CCRC

Newsletter No46

NOVEMBER 95,

CRESSBROOKDALE RESURGENCE.

Wednesday 4th october 1995 three members of Crewe
C£imbing and pothoting Club, Tony Reynolds Nedk & Tracy Conde,
attempted the colossa£ 300 g00t horizontal decent undex the 200
foot chigg in Caessbrook Gorge. The aim of thein mission, to
nemove all tooks Lest in the cave besore the great s£oods. Upon
meaching the Lowen 4txeamway sump, to theia surprise, they
discovered it had disappeared.

Disnegarding any sense of terror and trepidation they
decided to squeeze through the sump and discover what delights
fay ahead. Neif proceed sfowky through the tight squeeze in
which seven weeks eaxkier had been a sump, but now was just
skoppy mud resembling Noek Edmonds gunge tank. Ignoring ate
fears he pressed on, adrenatin pumping, pokfLowed closely by
Coddy and Tony who enfaaged the squeeze ready gor a quick exit.

What Lay ahead was beyond att imagination, no massive
system on pretty grotto, no skimy green ankle grabber on cousin
to the toch Ness monster, just one hundred fo0t of tow sandy
passage down to another sump.

Oh well, Lumb Hoke is now moxe than give times the
fength of Tony, Coddy and Nei& head to toe, in English Lumb
hole has given up about one hundaed foot of virgin passage

If you would Like to see this new extension, hurry
begore the water returns, expected within the next month.

FORTHCOMING MEETS.

NOVEMBER
Sun 4th Cherry Tree Hole. Yorkshire. Darnbrook & Cowside area
NGR SD 903700. Grade IV. Length 1.2Km. Depth 41m.
Sat 18th Nettle Pot. Derbyshire. Castleton area.
NGR 126819. Grade III-IV, Length 640m. Depth 180m.
Giants rescue practice. Volunteer wanted for the easy
trip out...
Sun 26th Ireby Fell Cavern. Yorkshire. Leck Fell area.
NGR SD 673773. Grade III. Length 409Km. Depth 128m.
DECEMBER
Sun 3rd Peak Cavern. Derbyshire. Castleton area.
NGR 149826. Grade I-V. Length 8.9Km. Depth 170m.
Sun 10th Bull Pot. Yorkshire, West Kingsdale area.
NGR SD 702787. Grade III. Length 216m. Depth 79m.
} sas
S * by SIMON TRUMP
= SS | a caver wer eases x. DOG StIVES
ae terday with only 30 minutes ==

to spare, by Britain's first

underground. sniffer dog.
Labridor: Sophie led the

jway to potholer Simon Evans
‘afler, six searchers had

failed to find him, ~~
Tite’ team burrowed
throu

‘ope
{:,2Simon, 27 as cut of by
avalanchié'of sand 500k
frend fox nce than
‘seven hous Only’ enoig
Tonge retained for him © Yyulgyaias, Mid Welee
P'gupve hal an hour when, ygingeyagas, Mid tes
nt ‘site Tcidn' have long le
Ti was in seco’ of
ave which is arly ever
sed s0-no one Kaew where
‘ost ooking

Separated

Rachlor Simon had be
come separated from a cl
feapse ih the Dan yrOpo!
cave spitem in Mid Wales
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fat wep clo we
Gould beat Beeeot toning
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500ftdown

whe, was acta: He sald yes-
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hns of sand and
fim to safety using

TOUR DE FRANCE (ALTERNATIVE )1995

Here we were yet again in Tardets in the foothills of the Pyrenees. We had taken a leisurely drive down taking in
the local sights and copious quantities of red wine (for medicinal reasons!) Paul and family were camping as were
myself and Marguerite, Steve (Alias Colin) and family were caravaning and John and Dil were roughing it in a
Tuxury hotel while they awaited the keys to their equally palatial Gite!

