| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill, Hunsaker | Not recorded | Male | Contusion | Head |
On May 15, 1971, 16 people were exploring Cemetary Pit on a Georgia Tech. Outward Bound trip. Of these 16, 6 were N.S.S. and grotto members, and experienced pit cavers. Three others had a little pit caving experience. The other 7 had very little horizontal caving experience and no pit caving experience. After about 5 hours of caving, the first group started out ot the 130 foot pit entrance to the cave. Three hours later there were only 3 people on the bottom. Two of these, Bill Hunsaker and Lawrence Catchpole, started out together on three knot prusik systems and each on a rope. Catchpole, at a point when he was about 15 feet higher than Hunsaker, accidentally kicked a rock (about a double handfull weighing several pounds) off a ledge. It hit Hunsaker squarely in the center of his hardhat. He reached the ledge, however, but while on the ledge, he complained of dizziness, nausea, and a headache (no mental confusion or pupil dilation was apparent). A rescue pulley page 1971 was rigged and he was then pulled out. A jumar safety was used at the top while hauling. Catchpole was at this time being violently sick on the ledge. Upon questioning, it was discovered that he had kidney trouble sev- eral days before and that pressure of his seat sling on his kidneys was causing great pain. He was hauled out on the already rigged pulley.
The two ropes were rigged too close together. Had they been rigged much further apart, it is unlikely that a rock kicked down by one caver, could have hit the other. Having two or more ropes rigged in the same pit so that more than one person can des- cend or ascend at the saine time is very useful but, when narrowness in the pit causes the ropes to come close together, it is far safer to rig only one rope. The lack of previous vertical experience and instruction for the many beginners in this pit should be noted. Equipment was shared and, given that cavers come in widely dissimilar sizes, ill-fitting for some. In addition, the ratio of beginners to very experienced pit cavers, much less than 1:1, was unfavoratle. These conditions all contributed to the liklehood of mishap on this trip. Catchpole should have not been caving after recent illness.