Re: [Texascavers] Cave rescue
The caver died after going in the Blowing Cave entrance of Binkley. He was part of a group doing a sump dive over two miles from the entrance. It was an apparent heart attack. He may have been from Chicago. One of the Indiana volunteers working on the new NSS offices here at Huntsville received several phone calls on the incident. Preston Forsythe at Huntsville From: Bill Steele speleoste...@aol.com To: Cavers Texas texascavers@texascavers.com Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2013 10:23 PM Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Cave rescue http://www.whas11.com/news/Caver-dies-after-suffering-medical-incident-in-Corydon-Ind-cave-233184591.html Sent from my iPhone On Nov 23, 2013, at 6:49 PM, Bill Steele speleoste...@aol.com wrote: Rescue going right now at Binkley's Cave, Indiana. Fifty year-old man had a heart attack while caving in a wetsuit cave. Sent from my iPhone - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] Government Canyon caving
Yay! Trip reports on CaveTex! It sure beats the alternatives! Mobile email from my iPhone On Nov 23, 2013, at 11:02 PM, Marvin and Lisa mlmil...@gvtc.com wrote: All right. I give up. All those great Colorado Bend project reports make me realize I've got to do the same thing. We had two teams at Government Canyon on November 10. I led Rick Corbell, Christin Miller, Sierra Ostrov, and Petra Ostrov to Big Dome Cave to continue the survey. We concentrated our efforts in the entrance room and surveyed 44.14 meters in 12 stations. We tried to follow the perimeter of the room as closely as possible but on the east side the rising floor comes too close to the ceiling and the furthest extents of the room cannot be verified. We also surveyed into two small rooms at the southeast corner that have interesting solution features in the bedrock floor. While Christin and I were giving Petra and Sierra a tour of the lower part of the cave, Rick removed a rock at the northwest corner of the entrance room to gain access to another small, low, dirt-floored room. In the entrance area we still need to survey the new room that Rick found and survey out the second entrance to the cave. Significantly, the cave length is now 258.15 meters, making Big Dome cave officially the longest cave in Government Canyon SNA. The cave that was knocked from the top spot is Dancing Rattler Cave at 225.24 meters. The second team was made up of Christopher Francke, Leslie Bell, Tom Rogers, and Jill Orr. They took the long hike to the top of the hill loaded down with rope, vertical gear, hammer drill, batteries, hammer, chisel, etc. to continue pushing the lead in the bottom of Lost Pothole. They were successful in getting into Rebecca’s Pit, but, against all expectations, there was no going cave or leads of any kind at the bottom. It was a blind pit. So where does all the air come from? Everyone was so focused on the pit that no one had noticed that the airflow was coming from the solution channel that crosses over the pit and continues on the other side. After finding that the bottom of the pit had no leads, the team confirmed that, indeed, the air was coming from the channel at the top. The opinion of the team was that the channel was too small for an indefinite length and that continuing to try to follow it by micro-blasting or hammering was not feasible. We will do a survey trip to survey Rebecca’s Pit, since it is likely the lowest point in the deepest cave on the SNA. Otherwise the cave will be considered finished. The next Government Canyon Karst Project trip will be on December 7 8 and will continue the first weekend of the month until further notice. Marvin Miller
Re: [Texascavers] Government Canyon caving