‘No need to rush, it was Thursday and the Belgians were not due to arrive until Friday to do a PSM to Salle de
Verna trip via the Tele Sauvage, We spent Friday sussing out some canyons the most exciting part being a close
‘encounter with an adder. (the reptilian sont not the mathematical variety!) Paul and J also fitted in the first of many
‘canoe trips where I managed to frighten myself to death during an encoufiter with an overhanging tree

Saturday we did Canyon a’ Althagneta a superb trip culminating in a multiple pitch of 10 30 and 30 metres. Now
those good at maths will be able to work out that the 50m rope recommended in the guide isn't long enough to use
‘on a pull thro of this size !!! Out came the bits of tat and Paul was launched into space. We found out later that it
‘can be done on 2 50m rope if the bolt changes are used ... if you can find them! The most exciting part of the trip
for Steve came later when 1 persuaded the group to finish off the trip properly by continuing to follow the river and
‘not the tourist path out of the Kakoucter Gorge. Now Steve can't swim and when he took out his buoyancy aid it
‘was knackered! We (particularly he) spent an interesting session passing several DEEP pools in convoy with some
very heavy waterlogged rope bags and an even more waterlogged Steve who wasn't even wearing a wel suit!

Steve and James finished off the day by completing the canoe trip Paul and I had done the previous day. Armed
with hindsight they missed "my" tree completely.

Sunday.. time to see the Belgians... I was to find out that they had got $C3 booked not the Tete Sauvage. That was
‘the good news ' cos I hadn't done it, the bad news was that they had already rigged it and had set off on their one
and only thro’ trip several hours previously. (Keen these lads!) Fortunately they had rigged Couey Lodge as well! (1
‘said they were keen!) A quick chat and Couey Lodge was on for the following day, Nothing else for it we spent the
day climbing site secing and canoeing the next stretch of river.Those who have visited Tardets may recall a
barrage in the town centre. We inspected this prior to our descent and decided it was possible Gust) At the last
‘moment Paul decided it wasn't, decided to abort, failed and went over it backwards UPSIDE DOWN!, much to the
surprise and amusement of the locals. My descent was interesting but less spectacular, 1 don't know if the events
are linked but the following day the river and barrage were modified by a large Hymiac!

Monday. Couey Lodge, at least it was for John and I. For some reason the others decided to opt for the Atlantic
‘beaches. Most of the Belgians were derigging SC3 (we declined to join them.) and several were recovering from
their thro' trip or the after effects of some celebration or other. John and I had the place to ourselves. The cave was
rigged to the bottom of the entrance pitches. (250m) This part consists of a few short Pitches and climbs (loose)
into a massive large open rift consisting of pitches of 65 and 55 linked by 4 of 5 shorter ones. Not wishing to be
critical I can only describe some of the anchors as “interesting” and some of the backups as "could be better" I
Particularly found the part on 9mm “exciting*. We both found the trip excellent. 1 spent the rest of the day
Prospecting the access points to various canyons while awaiting the arrival of my sunburnt colleagues

‘Tuesday was filled in with a bit more canoeing and biking. Wednesday we did Canyon D'Oilloki Less exciting than
‘our previous excursion (the ropes were long enough for a start) but nevertheless well worth a visit and better than
the guide infers. Water levels were low but in wet weather this could be really interesting. John called to inform us
that Michel had agreed to join us on an "upstream" trip in the PSM.

‘Thursday Paul and I completed our first "incident free" descent of the next stretch of river. Were we improving or
‘was it getting easier?
rok

Friday morning 8 am and by some miracle all three cars arrived in St Engrace within seconds of each other. In
typical Michel style we reached the entrance in well under the hour. (I secretly hoped the rest of the trip was going
to be a little more leisurely.) It turned out to be a splendid trip as far as the bottom of the Lepinaux shafl. It is quite
‘well marked now, much better than on my last thro! trip so I reckon that even CCPC should have little problem in
negotiating the system! If anyone wants a trip let me know. The trip can be done in as little as § hours but 12 to 15
is probably more realistic (On the Bradford trip this summer one member took 36 hours!)

