Spelunking (Caving)

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Spelunking (Caving)

• Cave Safety
• Nick Loy
• www.loytran.net

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•  
• A favorite place ... enjoy the view
•  
• Caving 
• Wilderness_First_Aid/first Aid Personal Gear.doc
• Wilderness_First_Aid/River Rescue.ppt
• Wilderness_First_Aid/SOAP NOTES.doc
• Wilderness_First_Aid/wilderness first aid.ppt
•  

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Wild Caves

• Wild Caves are NOT for everyone!
• Plan a trip to a commercial cave in addition to
  the wild cave
• Plan some non-caving activities

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Terminology

• Spelunker--
• a spelunker, technically, is a person who goes in
  caves. Originally derived from the Latin
  spelunca, (and the related Greek speleios), it
  comes from the Middle English word, spelunk,
  meaning cave or grotto. The word, spelunk,
  apparently went out of common use about 1600,
  though the adjective, speluncar (pertaining to
  caves) continued into the mid-19th Century. The
  name of the French bulletin of Le Societe de
  Speleologie--founded by Edouard-Alfred Martel in
  1895--was Spelunca. The first modern usage of
  spelunker in America was probably that reported
  by Clay Perry in Underground New England in 1939,
  describing a group of men and boys engaged in "a
  more or less systematic study of the caves and
  old mines of the area" who called themselves
  Spelunkers. Life magazine in the early 1940's may
  have been the first widespread use of the term in
  print in an article named, "Life Goes
  Spelunking." Through the 1950's, spelunker was
  apparently used as the generic term--with no good
  or bad connotations. A movie shown at the 1955
  NSS Convention by William Hulstrunk, was
  entitled, "The Spelunkers." The MSM (Missouri
  School of Mines) Spelunker's Club was founded
  during this era, and the name continues to be
  used by that MSS grotto. Other popular
  publications of the '50s refer to spelunkers and
  spelunking without the slightest blush.
• Sometime in the 1960s (according to Joe Walsh,
  and probably during an earlier upsurge of
  interest in venturing underground), spelunker
  began to take on the connotation of rank amateur,
  while those "in the know" but not degreed
  scientists began to refer to themselves as
  cavers. Steve Knutson (editor of American Caving
  Accidents) makes the same distinction in a 1995
  article given at a Risk Management conference
• ..."Note that I use the term "spelunker" to
  denote someone untrained and unknowledgeable in
  current exploration techniques, and "caver" for
  those who are."

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Terminology

• Spelunker, at this time, carries with it the
  image of a tennis-shod explorer, caving in cotton
  clothing by the light of a hand held flashlight,
  with butane lighters for backups. They are
  notorious for descending freehand, on cotton or
  manila rope, with little thought for the ascent.
  Pushing Coleman lanterns in crawlways is another
  favorite spelunker trick. Spelunkers differ from
  novice cavers in that (usually) the novice is
  attempting to learn correct technique. According
  to Clive Keen of British Columbia, "calling
  someone a spelunker up here is a serious insult."
  In the States, one wishing to be taken seriously
  avoids the word in self-reference, corrects
  others who accuse him or her of being a
  spelunker, and proudly displays the bumper
  sticker, "Cavers Rescue Spelunkers."
• Speleologist--
• also has its roots in the beginnings of modern,
  systematic caving. Martel attributes its origin
  to Emile Riviere in 1890--as a derivation of the
  French form "speleologie." Martel was by
  education a lawyer, not a scientist, and early
  speleology was seen more as branch of geography,
  than one of the more traditionally experimental
  sciences. The coining of the words, speleology
  and speleologist seems to have been an attempt to
  legitimize what was a questionable exercise in
  the minds of most surface dwellers.
• Speleology has always been an interdisciplinary
  science, requiring one to have at least a
  smattering of geology, hydrology, biology,
  chemistry, climatology and survey techniques in
  addition to whatever specialty one has.
• Most early speleologists were amateurs, not
  trained scientists, and even today, it is rare to
  find a degree in speleology or karst processes.
  The 1950's saw the rise of legitimate speleology,
  as scientific methods began to be applied to
  caves and cave life. Many experts in the field
  are trained as geologists, hydrologists,
  biologists, surveyors, are teachers, or employees
  of land management concerns such as parks or
  commercial caves. Some speleologists even today
  are largely self- educated in the field, with
  jobs having nothing to do with natural resources.
• What distinguishes a speleologist from a
  spelunker or a caver is data. Whether it be maps,
  reports, drawings, photos, or full-blown
  scientific research, a speleologist aims for
  state of the art professional standards in his or
  her data production. A cave trip from which a
  speleologist learns nothing is a wasted effort,
  and the scientific bent frowns on purely
  recreational caving. Even so, many speleologists
  begin as cavers, "graduating" to speleologists as
  some aspect of the cave environment becomes their
  own personal niche for investigation.

