Vertical Practice Round Two

After such a successful first vertical practice, Mike decided to hold another this week. I came over early to help him sort through the gear and to practice rescue techniques. By the time people started to show up, I was in full gear and attached to a complicated-looking pulley system. We were having difficulty replicating a cave rescue situation because I was on the ground level. So, I detached myself and we decided to start practice. I gave up my gear to someone and tried to teach a group of people about the gear itself and how to changeover from ascending to rappelling. It started to rain lightly, just enough to cool everyone down.

After a few hours, Mike decided to rig the pulleys for another purpose: vertical caving treadmill. It was the strangest thing to watch. Essentially, Nina, who was in full caving gear, started ascending up a rope that was threaded through a pulley. Mike had the other end of the rope and he was feeding it through the rack. So, as Nina ascended, Mike would feed more rope and she would stay in the same place in the air. This way, she could actually ascend most of the rope instead of only the 30 or so feet to the top of the tree. Mike also tried a few rescue techniques and learned that if he ascended while Nina was just hooked in to the rope, they could both move up. We played around with the ropes and the gear for a while, attempting to try a bunch of different rescue techniques and vertical training. 

Events occurred: September 25, 2013

Alden King, Professor of Changeovers

Our first vertical caving practice of the semester was extremely well attended. When I arrived, a little before it was supposed to start, there were already at least 10 people there. I had hoped to be early enough to practice a changeover without watchful eyes but I had no such luck. Mike threw the bag of harnesses at me and told me to start teaching while he finished setting up the ropes. I was under the influence of a trenta iced coffee from Starbucks and I was extremely jittery, struggling to get my caving harness on with shaking hands. I'm sure I looked very trustworthy. As I was pulling my harness on, I was explaining the various pieces of caving gear to a group of anxious novices. 

Once Mike had the ropes up, he took a small group of late arrivals over to explain gear while I shuffled the rest toward the rope and performed a changeover for them. Though I can explain them conceptually, I found it difficult to narrate while I was doing it myself. It took a while but I eventually got it and then started instructing the new people on the ropes. Some of them struggled, some of them figured it out instantaneously but overall, everyone got it eventually. It was fun to try my hand at teaching and I think it really engrained the information in my head. After three hours of practice, I felt pretty satisfied as I sat on the ground and coiled up the ropes for another day. 

Events occurred: September 11, 2013

Vertical Caving Crash Courses and Practical

In an attempt to encourage more OAR people to try vertical caving, Mike organized several crash courses and a local practical. Crash courses entail throwing a rope up into a tree, teaching people how to ascend up the rope and perform a changeover from ascent to rappel. Once you are familiar with the gear and the concepts, it is actually relatively easy. However, if you don't understand the mechanics and aren't familiar with how the different devices work, it can be extremely difficult. As the only one in the group other than Mike that had actually been vertical caving before, I found myself primarily teaching others. I like this though because in teaching, I was able to reiterate to myself what to do and it has become instinctive. 




After several practices on trees, one night Mike took us to Shotgun Hole, a local "cave" with a spring. The cave itself is tiny and the rappel is only about 20 feet. Usually, the club uses a rope ladder instead of caving gear for ease and expediency. However, for the sake of education, we used the vertical harnesses, racks, and ascent devices. Shotgun Hole was a typical OAR adventure before my time but in recent years, we have only gone sporadically. I had never been before and though I have returned several times, I still cannot remember its precise location: somewhere in the middle of nowhere just outside of Gainesville. I am also uncertain as to the origin of its name, which I don't find particularly comforting. Regardless, our group of two cars headed to Shotgun Hole to show off our vertical caving skills. Though I didn't intend on swimming, we all ended up in the water, splashing around the spring. Ascending out was actually somewhat difficult despite its short distance, mostly because the rocks were chossy (a climbing term used to describe rock that crumbles at the touch or when you are gripping it). Many of us unintentionally kicked down rocks and sediments, calling out "rock!" to warn those below of the hazardous falling debris. 

Events occurred: October 3, 10, and 17, 2012