texascavers Digest 11 Jul 2013 16:08:43 -0000 Issue 1792
Topics (messages 22112 through 22120):
Re: cave rescue in Arkansas
22112 by: Mark Minton
22113 by: Preston Forsythe
22114 by: Geary Schindel
22115 by: Mark Minton
22119 by: Geary Schindel
some new YouTube caving videos
22116 by: David
Re: the government mind at work
22117 by: Ted Samsel
Re: Topo Maps for Google Earth
22118 by: Mark Minton
22120 by: Andy Gluesenkamp
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--- Begin Message ---
This guy was described as an experienced caver, but he must
not have been very experienced with vertical work. I'm sure most of
us have been in very muddy vertical caves, and it's amazing to me
that vertical gear functions pretty well even when it is essentially
unrecognizably dirty. The trick is that you sometimes have to thumb
the cams, (push them closed) in order for them to bite on ascent when
mud overwhelms the spring. I have seen cams temporarily fail when a
chip of rock gets caught between the cam and the frame of the
ascender. Depending upon where it is lodged, the rock can either
prevent the cam from closing all the way, in which case the ascender
will slip, or it can prevent the cam from opening so that it might
not slid up properly. Both of these are fairly easily diagnosed and
corrected, especially if you have a knife or other small tool to
remove the rock chip.
I, too, was amused by the assertion that they had to use
headlamps because it was night...
Mark
At 10:58 AM 7/10/2013, Karen Perry wrote:
What cracked me up laughing when I first got a copy of the report
(via CCNP) was that they had to use headlights because it was at night & dark.
Guess the cave wasn't in the dark otherwise??? LOL!!!!
Karen
From: Logan McNatt <[email protected]>
To: Geary Schindel <[email protected]>
Cc: Texas Cavers <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 11:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
"a fused wad of metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the
victim's original ascending system."
Hope they took some photos, and preserved it for a museum piece.
On 7/9/2013 11:01 PM, Geary Schindel wrote:
National Park Morning Report
June 27.
Buffalo National Scenic River (AR)
Rangers Conduct Technical Rescue Of Trapped Caver
Late on the night of June 22nd, the Searcy County Sheriff's Office
called the park and asked for assistance with the rescue of a man
trapped at the bottom of a 30-foot pit a quarter-mile inside of
Kristin's Cave, not far from the park boundary near Cozahome.
Rangers/technical rescue technicians Dale Johannsen, Mark Miller,
Melissa Moses and Kevin Moses joined a Marshall Police Department
officer and a Searcy County deputy and worked their way to the
man's location to assess the situation, an effort that required
negotiating several vertical obstacles along the way and conducting
a severity probability exposure (SPE) risk analysis to help mitigate hazards.
After locating and making voice contact with the man, who was an
experienced caver and a member of a caving club out of Little Rock,
they determined that he was thirsty, hungry and cold but otherwise
okay and capable of ascending under his own power. The cause of
his becoming stranded was that his equipment, including his rope,
had been rendered useless by a heavy accumulation of thick, sticky,
stubborn cave mud.
Miller rappelled into the pit and provided the caver with water,
food, a thermal layer and clean ascending equipment. Belayed from
above, the caver was then able to ascend most of the pit on a new
rope under his own power, though rescuers used a raising system to
assist him with the last ten feet or so. Miller then followed,
bringing with him a fused wad of metal, nylon, and mud that had at
one point been the victim's original ascending system.
The rescue party emerged from the cave four-and-a-half hours after
they entered; because this particular mission occurred during
nighttime hours, the rescuers were forced to conduct the entire
operation by headlamp. By the time they emerged, the victim had
been underground for 17 hours. Kevin Moses served as incident commander.