Dang, I was on the digging trip when Rebecca first squeezed through to peer down that pit -- I had such high hopes for that lead had such a great time caving with her that day. This report closes a chapter on a favorite personal piece of caving history. Lost Pothole is a great cave. Still. I remember discovering that lead on the first survey trip with Andy Grubbs and Geoff Hoese so many years ago now -- it had burned a hole in my brain since then. In my fevered imagination, we'd break through into going stream passage some day. Maybe I can use a photo trip as an excuse to go back one last time. On Nov 23, 2013, at 11:02 PM, Marvin and Lisa mlmil...@gvtc.com wrote: After finding that the bottom of the pit had no leads, the team confirmed that, indeed, the air was coming from the channel at the top. The opinion of the team was that the channel was too small for an indefinite length and that continuing to try to follow it by micro-blasting or hammering was not feasible. We will do a survey trip to survey Rebecca’s Pit, since it is likely the lowest point in the deepest cave on the SNA. Otherwise the cave will be considered finished. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Re: Government Canyon Trip Report
Marvin wrote: All right. I give up. All those great Colorado Bend project reports make me realize I've got to do the same thing. Marvin, thanks for the trip report. The Government Canyon Project seems destined to go on forever, like the Colorado Bend Project, thanks to all the dedicated volunteers. Logan
[Texascavers] Fwd: Cave Rescue Saturday Night -- PRIVATE
Fyi. Sent from my Samsung Captivate(tm) on ATT Hi everyone, Below is a good summary of how things went down last night. While we mourn the loss of Tim McLain, we should celebrate his life, which was undeniably a life well-lived. And it was, in my opinion, one of the NSS's finest moments. I arrived at the cave about 10:45pm last night, and was on the litter party for the final 1000 feet of the recovery of Tim from the cave. And though Tim was gone at that point, we made a point of continuing to talk to him and treat him with the greatest level of respect. One member of the litter party actually laid face-down in a breakdown pocket, using his body as a ramp to facilitate the litter up and over a snag. The cave was Blowing Hole Cave, part of the larger Binkley's Cave System in Indiana, which also includes the newly-opened Indiana Caverns. Here is a video which basically shows most-all of the route where the recovery took place. Every one of the cavers you see in this first video was a major contributor to the rescue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWU1yDkbe7w Most of us, considering the obstacles (most notably the waterfall), thought the recovery wouldn't finish until mid-day on Sunday. Tim was out of the cave by 4:15am. It was an extremely efficient and well-coordinated effort. Here's Bill Greenwald's account, and if you have any questions, just drop me a line. -Dean Concerning the cave rescue down in Corydon last night in Binkley Blowing Hole Cave. Mainly to update those that couldn't make it down and to thank those that did. I got the initial call about 5:45 from Don Paquette to pull out the list and get cavers on stand-by up here. By 6pm it was an actual Rescue. CIG had 10-12cavers on the way down by 7:30pm. They asked for strong wet suit cavers. Unfortunately it turned into a body recovery. As of 2am it was confirmed that it was Tim McLain and that he died from what appeared to be either a heart attack or some other catastrophic cardiovascular event. Ironically, Tim was also the patient in the YouTube video “Caver Saver 2011” that was done in Eversole Cave. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgKLyLZiF8E I got the call that his body was out of the cave and that they were standing all the cavers down as of 5am this morning from Don Paquette. It was also interesting that it was a Chicago caver that Tim was with in the cave. Adam Haydock had emailed me about him coming down to dive a sump in the Binkley Cave system as he wanted to visit Eversole on Sunday. Adam was the one that gave Tim the CPR and came out of the cave and called in a rescue. There might be a little in the News but they had enough people and the recover went better than predicted. The media doesn't like to dwell on body recoveries. Tim was one of Indiana's best cavers and a great guy he will be missed by lot of people. Suspect the services will be in Spencer IN. “Please include Tim and all the cavers that helped in your Prayers this morning”. Have a Good Thanksgiving. Bill Greenwald
texascavers Digest 24 Nov 2013 21:39:44 -0000 Issue 1889
