Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
Very nice. Nothing like diving with the proper equipment, experience levels and good buddy practices. Taste the sarcasim. >From: "sumpdiver" <sumpdiver@ms*.co*> >To: "TechdiverPOSTING" <techdiver@aquanaut.com> >Subject: NEST TRIP REPORT and RE HELMET USE >Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 10:27:14 -0500 > >NEST TRIP REPORT > > > Buchanan Cave 7 July 2001 > > > > > The Northeast Sump Exploration Team, NEST, conducted exploration >efforts >In the Buchanan Cave Resurgence in Virginia on 7 July 2001. 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. > Jeff finally had some time off and conditions looked good so we set >our >for Virginia on Friday and arrived at Paul's after a reasonably uneventful >7 >hour drive. After a good nights rest we got a relatively early start and >were in the water at the entrance pool just before 10:00 AM beating most of >the summer heat. > The entrance pool is in an air filled room about 20 feet in diameter >with a dry wide 3 foot high entrance. The pool covers the floor and is 6 >inches deep over most of its area with the limestone ceiling about 5 to 6 >feet above the water level. It is in the day light zone so it is well lit. >The entrance to the sump is at the far end opposite the entrance and the >water at this point is just deep enough for you to do an equipment check >before you enter the over head. Jeff lit of his AUL HID light and slid >into the pool to begin his regulator check while I knelt in the shallows >waiting my turn. After a few minutes he backed out and told me he did not >feel comfortable with the dive. This was the first time he had dove the >site with a double stage unit and we talked this over. The double stage >can be a handful, in Jeff's case he was carrying a OMS 45 equipped with >three inch PVC tubes attached to each side with stainless hose clamps. The >back ends of the tubes were sealed with Nielson clamps with o rings seals. >The tubes allow for the transport of items through the sump as well as the >adjustment of the buoyancy of the cylinder to make it almost neutral and >properly trimmed. Clipped off on top of this was a Alum 30 stage also >modified with floodable buoyancy chambers to allow it to be trimmed as it >was used. The nested stages are carried in the right hand. By being >transported in this way they do not increase the divers profile, and can >also be ditched easily in an emergency or passed to an other diver. Since >they are not attached to the diver they greatly reduce the entanglement or >wedging hazard. Because their buoyancy and trim is almost perfect they are >relatively easy to swim but like everything else this requires practice. > Our original dive plan called for Jeff to pass the first sump >breathing >the 30 and to drop it 400 feet in and continue on through the 2nd ,3rd and >4th sumps on the 45 stage saving his sidemount gas, OMS 45s for the 5th >sump >and emergencies. After reconsidering our situation Jeff decided to try >the >dive with just the 45 stage which he had used on several occasions in the >past. He would still have ample gas supplies to safely traverse the first >four sumps which was still a worthwhile objective since his furthest >penetration in the system so far had been the second sump. > It was a good call on his part and the dive went smoothly. We >surfaced 32 minutes latter 1200 feet in after having passed through the >first four sumps. Jeff particularly enjoyed the vertical shaft that marks >the end of the second sump and goes from 57 to 0 feet straight up and the >corresponding dome pit that marks the end the third sump in which you free >fall 27 feet straight down. These features alone make Buchannan an >incredibly enjoyable dive. > After surfacing on the other side of sump 4 we beached our stages, I >was using a buoyancy compensated 80 with a thirty attached that I would >leave in the cave for a future push. I gave Jeff a brief tour of the dry >passage separating the sump 4 and 5 head pools. A significant amount of >dry >cave takes off from this point some of it quite beautifully decorated with >spelothems and crystals. Jeff became the third person to ever see it. > For our exploration efforts today we were not wearing helmets. In >addition to our AUL HID primary lights we also had 2 Princeton Tech 40s >attached to inner tube bands that we wore on our heads. In the water we >would run one as a backup light and use both at the same time in the >sections of dry cave. A spare set was worn hanging from our necks. With >one light always lit we would still have useable light if our primary >failed and not lose the precious time required to turn on a backup. > The use of helmets in dry caving is considered a must by the >organized >dry caving community. The helmet serves several purposes, it provides >protection from dropped items or small rocks, protects the head when the >wearer miscalculates the position of their head and the ceiling, provides >protection in the case of a fall and also a location for mounting a light >so >that ones hands remain free for crawling or climbing. > A good caving helmet is one engineered to provide maximum protection >while >at the same time having a reasonable weight and is equipped with at least a >four point suspension system. The cheap fiber metal helmets similar to >those worn by construction workers and some dry cavers that have a single >elastic strap are almost useless. I was wearing one of these early in my >dry caving career in Mammoth Cave when I slip on some mud covered breakdown >and fell. The helmet not only detached from my head because of this >inferior strap but also was waiting to meet me when I landed on it further >adding to my discomfort. The suspension system although designed to keep >the helmet on the wearer should also be designed to fail under load if one >finds ones head wedged in a crack. Although this scenario seems unlikely >it has happen. A death in Friars Hole in the Canadian Hole entrance was >caused when a caver had his wind pipe crushed because the suspension system >had a metal buckle. His helmet became wedged in a crack and when he cut >himself lose from his climbing rig he fell just far enough to hang himself >from his chin strap. > The Helmet that we prefer for dry