‘The day was rounded off beautifully with a meal for the 12 of us at Michels home in the foothills of the Pyrenees,
_.and we wonder why he never visits Britain (You should sce the view from his lounge window) Eventually we
staggered off to bed, a truly memorable day.

Saturday, Paul and family left for home while Steve and self (and famniies) left for Chamonix via Carcassonne
(astles, canoeing, caving canyoning and Minervois, the Med (swimming!) Nimes (canoeing, caving) and the
‘Vercors . (Hence the title of the article.)

While everyone recovered from the journey I fited in a couple of VIT routes and a number of walks were done,
Only one thing left to do ... Mont Blanc de Tacul, we didn’t manage to fit it in last year. One of the easier 400m
peaks it consists of a 300m descent followed by 730m of ascent (WITHOUT ACCLIMATISATION) This of course
means that not only is it uphill on the ascent, it's also uphill on the descent. If you don't believe me ask Steve.

Now comes the exciting part. Just as we were crossing the final snowfield towards the Aiguille de Midi there was a
tremendous noise from up above close to the Cosmic ridge and a LARGE boulder detached itself from the cliff
heading in our direction! It landed once breaking into smaller pieces with one about the size of a family saloon
heading straight for us. This one had definitely got both our names firmly stamped on it! Linford Christy would
have been impressed with the way we covered the next 50 meters, .... wearing crampons and carrying a full pack!
There was nowhere to go... no crevasses, ... no boulders ... no cover anywhere .... we both just kept on running
With lungs about to burst we finally came to a stop as the boulder came to rest right where we had been standing.
‘We just looked at each other, grinned sheepishly, thanked our lucky stars then plodded up the steep slope to our
destination.. A nearbye French couple commented "Vous avez Bonne chance au jourdhuil" which roughly
‘translated means "You lucky sods. We thought you'd bought it there duck!"

‘Back at the ranch Steve and I consumed a fair amount of liquid refreshment to replace the adrenaline consumed
earlier. (As if we needed an excuse)

‘Having had enough of the white stuff we decided to head for some "white water" but not until we had fitted in one
more VTT ride, We aborted our trip to the sports crag in Chamonix when we found the entire population of France
there, with instructors(!) having three (yes 3) beginners on the rope all climbing at the same time. We couldn't bear
to watch! As a point of interest the foot of the crag was littered with debris and snow, the remains of an avalanche
which killed a spectator watching the climbers in Spring of this year. For those familiar with the area a section of
the Petit Balcon Sud is also missing, again as a result of excess snow and subsequent thaw last Winter.

Our journey North took us to the Parc de la Foret Orient, unfortunately the drought had taken it's toll on the
water levels so after a nights rest we continued home ... after all someone's got to finish bolting Long Rake!

IRI '95 1 SRT

I you neglect back to the Dec 94 issue of the Newsketter, I was
wilting to step down as News Editon and give somebody else a go. But
fuckily nobody else wanted to do it, 40 I was more than wikling to
carry on. Over the three years I have been the Editon I have really
enjoyed doing it, ( even though I was press ganged into it at a
meeting I didn't attend |.

Ungortunatety this time I AM stepping down. Due to my personal
cincumstances I am finding it increasingly harder to find the time to
compige it. Thanks to agé the people over the years who have helped in

one way on an other, especially Mark Lovatt, for without him there Wor

0% been a Newsketter gor he did afk the photo copying. I hope there is
somebody in the Club who witk take oven, because it would be a gaeat
£044 to akl of us if it ceases to be.

Thanks again for att your support and I am sonny
I can't caaay on with it... Taacy Conde.
(Coddy to them who do not know my read name)

4,
ONCE UPON A TIME coos

C.C..Pc MEMBERS

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Hopefully I will do one more Newsletter, either Dec or Jan.

