| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaw, William | 20 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
On 30 November, William Shaw (20) and Jay Arnold (23) free-rapelled the 97 foot Freeman's Pit. Arnold, an experienced caver, had his own prusik slings (polypropylene) for ascending, but had borrowed a manila set for Shaw. This was Shaw's second pit descent. Freeman's Pit has no passages, so they soon prepared to ascend. With assistance from Arnold, Shaw tied in with the manila slings, ascended ten feet, found he was being choked by his chest sling, descended, and adjusted his sling. At this point it was decided that Arnold should ascend first with Shaw following. Arnold started up and Shaw followed about 20 feet below. At 50 feet, Shaw found his knots slipping on the clean, dry Goldline rope and, on advice from Arnold, attempted to double his knots. He began to have difficulty with the chest sling which was restricting circulation in his arms and, becoming desperate, loosened his knots and started to descend nearly in free-fall. His chest knot grabbed when he was about five feet from the floor. "Half in a state of shock, after fumbling for what seemed like hours, I untied myself and fell from the rope. I got up and staggered into the corner and collapsed." (Shaw) Arnold descended and, after Shaw had rested and indicated his willingness to try again, Arnold tied in with the manila knots, but was unable to climb above ten feet due to their slipping. He again descended and sent Shaw up using the polypropylene knots. Shaw reached the surface in 20 minutes without serious difficulty, lowered the slings to Arnold, who also ascended easily.
Source: William Shaw and Jay Arnold
Analysis: (Arnold)
I should have been suspect of the poor condition of the manila slings I had borrowed for Bill's use. I have not used manila slings in several years, precisely because of bad incidents involving old, swollen and limp slings. I borrowed these because I felt that we should both be independently equipped. Proper equipment could have averted the incident, a common story in most cave rescues.
This record was last updated on 20th Jul 2024 at 00:12 UTC.