| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laface, Don | Not recorded | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
At about midnight on Saturday, March 8, Don LaFace, AI Birchall, Henry Uhle, and Mike Gallagher entered Carpenter's Pit near Marlinton, West Virginia. They had driven to the cave in the afternoon and evening and rested several hours before entering. The entrance drop of 75 feet was rigged with a cable ladder.
At about 7 a.m. after a lengthy exploration, they returned to the entrance drop. Unfortunately they were quite cold and tired and only Gallagher was able to climb out. He proceeded to Marlinton to get help.
The State Police were called and, at about 9:30 a.m. they called the Marlinton Rescue Squad. Several rescue squad members and State troopers proceeded to the cave and hauled the stranded cavers out.
ANALYSIS: Cable ladders look easy to climb but are quite the opposite. Your strongest muscles are in your legs and a well-conceived SRT vertical system (for climbing a rope) will require the legs and torso muscles and little else. A cable ladder requires arm strength and arms are easily fatigued when caving. The moral seems to be - go SRT.