[Submitted by Jason Flood, Lower Buffalo District Ranger]
Please reply to [email protected]
Permanent email address is [email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Be very careful using a knife on rope. Some of you will remember the
demonstration on stage at a UTG meeting around 1977, when Steven Bittinger,
I think it was, gave a demonstration on rope hanging only a foot or two
above the stage floor, where he took a knife and barely touched the rope
above him, with the rope fully loaded with his weight. The rope was cut
instantly and he hit the floor. Whether you are flicking a pebble out of
your cam-actually never had that happen, or cutting your pony tail out of
your rack, please be careful. I suggest letting all of your hair pull out of
your scalp without using a knife is safer but painful, because I have had
that happen, but not as painful as what could happen if the rope was cut.
Preston in KY
---------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Minton" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 3:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
This guy was described as an experienced caver, but he must not
have been very experienced with vertical work. I'm sure most of us have
been in very muddy vertical caves, and it's amazing to me that vertical
gear functions pretty well even when it is essentially unrecognizably
dirty. The trick is that you sometimes have to thumb the cams, (push them
closed) in order for them to bite on ascent when mud overwhelms the
spring. I have seen cams temporarily fail when a chip of rock gets caught
between the cam and the frame of the ascender. Depending upon where it is
lodged, the rock can either prevent the cam from closing all the way, in
which case the ascender will slip, or it can prevent the cam from opening
so that it might not slid up properly. Both of these are fairly easily
diagnosed and corrected, especially if you have a knife or other small
tool to remove the rock chip.
I, too, was amused by the assertion that they had to use headlamps
because it was night...
Mark
At 10:58 AM 7/10/2013, Karen Perry wrote:
What cracked me up laughing when I first got a copy of the report (via
CCNP) was that they had to use headlights because it was at night & dark.
Guess the cave wasn't in the dark otherwise??? LOL!!!!
Karen
From: Logan McNatt <[email protected]>
To: Geary Schindel <[email protected]>
Cc: Texas Cavers <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 11:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
"a fused wad of metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the
victim's original ascending system."
Hope they took some photos, and preserved it for a museum piece.
On 7/9/2013 11:01 PM, Geary Schindel wrote:
National Park Morning Report
June 27.
Buffalo National Scenic River (AR)
Rangers Conduct Technical Rescue Of Trapped Caver
Late on the night of June 22nd, the Searcy County Sheriff's Office called
the park and asked for assistance with the rescue of a man trapped at the
bottom of a 30-foot pit a quarter-mile inside of Kristin's Cave, not far
from the park boundary near Cozahome.
Rangers/technical rescue technicians Dale Johannsen, Mark Miller, Melissa
Moses and Kevin Moses joined a Marshall Police Department officer and a
Searcy County deputy and worked their way to the man's location to assess
the situation, an effort that required negotiating several vertical
obstacles along the way and conducting a severity probability exposure
(SPE) risk analysis to help mitigate hazards.
After locating and making voice contact with the man, who was an
experienced caver and a member of a caving club out of Little Rock, they
determined that he was thirsty, hungry and cold but otherwise okay and
capable of ascending under his own power. The cause of his becoming
stranded was that his equipment, including his rope, had been rendered
useless by a heavy accumulation of thick, sticky, stubborn cave mud.
Miller rappelled into the pit and provided the caver with water, food, a
thermal layer and clean ascending equipment. Belayed from above, the
caver was then able to ascend most of the pit on a new rope under his own
power, though rescuers used a raising system to assist him with the last
ten feet or so. Miller then followed, bringing with him a fused wad of
metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the victim's original
ascending system.
The rescue party emerged from the cave four-and-a-half hours after they
entered; because this particular mission occurred during nighttime hours,
the rescuers were forced to conduct the entire operation by headlamp. By
the time they emerged, the victim had been underground for 17 hours.
Kevin Moses served as incident commander.
