Mailing List Archive

Mailing List: cavers

Message Display

>  I think some of you are missing the point of the "most important person"
>  concept.  Mr. Rennaker is just being honest about basic human nature.
>  When things are the worst we all revert to our survival instincts
>  despite the best intentions.

If everybody's "basic human nature" was to fuck and run at the 
first sign of trouble, cave diving would be a sorry undertaking 
indeed.  Believe it or not, there *are* divers with the character 
and constitution necessary to follow through on the commitments 
they make to eachother when they decide to dive together.  I'll 
admit it isn't always immediately obvious who will make a good 
buddy.  You have to constantly evaluate yourself and those around
you, and sometimes make tough decisions.

Nevertheless, this whole "most important diver" thing is completely 
illogical.  It's based on the premise that one team member's interests 
differ from that of another.  That assumption is a self-fulfilling 
prophesy -- such a "buddy" is an anathema, worthless at best.

Sure, steps can be taken to reduce some risks in solo diving 
(like carrying a buddy bottle), but there is no substitute for the
redundant brain a good buddy provides.  It's conceivable that solo 
diving could be "less unsafe" than diving with a lousy buddy, but 
that's not setting a very high bar.  The best route is clearly to 
dive (and continuously train) as part of a team.

I could understand someone making an argument that there were 
situations justifying the additional risk of solo diving, but
to actually claim it's safer is crazy.

Another fallacy -- Rennaker's article alludes to the idea that 
a diver needs more skill/preparation/whatever to dive solo.
Nonsense.  Being in a team is not an excuse to let yourself be
the weak link.  Rather, you accept additional responsibility
of looking after your team.  This does lead to something a bit
strange... sometimes solo diving can be "relaxing", but that 
should NOT be misinterpreted as a reduction in risk.

So, solo diving should be categorized as a risky behavior when 
performing an accident analysis.  Just like failure to carry 
the proper number and type of lights in a cave, it doesn't kill 
directly, but it clearly can be a significant contributing factor 
in a diver's death.

- Todd

Navigate by Author: [Previous] [Next] [Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject: [Previous] [Next] [Subject Search Index]

[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]

[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]