caving and sump diving when we use a >helmet is the early Petzel Ecrin, unfortunately it is no longer made in >this version. It is designed as a climbing helmet, has the proper >suspension system with a plastic buckle, is fairly light weight and is >modified for cave diving by drilling two small holes in the top to vent >exhaled air. Two Princeton tech 40s are attached on either side with wire >ties with the bulb units replaced by custom LED arrays. > The decision to wear or not wear a helmet is determined by the nature >of >the cave that we are conducting operations in. Although a helmet provides >many benefits it also has several liabilities associated with it. Among >these is that even a compact helmet significantly increases your profile >and drag making it more difficult or in some cases impossible to pass >through tight spots. It also can create problems with over heating when >moving gear through the dry cave between sumps. A further liability is >that >it reduces your situational awareness by interfering with your field of >vision and range of motion as well as requiring you to remove it if you >should need to don your backup mask underwater. > In general when the cave involves diving with little dry cave we opt >not >to wear helmets beyond the entry point because of the significant >performance liabilities associated with their use. Wearing a helmet while >trying to push an under water restriction can be down right dangerous. >In >the case of a project like Locust Creek that involves crossing large areas >of slippery breakdown and vertical caving on the other side of the sumps a >helmet is an absolute must and we wear it throughout the trip including the >dives. Although Buchanan involves significant amounts of dry cave the >spring side does not involve any significant breakdown thus far so we opt >to >assume the risk of not wearing helmets because of the impact on our >performance. In doing this we realize we are assuming a bit of risk and >also the need to always fully alert and aware of our moments before we make >them since our margin of error has been dramatically reduced. > After a 40 minute surface interval and a snack I set off in to sump 5 >and >proceed to the deepest point, 51 ft. I had ended my survey at this spot >and >picked it up surveying the deep section and up the slope for 162 feet to a >depth of 25 feet where I place a Disler spike angled across the line to >mark this point and turned to exit. I joined Jeff and after unpacking >supplies from the stage transport tubes we did some more dry caving before >packing up for our exit. > We passed sump 4 and 3 and surfaced at this point so Jeff could take a >look at the room that is at the top of the second sump. It starts out as >a >20 foot diameter dome with a dry passage tantalizingly out of reach >entering >the cave at the top of the dome. The water is fairly deep with no dry >cave >and only one spot where you can stand. We floated in the middle of the >room >for a while enjoying the interplay of the light from our AUL HIDs as they >projected the ripples from the surface on the walls in a surrealistic light >show. Beyond this room lies a long deep canyon about 70 feet long with >about 6 to 8 feet of air space between the ceiling and the water level. >At >water level the walls are about 10 feet apart. The line is tied off on one >of the few natural points in the cave about 40 feet into the canyon on the >left wall and drops straight down to the bottom where it makes a dog leg >into a restriction that leads out from this point. It is probably the >trickiest part of the dive in this first section of cave. > Following the line down is like free falling in a sky dive. Jeff led >off and I followed, he got ahead of me so I used his bubbles as a reference >for his location as I free fell next to the line. At a depth of 40 feet I >pushed my inflator on my dry suit and was rewarded with a short hiss and no >more gas delivery. >I had inadvertently used up all of the gas from my argon bottle. I now had >two options, I could surface and hook up my backup inflator from my right >tank or push on. Doing so in the pit was not an option unless I was >willing >to damage the fragile ledges that lined the drop. Since this was Jeff's >first dive past this point and his passage through the restriction would >wipe out the vis I decided to continue and maintain team integrity. If I >did not show up on the other side of the restriction he would come looking >for me and be forced to navigate the area in zero vis. This could put >him >in a precarious situation due to his lack of familiarity with the passage. >Even worse we might meet at the tight point. Unlike my normal graceful >descents in the past I impacted into the bottom and found myself exiting >using a bit more of crawling than swimming technique. The squeeze on my >DUI CF 200 was also a bit uncomfortable and once I reached the restriction >with nothing left to loose I rested on the bottom and hooked up my backup >inflator hose. This only took a moment and I was back in proper trim >shortly thereafter and Jeff barely realized I had been delayed. Our swim >out went smoothly and we exited after a three and half hour trip. Another >successful effort for the team with the cave survey pushed almost to the >end >of the fifth sump, a lesson learned on inflation gas use and Jeff now >being >familiar with the first section of the cave. My argon inflator reg now has >a small screw in pressure gauge. This allows me to track my inflation gas >reserve before entering a sump and allows better planning on gas use. > 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 audio visual 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 and Mothes families without whose >support none of our efforts would have been possible. > > > >Diver Explorer > >Joseph Kaffl > Jeff Mott > >Stand By on call Divers and Support Team > >Paul Montgomery Virginia Area Coordinator > >Eric Tesnau >Dave Nicholas >Laura Kraus > > >JOSEPH >KAFFL > >SUMPDIVER@MS*.CO* > >NEST > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >-- >Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. >Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'. _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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]