| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldwin, Larry | Not recorded | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
Two cavers found a pit on Jingle Hole Knob in the Somerset area of Kentucky in the Spring of 1978. The entrance led to a 12 foot steep slope to the top of a pit which they plumbed at 55 feet. With no experience in vertical caving they went home, read McClurg's An Amateur's Guide to Caves and Caving, bought some rope and gear, practiced and returned to do the pit.
They had 120 feet of 1/2 inch laid poly rope for the rappel-ascent and 120 feet of 1/2 inch manila for belay. Using a Bluewater rack Larry Baldwin descended. A brief exploration was disappointing, producing no continuation. Baldwin prepared to ascend. Prussik slings were tied and the belay rope attached. After five steps the stretch in the poly rope was taken up and the novice began his ascent.
Spinning round and round, he only got up about 40 feet before the belay rope, slings and mainline were so hopelessly tangled he could move neither up nor down. He explained to those above but no one could help. In desperation he saw a thin ledge about eight feet away and swung over to it. With weight off the rope it still took an hour to get untangled. He then proceeded up and out.
Analysis: Sound like your first pit trip? Perhaps this represents the typical problems of a novice but one can't help think that these problems would be lessened if organized cavers offered more instruction to the unaffiliated caver. After all, no instruction book by a vertical caver is available to the public. What experienced caver would use poly rope, with its low melting point, for mainline, or use a belay on ascent?
COG Squeaks 21(6-7) July-Aug 1978.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.