[Submitted by Jason Flood, Lower Buffalo District Ranger]
Please reply to [email protected]
Permanent email address is [email protected]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Preston,
I agree about the knife issue around loaded ropes. There are some real horror
stories here. I wrote an article on the use of knives in vertical caving and if
you use a safety ascender (Quick Attachment Safety), you should be able to
unload your rappel device, pull out the stuck item, rethread the rappel device,
transfer your weight from your QAS to your rappel device and keep going. This
is a pretty basic vertical skill. I require it for any vertical cave that isn't
a controlled beginner trip.
Geary
-----Original Message-----
From: Preston Forsythe [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 4:25 PM
To: [email protected]; Mark Minton
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
Be very careful using a knife on rope. Some of you will remember the
demonstration on stage at a UTG meeting around 1977, when Steven Bittinger, I
think it was, gave a demonstration on rope hanging only a foot or two above the
stage floor, where he took a knife and barely touched the rope above him, with
the rope fully loaded with his weight. The rope was cut instantly and he hit
the floor. Whether you are flicking a pebble out of your cam-actually never had
that happen, or cutting your pony tail out of your rack, please be careful. I
suggest letting all of your hair pull out of your scalp without using a knife
is safer but painful, because I have had that happen, but not as painful as
what could happen if the rope was cut.
Preston in KY
---------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Minton" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 3:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
> This guy was described as an experienced caver, but he must not
> have been very experienced with vertical work. I'm sure most of us have
> been in very muddy vertical caves, and it's amazing to me that vertical
> gear functions pretty well even when it is essentially unrecognizably
> dirty. The trick is that you sometimes have to thumb the cams, (push them
> closed) in order for them to bite on ascent when mud overwhelms the
> spring. I have seen cams temporarily fail when a chip of rock gets caught
> between the cam and the frame of the ascender. Depending upon where it is
> lodged, the rock can either prevent the cam from closing all the way, in
> which case the ascender will slip, or it can prevent the cam from opening
> so that it might not slid up properly. Both of these are fairly easily
> diagnosed and corrected, especially if you have a knife or other small
> tool to remove the rock chip.
>
> I, too, was amused by the assertion that they had to use headlamps
> because it was night...
>
> Mark
>
> At 10:58 AM 7/10/2013, Karen Perry wrote:
>>What cracked me up laughing when I first got a copy of the report (via
>>CCNP) was that they had to use headlights because it was at night & dark.
>>Guess the cave wasn't in the dark otherwise??? LOL!!!!
>>Karen
>>
>>From: Logan McNatt <[email protected]>
>>To: Geary Schindel <[email protected]>
>>Cc: Texas Cavers <[email protected]>
>>Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 11:09 PM
>>Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
>>
>>"a fused wad of metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the
>>victim's original ascending system."
>>
>>Hope they took some photos, and preserved it for a museum piece.
>>
>>On 7/9/2013 11:01 PM, Geary Schindel wrote:
>>>National Park Morning Report
>>>June 27.
>>>
>>>Buffalo National Scenic River (AR)
>>>Rangers Conduct Technical Rescue Of Trapped Caver
>>>
>>>Late on the night of June 22nd, the Searcy County Sheriff's Office called
>>>the park and asked for assistance with the rescue of a man trapped at the
>>>bottom of a 30-foot pit a quarter-mile inside of Kristin's Cave, not far
>>>from the park boundary near Cozahome.
>>>Rangers/technical rescue technicians Dale Johannsen, Mark Miller, Melissa
>>>Moses and Kevin Moses joined a Marshall Police Department officer and a
>>>Searcy County deputy and worked their way to the man's location to assess
>>>the situation, an effort that required negotiating several vertical
>>>obstacles along the way and conducting a severity probability exposure
>>>(SPE) risk analysis to help mitigate hazards.
>>>After locating and making voice contact with the man, who was an
>>>experienced caver and a member of a caving club out of Little Rock, they
>>>determined that he was thirsty, hungry and cold but otherwise okay and
>>>capable of ascending under his own power. The cause of his becoming
>>>stranded was that his equipment, including his rope, had been rendered
>>>useless by a heavy accumulation of thick, sticky, stubborn cave mud.
