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Snedegar
Crooshank: ESCAPE through a siphon  continued
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Ode to Crookshank's
I hear that river rollin', it's rollin' round the bend, And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when. I'm stuck in Crookshank's Cave And time keeps draggin' on But that river keeps on rollin', on down to Charleston. When I was just a baby, my daddy said one day, Don't go climb on mountains, or mess around in caves; But I went cavin' down in Blacksburg To pass the time away. How much longer will we be here, maybe one more day. I'll bet they're back in Blacksburg, ridin' round in cars~ Eatin' in the mess hall, and smokin' big cigars. Well, we know we had it comin', We know we can't be free. But that river keeps on risin' and that's what tortures me. Well, when I get outta here, and see that old sunshine, You bet I'm movin' on a little further down the line, Far from Crookshanks That's where I want to stay, And I'll let that Greenbrier River sing my blues away. J. Craig Peters 1965
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While others were gathering necessary equipment, Mike Hamilton attempted to find cavers familiar with the cave system in Baltimore, DC and Charlottesville. Three attempts to explain the situation to the INA Security officer for CRCN finally resulted in a person-to- person call to Mason Sproul. Soon after three carloads of VPI cavers headed toward Lewisburg at 6:00 PM Monday.
Back in the cave the cavers built a fire with scattered driftwood which felt good, but required constant nursing and resulted in much noxious smoke. However, on Monday morning they built a second fire with the intention of getting warm. This fire was even smokier, so it too was extinguished.
WHITT: "We dozed for another six hours. Ed's contacts started to irritate him. Dick's boots were bothering him. I felt a bit nauseated and the thought of food revolted me. Lew started to apologize for the inconvenience, but we shrugged it off and made jokes about it. What else could we do? We speculated and conjectured upon what rescue procedures' would be taken, if any. ... On Lew's next- to-the-last visit to the siphon, he decided that 6:00 Monday would be the very earliest we could expect the siphon to open up. The rate at which the water was falling had decreased due to reduced water head.
"About 7:00 PM, we gathered up our equipment and started for the siphon. We were all astounded by the great effort required to walk. It is surprising how much energy it takes just to keep warm for 50 odd hours."
The VPI carloads stopped at Rich Creek for supper and contacted the WV State Police. A patrol car met them at the State line. Rick explained the situation to the trooper, who radioed ahead, resulting in a search of the area for Ed's VW. At Lewisburg, they called back to VPI to see if the missing cavers had returned.
WHITT: "When we reached the siphon, our hopes and spirits suffered a slight lapse, as the siphon appeared to be closed. Not to be outdone, Lew went to work with his trenching shovel and dug a small channel in the stream bed to hasten the flow of water out of the siphon. Three more hours of waiting in the mud was rewarded with four inches of air space at the lowest point. Lew crawled down into the siphon for a final check."
Lew noted that two more hours of waiting would result in an additional two inches of air space. However, the group decided to proceed immediately into the siphon.
"Lew took one end of a 50-foot length of rope and crawled into the cold waters; and then, one by one, the rest of us slid in alligator-style and moved swiftly through the low parts. I was without a flashlight, so I had to follow the seemingly aimless meanderings of Dixon's light. In a matter of seconds, he exclaimed that dry land was in sight, then proceeded to recite an imaginative list of four-letter words. I was a bit confused until I found that last ten feet of the siphon consisted of several seasons' accumulation of backwash to a depth of three or four feet; thus I found Dick's descriptive adjectives quite handy.
"A few moments later, Ed and Lew were with us and we began to make our way toward the entrance. A welcome disc of light appeared in the passage ahead, then two, then a dozen. The next thing I knew, we were surrounded by cavers from VPI and UVA. They took it from there."
The rescuers had a hard time locating the correct road where Ed's and Lew's cars were parked. No one from VPI, except the three in the cave, was familiar with the area. They were further hindered by muddy roads covered with snow.
GARY: "We spotted the cars at almost the same instant we spotted the patrol car. One of the patrol men was radioing the discovery to the group waiting at the intersection. Tom Bell and several others checked the dry Snedegar entrance while we waited for the others to arrive. Tom soon reported that dry clothes had been found near the entrance, and we assumed, wrongly that the four cavers had entered Snedegar's and gone through the siphon.
"By this time the two other carloads of VPI cavers and a load of UVA cavers and equipment had arrived. The groups assembled inside the Snedegar's entrance and organized. Several members of the UVA group were familiar with parts of the system, and they took a large party toward the siphon at the end of Snedegar's to see if it could be pushed. Another party departed with a local boy to check the Crookshank entrance for signs of the missing group?
"Lew, Whitt, Ed and Dixon were met by the main body of rescuers before the rescuers reached the siphon. Word was relayed to the troopers who were asked to get hold of Betty Loyd and stop the rescue group from DC. They were also asked to notify Blacksburg that the students were safe.
The groups returned to Blacksburg as soon as possible, and no one seemed the worse for wear."-R.E. Whittemore and Gary McCutchen THE TECH TROGLODYTE, Spring 1965, edited by Anne Whittemore, 9/78.
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