Interesting articles and video footage. I'm not sure I would call them experienced as they didn't seem to be caving with helmets. Even in a cave like Airmans, I assume you can bang your head and bleed all over the cave. So, they were probably fairly inexperienced and didn't know better. Looks like one of the best things you could add to a rescue bag in an Airmans kind of rescue would be a couple of helmets, a set of lights, and some knee and elbow pads. It would probably make getting out of the cave much quicker considering most of these incidents seem to be lost, out of light, or worn out issues but would be a pain to carry in.
This reminds me of a cave incident we had in Tennessee in 1988 or 89. Three yahoos got stuck in Johnson Saltpeter Cave. The yahoos went into the cave the weekend before and stole a rope they found hanging in a pit in the back of the cave. This resulted in a very hairy climb out of the pit for some friends of mine. The yahoos went back a couple of weekends later and used the rope to go down the pit. However, they didn't know how to climb out so they were stuck. One of the women who didn't go down the pit went for help. I went out to help when the call out came and got mixed up with some of the cave rescue yahoos with nice clean gear and not a lot of experience - however, they had taken a number of NCRC courses and were therefore experts. (Now, I do think that the NCRC courses are very worthwhile and would encourage anyone to take one, just remember, that doesn't make you an expert). Anyway, I volunteered to carry in some water and food for the rescuers who were in the process of bringing the folks up the 30 foot drop. I was told by the guy leading me into the cave that he had completed Level III NCRC training and I wasn't to call the people victim but patients, walk were he walked and don't do anything dangerous as they didn't need another person to rescue. It was interesting at that time, as I had been on a number of cave incidents in WV and Kentucky including helping run the Precinct 11 incident. However, I didn't know any of the folks running the rescue as they were all from east Tennessee. The stuck cavers, once helped up the pit, were able to exit under their own power but were cold, hungry, and tired after spending the night in the cave. When we reached the victims who were now up the pit and starting to exit the cave, I asked my NCRC guide if the rescuers were responsible for the care of the patients once they were contacted and he said of course. I then asked him if he every caved without a helmet and he said no, that was dangerous and irresponsible. I then asked him why they were letting the yahoos exit the cave, which included a couple of exposed climbs and traverses, without a helmet or helmet mounted light. He didn't have a good answer for that one. Anyway, hind sight is 40/40 or something like that. The yahoos were charged with theft of property and made to do a bunch of community service. Anyway, glad the students stuck in Airmans cave got out OK and I'm sure they will some day make fine cavers with a little help from the grotto. Good work guys, sure it was a long day. Geary -- IMPORTANT NOTICE: The contents of this email and any attachments are confidential and may also be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and do not disclose the contents to any other person, use it for any purpose, or store or copy the information in any medium. Thank you.
