been no mention as to what equipment the

group was using. The media listed an incorrect age, 18, and “…

a possible broken leg and a cut to his forehead” and “his injuries

were not believed to be life threatening.” Garren’s pelvis has

been plated together, his head was placed in a halo for the

broken neck, and plates put in his back.

28 February

Bryant Mountain Cave (ABA 355), Alabama

caver fall, injury, aid

About 300 feet into the cave on a Saturday afternoon trip, a

youth minister (45) slipped and fell about 20 feet down a

crevice, injuring his head. The kids who were caving with him

called 911 for help and three different fire stations responded to

help. The man was hospitalized.

1. CaverScott, CaveChat, “Rescue in Ala.?” 3 March 2009.

2. Bill Putnam, email, “cave rescue near Bryant, AL Saturday,

28 February 2009,” unpublished.

3. Drew Dover, FOX6 WBRC www.myfoxal.com, “Evening

News Update,” 28 February 2009.

Comments: Again, there has been no mention of equipment

being used. The poster on CaveChat relayed a message from one

of the rescuers. Visitation by inexperienced people with

inadequate equipment and skills has gone up substantially in the

last few months. This was the third rescue from the cave in the

last six months.

11 April

Lower Van Horn Cave, Arizona

caver fall, no injury, no aid

Teresa Gerrity (24), Richard Bohman (30), Patrick Clapp, Ed

Coleman, Mike Landrum, and Colin Pouchet were on a

recreational trip to the gated cave in southern Arizona. There are

several sections with steep mud slopes, and portions of the cave

are known to flood during the wet season, making the cave very

slick. The trail skirts high around a pool with a steep slope near

the back of the cave. During the traverse, Gerrity used what

appeared to be a rock outcrop in the middle of the traverse.

When the hold broke, Gerrity lost traction and slid backwards on

her stomach down 15 feet on the 55-degree slope. Then the slope

went vertical, and she fell another 15 feet. She came to a stop

near the bottom of the fissure, wedged horizontally, with her

arms above her head, and her helmet wedged between the two

walls.

After coming to a stop, Gerrity was able to re-orient herself in

the crack, and to keep herself from falling further into the water

some 3 to 5 feet below, but quickly realized that she was unable

to climb out without aid. Ed Coleman was sent to retrieve some

vertical gear left at the last climb. Mike Landrum went out to the

vehicles to get a rope while the others emptied their packs

looking for usable equipment. An etrier was attached to a 30-

foot long piece of webbing, which was tied to an anchor with

accessory cord. The etrier was lowered to Gerrity who was

unable to see it while being stuck in the tight crack, but was able

to wave one arm to locate the etrier and orient herself to a

vertical position. Gerrity was unable to climb above the top rung

of the etrier.

A harness and two-handled ascenders with cow’s-tails arrived

and Gerrity was able to attach the ascender to the now-muddy

webbing. This allowed her to start working her way up the crack

until the ascender jammed on the webbing. The gain of 3 to 4

feet allowed enough room to put on the seat harness. Feeling

more secure, she was able to do body jams to continue to work

her way up. When she was close enough, the others were able to

reach down and haul her up the last few feet.

Teresa Gerrity, Incident Report, untitled, 7 August 2009.

Richard Bohman, Incident Report, untitled, undated.

Comments: From their analyses, “a safety line rigged across the

top of the traverse would not have prevented the slip, but may

have prevented the resultant slide to the bottom of the slope” and

into the crack. During her exit, Gerrity noticed she had “left deep

marks in the mud – claw marks that extended the length of the

slope” while attempting to find a handhold. She escaped with

scrapes and bruises.

15 May

Carter County Saltpeter Cave, Tennessee

caver fall, injury, aid

A Carter County woman took her two children and two other

women to the cave as a birthday present for one of the kids.

Some 800 feet into the cave she fell about 30 feet into water,

breaking a bone. It took rescue workers about 4 to 5 hours to get

her out and to a hospital.

Reeffish 1073, CaveChat, “Cave Rescue in East Tennessee

(sic),” 17 May 2009.

Comments: No other information was available.

22 May

Ten Mile Pit (Rabbit Cave), Tennessee

stranded, no injury, aid

Emily Beres, Adri Kopp, and Katherine Charles (all in college or

just graduated) decided to visit the cave, which is owned by

Gettysvue Country Club. They descended without difficulty but

could not make it to the bottom about 150 feet in due to high

water from recent rains. When they returned to the entrance area

Beres was unable to “hoist” herself up the ropes at the steep

entrance climb. Charles and Kopp claimed to be “experienced

cavers and rock climbers,” so Charles climbed up and drove

home to get a rock climbing harness while Kopp stayed with

Beres. While in the country club parking lot, she told an

employee where she was going, and the country club called for

emergency help due to liability issues.

2009 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

The Knoxville Fire Department was able to assist Beres up the

entrance incline and she was out in some 35 minutes.

1. Kristi L. Nelson, knoxnews.com, “Afternoon fun turns into

Gettysvue cave rescue for college student,” 22 May 2009.

2. Kristi L. Nelson, knoxnews.com, “Cave proves too much for

woman,” 22 May 2009.

Comments: The women were trespassing and entered the cave

without permission. The gate on the entrance had been

vandalized and was open. As to the “experienced climbers and

cavers” reference, no equipment was used during the hand-over-

hand descent on the entrance rope. Charges were not filed.

30 May

Blue Springs cave, Florida

fatality, drowning

Robert A. Jones (38) was solo free diving at Blue Springs with a

wetsuit, but no tanks. He was weighted, had a light strapped to

his hood, but carried no air supply. A dive master (diving with

others) was at 25 feet when Jones floated up past them in the

area of the boil. He was found at 10:22 AM in a sitting position

completely out of the cave area. Jones had no pulse and was not

breathing. He could not be revived by divers on the scene.

EVAC arrived and Jones was moved out of the water and

transported.

1. Anne Geggis and Julie Murphy, www.news-

Journalonline.com/ NewsJournalOnline/News/Local, “Blue

Springs diver dies,” May 31, 2009.

2. Judd, comments in BackTalk for “Blue Springs diver dies,”

May 31, 2009.

3. fldiver, comments in BackTalk for “Blue Springs diver

dies,” May 31, 2009.

Comments: The cave starts at 60 feet. Free divers breathe deeply

to oxygenate their blood, and then go down. Judd was among the

group doing CPR. Jones was bleeding from the nose and mouth

during CPR. One theory offered was “Shallow Water Blackout.”

28 June

Harding Point Cave, Arizona

caver fall, injury, aid

A 29-year-old hiker fell 10 to 15 feet into the Coconino National

Forest cave near Sedona at about 1:45 AM. Friends of the man

hiked out to get help. Emergency crews from Sedona and the

Highlands fire districts were able to stabilize the man before he

was hauled out of the cave and air lifted to the Flagstaff Medical

Center. The extent of his injuries was not known.

1. Robert Blake, Incident Report, untitled, 29 June 2009.

2. Daily Sun Staff, Arizona Daily Sun, “Man injured falling

into cave,” 28 June 2009.

Comments: Robert Blake talked with members of the injured

person’s group, but could provide little additional information

beyond the published article.

28 June

Buckeye Creek Cave, West Virginia

trapped high water, no injury, no aid

Greg Springer had been conducting research in the 4.1-mile cave

for several years. On June 28

Springer and Holly Fitzgibbon, a

graduate student studying cave sediments, entered to continue

the study. The weather forecast called for scattered showers and

thunderstorms, which had been the case for many of the previous

trips to Buckeye. The surface Buckeye Creek usually sinks

before reaching the entrance, but on this trip it was flowing into

the entrance. This too was nothing unusual. The team entered the

cave at 2:30 PM, and encountered a waist-deep pool only 300

feet into the cave. Soon after the pool the 30-foot-wide passage

constricts to only 5 feet wide (the Canyon) for a few hundred

feet. The passage then becomes a large tubular stream passage

that is usually at least 40 feet wide for the next 1000 feet. There

the ceiling lowers to within 16 inches above the waist-deep

water (the Watergate). The stream passage becomes 60 feet high

beyond.

Springer and Fitzgibbon were laser surveying for about 90

minutes in a paleo-trunk when they heard the stream, even

though they were hundreds of feet away. They climbed back

down to the water level and marked the edge of the stream while

noting a distinct muddying of the water. They then went back to

surveying. The water was rising as they watched. They finished

their survey shot, and were resetting their water marker when

they heard their pack flotation device, a cooler chest, being

swept downstream. They climbed to higher ground.

Springer had placed a flood cache in an upper-level trunk “some

time ago,” which was located and opened. Inside were thick

plastic bags for each of them and candles to stay warm. It was 6

PM when the waiting began. They checked the water levels

periodically. In the 50-foot-wide passage, the water had only

gone up another foot and began to subside around midnight and

was down about 4 inches by 4 AM. Fitzgibbon was getting very

cold. The Watergate was now open. They carried much of the

flood cache with them in case they needed another high alcove

as refuge and went through the 50-foot-long, ear-dip section in

the Watergate. They rushed in the canyon for fear of a flash

flood pulse, only encountered one chest deep pool, found the

entrance rapids were negotiable, and exited at 5 AM after only

14.5 hours underground.

They went back to the WVACS field station, cleaned up, and

went to sleep. Heavy rain woke Fitzgibbon at 8 AM. They had

definitely “lucked out” this time.

Greg Springer, The West Virginia Caver, “Flood Entrapment and

Loss of the S.S. Buckeye,” October 2009, Volume 27, number 5,

pp. 8-9.

Comments: So what went wrong? The weather forecast was

none too worrying because of a known long history with the

cave. However, the area had seen rain in the preceding days, pre-

soaking the ground. In Greg’s words, “Clearly, I underestimated

how much the pre-soaking would affect the watershed’s

response to more rain. The storm did not leave a mess on the

surface, so … we were caught by … “prompt runoff.” The

presetting of the rescue cache showed both understanding of the

2009 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

possible water issue, and willingness to implement necessary

precautions.

6 August

King Philip’s Cave, Connecticut

caver fall, injury and aid

About 3 PM, Jared Drabiszczak (20) fell after climbing up some

40 feet to the entrance of the cave on Talcott Mountain near

Simsbury. A Life Star helicopter was used to transport the

injured man to the hospital, where he was reported to be in

serious condition.

1. LeAnne Gendreau, www.nbcconnecticut.com, “Man

Rescued from Talcott Mountain,” 7 August 2009.

2. Unattributed, wtnh.com NEWS 8 “Man plummets off King

Phillip’s Cave,” 6 August 2009.

Comments: King Philip’s Cave is a west-facing rock shelter with

a 40-foot, exposed climb to the entrance. The visitor cannot get

inside where there is total darkness. The man’s name and

injuries were not released.

8 September

unnamed sea cave, California

trapped, no injury, aid

A 19-year-old man was exploring the rocky coast near Panther

Beach when he slipped and fell inside the sea cave. “He quickly

grew tired and needed help.” While one of his friends used his

cell phone and called for help, the teenager grew increasingly

concerned as the cave began to fill with water. Emergency

personnel used jet skis to reach the stranded hiker and were able

to pull him to Panther Beach for evaluation.

