No injured cavers recorded.
At about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 19 two groups entered McFail's Cave in Schoharie County, New York. A seven person group from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute went in the Hall's Hole Entrance, rigging the drop with a cable ladder and facility for self-belay. A second group of six from Ithaca, New York, used the Ack's Shack Entrance for entry but planned to exit Hall's Hole and had received permission from the RPI group to use their cable ladder rig. In case RPI left ahead of them, they rigged Hall's Hole with a Goldline rope. All were wearing wetsuits.
After some exploration the Ithaca group split up and three left early, via Hall's Hole using the cable ladder with self-belay.
Later, the two groups met as they reached Coeyman's Dome for the 70 foot climb to exit Hall's Hole. Ithaca moved into the Dome first and their leader, Bill Donaldson, made ready to climb. He had a Gibbs SRT rig but chose to climb the cable ladder instead. He had done several 40-50 foot ladder climbs before but not wearing a wetsuit. His carbide was burning low so he used his helmet-mounted electric headlamp. A non-spring-loaded Gibbs was attached to the RPI Bluewater III for a self-belay. No water was falling in the rigging area.
Donaldson proceeded up but found himself to tire quickly - it had been a hard trip, crawling and stoop walking with heavy photographic gear, and the wetsuit was binding his movements. He had to rest often and at 60 feet he went to rest for about the 5th time. At each rest stop he had put his full weight on the Gibbs safety. At 60 feet he was at chest level with a ledge. When his weight came on the Gibbs, the sling broke and Donaldson fell.
As he fell he grabbed at the ladder and safety line and must have broken his fall somewhat that way; he landed on both feet and fell back into a sitting position. He got up saying that he was fine but was made to sit again by his companions while they checked for injuries. All they could find were two very small scratches on his right wrist.
The RPI group arrived. After a brief discussion it was decided to haul Donaldson out rather than allow him to climb. Eric Smith proceeded out and to the parking lot to enlist the help of the other three Ithaca cavers. Meanwhile three RPI cavers went up and set up a hauling system. The Bluewater III safety line was fixed to a bolt at the top, then down to a pulley attached to Donaldson's harness, up through another pulley at the top and on to the group doing the hoisting. Several Gibbs ascenders served as safeties in front of the haulers. Donaldson's pulley was duplicated with a carabiner and he was safetied to a standing line with a Gibbs ascender. The hoist was completed quickly with no problems. The remaining cavers followed using SRT and all were out by around 3a.m.
Analysis: It is reported that the 1/4 inch Goldline was an 18 inch loop, about 1/2 years old, used once before, in "good" shape. The break appeared almost as a cut.
It is speculated that the sling, under tension rubbed against the ledge and was at least partially cut - perhaps as Donaldson slipped from the ladder as he went to make a rest stop. In any case 1/4 inch rope is a bit thin for a serious belay and ladder climbs should always be belayed. It requires more personal equipment but I believe one is safer using SRT versus cable ladder. Certainly ladders require more arm strength and stamina.
The non-spring-loaded Gibbs is a poor choice for a shunt safety. There is no guarantee that it will catch if you fall.
Caver fell when attachment to ascender used for self belay on a ladder broke.