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Terminology

• Caver--
• So what is a caver? Unlike spelunkers, whose
  skills are questionable, and speleologists, who
  seem distinctly serious and un-fun, a caver may
  be considered the middle of the road cave
  explorer.Cavers enjoy caves for their own sake,
  and most people whose interest in caving is
  primarily recreational consider themselves
  cavers. Cavers often possess the best technical
  skills in moving safely underground, and many of
  the innovations in new equipment have been
  invented by cavers.
• Cavers are known as the discoverers and explorers
  of new caves, the people who ridgewalk and dig,
  rig rope and cave dive, driven by the hope of
  virgin passage just ahead.
• Cavers will survey and map, just for the
  privilege of naming the passages with some awful
  pun. Some cavers are ardent photographers, not so
  much for documentation, as for slideshows and
  videos to entertain fellow cavers.
• On a more serious note, one subset of cavers have
  become expert at cave search and rescue in order
  to provide a safety net for fellow cavers. These
  cavers are often called out by local fire and
  police forces to effect rescues for which the
  paid emergency services are ill-equipped, and
  rarely trained. So they get out of bed in the
  middle of the night, and travel long distances to
  rescue perfect strangers for no other reason than
  they have the know-how.
• Some cavers become well-known as speleologists.
  Others become that strange creature known as a
  speleopolitician who tries to conserve caves by
  dealing with the various landowner and cave
  controlling agencies. And others disdain
  notoriety, and simply cave because they enjoy it.
  A great love of caves and their critters drives
  them--and they work to preserve their private
  paradise, with no thought or interest in others
  except for their caving buddies.
• So now that you know the difference--what are
  you? A Spelunker? A Speleologist? or A Caver?

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Cave Types

• Fault
• Any kind of stone
• Wet or dry
• Usually small
• Solution
• Limestone
• Wet
• Can be huge
• Lava Tubes

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Environment in Wild Caves

• Cool 50 deg F year round
• Watch out for hypothermia! You may be in the
  cave 6 to 8 hours
• Wet
• Wet clay mud it gets everywhere and it is
  abrasive and is slippery
• Claustrophobic
• Prescreen everyone 10 of population has
  claustrophobia
• In the cave, watch for scout in a cold sweat
• Sensory Deprivation
• Quiet profoundly quiet
• Dark profoundly dark
• Normally no air movement
• Dont leave anyone alone in the dark not even
  for a few minutes

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Caves Breath

• Why?
• Temperature difference between inside and out
• When you are in a cave and and feel a breeze you
  are probably near an exit

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Cave Formations

• Caused by minerals precipitating out of solution
• Look, but dont Touch
• Literally dont Even Touch it!
• Dont even think about touching it!