Unattributed, kionrightnow.com KION 46 “Rescue Workers

Save Teen Trapped In Sea Cave,” 6 August 2009.

Comments: There were concerns that the surf would increase

and the tide could come in quickly.

9 September

Smith’s Crack, Idaho

stuck, no injury, aid

Trever Cook (31) and a group of about eight amateur explorers

went into the cave in the early afternoon. Several hundred feet

inside are some tighter sections and the man became “lodged.”

The Elmore County Search and Rescue team was called and the

man was freed about 11 PM.

Unattributed, Mountain Home News, “Kuna man rescued from

Tipanuk cave,” 10 September 2009.

Comments: According to Jim Nolan, outgoing head of the SAR

team, “nearly every rescue inside that cave involves people who

get stuck at the same point.” To negotiate an obstacle (in this

case a squeeze), put the person who is expected to have the most

difficulty negotiating the obstacle in the middle of the group.

This way there are cavers on both sides if help is needed.

21 September

Hole in the Wall Sea Cave, California

trapped, no injury, aid

The rising tide trapped an unnamed man at a cave at Hole in the

Wall Beach near Davenport. He was able to get to a small piece

of land outside the cave but could not return to shore due to the

crashing waves. State Park lifeguards and other EMS personnel

were called about 5 PM, and they were able to get to the man

using a personal watercraft. He was returned to the beach

uninjured.

Jennifer Squires, Mercury News¸ “Man has to be rescued from

cave at Davenport beach as tide rises,” 21 September 2009.

Comments: Tide changes would not be a concern for most

caving trips. However, when visiting sea caves, pre-checking

and monitoring the tides and surf is a requirement on every trip.

17 October

Fang Cave, British Columbia

rock-fall, injury, aid

On the morning of October 17, John Heyber (45), Mike Nash,

and two other local members of the Alpine Club entered Fang

Cave by the middle entrance. They rigged the entrance pitch into

the Coliseum with an existing bolt hanger and a camming

device, using a doubled 9-mil dynamic rope to descend. Using a

large column at the head of the Corkscrew (a twisting, dry

stream way which becomes increasingly vertical as it drops) they

rigged an 11-mil dynamic rope for descent. The lower section of

the Corkscrew is more vertical, so a camming device was placed

in a crack in the wall about 10 feet above a ledge near the top of

this section. A rebelay was put in using the cam so that two

people could descend or ascend at the same time.

When ascending the Corkscrew, Heyber noticed that the cam

had walked further into the crack so he repositioned it. He called

down for the next member of the party to begin climbing. As

soon as the second climber put weight on the rope, the crack

holding the cam opened up, causing a large flake to come off the

wall. This was at approximately 1:40 PM.

The flake fell onto Heyber, pushing him to the ledge and pinning

him there in a three-inch-deep pool of water. Two members of

the party reached Heyber and removed the very heavy rock from

off his torso. He was unconscious and not breathing. They

revived Heyber and he regained consciousness. He was having

difficulty breathing and they feared that he had a spinal injury.

In actuality, Heyber had seven broken ribs on his right side

and three on his left. His collar bone was broken in two spots, he

had a broken clavicle and a collapsed lung, and his right

shoulder and hand were damaged as well.

Just prior to the event, Tammera Kostya, who was leading a

party, of three new cavers, arrived at the middle entrance. She

rigged a different anchor using a static line and they descended

into the Coliseum. They reached the top of the Corkscrew and

rigged another static line to descend. Kostya went down the first

icy section and met a member of the first party coming out. She

told Kostya that three more were coming up and it would be a

2009 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

while. Apparently this first person up did not know there had

been an incident below. Kostya saw that she didn't have enough

rope for the full descent and decided to call off the trip to that

part of the cave. Kostya’s party proceeded back to the entrance

pitch and while they were exiting, a member of the first party

hurried to where they were and said someone had been crushed

by a rock. She also told Kostya there was a satellite phone at the

entrance. Kostya went back into the cave to the accident site and

saw that it was a serious injury. Kostya had one of her party find

the satellite phone, call 911, and request the police to call Prince

George SAR (PGSAR) and British Columbia Cave Rescue

(BCCR).

The call connected the caver to a Globalstar center in Texas

which then relayed the call to Royal Canadian Mounted Police

(RCMP) in Prince George. This led to nine rescue groups

including cavers to become involved. Kostya had all available

extra clothing brought to the accident site and made Heyber as

warm and comfortable as possible, moving him out of the water

into a semi-sitting position. Kostya and one member of the first

party then waited with Heyber for help to arrive.

The callout indicated the need of cave rescue of a person from

the middle entrance, with multiple injuries and unable to move.

Two helicopters began delivering rescue personnel and

equipment before 7 PM. The patient had lost consciousness

during the wait, and was having a harder time breathing and pain

when the KED spine immobilization was applied and he was

packaged in a Ferno Washington stretcher. Other rigging teams

arrived on other helicopters, the rigging was completed, and the

rescuers began moving the patient at 8:15 PM. The litter made it

up to the Coliseum by 9:30 PM. There, the rescuers noted that

the patient’s breathing was easier while his head was higher, so

they propped the stretcher against a large boulder, added heat

pads, and adjusted the packaging. The litter was brought up to

the middle entrance at 11:30 PM, and from there it was a three-

hour haul down the mountain to a location where the stretcher

could be loaded.

1. Bob Rutherford, Incident Report, “PM of BCCR,” 22

October 2009.

2. Frank Peebles, Prince George Citizen, “Escape from Fang

Mountain,” 18 October 2009.

3. Citizen staff, Prince George Citizen, “Cave victim in stable

condition,” 20 October 2009.

Comments: The Alpine Club members were in the cave using

dynamic ropes, but had a satellite phone at the entrance. This

seems to be an odd combination. The group had substantial

experience, and obviously had the financing available to use a

proper static rope. When the ascending Alpine Club member

repositioned the rebelay cam that was walking into the crack, the

stability of the slab did not appear to be compromised. This may

have been due to the size of the rock and his belief that it could

be trusted. Repeatedly check the rigging, and have your rigging

checked.

Heyber was out of intensive care and in stable condition after

two days.

24 November

Nutty Putty Cave, Utah

stuck, fatality

and

25 November

Nutty Putty Cave, Utah

equipment failure, injury, no aid

Compiled by Andy Armstrong

On the evening of November 24

, John Jones (26) and ten of his

family members including children entered Nutty Putty Cave

and toured the entrance area. After a short time, most of the

group left while John and others including his brother Josh

continued to explore. They proceeded to a tight, nasty, passage

known as Bob’s Push. This passage is mostly belly-crawl size

and undulates up and down before taking a decisive turn to the

left and downward. The remainder of the passage to its dead-end

is very tight and slopes downward at about a 60-degree angle.

John entered the passage head-first and continued head-first at

least 30 feet down the steep, tight section. At some point, he

realized he could not back out against the force of gravity. John

sent the others out of the passage and continued downward,

hoping to find a place to turn around. The others soon heard him

yelling that he was stuck and needed help.

After determining that they could not free John, his family called

for help at about 10:00 PM. The Utah County SAR, including

several members that are experienced cavers, responded. Having

rescued others from this cave, including from the same spot

where John was stuck, the rescuers were confident they would

get him out. The fact that John was upside-down made this

rescue more difficult than the previous ones. Around midnight,

Rob Stillmar, a wiry, strong caver who had worked on previous

Nutty Putty rescues, went head-first into the passage to try and

work with John’s legs. While going in head-first was risky and

exactly how John got into trouble, it was really the only method

that anyone could use to get to John. Rob had webbing tied

around him so that others could help haul him out. Rob worked

with John for a long time, but the valiant effort only succeeded

in moving him a short distance. Rob became stuck on his way

back up, and it took some time for him to free himself, with help

from above. Around this time, webbing straps were placed

around John’s legs in preparation for a haul system that was

being constructed above him.

By 8:00 AM, there were approximately 100 people on scene,

including Utah County Sheriff personnel, SAR team members

including Utah Cave SAR, many different area fire rescue crews,

paramedics, NPS personnel, and volunteer cavers. At least six

rescuers with NCRC training were on hand, including a former

national instructor, and others with higher than Level 1 training.

John had now been stuck upside-down for nearly 12 hours, but

was responsive and was helping the rescuers as much as he

could. At any given time, there were about 15 rescuers in the

cave, as John was really only about 10 minutes from the

entrance. Some rescuers were underground for 12 hours at a

2009 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

time, with a few cavers that had arrived early in the rescue doing

two twelve-hour shifts.

A 3:1 haul system was set up about 50 feet up the passage from

John, where there was actually room for a haul team.

Unfortunately, the haul line had to pass through four pulley

deviations in the twisting crawlway in order to reach John. Some

of these were originally rigged on natural anchors and climbing

cams. When the extreme forces on the redirect anchors became

apparent, they were all changed to bolt anchors except the one

closest to John, which was rigged on a seemingly bomber natural

anchor in the ceiling.

The haul shifts were accomplished with one very small caver in

proximity with John, moving and pulling on his legs. After a few

haul sequences, the friction in the system proved to be too great.

To alleviate this, another 3:1 haul line was added, with one

attached to each of John’s legs. Many attempts were made to

establish a connection point around his waist, but no one could

reach far enough in to do it. John was on his left shoulder with

his left arm pinned under him. His body completely filled the

passage, preventing all attempts to access any part of his body

above the waist. Once both haul lines were operational, the team

began to make the only real progress of the entire rescue. This

was accomplished by encouraging John to do most of the work,

with the dual haul systems capturing any upward progress that

he made. Many stops for slack on the line were called, in order

to take some of the squeezing pressure off of John’s legs. Using

an oxygen hose, rescuers were able to get water and Gatorade to

John’s mouth, but it is unclear how much fluid he was actually

able to take in.

At one point in the process, Ryan Shurtz was in the forward

rescuer position, manipulating John’s legs and encouraging him

to help. Ryan was unfortunately in the zone of entrapment

underneath the final deviation in the haul line, because he had

nowhere else to work. According to Dave Shurtz, the natural

bridge that the final deviation was rigged to had a sharp back

edge that had been slowly cutting through the 11mm rope

anchoring the pulleys there. During a haul, the anchor rope

snapped, sending the steel carabiners and rescue pulleys into

Ryan’s face with incredible force. This impact knocked him out,

partially severed his tongue, cut his face badly, and caused a

small concussion. When Ryan came to, he was helped out of the

crawl to the haul-team area. He was cleaned up by the medics on

scene, and then exited the cave under his own power to seek

hospital care. Ryan made a full recovery, with some scars to

show for it.

The rigging failure also dropped John down about a foot. The

drop did not injure him, but effectively ended any hope of rescue

as his condition had been severely declining. Extracting Ryan,

re-rigging the deviation with a bolt anchor, and getting the team

back in position took over an hour. During this time, John

became unresponsive. As a result, when the haul resumed, he

was no longer able to help the rescuers with his upward

progress. The haul was pulling him upward into a tight spot,

much like trying to push a cork into an upturned bottle.

