I believe cave diving is a form of caving. Although there are probably far more dry land cavers than divers, I wonder if the percentage of deaths among divers is greater. I would think so. Does anyone have any stats on that? In line with Mark's post, I believe we have had more than one death from drowning here in our own Jacob's Well. I believe the disturbed silt reduced visibility to zero and divers became disoriented. I will leave this form to the pros, but of course they die also. Because of my past history with Goodenough Spring south of Comstock (now inundated by Lake Amistad), I think the dive there to about 400 feet just a few years ago is the most interesting. Before it was covered, I found it to be the most beautiful desert oasis in Texas.
Fritz -----Original Message----- From: Mark Minton [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 10:31 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Texascavers] Re: Caving Alone Further down in Fritz' post, Jim McLane said: >Just what's wrong with caving alone? With the exception of Floyd Collins' >entrapment in 1925 (he wouldn't have died if the local coal miners >had gone to >work promptly to free him) I challenge you to point to even one single modern >fatality that has occurred because a person was caving alone. Plenty of cave divers have died alone in a cave, but it's not clear that many of them would have fared any better with a buddy. In fact I think solo sump diving is often considered safer than having a buddy because the buddy can be more hindrance than help. Probably the most famous case of a solo caver disappearing is Alex Pitcher, a young Brit who disappeared in the Gouffre Berger in 1987. His body was not found until the following year, in a previously unknown passage where he had fallen and/or been entrapped by falling rock. It was a famous mystery. Mark Minton 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] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