>>>Miller rappelled into the pit and provided the caver with water, food, a
>>>thermal layer and clean ascending equipment. Belayed from above, the
>>>caver was then able to ascend most of the pit on a new rope under his own
>>>power, though rescuers used a raising system to assist him with the last
>>>ten feet or so. Miller then followed, bringing with him a fused wad of
>>>metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the victim's original
>>>ascending system.
>>>The rescue party emerged from the cave four-and-a-half hours after they
>>>entered; because this particular mission occurred during nighttime hours,
>>>the rescuers were forced to conduct the entire operation by headlamp. By
>>>the time they emerged, the victim had been underground for 17 hours.
>>>Kevin Moses served as incident commander.
>>>[Submitted by Jason Flood, Lower Buffalo District Ranger]
>>
>>Please reply to [email protected]
>>Permanent email address is [email protected]
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I agree about the dangers of using a knife while on rope. I
was not advocating doing such an ascender repair on rope. The couple
of times I've had to deal with this type of problem were on the
ground between drops.
Mark
At 06:06 PM 7/10/2013, Geary Schindel wrote:
Preston,
I agree about the knife issue around loaded ropes. There are some
real horror stories here. I wrote an article on the use of knives in
vertical caving and if you use a safety ascender (Quick Attachment
Safety), you should be able to unload your rappel device, pull out
the stuck item, rethread the rappel device, transfer your weight
from your QAS to your rappel device and keep going. This is a pretty
basic vertical skill. I require it for any vertical cave that isn't
a controlled beginner trip.
Geary
-----Original Message-----
From: Preston Forsythe [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 4:25 PM
To: [email protected]; Mark Minton
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
Be very careful using a knife on rope. Some of you will remember the
demonstration on stage at a UTG meeting around 1977, when Steven
Bittinger, I think it was, gave a demonstration on rope hanging only
a foot or two above the stage floor, where he took a knife and
barely touched the rope above him, with the rope fully loaded with
his weight. The rope was cut instantly and he hit the floor. Whether
you are flicking a pebble out of your cam-actually never had that
happen, or cutting your pony tail out of your rack, please be
careful. I suggest letting all of your hair pull out of your scalp
without using a knife is safer but painful, because I have had that
happen, but not as painful as what could happen if the rope was cut.
Preston in KY
---------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Minton" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 3:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
> This guy was described as an experienced caver, but he must not
> have been very experienced with vertical work. I'm sure most of us have
> been in very muddy vertical caves, and it's amazing to me that vertical
> gear functions pretty well even when it is essentially unrecognizably
> dirty. The trick is that you sometimes have to thumb the cams, (push them
> closed) in order for them to bite on ascent when mud overwhelms the
> spring. I have seen cams temporarily fail when a chip of rock gets caught
> between the cam and the frame of the ascender. Depending upon where it is
> lodged, the rock can either prevent the cam from closing all the way, in
> which case the ascender will slip, or it can prevent the cam from opening
> so that it might not slid up properly. Both of these are fairly easily
> diagnosed and corrected, especially if you have a knife or other small
> tool to remove the rock chip.
>
> I, too, was amused by the assertion that they had to use headlamps
> because it was night...
>
> Mark
>
> At 10:58 AM 7/10/2013, Karen Perry wrote:
>>What cracked me up laughing when I first got a copy of the report (via
>>CCNP) was that they had to use headlights because it was at night & dark.
>>Guess the cave wasn't in the dark otherwise??? LOL!!!!
>>Karen
>>
>>From: Logan McNatt <[email protected]>
>>To: Geary Schindel <[email protected]>
>>Cc: Texas Cavers <[email protected]>
>>Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 11:09 PM
>>Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
>>
>>"a fused wad of metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the
>>victim's original ascending system."
>>
>>Hope they took some photos, and preserved it for a museum piece.