Unfortunately, one of the rescuers had exited the cave and told

the press that John was nearly free and the team would have him

out in a couple of hours. It was broadcast over television news

that John was free and on his way out. Only about an hour later,

the rigging failed. Thus it was reported in many media outlets

across the U.S. that John had been freed, and then the rigging

failure caused him to fall all the way back to where he started.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

John expired at some time between 10 PM and midnight. No

autopsy was performed but his death is believed to be the

consequence of being upside-down for over 24 hours. In this

position, the lower organs compress the diaphragm and lungs,

making each breath a physical chore. Also in this position, the

lungs can fill with fluid, and John’s breath was heard to be very

gurgly in the last couple of hours. After midnight, all rescuers

were told to go home and spend time with their families, as it

was Thanksgiving Day, and were to await instructions for a

possible body recovery over the weekend. Believing it too

dangerous to recover the body, the Sherriff’s office convinced

the family to leave John’s body where it lay. SITLA agreed to

this and had the cave sealed with a concrete plug at the entrance.

1. Andy Armstrong, Incident Report, untitled, March 9, 2010.

2. Andy Armstrong, Incident Report, untitled, December 17,

2010.

3. Dave Schurtz, Incident Report, untitled, undated.

4. Spencer Christian, Incident Report, untitled, undated.

5. Michael Leavitt, Incident Report, untitled, undated.

Comments: John made several mistakes. At 6 feet tall, and 190

lbs. he was very large for the passage he was in. None of the

rescuers of John’s size were able to get anywhere near him. He

elected to crawl head-first down a tight, nearly vertical passage.

The passage dead-ends and offers nowhere to turn around. If

John had been right-side-up, the rescuers would have had much

more time to work, and he would likely be alive today. It is

believed by many of the rescuers that on his crawl downhill,

John must have slipped and popped through the tightest part of

the passage with the aid of gravity. Otherwise it is difficult to see

how he could have made it through such a tight spot. John had

retrograde amnesia when first contacted by rescuers, supporting

the idea that he may have fallen through and hit his head.

Two lessons may be learned from this tragedy, one that is

disturbing and one that is somewhat comforting. The first lesson

is cavers can get into places and situations where rescue is not

possible. On some level all cavers know this, but John’s

predicament reminds us of this fact in a sobering way. He died

less than 15 minutes from the entrance in a cave that was

popular with inexperienced cavers. What is comforting is that

John’s particular situation is not very likely to happen again in

the near future. Very few people would have made the choice to

crawl down that passage head-first, regardless of their level of

caving experience. While being stuck underground is always a

serious situation, cavers need to be extremely careful to avoid

getting stuck in an inverted position. Because John was upside-

down, the clock was ticking, and there was not enough time to

get him out.

Whenever possible, cavers should try to convince landowners

and family members that it is generally not a good idea to leave

a body in a cave. This often seems like the right thing to do at

the time, but causes a lack of closure for both the family and the

rescuers. In addition, history (including that of James Mitchell

and Floyd Collins) shows us that this decision does not usually

hold up in the long term and eventually the body will have to be

2009 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

recovered. In this case, cavers with this viewpoint were heard,

but their advice was not followed.

In this tragedy, we not only lost a fellow human being, but also

access to one of the most popular caves in Utah. It is interesting

how cave fatalities are treated differently than other outdoor

deaths. Every year, people are killed on Utah’s ski slopes, in its

National Parks, and on its waterways. These all remain open for

business. When deaths occur underground, people’s inherent

fear of caves often causes them to make irrational decisions.

After John’s death, the landowner wanted to set charges

throughout the mile-long cave and dynamite the entire thing.

Cavers were able to negotiate a compromise to where just the

cave entrance would be sealed.

Finally, during any rescue all interactions with the press should

be handled through the Press Information Officer (PIO).

Inaccurate comments can cause a lot of confusion and hurt for

family members, rescuers, and other cavers. When the rigging

failed, John was still many, many hours from being “free.”

28 November

unnamed cave, Oregon

caver fall, injury and aid

Two beach caves are a popular destination for visitors to Hug

Point State Park on the coast of Oregon. Due to their easy

access, they are also a popular location to “have a few beers.”

Tyler (15) and Anthony (19) were doing just that when Tyler fell

while jumping among rocks in one of the caves and broke his

ankle. With the tide rising, the Coast Guard and members of the

Cannon Beach High-Angle Rescue Team were able to evacuate

the two from the cave 20 feet above the beach and transport

them by a Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter to the local emergency

service crews. The injured youth was taken to Columbia

Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Unattributed, Salem-News.com, “Cannon Beach High Angle

Rescuers and Coast Guard Rescue Two,” 28 November 2009.

Steve Moon, telephone interview notes, 8 August 2011.

Comments: The two friends had no caving gear but were within

the cave’s twilight zone when the accident occurred. Authorities

say alcohol was clearly involved.

16 December

Sloans Valley Cave System, Kentucky

caver fall, fatality

An outing to the Sloans Valley Cave System turned fatal for one

young man shortly before Christmas in 2009. Steven Troxell

(21) and his friends Brandon (26) and Brooke (21) were not

experienced cavers, but had made it about three-quarters of a

mile into the cave via the Greenhouse Entrance. Wearing tennis

shoes, and carrying a lantern in one hand, Steven slipped and fell

while trying to free climb a 30-foot deep pit at about 2 PM. He

landed on his head, in a small puddle of water, and died from

blunt force trauma. Brandon and Brooke returned to the surface

around 3 PM and called 911. It took crews several hours to

locate Steven as his friends at first refused to go back into the

cave. The Troxell family was waiting at the entrance when his

body was carried out at approximately 10:30 PM and expressed

their thanks and appreciation to the rescuers.

1. Unattributed, somerset-kentucky.com/local/x546363391/

Man-dies-after-fall-in-Sloans-Valley-cave.

2. Roger Alford, Associated Press, “Authorities: Man falls into

pit in KY cave, dies,” 16 December 2009.

3. Unattributed, www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/

79452272.html

4. Trisha Neal and Heather Pyles, Commonwealth Journal,

“Man dies after fall in Sloans Valley Cave,” 16 December

2009.

Comments: Steven’s mother said she was surprised her son

would even enter a cave as “He was always a scaredy-cat” and

“afraid of his own shadow.” Although Steven and Brandon had

been in the cave once before, the trio was ill-prepared for

exploring and did not have helmets, hands-free light sources,

gloves, or boots. This was the second fatality in this cave in

three years.

Report accidents and incidents

via the Internet at www.caves.org/pub/aca

or mail reports and information to:

American Caving Accidents

National Speleological Society

2813 Cave Avenue

Huntsville, Alabama 35810-4431

2010 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

10 January

Upper Millerton Lake Cave, California

rock-fall, stuck, no injury, no aid

Paul Martzen (55) and Eric Burke (36) were wearing shorty and

farmer-john wetsuits with Lycra and fleece. Other cavers were at

the cave or caving in the area but were not part of this group.

The two spent about an hour chimneying over the water, and

sometimes getting wet.

Apparently Paul and Eric got off route and went farther than

most to a point where the passage was pinching off. Paul was

deep into some breakdown, following the water path where it

looked like it dammed just below a small hole. It was a slithering

6-foot drop down into the water. He figured he would drop into

the hole, take a look, and head back upstream to the entrance. As

he went down he did not feel any footholds, so he grabbed a

chock stone with his right hand for support. The rock rotated and

fell into the place where Paul had just been, pinning his right

arm from the elbow to the wrist. Paul’s right arm was up,

pinched between the chock stone and a larger boulder on the side

of the hole, with the upper part of his torso to below the sternum

still in the hole, and his legs dangling in space. Paul’s left arm

was below but there was nothing to grab. There was no question

he was stuck and completely helpless.

Eric was 15 feet above and a couple of holes back when the rock

fell. He crawled down to Paul. When Eric tried to move the rock,

the rock shifted, and increased the pain on Paul’s right arm

dramatically. Paul said, “Stop! Don’t hurry! We have time. We

have to think about this and be careful.” Eric took a small rock

off of the bigger chalkstone but it was not enough. Eric was able

to pull on Paul’s wetsuit enough to gain a fraction of an inch.

Paul was able to hold the gain. Eric pulled again and Paul gained

and held the precious bits. Over 10 to 15 minutes of pulling, the

fractions turned into an inch, and then into several inches. Paul

felt his flailing heel touch a crack, was able to gain a foothold

and raise himself as far as possible below his still stuck right

arm.

With the weight off the arm Eric was able to position himself to

concentrate on the chock stone. He was able to move the rock

slightly, which allowed Paul’s arm to slide free. After the much

needed rest that followed, Paul started wiggling up the hole with

Eric’s help. The effort took several attempts with short gains,

followed by rest periods. By the time Paul had made it past the

chock stone, both were “jittery and shaky.” The trip out of the

cave went better and they conferred regularly on the correct

route to take. The two were able to exit the cave about dusk and

start the mile-plus hike down the hill.

1. Paul Martzen, Incident Report, “Close Call in Upper

Millerton Cave,” January 11, 2010.

2. Paul Martzen, email to Ray Keeler, “Close Call in Upper

Millerton Cave,” January 12, 2010.

Comments: Paul readily states that he should have tested the

chock stone’s integrity before he needed to use it, or was

underneath the rock. Loose rocks in this cave seemed unusual

because of the water flow.

This incident could have turned out much worse. Besides the

actual incident, the pair had not notified anyone exactly where

they were or when they would be back. Although there were

other cavers in the area, those cavers were not part of a backup

plan and Paul’s wife did not have anyone on the trip to call.

Thus, if a rescue call out had been made, the call out would not

have occurred until the next morning.

23 January

Bluff River Cave, Alabama

caver fall, injury, no aid

Six children and six adults went to Bluff River Cave for a

beginner trip. They made good time to the back of the cave,

where some of the group, including Kathy Schoonover, rested at

a formations area while the rest continued up to a small room at

the top of a breakdown pile. On the way out of the cave, Kathy

slipped and fell while climbing through breakdown. She fell

approximately 1.5 feet, landing on her left arm, and felt it crack.

Her husband created a makeshift sling, and she was able to exit

the cave with assistance. After the trip, they purchased a sling

from a local drugstore and then went to the hospital for care.

Kelly Rowland, Incident Report, February 3, 2010.

Comments: The patient was inexperienced, and may have been

fatigued.

31 January

Scott Hollow Cave, West Virginia

caver fall, injury, no aid

Andrew Medley (29) Corey (20ish) and Adam were part of an

eight-member group. They split into a faster group of five and a

slower group of three. Then the faster group split again with

three and two. Andrew, Corey, and Adam were in this fastest

group of three. Corey was very familiar with the cave and after

five hours of caving he was still moving quickly. Andrew was

“definitely tired” and struggling to keep up. Scott Hollow is a

physically challenging cave with lots of breakdown, short

climbs, and physically demanding stretches.

