No injured cavers recorded.
Sunday, 9 February 1975 Barry Baumgardner, M. Johnson, D. Williams, Alan Carpenter and R. Garton constructed a 30-foot ladder from two aluminum ladders 20 feet and 16 feet long. The new ladder was held together with 1/4-inch steel angle and 3/8-inch steel bolts. In the Cathedral Room of Bowden Cave the ladder was used to reach a ledge 30 feet above the floor. Several of the party had climbed the ladder without mishap, and a 3/8-inch expansion bolt was placed at the ledge to rig cable ladders and ropes. The ladder was later to be pulled up and erected on the ledge. Carpenter was climbing the ladder and reinforcing the connections with clamps. When he passed the center of the ladder which was 15 feet off the floor, he yelled, "The ladder is bending!" Baumgardner successfully belayed Carpenter thus preventing a fall and possible injury.
Analysis: Inspection of the ladder showed that the bend occurred not at the connection but 21/2 feet above it; evidently there was a twisting strain as well as a tensile strain on the ladder. Ladders and scaling poles are strongest (but not necessarily stable) when set up vertically. Cavers should avoid using such devices if they are inclined much from the vertical. Ladders and scaling poles should always be belayed. After one person has gotten to the top, the belay should be from above.