6.
SOME POINTS FOR: CAVE RESCUE TEAM MEMBERS TO CONSIDER

Mike Fanning, of the Lake District Search & Mountain Rescue Association recently produced
some comments regarding liability of team members over possible claims of negligence
whilst conducting rescues, together with other matters that he felt ought to be brought to the
attention of their members.

As the remarks made are just as relevant to members of Cave Rescue Teams the
W.B.C.R.T. Executive thought it a useful exercise to bring the information to the attention of
the members of the various Clubs who form the W.8.C.R.T. whose members could be called
on fo assist in a Rescue, either in our own area, or in another area where they may be caving
or live.

Some of the following comments have been taken verbatim from Mike's notes, or adapted to
suit the purposes of this article.

NEGLIGENCE

‘The difficulty of giving-any specific guidance with regarc to the question of negligence is that
the subject is largely a theoretical area, and until tested in court will remain so. ‘There would
appear that there is no reason in law why an action against members of a cave rescue team
Should not succeed. In the case of a registered charily, such as W.B.C.R.T. any action
‘would be brought against the trustees, and cannot be defended without the permission of the
charity commission.

Given that the success of such an action would deal @ devastating biow to voluntary
mountain and cave rescue teams in this country, it is to be hoped that any court considering
Such an action would dismiss the action on the grounds that to allow it to succeed would be
Contrary to public interes. *

However, although this would at the current time appear the likely scenario, it should not
Encourage complacency Any caver asked to assist in a cave rescue should ensure that they
are adequately trained to carry out any task or treatment they are contemplating.

I should be realised how important that the first action in any rescue incident is to follow the
correct procedure for contacting the pslice, as only then will cover on the police insurance
Policy take effect. Without carrying out this procedure, it could be argued thal any action was
Peing undertaken outside the auspices of the team by a group of individuals and any liability
eld by the persons concemed. W.B.C.R.T, is currently looking at the question ef public
liability insurance over and above the insurance thal is obtained from the police.

Bearing the above points in mind it would Perhaps be useful to outline the Principles of the
law of negligence and how it would affect a cave rescue team and its members

Negligence is proved where a cour is satisfied
1. That the injured party was owed a duly of care by the defendant;

2. That the defendant h:

failed to discharge that duty,

3. That the defendants failure has caused a loss or
attributed to the defendants failure

jury to the injured pasty that can be

All three elements must de proved to establish the defendant's negligence. The standard of
Proof is on the balance of probabilities - i.e, was it more probable than not that the defendant
was at fault

7

Dealing with each question in turn.
a. Duty of care?

‘There is no duty upon a cave rescue team to undertake the rescue of any person. However,
the moment a team accepts a call for assistance the duty of care will be established. There is
still no obligation for a rescuer to place his life in peril whalever the circumstances. A recent
court decision conceming a delayed rescue undertaken by the Coast guard service lends
weight to this decision. .

b. Failed to discharge duty?

In practice, an injured party will allege medical malpractice on the part of his rescuer, or a
failure in the mechanics of the rescue itself 4

‘To answer whether such a failure has occurred, the court must establish a standard against
which to judge the actions of the rescuer. The relevant standard may be any of the following,
‘when placed in the same situation as the rescuer:

1) The ordinary reasonable man:

ii) The ordinary competent caver,

lil) The ordinary, skilful, careful and competent cave rescue team member;

iv) The ordinary skilled man exercising and professing to have that special skill.

Ai the present time no decision exists directly affecting cave or mountain rescue. It would be
prudent to assume the standard as being that sct out in iil) above. However, the more
‘Specialised the techniques used by the rescuer then the more likely it is that the relevant
standard will be that of iv).

¢. Loss or injury?

‘The injured party can only succeed with his action if he or she can demonstrate that they
have suffered loss or injury as a result of an action, or inaction, on the part if the defendant.
Their condition must deteriorate as a direct result of the defendant's intervention. This will
always be a simple question of fact.

