This is a response to Don's request to not call 911 if he needs a cave rescue.
I agree with him. Caver's should inform other caver's prior to their trips about their plans in the cave, especially if they plan to do anything risky, like cave-dive a sump that is a mile crawl into a cave, or bolt climb up a dome, or push a tight crawl with bad-air, or do a mock rescue, or dig, or do vertical work for the 1st time on their own, or anything with the potential of an accident. A "Plan B" should be in place in case there is a problem. Caver's need to keep other caver's cell phones readily available. Caver's should avoid getting in situations that require a rescue, but even with the best precautions, accidents can happen. Calling 911 should be a last resort ( my opinion only ). Once a caver places this call, the cave rescuers that may initially show up, may have only been trained in cave rescue, and have not done much caving, especially any kind of hard-core caving. Several hours could have passed or more before they even reach the caver with the problem, and once there, they may not be prepared to get the victim out of the cave. In my opinion, an "experienced caver," is one who keeps up with the updates in American Caving Accidents http://www.caves.org/pub/aca/ I also think you need to have had a few accidents in order to claim you are an "experienced caver." A twisted ankle or sprained wrist that causes you to spend several additional hours exiting the cave, qualifies. But a better example, my be falling on your bum, and knocking the wind out of you. That will teach you to keep your chin-strap on. Have you ever noticed on video's of cave rescues how all the people outside are wearing hot fire-retardant coats and giant helmets? Or have tons of boxes of gear, that won't even fit in the entrance ? Or stringing phone line, when the caver is just lost in a relatively small cave ? Or that the spokesperson for the rescue says something like the victim is trapped under a "stalagmite" hanging from the ceiling that makes it impossible to reach him. Or that the victim is "deep underground" in a cave that is about 80 feet deep? Or the rescuers roll out hundreds of feet of rope and several stretchers, when there is only one victim who is just lost in a small horizontal cave. Meanwhile the victim is shivering and all he needs is a sweater, or a beach-towel to wrap around him, and a swig of gatorade, and bite of a granola bar. Then the other issue of calling 911 is the paparazzi's of the media. Every rescue now, makes bigger news than the Floyd Collins rescue did. The reporters want fame, and a story, and will twist any fact to make it sound shocking. "No caver has ever been left in a cave in the history of mankind !!" "Military commandos could not even save the caver!!" "Caver stuck in cave like a nail in a piece of wood !!" "Victim is the great-grandnephew of Floyd Collins !!" If the caver is deceased, there are laws about moving a dead person. But you can always claim you thought his brain was still alive, so you were trying to quickly get him to the emergency room. Also, in my opinion, just because a person's pulse has just stopped is no reason to give up. Get a defilabrator on him. Or shoot him with a tazer. Or dunk him in ice. Clamp some battery cables to him and start the car. But don't give up. Did I leave anything out ? David Locklear --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