On the way out of the cave the three were heading up the large

passage with slippery breakdown about 200 yards from the

entrance. Andrew was last, 10 yards behind the other two, and

tired. He mis-stepped and, unable to break his fall, fell on his

side “like dead.” He was only able to turn slightly to the side

before hitting the cave floor. Andrew suffered a 1.5 inch gash on

the back of the right side of his head below the helmet, and a

huge bruise on his right hip.

2010 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

Corey came back, examined Andrew, and then they completed a

self-rescue out of the cave. Roxanne (another member of the

original group of eight) dressed the wound on the surface. The

head wound did not need stitches and took almost two weeks to

heal. The hip injury took almost four weeks to heal.

Andrew Medley, Incident Report, untitled, April 26, 2010.

Comments: Fatigue can be a precursor to incidents. Fatigue is an

aspect of caving that catches up with everyone. The hard part is

to understand that fatigue catches up with each of us at different

rates, and there are several factors that contribute to the

condition: age, physical fitness, lack of sleep the night before,

long drives, heavy exertion (as in this case), and getting cold.

If you need to take a break, say something … and take a break.

If someone in the group says they are tired or cold, note it. If it is

brought up again, stop and get some food into the caver and rest

for a while. If someone is falling behind, slow the pace down.

15 February

unnamed cave, New Mexico

medical issue, fatality

Robin Colts (46) was reported missing from her Las Cruces

home. She had walked away from her family home in her

pajamas, without shoes and without her medication. Almost

seven months later her body was found in a shallow cave near

Organ, New Mexico. Officers used ropes to get down to the

body. She still had her pajamas on, but animals and insects had

destroyed much of the flesh. There was no obvious evidence of

being shot, stabbed or injured before death. Colts had a medical

history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders as well as illegal

drug use.

The cave is down a steep embankment near a highway. It is

unclear whether Colts fell down the steep terrain on her own or

was forced there and left to die. The autopsy was inconclusive.

Unattributed, www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/, “Death in

mountain cave remains mystery,” December 13, 2010.

Comments: The detective suspects this was a murder.

15 February

Benedicts Cave, West Virginia

caver fall, injury, no aid

Carl Heitmeyer (50), Dave Borger (late 30s), Mark Chai (50),

and Amos Mincin (mid-40s) went in the Persinger Entrance of

Benedicts Cave. Carl was doing a chimney climb up a canyon

and was about 6 feet off the floor when his right hand-hold, a

piece of the ledge almost the size of a football, gave way. He

was pressing up with both hands, and the accident happened as

he was moving his feet from their position. As he fell, his right

side struck a ledge about a foot off the floor that slid up into his

rib cage.

The group paused for several minutes, and then continued

caving. There was a dull ache in Carl’s side for most of the trip,

and certain movements produced a sharp pain. The pain

subsided later that day, but over the next few days it became

increasingly painful to breathe, laugh, or cough. On February 18,

he went to the emergency room. An X-ray revealed two broken

ribs. Carl was sent home with pain killers.

Carl Heitmeyer, Incident Report, untitled, February 21, 2010.

Comments: Carl indicated that he may not have been on the

preferred route at the time of the accident, and that the rock

condition was poor. Under such circumstances, it is a good idea

to maintain a minimum of three points of contact and be

prepared for rock to potentially break or dislodge.

6 March

unnamed cave, Florida

fatality, drowning

Joseph Michael Kelly (21) of Vero Beach was free diving with

two friends Saturday night near the Chassahowitzka River

Campground, authorities said. Kelly never surfaced, and divers

later found his body. He was swimming after dark with two

other men in an underwater cavern near the Chassahowitzka

River Campground, according to the Citrus County Sheriff's

Office.

Orlando Sentinel Staff, Palm Beach Post, “UCF student from

Vero dies while diving in underwater cave,” March 8, 2010.

Comments: This swimmer was holding his breath in an

underwater cave, at night. It is thought that he became

disoriented, and drowned.

9 March

Espey Cave, Tennessee

caver fall, injury and aid

Jason Porter (33) and his family were caving in Espey Cave

when Jason fell and hit his head about a mile from the entrance.

About 2 PM the call was made to rescue personnel. Deputy Reed

Bryson was the first to respond and did a solo “carry out” for

approximately the first half-mile. The group was met by an EMS

worker during the evacuation, and the EMS worker helped also

with the patient the rest of the way out. Closer to the entrance

Jason was put in a litter, and carried up the steep hill for

transport to the hospital.

1. Editor, Cannon Wire, news@cannonwire.com, “Cannon

County caving accident,” March 9, 2010.

2. Comments to “Cannon County caving accident,” March 9,

2010.

3. Tim White, CaveChat, “Stuck, Rescued in TN Cave,”

March 10, 2010.

Comments: By March 10

Jason was breathing on his own and

in stable condition. Though there were many comments by many

concerned with the incident, there was never a mention of what

kind of equipment Jason and his family (7 children) were using

on the trip (helmets? boots? lights?). If Jason had a helmet on

and was wearing deep treaded boots, this may not have been a

fall or an injury.

2010 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

21 March

unnamed cave, Illinois

cavers over-due, no injury, no aid

Two people entered a cave near Pearl to look for a reported

underground lake. A third person, who had remained on the

surface, became concerned when the explorers did not return at a

predetermined time. The two spelunkers had gone in with a

“rope” attached to them. The “rope” had some tension until they

took a wrong turn. They retraced their steps, took another route,

and the tension was removed. After waiting an additional 30

minutes, the person on the surface called for help. The local

sheriff and several fire department crews arrived on scene just as

the two were exiting the cave. They were cold but unhurt. This

incident prompted the cave’s owner to plan a cave rescue

training to be held at the site later that summer.

1. John Lovaas, Incident Report, April 8, 2010.

2. Unattributed, pikepress.com/clients/, “Emergency call leads

to training session,” March 24, 2010.

Comments: When planning a caving trip, always tell someone

where you are going and when you expect to return. Designating

a surface watch, like having three sources of light and never

caving alone, is a cardinal rule of caving. In case of a real

emergency, it is very helpful if your surface watch knows who

they should call as well.

The sheriff reported the pair was attached to a “rope” which was

probably string.

26 March

Stoner’s Den Cave, California

exhaustion, no injury, aid

Four men in their 20s entered a cave at 2 AM in the Santa

Susana Knolls area. One of the men eventually became too

exhausted to climb back out of the cave. His friends called 911

at 6 AM and 14 firefighters arrived on scene. They were able to

lower the man down to another entrance and help him exit. The

rescue took 2.5 hours.

Unattributed, vcstar.com, www.vcstar.com/news/2010/mar/27/

firefighters-rescue-man-cave, 27 March 2010.

Comments: Little information is available on this incident, but

the fact that it was a 2 AM trip to a cave locally known as

“Stoner’s Den” probably explains a lot.

6 April

Hilham Pit, Tennessee

caver fall, fatality

While investigating a cold-case homicide near Standing Stone

State Park, two sheriff’s deputies and two park rangers came

upon Hilham Pit. When Deputy Chad Prichard tried to get a

closer look into the sinkhole with his flashlight, the ground gave

way and he fell to the bottom. The pit was estimated by park

rangers to be 161 feet deep. The other deputy and park rangers

called to Prichard, but got no response. Fire and rescue crews

responded, but it became clear as they worked that Prichard had

not survived the fall. It took crews several hours to recover the

body.

Unattributed, www.newschannel5.com/Global/story, “Overton

Deputy Dies After Fall Into Sinkhole,” April 6, 2010.

Comments: The deputies and rangers did not initially know the

cave was there, did not know how deep the pit was, and were not

equipped for caving. Had they known of the potential risks,

Deputy Prichard may not have ventured so close to the edge of

the pit.

3 May

Thunder Canyon Cave, California

stuck, injury and aid

A group of seven cavers (Luca Chiarabini, Heather, Steve, Brent

Colvin (39), Jim Ness (60), Ben, and Brian) were doing a

through trip. The five experienced cavers had done this

particular trip before. The cave is wet, and all seven had

wetsuits. They entered the upper entrance at 11 AM with the

plan of going downstream, and then deciding at the middle

entrance whether they wanted to continue. The first 45-foot

rappel was into a pool and was “mildly cold.” They all decided

to continue at the middle entrance. It took some 10-15 minutes

to set up the next 80-foot rappel and the group started getting

cold. Steve, who was second to descend, got soaked and then

had to wait. He began shaking and acting a bit erratically.

After two more rappels, the group reached the “Terrible

Traverse” at around 3 PM with no incidents. The 9-inch wide

crack in granite is traversed sideways and is so tight you cannot

turn your head. Someone placed a wood board to prevent cavers

from sliding farther down into the crack and becoming stuck.

The crack is 200 feet and less than five minutes from the

downstream end of the cave so there is motivation to go through.

The group removed and packed their harnesses. Luca went

through the crack first to assist from the entrance side. Steve was

feeling very cold and tried to rush through second. He became

stuck briefly but was able to get through with help. The next

three came through including the two new cavers. While Luca

stayed to help the last two through the crack, the four already

through tried to figure out the route to the downstream exit.

They were unable to figure out the route so Luca took them out.

When Luca returned he found Brent stuck. Brent had tried the

crack a first time, backed out and took off his wetsuit, tried a

second time and became stuck. After a while his arm got tired of

holding up his body and he slipped down to the placed block of

wood. Jim was behind Brent trying to help, but after 30 minutes

Brent was exhausted still very stuck, and he had lost his helmet

light in the struggle. Jim was the only person Brent could see

and Jim remained during the entire struggle.

By 4 PM the situation was serious. Brent was stuck with no

wetsuit between two cold walls in a chilly wind passage inside a

60-degree F wet cave. Heather was sent on the 2-mile hike to the

cars with a cell phone and car keys to call 911 and call the San

Bernardino Cave Rescue Team in San Diego.

2010 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

The new cavers (Ben and Brian) covered Brent with their

wetsuits for warmth. The helicopter spotted the cavers at the

lower entrance about 8 PM.

At 9 PM the sheriff deputy climbed down to the entrance with

Ben. He did not go into the cave and BORSTAR paramedics

were two hours away. Repeated requests for heat packets and

deploying the cave rescue team were ignored. Then the deputy’s

radio emitted “Do we need EVAC tonight or can the victim

camp out till tomorrow?” The deputy answered with “His

condition is stable and he has no numbness,” to which Luca told

the deputy “Sir, if we don’t EVAC tonight they’re dead!”

Two BORSTAR paramedics arrived at 11 PM, and were taken to

Brent. They correctly assessed the situation and asked

immediately for the cave rescue team. Meanwhile the cavers

tried to keep Brent and Jim conscious and warm.

San Bernardino Cave Rescue Team members arrived at 2 AM.

