Gil, I don't know how this discussion got started, but it certainly is interesting to see how stories and facts and things change over time. I'll comment a little on this, mostly from the standpoint of your and Geary's comments, but there are many others around who could add more observation.
Steven Bittinger wrote up the version of the trip report published in Texas Caver in 1972 (Carl briefly synthesized this in his new book, p. 83). I wrote another report, considerably longer and more detailed, but it was shelved by the editors and others -- it may still be around somewhere, but I doubt that it will ever surface (like other articles during that period). I don't know about this being a "joint trip" although a lot of people from different places got together for Carta Valley, the Sinkhole, and other places. Among those at the Sinkhole were Don Broussard, Steven and Craig Bittinger, I think probably Neil, and others caving at the time. It was a pretty big group as I recall. We rummaged around the lower room, swam, and practiced speed ascents. A few beginning students were on the trip (along with some of the most experienced cavers in TX at the time), and some vertical gear was shared, although certainly not without intensive discussion, training, and scrutiny. What happened was more an act of God than sloppiness. What happened probably would have happened no matter what -- only the names would have been different. Several of us were out -- me, Don, and Craig for sure. It seems that Steven probably was on the bottom coordinating and acting as final safety. Craig and Don were leaning over the rim at the rope and carefully watching the climbers. I was walking around the rim. Angela started up using a Texas System with someone else's proven and rechecked rig (yes, I remember whose). She was over two-thirds of the way up, but considerably below the lip, when the seat attachment knot came loose, and she went over backward -- no chicken loop (which became standard AFTER that time) and no secondary rope from the seat to the second jumar (which also became unquestionable AFTER that trip). Safeties of various sorts were used before (although most of us, especially the younger males, felt exempt from safety issues). After that time, everything changed, and everyone realized that yes, people die. Tom Meador's previous story of the body landing beside him in Ogle Cave in the Guads suddenly became more than fireside imagination. Estimates were that she fell-tumbled about 100-120 feet and landed pretty much flat on her back on the bare rock. Death was instantaneous (without unnecessary detail at this point). There were the understandable gasps and hollers and screams and excitement, and Don and I immediately headed down to the ranch. We told the owner that Angela had fallen, he asked how far, we told him, and he said matter-of-factly "Oh, she's dead". He phoned the sheriff, and we all went back up to the sinkhole. All the officials and ambulance arrived amid confusion. Nobody asked who was in charge, and Don and I both (unfortunately being so far beyond 21 that we couldn't even remember such times) certainly were never asked. A doctor was sent down and agreed that it was a body extraction. Then there were the normal ropes and confusion, with people running around and doing their thing, or not. Numerous cavers were involved, especially in the vertical extraction and the tedious process of getting the litter over the lip. All the time the landowner stood straight up, with his toes hanging over the lip, leaning over, and watching the activity in the pit. I remarked to him that it would be nice if he were to step back just a hair since everybody was running by and bouncing around without any concern where they were or what they were doing, and I was afraid he was going to get knocked into the pit. His response was that I should mind my own business, that this was his ranch. In retrospect, he was right -- no one pushed him in. The sheriff and staff went around and talked to a few people, but mostly it was obvious what had happened. They all took off, taking Angela to town, and the rest of us left in a daze and headed to Austin. Then we all began the problems of trying to understand what had happened, and why, how we could assure that it could never happen again, and deal with various cavers' "post traumatic stress" (as I guess it would now be called) as well as with the family, their attorney, and their loss. It was not a simple process, but the lasting result (at least for me) was a greater stress on safety and backup systems than there had been before. John ----- Original Message ----- From: Gill Ediger To: Geary Schindel Cc: [email protected] Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 9:21 AM Subject: Re: Devils Sinkhole accident I was in the Army then so don't have the exact details and am loathe to speculate. A report was published in The TEXAS CAVER--about '72 or '73; Fieseler was the editor. I think her name was Angela or some such. It was a joint trip with Texas A&I Grotto and UT Grotto and some others (SWT?) attending. There is a funny story: They were all college age kids--maybe 30 or 40 of um. When she fell someone drove to the ranch and called out the local rescue squad which was basically the sheriff and fire department. They looked at all the kids and asked, "Who's in charge here?" Everyone laughed. The sheriff was not amused. "OK, then," they asked "who's the oldest one here?" John Greer <[email protected]> looked around and decided he was probably the oldest. "I'm 21." he said, "Is that old enough?" Still they were not amused but decided to deal with him by default. He can probably give you the best account. Share it with me if you would. --Ediger At 08:43 AM 7/11/2008, you wrote: >Gil, > >Do you have any details regarding an accident that occurred at Devils >Sinkhole in the 70 or 80's. I believe that a woman fell out of her >harness as she was crossing the lip. Someone told me that she was using >a Texas System without chicken loops or a backup from her lower ascender >to her seat harness and as she was going over the lip, she unclipped her >ascender and couldn't get it clipped back onto the rope and fell. > >Do you know when the accident occurred, if cavers helped with the >recovery, etc. > >Thanks, > >Geary