As stated at the beginning, until such time as a case is brought 1o court it is difficult to know
what the outcome of any action would be. It is better to be aware of the potential end plan
for it, rather than stumble along hoping we would not be the test case.

PERSONAL MATTERS AFFECTING CAVE RESCUERS
4. Wills

Every person in the UK should have a will. Cave rescue can be inherently dangerous and the
family of a Team member killed in the course of duly, so to speak, will receive a not
inconsiderable sum via the vanous msurers involved. Suffice it to say that the current
intestacy laws would be woefully inadequate in this situation. This, in tum, will cause further -
avoidable - heartache for the family involved. The cost is not too great; @ couple should be
able to obtain wills for less than £60 + VAT.

2. Endowment/Life Insurance/AccidenMedical Policies 7

A great many Team members, certainly those with mortgages, will have one or the other
such policy. Failure to notify the insurer of that member's involvement in cave rescue, or
failure to pay any increased premium will void the policy should the member be injured/killed
whilst on a rescue. This would cause horrendous problems to a member who is unable to
work, or to his surviving family in the event of his death. The advice to the insurance
company should be specific of rescue work over and above pure caving activity. It would be

8.
‘wise to get confirmation that you are covered in these situations in writing, in order that there
‘could be no way the insurance company could deny having been told at a later date.

3. Individual Vehicle Insurance.

Those Team members who may travel in their own vehicle to the scene of a callout should
notify their insurer of that fact or run the risk of finding their cover limited to 3rd party only in
the event of an accident

Alan Wood: Hon Treasurer - West Brecon Cave Rescue Team

| ene CESARE

Tam informed that Dave Nixon and co. Have linked J.H. and Peak. I've been promised a trip in
the Autumn. (TR)

Hopefully we should be resin bolting Block Hall once the Speedwell season begins again We
hope to do "Moosetrap" at the same time, Volunteers required

"The rescue that never was". DCRO failed to contact us to rescue a caver trapped near the
entrance in Ladyside pot. About 4 fire tenders arrived plus the Rope Access team, an ambulance,
the Air ambulance and countless bobbies. Apparently he was extracted without difficulty!

For those who haven't heard Edelrid can't find anything wrong with our "faulty" rope so it's
back in circulation! This doesn't explain the unusual damage to the sheath. Tests on Marlow

continue.

Maskhill - Revised Rigging

Ralph Johnson notes that if you are doing Maskhill Mine you are advised to add approximately 10% to
the rope lengths quoted in the "Peak Rigging Guide" to allow for new rigging using the DMM Eco-
hangers recently placed. He also notes that you need to take care on the slope leading to the "Balcony"
at the foot of Murmuring Churn as there are numbers of loose boulders on the slope leading to the pitch
head, perhaps someone could do some "gardening". At present all "deviation slings” are in situ, please
leave them there.

Report: ‘ossible Defectiv
There have been some reports of "loose bolts” in Maskhill - they have been checked and alll are OK
(don't forget that DMM's do flex slightly in use). If you are doubtful about a DMM, report it to Mark
Lowe (0161-330-5111) or Ralph Johnson (01782-515753) with a note of:
1. the name of the ¢ave or mine; 2. the route on which the defective anchor was found; 3, the traverse
or pitch name/number, 4, the anchor number; counting from the start of that group of anchors.
You should always check the rigging you use, whether it's a DMM, a spit or a natural belay, to assure
yourself that it is OK to use it. If you have any doubts, please continue to report them as above.
—=
Knotlow Pollution
Yes, it's still with us! Reported again within the last week - presumably still the same delightful stuff,
Just a bit older now, as it still hasn't cleared. The wet weather may help in due course but the cause is
still there and we are in contact with NRA to wy to solve the problem permanently.

Eldon Hole - Route to 2nd Chamber
Discussion on the possibility of stabilising this will take place at the DCA Couneil Meeting on 28th. and

a decision will be made on whether such a project is desirable or affordable.

9,