>>
>>On 7/9/2013 11:01 PM, Geary Schindel wrote:
>>>National Park Morning Report
>>>June 27.
>>>
>>>Buffalo National Scenic River (AR)
>>>Rangers Conduct Technical Rescue Of Trapped Caver
>>>
>>>Late on the night of June 22nd, the Searcy County Sheriff's Office called
>>>the park and asked for assistance with the rescue of a man trapped at the
>>>bottom of a 30-foot pit a quarter-mile inside of Kristin's Cave, not far
>>>from the park boundary near Cozahome.
>>>Rangers/technical rescue technicians Dale Johannsen, Mark Miller, Melissa
>>>Moses and Kevin Moses joined a Marshall Police Department officer and a
>>>Searcy County deputy and worked their way to the man's location to assess
>>>the situation, an effort that required negotiating several vertical
>>>obstacles along the way and conducting a severity probability exposure
>>>(SPE) risk analysis to help mitigate hazards.
>>>After locating and making voice contact with the man, who was an
>>>experienced caver and a member of a caving club out of Little Rock, they
>>>determined that he was thirsty, hungry and cold but otherwise okay and
>>>capable of ascending under his own power. The cause of his becoming
>>>stranded was that his equipment, including his rope, had been rendered
>>>useless by a heavy accumulation of thick, sticky, stubborn cave mud.
>>>Miller rappelled into the pit and provided the caver with water, food, a
>>>thermal layer and clean ascending equipment. Belayed from above, the
>>>caver was then able to ascend most of the pit on a new rope under his own
>>>power, though rescuers used a raising system to assist him with the last
>>>ten feet or so. Miller then followed, bringing with him a fused wad of
>>>metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the victim's original
>>>ascending system.
>>>The rescue party emerged from the cave four-and-a-half hours after they
>>>entered; because this particular mission occurred during nighttime hours,
>>>the rescuers were forced to conduct the entire operation by headlamp. By
>>>the time they emerged, the victim had been underground for 17 hours.
>>>Kevin Moses served as incident commander.
>>>[Submitted by Jason Flood, Lower Buffalo District Ranger]
Please reply to [email protected]
Permanent email address is [email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Mark agreed, knowing when and when not to use a knife can be pretty important
to get right.
Geary
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Minton [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 5:38 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
I agree about the dangers of using a knife while on rope. I was not
advocating doing such an ascender repair on rope. The couple of times I've had
to deal with this type of problem were on the ground between drops.
Mark
At 06:06 PM 7/10/2013, Geary Schindel wrote:
>Preston,
>
>I agree about the knife issue around loaded ropes. There are some real
>horror stories here. I wrote an article on the use of knives in
>vertical caving and if you use a safety ascender (Quick Attachment
>Safety), you should be able to unload your rappel device, pull out the
>stuck item, rethread the rappel device, transfer your weight from your
>QAS to your rappel device and keep going. This is a pretty basic
>vertical skill. I require it for any vertical cave that isn't a
>controlled beginner trip.
>
>Geary
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Preston Forsythe [mailto:[email protected]]
>Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 4:25 PM
>To: [email protected]; Mark Minton
>Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
>
>Be very careful using a knife on rope. Some of you will remember the
>demonstration on stage at a UTG meeting around 1977, when Steven
>Bittinger, I think it was, gave a demonstration on rope hanging only a
>foot or two above the stage floor, where he took a knife and barely
>touched the rope above him, with the rope fully loaded with his weight.
>The rope was cut instantly and he hit the floor. Whether you are
>flicking a pebble out of your cam-actually never had that happen, or
>cutting your pony tail out of your rack, please be careful. I suggest
>letting all of your hair pull out of your scalp without using a knife
>is safer but painful, because I have had that happen, but not as
>painful as what could happen if the rope was cut.
