On Saturday the 28th April a small but determined group
of the DCRO team went about resurfacing their casualty for
the day, Tim Stephens. The team of ten sent an advance
party to assess the situation. They found the causality
with an injured knee at the base of Watkins squeeze.
Meanwhile on the surface a wide selection of equipment
was taken to the entrance of the cave including: Petzl
emergency harness, adjustable stemples, ladder, full
rigging kit including the Petzl ID which needs some practice
before using it in anger!
The rescue comprised of belaying and supporting the
causality along the tight passages and up the 30ft rift.
The hard work and planning ahead of the rescue team enabled
the casualty to smoothly progress towards the surface. The
team rigged a vertical pitch using stemples in the roof of
the rift as well as setting up belays in the passage. The
team lifted and pushed the causality along as well it was
noted that the casualty had a good level of fitness and
flexibility which really helped.
The rescue time from start to finish was four hours.
In the debrief afterward the following points were discussed:
The petzl harness needs more padding or a use a conventional caving/climbing harness
More stemples or wooden blocks would make the rescue more efficient
The ladder was very helpful for safety and speed of the rescuers
Miming the causality before they go through a squeeze will help see if they will fit
Proper use of rope work terms is essential don’t say “take in slack!!!” it is one or the other
Thanks go to : Mike, Jon, Dave, Brian, Rup, Alun, Mark, Ken, Andy & Tim
Report supplied by Jon Evans
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