texascavers Digest 24 Nov 2013 21:39:44 - Issue 1889 Topics (messages 23089 through 23103): sinkhole related 23089 by: David Re: Paradise Canyon Trip 23090 by: mark gee 23092 by: Logan McNatt Re: Colorado Bend State Park Project Report for November 23091 by: mark gee TCMA Election Underway 23093 by: R D Milhollin Cave rescue 23094 by: Bill Steele 23095 by: Bill Steele 23098 by: PRESTON FORSYTHE Government Canyon caving 23096 by: Marvin and Lisa 23097 by: Jim Kennedy 23099 by: Chris Vreeland Re: Government Canyon Trip Report 23100 by: Logan McNatt 23102 by: Gill Edigar texas caver september 23101 by: Jill Orr Re: Cave Rescue Saturday Night -- PRIVATE 23103 by: Geary Schindel Administrivia: To subscribe to the digest, e-mail: texascavers-digest-subscr...@texascavers.com To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail: texascavers-digest-unsubscr...@texascavers.com To post to the list, e-mail: texascavers@texascavers.com -- ---BeginMessage--- Check out how excited people in Houston get when a sinkhole opens up here. http://www.click2houston.com/news/sinkhole-causing-problems-in-west-houston/-/1735978/23107834/-/qi4gr0z/-/index.html ---End Message--- ---BeginMessage--- Yall have fun! Find the big one up on that cliff side. On , Kurt L. Menking kmenk...@bcad.org wrote: If you intend to use a cabin bring your own sheets and towels. Sent from my iPhone On Nov 22, 2013, at 9:40 AM, Kurt L. Menking kmenk...@bcad.org wrote: The owner opened up all 6 cabins for our use. Each one has 3 beds. Kitty and claim one the others are available. Come on out. Sent from my iPhone On Nov 21, 2013, at 10:01 PM, Kurt L. Menking kmenk...@bcad.org wrote: I've had a few cancellations so I have space for about 6 additional people. Saturday Sunday morning tacos and or pancakes will be provided. Saturday evening is okra, chicken and shrimp gumbo with rice. Please remember to bring your own plate, utensils and cups. Anyone interested in coming this weekend or even the weekend after Thanksgiving please let me know so I have a head count and can make arrangements to get you in the gates. It would also be a big help if everyone could bring a few snacks to share and or a dessert for Saturday night dinner. Otherwise it is BYOB or drink of choice. We most likely will not be able to arrive before 8 pm on Friday. Please call for gate code and instructions for camping if you are arriving before that time. See you folks this weekend. Kurt ---End Message--- ---BeginMessage--- Hopefully by now Kurt has shown them The Caves of Medina County, TSS publication III (1), edited by James Reddell and published in 1967, where Orion Knox and Barbara Madden reported brief descriptions of Paradise Canyon Shelter No. 1 and No 2. They found them while on a picnic at Paradise Canyon, July 4, 1961! There is also reference to a very interesting lead reported by a hydrogeologist in 1956. On 11/22/2013 6:11 PM, mark gee wrote: Yall have fun! Find the big one up on that cliff side. On , Kurt L. Menking kmenk...@bcad.org wrote: If you intend to use a cabin bring your own sheets and towels. Sent from my iPhone On Nov 22, 2013, at 9:40 AM, Kurt L. Menking kmenk...@bcad.org mailto:kmenk...@bcad.org wrote: The owner opened up all 6 cabins for our use. Each one has 3 beds. Kitty and claim one the others are available. Come on out. Sent from my iPhone On Nov 21, 2013, at 10:01 PM, Kurt L. Menking kmenk...@bcad.org mailto:kmenk...@bcad.org wrote: I've had a few cancellations so I have space for about 6 additional people. Saturday Sunday morning tacos and or pancakes will be provided. Saturday evening is okra, chicken and shrimp gumbo with rice. Please remember to bring your own plate, utensils and cups. Anyone interested in coming this weekend or even the weekend after Thanksgiving please let me know so I have a head count and can make arrangements to get you in the gates. It would also be a big help if everyone could bring a few snacks to share and or a dessert for Saturday night dinner. Otherwise it is BYOB or drink of choice. We most likely will not be able to arrive before 8 pm on Friday. Please call for gate code and instructions for camping if you are arriving before that time. See you folks this weekend. Kurt ---End Message--- ---BeginMessage--- Good job Kris, past CBSP caver. On Thursday, November 21, 2013 8:59 PM, Logan McNatt lmcn...@austin.rr.com wrote: Kris, thanks for sending the trip report to the list. You described fire ants (Ants in the Pants Cave); very small, tight entrances, cracks, crevices, and passages; and bad air. Yet y'all were able to relocate several caves, update GPS locations, check out
