No injured cavers recorded.
In the early afternoon on September 23, five Cornell Grotto members entered Wards-Gregory Cave in Clarksville, Albany County, New York. After touring the Wards section, they decided to do a thru-trip, exiting the Gregory entrance. In the Upper Cook Avenue section, shortly before the Chutes, they encountered two adults and a ten-year-old. They had earlier met this group in Perry Ave. of the Wards section. These people had no head protection, carried only a flashlight apiece plus some candles, and were wearing blue jeans and windbreakers. By the time of the second en- counter, these three were all quite cold from wading in the cave stream. The youngster was shivering. The candles were exhausted and their last working flashlight was almost dead. They had gone through Brindley's Sump, a pool, three times trying to find the Gregory Entrance. The youngster was given an extra wool sweater and the group was led out the Gregory En- trance.
The group was lost due to inadequate sources of light. Even though they could not find the Gregory Entrance, they still, with adequate light, could have retraced their steps to the Wards Entrance. Once lost in total darkness, their inadequate clothing would have led to hypothermia. The lack of head gear is another obvious deficiency.
2 lost spelunkers saved by Cornell Grotto members on a different trip. Dripstone 9(1) Fall 1978 p7.
This record was last updated on 29th Apr 2024 at 03:19 UTC.