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Caving Gear

• Clothing
• Coveralls (or jeans and a long sleeve shirt that
  you dont care about) I sew a leather butt on
  the pants.
• Gloves (leather or rubber I buy gloves with a
  rubber palm and stitched top from Walmart)
• Long underwear bottom made out of synthetic
  material (polyester, polypropylene, or wool)
• Long Underwear mid-weight, short sleeve top made
  of synthetic material (polypro)
• Heavier weight long sleeve synthetic shirt (mine
  is a wool and polyester blend).  Youd only wear
  one shirt in a dry cave.  (actually cotton may be
  just fine)
• Wool Neoprene Socks (I found this is the only
  combination that keeps my feet from going numb
  for extended submergence in 50 degree water).
   Just wool socks would do.  Any good non-cotton
  hiking socks will do!
• Footwear preferably lug sole boots (tennis shoes
  will work but boots are better).  I go to Walmart
  and buy their cheapest pair of boots that fits me
  well)  I generally buy steel toe boots since the
  toes are usually destroyed first.  I differ
  you want ankle support but not too much Also
  Your boot will get WET!
• High top boots Dont lace too tight. Jungle or
  leather is best.
• Knee pads!!  Garden knee pads will do
• Elbow pads (optional, I always wear them but some
  people dont)

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Caving Gear

• Gear
• Helmet an inexpensive industrial bump hat
  works well
• A helmet mounted light. Walmart has a cheap 7
  headlamp that would work called the night blaster
  (buy extra batteries and an extra bulb.  You may
  want to go to Lowes and replace the O-ring too). 
  I think the batteries last for about 4 hrs.  (the
  IUSC will provide a helmet and helmet mounted
  light for the first 6 trip participants).  Dont
  use a very expensive headlamp as it will get
  scratched, also many LED lamps are not bright
  enough.
• Two other sources of light.  One can be a simple
  pen light and one should throw a strong beam.
  This is a total of 3 lamps! Also think extra
  batteries
• Additional Item for trips over 2 hours
• Cave Pack (dont use your school backpack an
  army surplus pack would work well). Heavy canvas
  works well as it can take the dirty and abrasion.
  Many synthetics have poor abrasion resistance.
• Water bottle (Nalgene) hydration is
  important!
• Food (I buy Snickers and Nature Valley Trail mix
  bars)
• Dry bag or dry box to put food in (or 2 heavy
  duty zip lock bags just one will leak)

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Safety

• Plan Injury Escape Route think about a badly
  sprained ankle.
• Usually think about clawing out at the stream
  level lowest level of the cave
• Water Trapping at the Entrance (or elsewhere)
• When in a cave you can have heavy rain outside
  and you will not know it! Rising water can
  cause traps. Wait for the water level to go
  down!
• Dont worry about getting caught in a stuff hole.
  Be careful but I actually never hear of anyone
  getting stuck for more than a few minutes.
• Rope Work I am not an expert ..IU Caving Group
  does not support it.

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Rope Work

• Usually used to get to cave entrance at the
  bottom of a sink hole so it is outside and just
  like normal rock climbing
• Dont even think about doing rope work inside a
  cave for one thing you just dont want that
  much gear

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Screen Everyone

• Claustrophobia it can kill you in a cave
• Most people have no idea they have claustrophobia
• Do a pre-test is a small dark room before you
  leave

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Cave Critters
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Bats

• Little brown bats are the gentlest of creatures!
• They fly much of the cave by memory you are not
  in the memory of their flight path they can fly
  into you!
• Stand still dont hurt the bat! Just wait and
  the bat will turn on sonar and find its way
  around you!

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Leave No Trace !

• Leave nothing in the cave no food no carbide,
  nothing!
• batteries
• Paper
• Not even what was once inside you.
• Do not even touch formations!
• Do not write on walls
• It may have taken millions of years to create the
  cave dont destroy it in hours!

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How to Find a Great Wild Cave

• Frankly, so many caves have been trashed the nice
  caves are kept secret
• Work with the local caving group
• You must prove to them you will be responsible in
  caves!
• Dont expect BSA to open doors some scout
  troops have a very bad reputation
• Responsibility extends to all scouts from the
  oldest to the youngest

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Your Trip

• The Good Caves are in Maryland, WV, Ohio, KY, IN,
  W Penn more than a days drive away
• Multifunction caving is not for everyone
• Visit a commercial cave
• Hiking
• Canoeing swift water rivers are less white
  and flow is more consistent in the mid west
  think Ohio River
• Rock Climbing think Red River Gorge KY
• Biking ... think Bloomington IN

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Kartchner Cave Az
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