>
>Preston in KY
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Mark Minton" <[email protected]>
>To: <[email protected]>
>Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 3:35 PM
>Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
>
> > This guy was described as an experienced caver, but he must
> > not have been very experienced with vertical work. I'm sure most of
> > us have been in very muddy vertical caves, and it's amazing to me
> > that vertical gear functions pretty well even when it is essentially
> > unrecognizably dirty. The trick is that you sometimes have to thumb
> > the cams, (push them
> > closed) in order for them to bite on ascent when mud overwhelms the
> > spring. I have seen cams temporarily fail when a chip of rock gets
> > caught between the cam and the frame of the ascender. Depending
> > upon where it is lodged, the rock can either prevent the cam from
> > closing all the way, in which case the ascender will slip, or it can
> > prevent the cam from opening so that it might not slid up properly.
> > Both of these are fairly easily diagnosed and corrected, especially
> > if you have a knife or other small tool to remove the rock chip.
> >
> > I, too, was amused by the assertion that they had to use
> > headlamps because it was night...
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > At 10:58 AM 7/10/2013, Karen Perry wrote:
> >>What cracked me up laughing when I first got a copy of the report
> >>(via
> >>CCNP) was that they had to use headlights because it was at night & dark.
> >>Guess the cave wasn't in the dark otherwise??? LOL!!!!
> >>Karen
> >>
> >>From: Logan McNatt <[email protected]>
> >>To: Geary Schindel <[email protected]>
> >>Cc: Texas Cavers <[email protected]>
> >>Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 11:09 PM
> >>Subject: Re: [Texascavers] cave rescue in Arkansas
> >>
> >>"a fused wad of metal, nylon, and mud that had at one point been the
> >>victim's original ascending system."
> >>
> >>Hope they took some photos, and preserved it for a museum piece.
> >>
> >>On 7/9/2013 11:01 PM, Geary Schindel wrote:
> >>>National Park Morning Report
> >>>June 27.
> >>>
> >>>Buffalo National Scenic River (AR)
> >>>Rangers Conduct Technical Rescue Of Trapped Caver
> >>>
> >>>Late on the night of June 22nd, the Searcy County Sheriff's Office
> >>>called the park and asked for assistance with the rescue of a man
> >>>trapped at the bottom of a 30-foot pit a quarter-mile inside of
> >>>Kristin's Cave, not far from the park boundary near Cozahome.
> >>>Rangers/technical rescue technicians Dale Johannsen, Mark Miller,
> >>>Melissa Moses and Kevin Moses joined a Marshall Police Department
> >>>officer and a Searcy County deputy and worked their way to the
> >>>man's location to assess the situation, an effort that required
> >>>negotiating several vertical obstacles along the way and conducting
> >>>a severity probability exposure
> >>>(SPE) risk analysis to help mitigate hazards.
> >>>After locating and making voice contact with the man, who was an
> >>>experienced caver and a member of a caving club out of Little Rock,
> >>>they determined that he was thirsty, hungry and cold but otherwise
> >>>okay and capable of ascending under his own power. The cause of
> >>>his becoming stranded was that his equipment, including his rope,
> >>>had been rendered useless by a heavy accumulation of thick, sticky,
> >>>stubborn cave mud.
> >>>Miller rappelled into the pit and provided the caver with water,
> >>>food, a thermal layer and clean ascending equipment. Belayed from
> >>>above, the caver was then able to ascend most of the pit on a new
> >>>rope under his own power, though rescuers used a raising system to
> >>>assist him with the last ten feet or so. Miller then followed,
> >>>bringing with him a fused wad of metal, nylon, and mud that had at
> >>>one point been the victim's original ascending system.
> >>>The rescue party emerged from the cave four-and-a-half hours after
> >>>they entered; because this particular mission occurred during
> >>>nighttime hours, the rescuers were forced to conduct the entire
> >>>operation by headlamp. By the time they emerged, the victim had been
> >>>underground for 17 hours.
> >>>Kevin Moses served as incident commander.