The team quickly covered Brent with thermal packets and called

for a jack to raise the wooden board. The Cave Team used the

jack to raise the board under Brent to a point where the crack is

the widest, and pulled “like crazy”until they got him out. Brent

and Jim were able to exit the cave under their own power at 4

AM where they were short-hauled by the helicopter out of the

canyon and transported to the local hospital. They had been

underground for 19 hours. The sheriff’s office was thanked for

coordinating a successful rescue.

1. Luca Chiarabini, Incident Report, “Thunder Canyon Cave

Trip Report,” May 5, 2010.

2. San Diego 6 News Team, www.sandiego6.com/news/local/,

“Two Men Rescued from San Diego County Cave,” May 3,

2011.

Comments: Stuck in a cave can be a life threatening situation.

The untrained surface personnel were unable to comprehend the

completely different climate just minutes from them. The highly

trained BORSTAR paramedics immediately understood what

they were up against and demanded help. Only then did the

command post better understand the desperate situation going on

below them.

11 May

Raccoon Mountain Caverns, Tennessee

caver fall, injury and aid

An unidentified woman (38) was on a Heritage High School

field trip when she slipped and injured her ankle. The group was

about a mile into the cave. She was unable to get out on her own

so the group sent out for help.

Patty Perlaky is a tour guide at Raccoon Mountain and is also a

member of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Cave/Cliff Rescue

team. She and Ewing Ballard, another cave guide and wilderness

EMT, went to the incident site, splinted and “cold packed” the

leg, and waited for the rest of the Cave/Cliff Rescue team to

arrive.

The rescue team brought a Stokes litter and the extraction started

shortly after 2 PM. They were out some three and a half hours

later. The patient was transported to the Erlanger Medical

Center.

Kevin Sims, News Channel 9, Chattanooga, TN, “Woman

Rescued from Raccoon Mountain,” May 12, 2010.

Comments: The extent of the ankle injury was not specified and

nothing specific was stated as to exactly how she injured her

ankle.

19 June

unnamed cave, West Virginia

caver fall, injury, no aid

Twelve cavers entered a cave in Pocahontas County on June 19

for a day of surveying. The trip was a cold one and the cavers

were wet to the knees. After 13 hours underground, Doug Viner

and two companions began heading for the exit. The trip out

involved getting their chests wet momentarily in a crawl.

Despite wearing a balaclava and a neoprene vest under his cave

suit, Doug was beginning to feel the effects of the energy-

zapping cold. The group of three stopped to refuel with some

food then continued toward the exit. After ascending one rigged

drop, Doug then began to free climb an unrigged, 15-foot narrow

chimney. As he approached the top his foot slipped. He slowed

his fall by extending his arms and legs out, but nearing the

bottom, his left elbow struck a projection that sent a great

amount of force up into his shoulder. Despite discomfort, Doug

managed to complete the climb, a 45-minute crawl, and ascend a

difficult entrance pit under his own power. He was later

diagnosed with aggravated tendons and inflammation in the

shoulder joint.

1. Doug Viner, Incident Report, untitled, 19 June 2010.

2. Doug Viner, email communication, 15 August 2011.

Comments: Being an experienced caver, Doug was dressed

properly for the trip and ate high-energy foods when he felt his

energy wane. Mild hypothermia can sneak up on any of us

though, especially on long, cold survey trips. In retrospect, Doug

believes that free climbing the pitch where he fell was an

unnecessary risk, especially since the team was already wearing

vertical gear. When we are cold, wet, and tired, even little

obstacles can become difficult.

5 July

unnamed cave, Colorado

stuck, no injury, aid

At 11 AM an unidentified 16-year-old became stuck in a 30-

foot-deep crack in this popular cave. He was part of a youth

group trip of unknown size. Whether he slipped into the slot or

intentionally descended into the slot was not indicated in the

news article. Mountain Rescue was called and they implemented

a 30-foot haul, and used vegetable oil to help reduce the friction.

He was freed around 7:45 PM after being stuck almost 9 hours.

Jeffrey Wolf, KUSA-TV, www.9news.com/news/, “Teen rescued

from cave near Estes Park,” July 6, 2010.

Comments: The rescuers reported that this was the third rescue

of this type in the exact same spot. This is another example of a

leadership shortcoming. Either the 16-year-old was allowed to

make an exposed move without a belay, and he slipped or, he

2010 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

was allowed to push passage that was too tight. It is probably the

former due to the rescuer comments. Also see report about the

next incident at this location on August 20, 2010.

19 July

Rattlesnake (Gutter) Cave, Massachusetts

trapped, no injury, aid

At about 1 PM Maya Hersh (25) was exploring the cave with her

family (or friends). The passage went down, goes horizontal for

a ways and then drops into a chamber. She slid (or slipped)

down a passage about one foot wide and into the chamber. Maya

was about 30 feet underground. She tried to wiggle out for four

to five hours but was unsuccessful so her friends called for help

at about 6 PM.

About 20 rescuers responded but only four or five were skinny

enough to get into the cave. Only one rescuer was able to be in

the passage at a time and some of them were not able to fit down

past the first decline. They spent the first hour trying to help

Hersh maneuver up past the first tight areas by dangling two

ropes down into the chamber. That approach failed so they

passed Hersh a hammer and chisel allowing her to widen the

constriction about an inch and move up a bit. Hersh did much of

the work herself.

The rescuers provided food, water, a blanket, and put vegetable

oil on the rocks to reduce friction. She grew tired about midnight

and they took a break. Once she was able to get through the

constriction, rescuers were able to help her along by pulling on

webbing. After 12 hours underground Hersh was able to exit the

cave just after 1 AM. Other than some scrapes and being tired,

she was fine.

1. Ben Storrow, Daily Hampshire Gazette, gazettenet.com,

“Light of day never looked so good,” July 21, 2010.

2. L. Finch, Boston and Beyond, Now. Metrodesk,

www.boston.com/news/, “Spelunker freed after being

trapped in cave for almost 12 hours,” July 20, 2010 pp. 1-8.

3. Anthony Fay, www.wwlp.com/ddp/news/, “Woman rescued

from cave in Leverett,” July 19-20, 2010.

Comments: Now the kicker … Hersh had been into the chamber

before, solo! Somehow she had been able to effect an escape on

the previous trip and save her life. Maybe she was thinner then.

The news media accounts did not agree on whether the trip was

with family or friends or both. She was described as “an

experienced caver”. Another quote read “She’s just stuck. They

tried to pull her out, but she swelled some.”

2 August

Aden Fumarole, New Mexico

difficulty on rope, injury and aid

William Snyder (late 50’s) and his son decided to visit Aden

Fumarole south of Las Cruces. William rappelled the 100-foot

entrance pit and at approximately 11 PM his son called

authorities when he could not feel tension on the rope and

received no response when he called down to his dad. The son

said his father might have fallen while rappelling. A two man

Border Patrol BORSTAR team responded and brought him up

the pit. William was suffering from back pain and cuts, and was

airlifted to University Medical Center.

1. Unattributed, www.kfoxtx.com, “Man Rescued From Crater

Near Las Cruces,” August 2, 2010.

2. Unattributed, www.msha.gov/sosa/NearMisses/, (source

KRWG News), “Man Rescued After Falling Into Mine

Crater,” Undated.

Comments: It appears that the father had an uncontrolled or

under controlled rappel. There was also no mention of the father

having any ascending equipment.

20 August

unnamed cave, Colorado

stuck, no injury, aid

At 1:10 AM a page went out to the Larimer County SAR for a

stuck female in “the rite of passage” at Estes Park. The more the

woman tried to get free, the tighter she became stuck. The area

has several small openings between some very large rocks. The

popular route is traversed by both adults and children, and it is

easy to become stuck. Rocky Mountain National Park personnel

and Estes Park Fire personnel were able to free her in four hours.

They brought vegetable oil for friction reduction.

Unattributed, hwww.larimercountysar.org/missions2010.htm,

2010.

Comments: Visitors repeatedly get stuck in this big jumble of

boulders. In looking through three mission reports at this site,

the similarities are that the unwary explorer gets into something

tight, tries harder and gets stuck more tightly. For these rescues,

MAs are usually required, in addition to vegetable oil to help

extract the patient.

3 September

Bat Cave, Arkansas

caver fall, injury, no aid

David J. Thomas (43) was leading a speleology trip of five. They

were properly equipped with helmets with lights, boots, and

other standard horizontal caving gear. During the trip, Thomas

slipped on a mud-covered rock and fell over backwards,

extending his arm to control the fall. The fall resulted in a

dislocated right fifth finger (pinky) at the first knuckle.

The group was able to exit with no further incident. The students

were returned to the college and then Thomas was driven to the

White River Medical Center, where the dislocation was reduced.

David J. Thomas, Incident Report, November 17, 2010.

Comments: This appears to just be a case of bad luck, or the

rock was a bit more slippery than anticipated. Watch your step!

2010 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

17 September

Lava River Cave, Arizona

caver fall, injury and aid

A 50+ year-old, 5 foot 2 inch, 300 pound woman was part of a

Mormon women’s group on a weekend retreat. About 15 of the

group started touring the cave about 3:30 PM, with most having

a single, hand held flashlight. About 300 feet inside the cave,

near the bottom of the entrance slope, the woman slipped and

fell, hitting her head on the left temple, and bleeding profusely.

Others of their group came out for help. Randy Miller was at the

entrance, participating in a cave restoration project unrelated to

the Mormon group, and responded immediately. Randy wrapped

the wound with a compress bandage, and helped the woman exit

the cave. The woman was taken to urgent care by members of

her group.

Ray Keeler, Project Report to Coconino National Forest, “Lava

River Graffiti Removal Project”, October 2010.

Comments: The group of spelunkers had no helmets, most wore

tennis shoes, and most but not all had one hand held light. Some

were shining their lights for others who did not have a light. This

is totally inadequate equipment for safe caving.

6 October

Coronado Cave, Arizona

2 fatalities, murder/suicide

Walt G. Lemaire (23) and Sheryl L. Allen (23) were discovered

dead in a tent in the back of the large entrance room. A

Coronado National Monument officer started the investigation

after pulling over a vehicle for a traffic violation. The vehicle

occupants had seen the tent in the cave and asked if camping in

the cave was allowed. Investigators estimated the incident

occurred that morning and the initial indications were that it was

a murder and suicide.

Derek Jordan, willcoxrangenews.com, “Possible murder-suicide

in Coronado Cave,” October 6, 2010.

Comments: None

19 October

unnamed cave, British Columbia, Canada

difficulty on rope, no injury, aid

A two-person team was exploring an unnamed 23-meter pit on

Mount Finlayson when the female caver had difficulty getting

back up the pitch. The other caver was able to ascend up but was

unable to extricate his partner. He called 911 on his cell phone at

4:45 PM. When the 18 firefighters with high-angle rescue

training arrived, they discovered that they knew the calling party

as he had been rescued three days earlier in a separate high-angle

incident in Niagara Canyon (non-cave incident). The rescue

team sent a team member down the pit and raised the patient and

the rescuer on a tandem haul using a mechanical advantage

system.

Erin McCracken, Goldstream News Gazette, “Rescuers free

woman from cave,” October 21, 2010.

