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NEST TRIP REPORT
Buchanan Cave 4 Nov 2000
The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, conducted exploration efforts
In Buchanan Cave Resurgence in Virginia on 4 Nov 2000. NEST is a formally
recognized Project of the NSS and consists of a team of sump divers and
dedicated support personnel who are pursuing original exploration efforts at
several caves in the PA, Virginia and West Virginia areas. The team surveys
and further documents these sites through the use of still and video
techniques as well as engaging in biological surveys and water sampling at
these locations. NEST is also available to support the NCRC in situations
involving flooded passage and beyond sump rescues. Below is an account of
the Teams most recent explorations.
As we pulled up to the site we were once again greeted by a crystal
clear flow emanating from the cave entrance which promised excellent
visibility. Paul and Robin efficiently moved my gear to the entrance pool
while I donned my CF 200. Less than a half hour after we arrived I found
myself fining into the overhead.
On my last dive at the site I had explored the Dome at the beginning of
sump 4 but been unable to find a going passage out of this large space.
Today�s objective was to return to this area for another look. The Dome
itself was a 1000 foot swim from the entrance, beyond the safe range of our
standard side mounts. I had the fortune on my last dive to have Eric
available to do a set up during which he placed an OMS 45 buoyancy
compensated stage, BSCS, 450 feet in. I had used a BSCS Alum 30 to this
point and then continued on the 45. The extra gas had increased my range
and safety margins considerably.
Our side mount rigs are optimized for low profiles and we utilize our
DUI CF 200 dry suits to generate lift. This limits our ability to carry
stage bottles in a traditional manner so our stages are in essence no
mounts, equipped with buoyancy cells to make them close to neutral. Knowing
that for today�s push that I would not have a set up diver available I had
further modified the rig to allow me to clip the Alum 30 on to the 45
creating a single integrated unit. The plan was to breath the Alum 30 to
the end of sump 1, detach and drop it at this point and continue on with the
45 thereby giving me the gas I needed without the requirement for a set up
dive.
As I entered the first sump the new large stage assembly performed as
planned and although it did produce more drag than a single bottle it was
certainly manageable. I finned through the first low section of the sump
carrying the stage in my right hand while visually following the line that
ran on my left. At a depth of 13 feet and 30 feet into the cave I
discovered the line was broken, the two loose ends lay on the floor with a
5 inch gap between them. I had visions of aborting the dive, not an option
that I wanted to pursue but continuing on without a continuous guideline was
a definite no go. Vis in this section is always bad and with lots of fine
deep sediment on the floor it usual degrades rapidly with the presence of a
diver. With no time to waste I carefully placed the stage unit on the
bottom and retrieved my Aul reel from a belt D ring. I had brought this
reel along to allow me more exploration options in the dome but I now needed
it to repair the break in the line. On the upstream side of the broken
line I tied a figure eight through which I passed the line from the reel
forming a bomb proof connection. This was easier said then done with
visibility rapidly going to zero. Once this was completed I ran the reel to
the next Spike and performed a line wrap around it, locked the reel and
placed it on the bottom. It was not a pretty repair but would serve as a
temporary fix.
I grabbed my stage assembly and pushed on hoping that I would not find
any additional line breaks. The low section of the first sump again sported
terrible vis, no more than 6 inches. About 300 feet in the line makes a
hard left and the cave begins a gradual climb from 32 feet. As I began my
assent up the slope it was like climbing out of a cloud bank with the vis
opening up to 15 feet. Near the end of the first sump I pinned my self
against the ceiling and switched over to my 45 stage placing the used 30
next to the line.
I continued on into the second sump and passed through the restriction
that led to the dome pit. Before me the line headed straight up from a
depth of 57 feet to an air filled 70 foot long lake above me. I did a slow
assent to a depth of 30 feet and than set off following the right wall and
gradually working my way up a limestone slope that formed a V shaped ramp at
the far end of the canyon. With my safety stops completed I crossed the
under water limestone lip, at a depth of 4 feet, that marks the entrance to
a large round water filled room with a 20 foot high air filled dome above
it.
Not bothering to surface I placed the stage on the bottom and continued
on breathing from my side mounts. Passing over the lip of the second dome
I free fell along the line stopping myself just above the floor where I
attached a drop weight to insure a bomb proof tie off. This supplemented
the Spike I had use on my last dive which due to the angles involved was not
very secure. To my front I could see the reel where I had left it on my last
push. I finned over to it, retrieved it and finned further forward
examining the passage as I went. What had appeared to be a blank wall on my
last dive turned out instead to be a steep slope headed upward. I moved
forward placing spikes and doing line tie offs every 20 feet. The passage
was at least 15 to 20 feet wide and 6 feet high, we were back in business
with going cave.
At a depth of 10 feet I ran out of line on my 500 foot reel and
carefully placed it on the bottom. Looking above me I could see the ceiling
continuing upward on a steep slope which my bubbles eagerly followed. Out
of line and with my second reel sitting near the entrance I could only turn
and begin my exit. As I followed the line down the slope I noted that it
had worked its way lose from the two spikes in the bottom of the U and now
floated a foot below the ceiling, something I would have to correct on a
future dive. I continued my exit, retrieving my stages as I went and
surfaced 70 minutes after I entered.
After a short surface interval I returned to make a permanent line repair
all the while wondering what could have caused the break. The site had not
been subject to high water since my last dive so abrasion caused by flow
could not have been the cause. I had seen one of the many large Cray fish
that inhabit the site with the line in his claw on more than one occasion
and had even shoed him away in the past during my safety stops. Was it
possible that this little fellow was responsible or was this the work of
those dreaded Aquadags again?
With the repair accomplished I joined Paul and helped him finish a surface
walk plotting out the passage we had surveyed marking the survey points with
small flags. The correlation between surface features and the passage below
us was striking with the air filled domes marked by obvious corresponding
sinkholes. In line with the passage I was traversing was another prominent
sink. The passage I had turned in did appear to be headed upward, would I
find dry passage beyond this point? I could not wait to find out.
We would like to recognize our sponsors and all of the supporting
cavers who helped make our efforts possible. A special thanks to Arnold
Jackson Of American Underwater Lighting who supplied our exceptional primary
lights, Meteor 4�s and HIDs, as well as other critical gear and Tom and Jon
of the Fifth Dimension Dive Center who has provided us with other vital
support. We would also like to thank Terry Brady, of the Brass Anchor who
has provided us with generous audiovisual support. Additional sponsors
include Lamar Hires of Dive Rite, Alex Sproul of Inner Mountain Outfitters,
Adrew Kipe of Maryland Reproductions, and Robert Carmichael of Brownies
Third Lung and HALCYON, The Doing It Right Equipment Company, and our most
recent sponsor, DUI for our outstanding CF 200 series Dry Suits, Tim
Walker, Hank and Jane Anderson, and the Sovik, Mothes, and Mongomery
families without whose support none of our efforts would have been possible.
Diver Explorer
Joseph Kaffl
Support Team
Paul Montgomery Virginia Area Coordinator
Robin Brickey
Stand By on call Divers
Eric Tesnau
Jeff Mott
Dave Nicholas
..
JOSEPH
KAFFL
SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO*
NEST
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