> >>>[Submitted by Jason Flood, Lower Buffalo District Ranger]
Please reply to [email protected]
Permanent email address is [email protected]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail:
[email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
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--- Begin Message ---
European cavers apparently get together once a year at an old fort in
Belgium called Barchon, and they do a lot of fun sewerlunking. The video
below shows some of that and has some interesting shots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAoUiTh99qM
I am guessing many of you have not seen the short video clip below.
( I believe it was uploaded by caver, William Quast. )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUzSVaByRzw
I enjoyed it very much and have showed it to all my caving friends.
The video appears to star, cave-digger Ron Rutherford.
One of the latest caving videos uploaded to YouTube, shows 5 young tourist
in flip-flops each with one inexpensive flashlight, going into a cave that
I believe is
in the southern Philipines along the northern coast of the island of
Mindaneo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3FtoiZSk04
Just watch the video from 53 seconds to 1 minute.
Speaking of people going into caves unprepared,
the new video below
shows 3 people rappelling down a cliff into a small cave. I think the
girl
is wearing flip-flops, and the 2 guys are in tennis shoes. They have the
rope tied off in 3 places with webbing, but it looks funky. None of them
are wearing helmets. I am guessing they did not ascend back up the rope,
but hiked back up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhFIpw1Mcws
There are many more, but I have too poor of an internet connection to
review them all.
But the general trend seems to be inexperienced cave enthusiast with helmet
cams filming in HD, unprepared for their cave trip, along with annoying
background sounds of the horrendous current pop music genre. Many
YouTube uploaders of caving videos appear to be discombobulating all the
previous concepts of what a good caving video should be about.
David Locklear
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Government mind? Hardly.. just the fear of legal liability I would assume.
Once bitten, twice shy.
On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 10:46 AM, Mixon Bill <[email protected]>wrote:
> Not only did they have to use headlights in the cave because it was
> nighttime, they conducted a "severity probability exposure (SPE) risk
> analysis to help mitigate hazards." Hope they didn't waste too much time at
> it. -- Mixon
> ------------------------------**----------
> God created the world in six days. On the seventh day, while God rested,
> the Devil created religion.
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Rick Royer just pointed out an even better way to get
topographic maps overlain onto Google Earth. First be sure that the
option "Show web results in external browser"
(Tools/Options/General/Display) is turned off in order for this to
load within Google Earth; otherwise you get it in an external web
browser instead. In the Layers area at the bottom left, click on
Earth Gallery. That brings up a web page with all sorts of add-ons
for Google Earth. Click on the Terrain & Elevation link, and then on
Historical Topographic Maps (USGS). That adds a new Layer of
seamless topo maps similar to the method below, except that the
resolution is better. The opacity can be controlled by the slider,
just as before. Very nice!
Mark
At 03:45 PM 5/21/2013, Mark Minton wrote:
A couple of years ago I posted a method to get seamless
topo map coverage as an overlay in Google Earth. The method
presented there (topomaps.kmz) no longer works, but I've found a
replacement. Go to
<https://productforums.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/gec-dynamic-data-layers/spApcsugU4g>
and get the new file exolife.kml (_not_ the attachment at the end
of the message!). It may install itself into Google Earth
automatically if GE is open; otherwise, just click on the file once
you have it, then right click on it in Google Earth and go to
Properties. Under the Refresh tab, change View-Based Refresh to
After Camera Stops, with a time delay of 4 seconds. This speeds up
loading time for regular views since the topo maps are not
constantly trying to download when you're just moving around. Drag
the topomap overlay from Temporary Places to My Places so that you
will not have to load and configure it next time you want to use it.
This works by linking to a server of topo maps; the actual
maps are not downloaded to your computer except for the view you
have up on the screen, so it does not take up a lot of memory or
storage space. It creates an image overlay of the appropriate topo
map on top of the normal Google Earth satellite view. It works in
combination with any other image overlays you may have, like the
.kml file for a cave line plot (exportable from Compass). You can
vary the transparency of overlays from invisible to opaque using a
slider, so you can have as dark or light amount of topo info as you
want, or you can turn that layer off altogether. This doubles as a
way to have seamless topo map coverage of the entire country. Very handy!