Comments: Rescuers questioned whether it was lack of ability or

lack of equipment or a combination of both. Knowing how to

use your equipment AND how to help another caver that has

gotten into difficulty is crucial. Know your gear. Know how to

use it. Adapt when needed.

7 November

Canteen Sinks Cave, Utah

difficulty on rope, injury and aid

Benjamin Buhr (30) was with a group mostly in their late teens

and early twenties, who were exploring about 100 to 150 feet

back into the cave. The group set an anchor using a large rock

for a rappel, but while Buhr was on rappel the rock pulled loose.

Buhr fell about 10 feet with the rock-falling directly onto his arm

and over his chest. The spot is frequently free climbed and can

also be bypassed by a tight squeeze. A group member was able

to help Buhr roll the rock off. He had suffered a severe

compound fracture below the elbow.

The Cache County Search and Rescue and Logan Fire

Department were called and were able to package Buhr and

carry him out of the cave.

1. Lance M. Dickey, Incident Report, November 11, 2010.

2. Unattributed, Associated Press, www. kswt.com, “Caver

rescued in Utah with broken arm,” November 7, 2010.

3. Jennie Christensen, www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/,

“Arizona man rescued from cave in Sinks area,” November

8, 2010.

Comments: The cave is visited regularly, which means one of

two scenarios happened: the group rigged to something they

should not have, or the rock had been used so much that the

anchor integrity was compromised. What we can learn from this

is to check each other’s anchors and rigging, even though we

have been on the pitch before.

11 November

Fang Cave, British Columbia, Canada

caver fall, two injuries and aid

A three-person party was exploring the cave and climbing out of

a room called the Coliseum. One caver fell and landed on a

second caver. Both injured cavers were in their 20’s (a man and

a woman). The climber suffered a concussion, a chipped tooth,

and a leg injury. She was unable to make the ascent up the pitch.

The second caver received leg injuries. The third member of the

party was able to surface and call for help using their satellite

phone.

The call was forwarded to Bob Rutherford of the British

Columbia Cave Rescue. Sixty rescuers responded from eight

different rescue groups. They climbed up the mountain in shin-

deep snow to the middle entrance, where they found the two

cavers at the bottom of a 20-meter deep pitch. Both were able to

move with assistance and the 45-minute in-cave operation was

followed by a two hour hike down the mountain. The two

2010 Caving Accident and Incident Reports

injured cavers reached the ambulance by 5 AM the following

morning.

1. The Canadian Press, www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/

CTVNews, “Rescuers pluck injured spelunkers from Fang

Cave,” November 12, 2010.

2. Unattributed, CBC News, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-

columbia, “Cave explorers rescued in Prince George area,”

3. Unattributed, www.opinion250.com/blog/view/18281,

“Rescue Teams Work All Night to Help Cavers,” November

12, 2010.

Comments: This is the second time a satellite phone has been

used for rescue notification at this cave in two years. Having

three members in the party was extremely beneficial, in that the

two cavers were able to stay in the cave to help each other and

keep each other warmer while the third team member went for

help.

17 November

Springhill Saltpeter Cave, Tennessee

caver fall, injury and aid

An unidentified man (25) and a friend were exploring when the

man slipped and fell while down climbing a wall about 400 to

500 feet in from the entrance. The slope appears to be a gradual

decent but the slipperiness was deceiving. The Anderson County

and Knox County Rescue Squads responded to the call. The man

sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was extricated after

several hours to the UT Medical Center.

Unattributed, www.wbir.com/news, “Man rescued from

Anderson Co. cave, TN,” November 17, 2010.

Comments: There were no references to the skill levels or

equipment used by the pair of explorers. Anyone can slip, and

anyone can make a misjudgment on how hard a slope will be to

negotiate. If there is a risk of falling and sustaining a substantial

injury, use a belay.

21 December

Sótano de Ahuihuitzcapa, Veracruz, Mexico

caver fall, fatality

A local resident (a non-caver), was just watching the entrance,

when he fell into the 180 meter (590 feet) deep entrance pit. An

Espeleo Rescate, Mexico team from Veracruz was alerted and

went to the cave to confirm the death. The body recovery started

at 8 AM on December 23rd and was completed by 4 PM the

same day.

1. Antonio AA, email post to Texascavers list, “Fatal cave

accident in Sótano de Ahuihuitzcapa, Mexico,” December

22, 2010.

2. Antonio AA, email post to Texascavers list, “Fatal cave

accident in Sótano de Ahuihuitzcapa, Mexico,” December

24, 2010.

Comments: This unfortunate accident could have been easily

avoided by observing basic precautions when near the edge of

the pit. The man was a local and had decided to spend the day on

top just enjoying the vista.

29 December

Lariat Cave, Idaho

stranded, no injury, aid

Three adults and seven young boys of a Pocatello Scout troop

went to visit Lariat Cave and spent the night in the cave. While

they were at the cave, the weather turned bad and they

discovered that they were unable to leave due to drifting snow.

A 911 cell phone call at 11:30 AM alerted authorities of the

problem and the scouts and dads were reached at 4:30 PM that

afternoon.

1. Kendra Evensen, www.idahostatejournal.com, “Scout troop

rescued after becoming stranded,” December 29, 2010.

2. John Bulger, www.idahostatejournal.com, “Official on

Scout troop rescued after getting stranded near A.F.,”

December 31, 2010.

Comments: The National Weather Service had issued a winter

storm watch with a warning for road closures for blowing snow.

The adults either did not check this, or just disregarded the

warning. Initial reports complimented the scout leaders for

“doing all the right things” until the obvious error in judgment

was brought up.

Always know the local weather status affecting the cave or

caving area to which you are going.

Report accidents and incidents

via the Internet at www.caves.org/pub/aca

or mail reports and information to:

American Caving Accidents

National Speleological Society

2813 Cave Avenue

Huntsville, Alabama 35810-4431

2009 Cave Diving Accident and Incident Reports

May

Ginnie Springs, Florida

equipment issues, no injury, no aid

Barbara am Ende was cave diving with new tanks (108s) and

someone of authority had convinced her that if she slid the bands

up on the tanks (which moved them down on her body), she

would now need shoulder weights to counterbalance her now

heavy feet.

The plan was simple. She and her buddy, Ken, would swim into

the Devil’s Ear without a line, drop their decompression tanks at

the warning sign, then Barbara would lead into the Keyhole.

They would then do the Bone Room circuit, and exit via the

Devil’s Eye (an easier exit).

They got to the gap and Barbara was at 1750 psi in the left tank,

2200 in the right (down from 3550 in each). Normally she

wouldn’t have broken the rule of thirds, but she felt it was OK

for this particular dive, due to the high current on exit, and

familiarity with the route.

Barbara began to have some issues with buoyancy. She was

light-weight, due to low gas and air trapped in her dry suit. She

also began having trouble keeping the air out of her feet.

They reached the sign and she had great difficulty with air in her

dry suit boots. She swam 4 to 6 times around the sign, hanging

on and trying to force her feet down. Ken tried to get her feet

down, which worked only partially and temporarily.

Barbara saw daylight and decided on an immediate exit, then

realized it was the Ear. The current was ferocious. She knew it

was critical not to get blown out to the surface, for fear of dying

of gas embolism, or getting bent. So she clung to the rocks as

best she could. She was now completely upside down with her

feet dangling above her. One foot pulled out of the overly

inflated boot. The fin was still on, but was essentially useless.

She tried climbing up the rock wall, upside down, aiming for the

20-foot decompression stop.

Barbara rode the outgoing current to the "Deco Log" at 20 feet

of water depth, reverted to a head-up orientation, and tried to

switch to oxygen, but the regulator had gravel in it. During the

process of clearing it, she drifted below the safe depth for pure

oxygen, and resumed breathing gas from her side-mount tanks

(containing oxygen-enriched air). She breathed one of her tanks

empty, but at this point she was again above 20-feet and could

breathe off the now clean O

regulator.

Somewhere during this ordeal, she realized, 'A person could

panic about now.' But she didn't.

They finished decompressing, and headed for shore, but the

current was still strong in the river, and Barbara still only had

one fin. Ken managed to tow her out of the river, and they made

it to shore.

Barbara am Ende, Incident Report, “Near Disaster at Devil's Ear,

Ginnie Springs, FL, May 2009,” August 10, 2010.

Comments: Testing a new gear configuration is best done with a

simpler dive plan. Going below two-thirds of your starting gas

supply is never a good idea, even in a high-outflow cave. Part of

a cave diver’s total weight is the compressed gas in the tanks, so

using too much gas can make the diver excessively buoyant.

While it is considered bad form and difficult in high current,

going vertical to dump the excess air out of the dry suit would

have helped a lot. Her logical approach to solving the problems,

and avoidance of panic, kept her alive in a harrowing situation.

4 September

Devil’s Eye, Florida

fatality, drowning

Bruce Clark (58) was diving with Gary Hildman. They went to

the start of the Hill 400 jump, and Bruce went into "Harry's

Crack," without a jump line. Gary didn't feel comfortable, so he

waited for Bruce to return.

Gary didn't follow Bruce because there was silt coming out of

the Crack, and he couldn't see the line in the tunnel. Gary waited

for Bruce to miss him, and return. When he didn't reappear, Gary

went to the other side of the Crack tunnel to the Expressway

side. Not seeing Bruce there, and being low on gas, he exited

and got someone else (an instructor) to search for Bruce. That

search lasted around 90 minutes. Corey and Joel found Bruce

Clark’s body near the top of the Wormhole, in the Hill 400

tunnel.

Gary also said they started their dive with two loops up the main

line, into the Expressway tunnel, then into the Bone tunnel, and

back again to the Hill 400 jump area.

1. Lise Fisher, www.gainesville.com/article/20090904/

ARTICLES/909049950/1002?Title=Cave-diver-reported-

overdue-at-Ginnie-Springs.

2. Unattributed, www.gainesville.com/article/20090908/

ARTICLES/909081011/1002?Title=Around-the-Region-

Sept-8.

3. Cave Divers Forum, www.cavediver.net/forum/

showthread.php/11230-Devil-s-Eye-9-4-09/page2.

Comments: There are several theories on this dive. The most

popular is that Bruce waited for Gary to enter the "Crack," then

returned to find Gary gone. Bruce then searched for Gary until

he ran out of gas (air).

Another theory is Bruce returned to the gap where he last saw

Gary, and missed the line in the silt-out, and went the wrong

way until he ran out of gas.

This appears to be a result of bad planning. If Bruce had put in a

jump line to the line in the "Crack", possibly Gary would have

been willing to follow him. That also would have eliminated any

possibility of anyone getting lost.

2010 Cave Diving Accident and Incident Reports

3 November

Eagle’s Nest, Florida

fatality, drowning

James D. Woodall (39) and Gregory S. Snowden (34) came to

Florida to attend the annual Diving Equipment and Marketing

Association show in Orlando. Though experienced open-water

divers they had no cave-diving certifications. They went diving

in Eagle’s Nest and had swum in about 1000 feet upstream, not

using scooters. Both were diving rebreathers with an 18/30 mix.

