incident at Dante's Descent

Date
24th Feb 1985
Publication
ACA 1984-1985 p. 406
Cave
Dante's Descent
State
Arizona
County
Unknown
Country
United States of America
Category
Cave
Incident type
Equipment problems
Group type
Unknown
Group size
2
Aid type
Unknown
Source
Unknown
Incident flags
 

Injured cavers

No injured cavers recorded.

Incident report

On a trip to Dante's Descent, two ropes were used and two cavers ascended each. A pad protected an obvious abrasion point. When the ropes were hauled up one had a large hole in the sheath through which the core protruded. It had been noticed that this fray was occurring just below the pad. It is surmised the 'bouncing' during ascent caused the pad to move up and down with the 'bounce,' thus exposing the rope to the abrasion point. Much apparently unavoidable rockfall was also experienced.

Incident analysis

Two thoughts: Some abrasion points are best handled with a hammer; that is, take a hammer and dull a sharp edge. Second, it is perhaps most efficient to set up a rhythmic 'bounce' as you ascend, but it is definitely a potentially dangerous thing to do. The 'bounce' can be damped if you think about it and break your rhythm.

Summary

During a trip in Dante's Descent, one rope was damaged due to abrasion against rock, potentially aggravated by the bouncing motion during ascent.

References

  1. Barbara am Ende Personal Communication undated
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