Mark
Please reply to [email protected]
Permanent email address is [email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On a related note: This message from a friend.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just wanted to highlight the new app for tablets from
Google Maps. One of the key features is the ability to save aerial
imagery and other layers for later use when you do not have reception. This
is not an obvious feature, but it is important:
From:
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/an-improved-google-maps-app-for-apple-and-android-devices/
“* Offline maps. This feature is something of an Easter egg. It’s
undocumented, a feature inserted by Google engineers simply because they wanted
it. You can access it only if you know the secret. But wow, is it worth it.
This feature memorizes the map data for whatever area is displayed on your
screen right now (up to a whole city in size). That way, you can use Google
Maps even when you’re overseas and don’t want to turn on data roaming (because
that’s insanely expensive), or when you’re in an area where there’s no cell
reception. It’s very handy.
To capture a map snapshot like this, tap in the Search box. Use the
speech-recognition button and say, “OK Maps.” (It’s a riff on the command “OK
Glass” that prepares Google Glass, the company’s “smart headband,” for voice
commands.)
A message quietly lets you know you’ve successfully stored the displayed
area.”
You can also do this with other apps, but this will be a
convenient feature to have on Google Maps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Ph.D.
700 Billie Brooks Drive
Driftwood, Texas 78619
(512) 799-1095
[email protected]
________________________________
From: Mark Minton <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 10:54 AM
Subject: [Texascavers] Re: Topo Maps for Google Earth
Rick Royer just pointed out an even better way to get
topographic maps overlain onto Google Earth. First be sure that the
option "Show web results in external browser"
(Tools/Options/General/Display) is turned off in order for this to
load within Google Earth; otherwise you get it in an external web
browser instead. In the Layers area at the bottom left, click on
Earth Gallery. That brings up a web page with all sorts of add-ons
for Google Earth. Click on the Terrain & Elevation link, and then on
Historical Topographic Maps (USGS). That adds a new Layer of
seamless topo maps similar to the method below, except that the
resolution is better. The opacity can be controlled by the slider,
just as before. Very nice!
Mark
At 03:45 PM 5/21/2013, Mark Minton wrote:
> A couple of years ago I posted a method to get seamless
> topo map coverage as an overlay in Google Earth. The method
> presented there (topomaps.kmz) no longer works, but I've found a
> replacement. Go to
> <https://productforums.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/gec-dynamic-data-layers/spApcsugU4g>
>
> and get the new file exolife.kml (_not_ the attachment at the end
> of the message!). It may install itself into Google Earth
> automatically if GE is open; otherwise, just click on the file once
> you have it, then right click on it in Google Earth and go to
> Properties. Under the Refresh tab, change View-Based Refresh to
> After Camera Stops, with a time delay of 4 seconds. This speeds up
> loading time for regular views since the topo maps are not
> constantly trying to download when you're just moving around. Drag
> the topomap overlay from Temporary Places to My Places so that you
> will not have to load and configure it next time you want to use it.
> This works by linking to a server of topo maps; the actual
> maps are not downloaded to your computer except for the view you
> have up on the screen, so it does not take up a lot of memory or
> storage space. It creates an image overlay of the appropriate topo
> map on top of the normal Google Earth satellite view. It works in
> combination with any other image overlays you may have, like the
> .kml file for a cave line plot (exportable from Compass). You can
> vary the transparency of overlays from invisible to opaque using a
> slider, so you can have as dark or light amount of topo info as you
> want, or you can turn that layer off altogether. This doubles as a
> way to have seamless topo map coverage of the entire country. Very handy!
>
>Mark
Please reply to [email protected]
Permanent email address is [email protected]
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Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
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