| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith, Bruce | 24 | Male | Broken foot | Foot |
West Virginia, Moyers Twin Wells
Sunday, 3 December 1972
Bruce W. Smith (24) on an impulse decided to check out Moyers Twin Wells. He was alone and only the owner of the property knew he was in the cave. The cave is small but has three pits which require rope; Smith explored these. As he was leaving, he prusiked up the main shaft, a 75-foot drop, using the Texas prusik method because it would be easier to negotiate the lip at the top. When Smith was within 2 feet of the ledge, the Pierre Allain locking D carabiner holding his diaper seat sling together unscrewed and flexed. The gate opened and released the strap of his seat sling. Smith immediately turned upside down. His foot strap then slipped off his foot and he fell about 67 feet to the bottom of the shaft. Smith tightened into a ball as he fell, but he does not remember landing or feel-ing any pain. The main impact of the fall was absorbed by his helmet. Smith later conjectured that he landed in a crouched position with the impact points being his head, left knee and right foot. He was probably unconscious for 15 to 30 minutes. Upon regaining consciousness, Smith realized he had multiple cuts and bruises, and he suspected that he had a broken foot, broken ribs, and a sprained neck.
Because he was alone, Smith decided to make another attempt at getting out using the Texas prusik method again. He fastened his one remaining Jumar to his left foot. From his belt, a 6-foot piece of 1-inch nylon webbing, Smith made a loop which he fastened to the rope with a Bachmann knot. He used his last carabiner, a non-locking SMC oval carabiner for his seat sling. All the rigging was done using only the available light coming in the small hole at the top since Smith's lamp had torn off during his fall and he carried no other light sources. Smith was able to ascend the pit safely with his jury-rigged system. Smith had a small break in his foot but no broken ribs. His neck was stiff for the next 3 months.
Analysis: "The caving alone was not a cause of the accident nor could it have helped if there were other cavers along-quite the contrary, because of the size of the shaft I would have only succeeded in falling on someone-hurting if not killing them. The one light source was wrong, but in no way did I find it a hinderance to be without light. The blame must be with me and my failure to use some accessories that would have helped prevent the fall. This is the third time that this carabiner has failed on me, but never in a situation as described above. (Sentimental attachment) I should have used a more reputable carabiner. If my foot loop had been tighter it may have held, but maybe not. What would have saved me would have been a chicken loop around my ankle." (Smith) Since the American Caving Accidents were first compiled in 1967. this is the first accident involving a solo caver. Smith showed poor judgement in caving alone, having only one light source and using faulty equipment; however a less experienced caver could probably not have extricated himself from this predicament.
Source: Report by Bruce W. Smith
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.