On the way back out, Woodall started showing signs of agitation

in the Super Room.

About 500 feet from the entrance and at a depth of 270 feet,

Woodall started having trouble with his breathing equipment.

Snowden tried to help Woodall and offered Woodall his bailout

gas three times. Woodall rejected the offer each time, and finally

passed out and sank to the bottom. Woodall was apparently a

very large man, so towing via swim was not an option for the

survivor.

1. Joel Anderson, with contributions by Will Gorham

www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/kentucky-

man-dead-missing-after-cave-diving-accident-in-hernando-

county/1049287.

2. Unattributed, www.cavediver.net/forum/showthread.php/

11688-Eagle-s-nest-accident-11-3-09 Post #10.

Comments: They failed to follow two of the five "rules" of safe

cave diving. They had no cave-diving training, and were too

deep for the gas they were using.

The diluents in the rebreathers were 18/30 (18% oxygen, and

30% helium, the remainder nitrogen). This is considered by most

technical divers to be too rich in oxygen, and not enough helium

for the 270 foot depth involved. The symptoms reported by the

survivor indicate that the victim suffered nitrogen narcosis, and

possibly also oxygen toxicity. It is also possible that the

rebreather scrubber was no longer removing sufficient CO

which could have caused the victim to switch to bailout.

2010 Cave Diving Accident and Incident Reports

8 July

Peacock Springs, Florida

fatality, drowning

Patricia Barkley (67) and a male dive buddy of similar age were

a two-person team who had been diving together once a week

for the last four years. Both were introductory level cave divers.

The planned dive was the Main Line to the Crossover to the

Peanut Line. Both were wearing doubles. No jump reels were

installed.

At around 800 feet on the Peanut line, Barkley began to doubt

that her current direction was the way out and she suddenly

started swimming back towards Crossover Tunnel. The male

buddy (who was in the lead) caught up with Barkley and tried to

convince her that she was going the wrong way. He used line

arrows and pointed to the direction of the exit.

Barkley ignored this information and bolted back into the cave

system, heading back towards Crossover Tunnel.

The buddy could not keep up with her and, at some point

decided to backtrack to the Main Line, thinking that Barkley was

going to swim back the way she came. The buddy waited for her

at Pot Hole. After reaching a critically low air pressure he swam

to the basin and found Larry Green in the water. (Larry was

teaching a class at the time.)

Larry and the buddy surfaced, the buddy explained the problem,

and Larry Green immediately went in to look for Barkley. She

was found around 800 feet on the Peanut Line.

Ms. Barkley was found with her mask on, no water in mask,

regulator out of mouth, and tanks empty. Her starting tank

pressure was 3275 using hp 80's.

1. Lise Fisher, Ocala.com, www.ocala.com/article/20100708/

articles/100709737/1402/news.

2. Cavedivers forum, "Diver Fatality at Peacock,"

www.cavediver.net/forum/showthread.php/13813-Diver-

Fatality-at-Peacock/page2.

Comments: There are several safety rules for cave-diving. The

first rule is to be trained for the type of dive, which she wasn't.

The second rule is to have a continuous guideline to the surface.

"No jump reels were installed" means that there were at least

two gaps in the guideline. The third rule is to save two-thirds of

your breathing gas for exit. We can only surmise that when she

had used the first 1/3 of her gas she wanted to exit. Apparently

she didn't understand that they had already passed the halfway

point, and were on the way OUT when she turned to go back the

way she came. This may not have happened IF there had been a

continuous guideline. It is very easy to become confused under

water. She swam right past the tunnel she had come in from,

because there was no "jump reel" installed.

2009 Caving-Related Accident and Incident Reports

9 July

unnamed abandoned mine, New Hampshire

stuck, no injury, aid

Cassandra Miller (16) was exploring with 54 other Camp

Wanakee campers in a small, abandoned lead mine (reported as

a cave) on Pine Mountain. About 4 PM she became stuck in the

tight spot known as the "Lemon Squeeze" located some 20 feet

from the entrance. The New Hampshire Fish and Game

Department received a call from a camp counselor at 4:28 PM,

and the Gorham ambulance and fire department responded. The

rescuers built a rock platform, positioned personnel on either

side of Miller, and were eventually able to free her around 7:30

PM after 3 ½ hours. She suffered no significant injuries from the

entrapment.

1. J.J. Higgins, www.EagleTribune.com, “Salem, N.H. girl

spends hours stuck in cave,” July 10, 2009.

2. Jarret Bencks, EagleTribune.com, “Salem, NH, teen

unscathed after being wedged in cave for 3 hours,” July 11,

2009.

Comments: There was no mention of a fall in the report. The girl

was placed in a situation where she just did not fit. This was a

leadership issue. There were 55 youth campers in the group, and

even though the mine is only 70ish feet long, putting that many

untrained youth into tight passage is questionable.

19 September

unnamed sea cave, Oregon

parasail crash into entrance, injury and aid

A woman was parasailing along the ocean cliffs of Cape

Lookout near Tillamook. She crashed into the cliff and then

swung into the sea cave entrance and under the drip line. She

was only able to cling to the rocks for about five minutes before

falling into the surf while still in her harness. A nearby hiker

witnessed and reported the crash. The Air Station Astoria

launched a helicopter crew, which located the crash site and

deployed a rescue swimmer. The rescue swimmer was able to

cut her shroud lines, keep her from being washed farther into the

cave, and get her into a rescue basket. The parasail pilot was

hoisted into the helicopter, taken to the hospital and treated for

hypothermia and other minor injuries, then released.

Deena Schroeder, Daily Astorian, “Coast Guard rescues woman

who crashed while hang gliding,” September 21, 2009

Comments: The video of the rescue showed heavy surf and

gusty winds. The parasail pilot did what she could in a bad

situation.

2010 Caving-Related Accident and Incident Reports

21 April

unnamed cave, Idaho

fatality, living in cave

Richard Zimmerman, known as “Dugout Dick,” lived in a cave

along the Salmon River. He was truly off-the-grid and lived

almost entirely off the land. Zimmerman had been at home in the

caves at the end, and “it was his wish to die there,” said Connie

Fitte, who lived across the river. Zimmerman had been in

declining health prior to his death.

Tim Woodward, Idaho Statesman, www.thenewstribune.com,

“Idaho: Man known as Dugout Dick dies in his Salmon River

cave home,” April 23, 2010.

Comments: None

18 May

unnamed cave, Arizona

fatality, living in cave

The body of a 55-year-old transient was discovered in a cave off

of a hiking trail near Kingman. The man appeared to be living in

the cave. He appeared to have died of natural causes.

Erin Taylor, Daily Miner, “Transient’s body found in cave by

trail,” May 18, 2010.

Comments: None

30 May

unnamed abandoned mine, Oklahoma

fatality, drowning

Joie Roland (31) had left his home near Fort Gibson to go solo

hiking and exploring caves on Sunday. His family reported him

as missing on Monday afternoon. Multiple agencies from

Cherokee and Muskogee Counties participated in the search and

Roland was found at 8:30 PM Tuesday evening in a lake in an

abandoned mine. It appeared he had drowned in about 10 feet of

water. He was reported by the family to be an “experienced

caver and that he’d gone out to explore the cave on his own.”

1. Josh Newton, Tahlequhdailypress.com, “Area man’s body

found in cave,” June 1, 2010.

2. Press staff writer, Tahlequhdailypress.com, “Missing hiker

found dead in cave,” June 2, 2010.

Comments: The old mine was used as a quarry by the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers to build the Fort Gibson dam. Pillars were

left about every 50 feet in the mine to support the ceiling.

Roland made numerous mistakes contributing to his death,

including going underground solo and entering the water while

solo.

6 June

unnamed cave, Quintana Roo, Mexico

6 fatalities, murder

Police found six bodies, four men and two women, in a cave

near Cancún. Three of the six bodies had been mutilated. Drug

cartels were suspected in the murders.

Radell Smith, Atlanta Pop Culture Examiner, “6 Cancun cave

murders, 3 removed hearts: Is it safe for Atlanta vacationers to

go to Cancun?” June 7, 2010

Comments: None

6 June

unnamed sea cave, California

other, marijuana found in cave

1,400 pounds of marijuana was found in a Point Loma cave near

San Diego by the Coast Guard. They had been called by a

concerned resident who noticed a small boat that was beached

around the Sunset Cliffs area. Officials moved in, arrested two

men and recovered the marijuana. The men were turned over to

the U.S. Border Patrol.

Shelby Grad, Los Angeles Times, latimesblogs.latimes.com,

“1,400 pounds of marijuana found hidden in San Diego cave; 2

men arrested.”

Comments: None

8 June

Bums Cave, Virginia

fatality, living in cave

Ricky Dean Burks (50), a transient, had been living in Bums

Cave for an undetermined time when a fire broke out. The

Roanoke Fire-EMS responded to a brush fire and after

extinguishing the fire discovered that a fire fatality had occurred.

It was later determined that the incident was not of a criminal

nature. Burks was remembered as a “really nice person,” and

“He was always wanting to help and would never ask anybody

for anything.”

1. Mary Lou Stock, Incident Report, March 10, 2011.

2. Unattributed, Roanoke Times, “Brush fire kills person in

Roanoke cave,” June 8, 2010.

3. Unattributed, WDBJ7-TV, “Friends remember man killed in

cave fire,” July 18, 2010.

Comments: The cause of the fire had not been determined;

however the death appears to have been an accident.

2010 Caving-Related Accidents and Incident Reports

11 June

Cool Caves (abandoned mine), Pennsylvania

stuck, no injury, aid

Three men (ages 18 to 20) were hiking when they decided to go

into “Cool Caves” in the Martic Township. They walked about

150 feet into the narrow passage when the second hiker got stuck

in the chest area. The second hiker’s position prevented the first

hiker from escaping. The third man was able to run back and call

for help.

The Pequea Fire Company responded, and dozens of firefighters

and rescue workers spent two hours to free the men. They used

soap and water to lubricate the stuck man and slide him out. One

of the men was treated for minor injuries.

1. Samica Knight, www.whptv.com, “Hikers trapped in cave;

freed with soap and water,” June 12, 2010.

2. Several contributors, CaveChat.org, “Pennsylvania Cave

Rescue,” June 12 through September 17, 2010.

Comments: Though this happened in an abandoned mine, an

important lesson can be learned. Always put your weakest

member, with respect to the obstacle, in the middle of the group.

In this case the obstacle was a constriction. The team put the

largest person in the middle which was the correct thing to do.

This way the other team members could help. When a self-

rescue is not possible, a team member could still leave and go

get help.

July 2010

unnamed cave, Arizona

other, drug spotter hideout

A Silverbell resident was flying his private plane in July when

he spotted someone standing near a cave at Wild Cat Peak south

of Gila Bend. Authorities were notified and law enforcement

sent a team to investigate. Hiram Rendon-Rios, a 23-year-old

illegal immigrant with communications and surveillance

equipment was arrested. He had been living in the cave illegally

and it was suspected he was a spotter for drug and illegal alien

travel activity. Rendon-Rios was deported.

