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a "scoop"
backfires  continued
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Hoar frost surrounds
Snedegar's Saltpeter entrance. Photo by G. Mothes. |
Stuart and Mason soon followed, remaining fairly dry. We then proceeded downstream. The passage soon developed into the same type of passage we had been in above the pit and progress was slow. Thirty feet beyond Blackburn's turn--around point the stream channel ends and the water ducks under the right-hand wall through a low wide crawl, which Mason had to dig out to get through. Seventy feet from the beginning of the crawl the cave terminates in a short waterfall and a siphon.
However, at the top of the last waterfall another stream joins the one we were following with about one half the volume of water. We followed it through another of these now--all--too familiar "bastard" stream channels for 100 feet, until the passage terminated in a series of six beautiful adjacent dome rooms 70 feet high. The last room had a sizeable crack starting fifteen feet above the floor from which the stream was issuing. Further exploration should definitely be concentrated here.
We returned to the stream junction, placed our notes on the wall, and headed back to the 60 foot pit. By this time Stuart and Mason were becoming very tired. We tied the rope off to the side of the pit to prevent prusiking through the waterfall. Mason was first on rope, but came back down after he found his foot slings were too short and his chest rope too long. After an adjustment he started up again. Twenty feet above the floor his chest prusik slipped down to his foot slings, which were still about a third too short for him, and there he slumped, his feet above his body and his chest rope cutting into his armpits. Be did not have enough strength left to pull himself upright the longer he waited, the longer the circulation to his arms was cut off, the weaker he became.
I thought maybe if I could get him into my own slings, which I knew were the right size and which would grip the rope, he could make it out on his own. I therefore prusiked up to him using Stuart's prusiks carrying my own. When I reached Mason, I first attached my chest sling to the rope and slipped him into it, and then slipped him into my foot slings. I then had to burn through his chest sling to complete the transfer (a slow process when manila is wet). However, by this time I realized that the circulation to both his arms had been cut off long enough to make them completely useless; and I grasped the full gravity of the situation. Outside help would be needed.
It was impossible for Mason to go either up or down, so I brought him down with me. Because he could not take his weight off his chest sling I could only just pull it down as best I could. Finally eight feet from bottom his chest sling hopelessly jammed. At this point, Stuart got below him, I slipped him out of his foot slings and then pushed him out of his chest sling. Splashl He was finally down and I gave a sigh of relief. But this did not lessen my own fatigue and the cramps that I felt in some of my fingers.
When I got to the bottom Mason was stretched out in a side passage exhausted and Stuart was shivering. Because I knew best how to contact other cavers that were going to be in the area that weekend, I decided that I should be the one to go for help. Fifteen minutes later I was back on the rope making slow but definite progress. I was never so glad as when I reached the top of the pit. Then the slow grind to the surface began, with two rest stops along the way.
When I reached the entrance it was only 0800 hours, and my impressions upon feeling the warm sun were beyond words. Using Mrs. Snedegar's phone, I located Cooper in Franklin, WV, about 100 miles away; and Blackburn in New Market, VA, about 150 miles away. When I convinced their disbelieving ears that we really were in Snedegar's Staircase and that Mason was in trouble, although not injured; Cooper was on his way and Tommy Tucker left immediately with some of the cavers staying at Blackburn's home.
I knew it would be several hours before they would arrive and that Stuart and Mason would be wondering what was happening if they had to wait that long without any word. Therefore, I re--entered the cave at 1000 hours with some hot coffee and warm toast, generously provided by Mrs. Snedegar, and lowered the food along with a note of what was going on to Stuart and Mason. There being nothing else I could do, I returned to the surface.
Because of the hectic life of a student I had had only two hours of sleep in the last 48, so I caught another a half hour before Cooper arrived with his son and Lew Bicking. Forty--five minutes later Tucker arrived with John Schelleng, Rick Peterson and Lester Winoker. Blackburn, along with Charley Schwab and John Voss were supposed to be along shortly, but after waiting a half hour we entered the cave without them.
A 7/16 inch goldline was secured at the top of the pit, the free end kept up top, and the center lowered to the bottom. The idea was for Mason to tie into a Swiss seat, attach a carabiner to it and through the loop of the doubled goldline, and then we would pull him up, letting the goldline slide through the carabiner. However, voice communications were impossible due to the roar of the waterfall, and notes failed to get the idea across. So Tucker rappelled down, since he was the lightest and might have to be pulled out also, and explained the set--up. Bicking tended the belay line and that left only two and one--half people (I was the one-half) to pull Mason up; for once Cooper's size was an asset. The goldline was new and consequently twisted around itself and the belay line (proving once again that belay lines are more bother than they are worth) as Mason was hauled up. Then the goldline had to be unkinked before Stuart would be brought up. Again the rope had to be unkinked before the equipment could be brought up. Finally Tucker ascended on a pair of Jumar handles. It was no easy task for Tucker to come up through the waterfall.
On our way out we met Blackburn and his crew coming in. They were delayed because they had driven at least 60 miles out of their way to secure a particular hotel room they desired. The rest of the trip was simply laborious effort getting the equipment out of the cave. Everyone will, I'm sure, remember my manila rope, which had swollen by this time to a horrendous size and weight, and was dubbed The Python.--Earl Geil and Mason Sproul, THE CAVALIER CAVER, VOL. 6, 1964
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