1. Unattributed, www.kpho.com/news, “Sheriff: Drug Spotters

Living in Ariz. Caves,” September 15, 2010.

2. Unattributed, www.kvoa.com/news, “Illegal immigrant

arrested in cave,” September 15, 2010.

Comments: The area has been an active drug and illegal alien

smuggling route for many years. In September, night vision

equipment and weapons locked in a gun safe were stolen from

another resident’s home less than a mile from the cave.

30 July

Cool Caves (Wind Cave) (abandoned mine),

Pennsylvania

caver fall, injury and aid

The abandoned mine is right along a popular hiking trail. An

unidentified girl (13) was part of a group of 12 to 15 youths and

one adult. She was fairly far back when she slipped on the wet

rocks and fell over backwards, striking her back on the

abandoned mine floor. She also received head and neck injuries

in the fall. To reach the girl, rescuers moved single file to the

back of the mine, packaged her in a Stokes litter, and carried her

out. The girl’s injuries were not critical.

1. Amy Alexander, Intelligencer Journal/New Era,

www.emsl.com/search-rescue/, “13-year-old girl injured in

Pa. cave fall,” August 2, 2010.

2. Larry Alexander, articles.lancasteronline.com, “Girl, 13,

injured in fall in Martic cave,” August 2, 2010.

Comments: Many times an incident occurs as a culmination of

several poor decisions. In this case there was one adult with 12

to 15 children. The adult-to-youth ratio was too low. Second, the

girl was in an exposed enough position that when she fell a

significant injury occurred.

31 July

Big Four Ice Caves, Washington

fatality, rockfall

The Tam family was on a family outing to the Big Four Ice

Caves in Snohomish County. It is a mile-long hike along the trail

to the caves and they had brought a picnic lunch. Grace Tam

(11) was sitting on a rock with her parents about 15 feet outside

the entrance when a chunk of ice about the size of a pick-up

truck fell on Grace. Strangers jumped in to perform CPR while

others ran down the trail and then drove another 7 miles to get

cell phone signal. It took 2 hours and 20 minutes for rescue

workers to arrive. Grace died of crushing pelvic injuries.

1. Eric Stevick, Herald Writer, www.heraldnet.com, “Big Four

Ice Caves victim remembered for her smarts, sweetness,”

August 3, 2010.

2. Kyle Moore, KING 5 News, “Father of girl killed at ice

caves presses for safety changes,” August 13, 2010.

3. Thump-N-Seek, www.geocaching.com, untitled, July 30,

2011.

Comments: Though it was ice, this incident is placed under rock-

fall. Falling rocks around entrances is always a concern. There

are large yellow signs posted along the trail saying not to enter

the ice caves. The girl was just in the wrong place at the wrong

time.

11 August

unnamed cave, Illinois

dog rescued from cave

Bobbie (no last name) posted a message (1:51 PM) on CaveChat

that their dog “Threat” had gone into a cave almost 72 hours

previous to the posting. A second dog had gone into the cave and

had managed to get out, muddy and wet. Bobbie’s husband

heard the dog calling for help on the third morning and contacted

the local fire department. The fire department would not go in

for an animal, only humans. One rescuer mentioned that he had

been in the cave as child and that there was a Y and a pit below

it. The dog must have fallen down the pit. Bobbie’s husband had

2010 Caving-Related Accidents and Incident Reports

been in the cave over 100 feet and was worried about his safety.

Bobbie was asking on CaveChat if anyone could help, provided

a phone number, and a location about one hour north of St.

Louis, Missouri.

“Sherppa” moved the CaveChat thread from the Diggers Forum

to the Rescue Forum. Phil Winkler contacted the Meramec

Grotto in St. Louis at 3:44 PM. By 6:30 PM five members of

Meramec Grotto were en route. By 8:50 PM the dog was out of

the cave and safe. It had taken the grotto members less than 1.5

hours from getting on site to get the dog out.

Bobbie, Sherppa, and Phil Winkler, CaveChat (CaveDiggers

Forum and Rescue Forum), “Help, Dog trapped in cave – IL,”

August 11, 2010.

Comments: Our whole-hearted congratulations to the CaveChat

moderators, Sherppa, Phil Winkler, and the five cavers from

Meramec Grotto who located and rescued the dog.

30 October

unnamed cave, North Carolina

dog trapped in cave

Evie, a small terrier, had disappeared from the Griffith family

home the week before. Evie had been let out for a run and had

not returned. The Griffith family searched all over without luck

until the next day when the neighborhood dogs led them to a

narrow crack in the hillside that apparently led to a larger cave.

Would-be rescuers tried looking for and digging other entrances,

using the Jaws of Life and other tools, but were unsuccessful.

The Fire Chief suggested lighting a flare, putting it in the

entrance, and looking for smoke. This method showed smoke

coming out at one of their dig locations. The dig was widened,

the Fire Chief belly-crawled in, and discovered a big rat moving

about. After the rat disappeared, the Fire Chief was moving

loose dirt with a stick when the dirt moved and the dog plopped

out. Evie the dog had been underground for several days but was

uninjured.

Jonathan D. Austin, www.citizen-times.com, “Rescuers pull

terrier from cave,” November 2, 2010.

Comments: Even though using a flare was successful in finding

another entrance into the cave, this method is not recommended.

The fumes and smoke could be hazardous.

5 November

unnamed cave, Tennessee

caver fall, injury and aid

Zach Holland (20) and Matt White (18) were at a party when a

noise complaint was logged. Those involved took off when

authorities showed up. The authorities caught and arrested three,

but Holland and White ran up to the foot of Monteagle Mountain

and fell into the cave. Chattanooga Hamilton County Cave &

Cliff Team responded and spent five hours getting them out.

Holland was hospitalized in critical condition.

Staff reporter, WDEF News 12, “Two Men Rescued After

Falling in a Cave on Monteagle Mountain,” November 8, 2010.

Comments: Even though this was a cave rescue, it is listed in

Caving Related since neither of the two patients knew about or

intended to enter the cave. Running blindly through the forest in

cave country at night can be hazardous.

27 November

unnamed abandoned mine, Pennsylvania

caver fall, injury and aid

Eight teenagers were camping in the area and were exploring an

abandoned mine in Longswamp Township, when one teenager

fell and hit his head. Three of the group stayed with the injured

person while the other four went out and called 911. Several fire

departments assisted in rescuing the four teenagers. They were

treated at the Lehigh Valley Hospital for a single head wound

and hypothermia.

Staff reporter, www.wfmz.com/berksnews, “Teens Rescued From

Cave,” November 27, 2010.

Comments: This injury would probably have been avoided if the

teenagers were wearing helmets, and the fall might have been

avoided if the spelunkers had been wearing boots. Having and

using proper equipment, whether in an abandoned mine or in a

cave reduces the chance of injury.

5 December

unnamed sea cave, California

other, fatality

Kristopher Carlsen (27) was open-water scuba diving for lobster

with his father during the morning of December 4th. They were

diving north of Fraser point off Santa Cruz Island when Carlsen

failed to surface from the dive. He was determined to be missing

at 10:30 AM and an extensive search was initiated by the U.S.

Coast Guard. Carlsen’s body was recovered in a crevice at the

entrance of a sea cave.

Unattributed (Associated Press), www.sfgate.com/cgi-

bin/article.cgi, “Body of missing diver found near SB County

cave,” December 6, 2010.

Comments: This is listed under Caving Related as it is unclear

whether Carlson even knew about the cave, and his body just

washed in the entrance.

The National Cave Rescue Commission

The National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) is a volunteer group developed to train cave rescue personnel throughout the United

States. It is part of the National Speleological Society, and located within the Department of the Administrative Vice-President.

The NCRC does not perform cave rescues. It organizes, develops, and provides training in cave rescue techniques, maintains lists of

individuals trained in cave rescue, and can help locate rescue resources in times of need. Most NCRC-trained cavers do participate in

rescues, but not as part of the NCRC. They work as members of their local rescue teams, civil defense units, or cave rescue groups.

The NCRC also works to:

 Maintain good working relationships with other rescue-oriented individuals, organizations, government agencies, and

sources of specialized equipment and services (for example, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and the Center

for Mine Safety and Health Administration).

 Maintain current files of potentially useful equipment (for example, underground communications equipment and cave-

oriented medical kits) and services that can be obtained through the above sources.

 Acquire and maintain a limited supply of certain equipment, such as special rescue litters and vertical rescue gear, in

key locations throughout the country.

 Increase the number and proficiency of cave rescuers across the United States by sponsoring training sessions and

seminars, and by encouraging other caving, rescue, and EMS organizations to sponsor such educational programs.

 Encourage international cooperation by developing contacts with cave rescuers and rescue agencies in other countries,

by pre-planning with these groups where US involvement is anticipated, and by inviting participation of cave rescuers

from other countries in NCRC seminars.

Organization

The NCRC is led by a Board of Regional Coordinators that includes a National Coordinator, Training Coordinator, Medical

Coordinator, and Diving Coordinator (each of whom coordinates resources and activities at a national level), and Regional

Coordinators for each of ten regions in the United States and its territories. Board members are nominated by cavers and cave rescue

personnel, and are appointed by the NSS Board of Governors. The NCRC depends on many volunteers without official positions

whose special knowledge, talents, or contacts make the network more effective.

Training

The NCRC sponsors a week-long Cave Rescue Operations and Management Seminar each year that is held in various locations

around the United States. The seminar serves as a “boot camp” of cave rescue and provides three levels of training. Cave rescue is

constantly evolving, and the most up-to-date techniques are presented each year. In addition to the annual national week-long seminar,

the NCRC regions sponsor regional week-long seminars, regional modular seminars (taught over a series of weekends), courses in

small-group and self-rescue techniques, and weekend cave rescue orientation courses.

NCRC seminars consist of extensive classroom and field work designed to maximize the learning experience. The seminars include

lectures, demonstrations, and field exercises on underground environments, vertical rescue, mechanical advantage systems, extrication

techniques, basic medical principles, communications, and the management of cave rescue operations. Emphasis is placed on practical

skills and techniques, with realistic exercises in a variety of cave environments.

The seminars provide basic and advanced material for students, who typically include cavers, emergency services personnel, and

emergency managers. During the eight days of a seminar, students receive about 100 hours of instruction, and are on the move from

early morning well into the evening. The NCRC uses and teaches the Incident Command System (ICS) used by fire departments,

rescue squads, and other emergency agencies and services.

Course Listings and Contact Information

Information on NCRC operation, activities, and training, including contact information for NCRC Coordinators, is published each

year in the NSS Members Manual, and is also available on the NCRC website at www.ncrc.info. Upcoming seminars are announced

on the web site and in the NSS News.

National Cave Rescue Commission Course Listing and Contact Information is available on the Internet at www.caves.org/io/ncrc.

Cave Rescue Training

will make you a safer caver.

It can also help you save your life, or the

lives of your fellow cavers. Find out more at:

www.ncrc.info.