bcra 10-1-1983
TRANSCRIPT
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Science
he
Transactions o the British Cave
Research
ssociation
BC
R
[
olume 1
Number
Pilkington S
Cavern
S R T Rescue
Alkalinity
ave
vertebrates
orroded L
adder
lesser Garth aves
ave onservation
March 983
I
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BRITISH CAVE
RESEARCH
AS5CX:IATION
NOTES
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ISSN 0263-76ox
CAVE SCIENCE
TRANSACTIONS OF
THE
BRITISH
CAVE
RESEARCH
ASSOCIATION
Volume 10 Number
March
1983
CONTENTS
Rediscove
ry
of the Lost Pilkington ' s Cave
rn
, Cast le ton , Derbyshire
R. P. Shaw . 1
Rescue techniques for the small
S
RT party
Paul Ramsden 9
Alkalini t
y -
i t s
meaning and measurement
L. R o s e
. . . .
. .
. 21
Cave
invertebrates
from
the Picos
de
Europa, Spain
phil Chapman •• . • • . . • .
•
• • • • • • •
• • 30
A Met
allurgical examination
of a
severely cor
r oded
section of
caving ladder - D.J . Irwin S . Reid 35
The
Lesser
Garth Caves,
near Cardiff ,
South Wales
Paul R. Davis
•
.
• •
. ••••• .
• • •
• • • . 40
A Review
of
Cave Conse
rvation Sites
in
Britain
A C. Waltham . •• . . •
. • . • . .
• .• • • • • • •
46
Cover photo: Pilkington s
Cavern
by
R.
P.
Shaw
©
Published
by and obtainable from
The Brit ish Cave Research Association
30 Main Road
ston
zoyland
Bridgwater
Somerset TA7
OEB
Copyright the Brit ish
Cave Research A
ssoc
i
at ion,
1983
No part of this publica
t i
on
may
be
reproduced
in
any
other
publication used
in
adver t i sing
,
stored in
an
electronic re t r ieval system, or otherwise used
for
commercial
purpo
ses ,
except for s ingle copies
for r
esearch purposes
, without
the
prior written
consent of the authors
and
of
the
Association .
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C VE SCIEr-ICE
Trans
. Br i t i s h
Cave
Research
Assoc
.
Vol
.
10 no
. 1
pp. 1-8.
r-tarch
1983
REDISCOVERY
OF THE
LOST PILKINGTON ' S
C VERN
, CASTLETON, DERBYSHIRE
R .
P. Shaw
ABSTRACl
Climbs to tal l ing
58
metres
, with
l inking passages to tal l ing
536 metres
long
,
have
led
into
cave passages
which
f i t Pilkington's
description
of 1789. Originally
found
by lead miners
around 1770-1780,
th is part of
Speedwell
cavern appears
to
have given access
to
the stream caves
before the
canal was
driven to in tersect the stream
system
so that
a number
of mineral veins
could
be worked.
The to tal vert ical
range
of
the Speedwell
cavern
System is
182 . 6 metres, very
close to
the
English
depth record.
Speedwell Cavern i s a show cave cum mine a t
the
bot tom of the
Winnats
Pass
wes t
of
Cast l e ton , Derbyshire
.
The previoUSly
known
cave has been
descr ibed
by
Ford
(1956).
t cons is t s of a mine l eve l dr iven as a cana l to u t i l i z e boa t
haulage
for are
and waste
removal which
i n t e r sec t s
an extensive ac t ive and
abandoned
s t r eam
cave system
t ak ing
swa l le t
water
from
the
Per ry foa t /Gian t s
Hole
area to Russet Well .
During
1981 a number of
p i tches
were climbed in pa r t of the system us ing
s e l f
- dr i l l i ng bo l t s . BOlt ing s t a r t ed in
the cavern
discovered in the
ASSault
Course
par t of
the
system some 100 metres west of the Far Canal
by
T.
D.
Ford
in 1944. This con ta ined the remains of c l imbing s temples
from
which Ford
deduced
t ha t it
might
be the bottom of the l o s t cavern
descr ibed
by Pi lk ing ton
in 1789.
BRIEF
HISTORY
That the Old Man knew
about
the s t ream cave
sys tem
of Speedwell
Cavern
before the canal was dr iven has been regarded as ce r t a in ,
bu t h i t he r t o
unproven.
The Speedwell Canal,
commenced
in 1771 , was dr iven to i n t e r sec t the cave
system, which it
reached 11
years l a t e r
,
to enable
the
working
of a
number
of
minera l ve ins
the re in .
Boat
haulage
was
to
be
used
for
waste
and
ore
(Rieuwer ts
and
Ford, 1983),
though
why
it
d id not reach the su r f ace
as
a
l eve l i s
in doubt .
A l l waste
rock
(un t i l the Bot tomless p i t was reached)
waS
boated back to the
bot tom of the s h a f t and then
wound
to the
su r face .
The route by
which the Old
Man
en te red the cave system
before
the
l eve l
was dr iven was descr ibed by a number of contemporary t ou r i s t s . Though most o f
these accounts were publ ished
a f te r
the cana l reached the s t ream caves the
v i s i t s
were made before the break- through
.
The
f i r s t
of t hese waS Sul ivan in
1780 (second e d i t i o n 1785) who descr ibed an arduous descent to the s t ream caves
v i a
cl imbs
t o t a l l i ng
some
420 f ee t .
p i lk ing ton (1789) descr ibed
the
descent in a much more d e t a i l e d account and
wi th
a
f a i r degree of accuracy
,
g iv ing depths o f descents and
rough
lengths
t r aver sed bu t unfor tunate ly no bear ings so t h a t it was impossib le to work back
wards when
the
presumed bot tom waS
found
in 1944.
Another
desc r ip t ion
was by Milne (1813)
(no ted
by
Anon,
1947) though t h i s i s
an almost
per fec t
r epe t i t i on of Pi l k i ng t on s account without acknowledgement.
From
these
desc r ip t ions seve ra l people have
t r i e d
to l o c a t e the l o s t
passages , usua l ly
wrongly assuming
t h a t they en te red the Bot tomless P i t Cavern.
The
Assaul t
Course
s e r i e s
of the
Speedwell system was discovered in
1944 by
T . O. Ford
who
dug through a silt -
f i l l e d
passage from the Far Canal (Ford
19561
Simpson
, 1953) .
Some
100
metres
from the canal a c i r c u l a r cavern was en te red
con ta in ing s tacked deads and the remains of
Climbing
s temples
on
the f loo r and
a
few
wedged
in
the
wal ls
.
The
remains of a
wooden
p la t fo rm
could be seen
above .
t
waS es t imated as 50 f ee t high and t h i s f i t t e d with
the l a s t
v e r t i c a l
o f
Pi lk ington
' s descent a t 16 yards , and so the
chamber was prov is iona l ly named
Pi lk ing ton ' s Cavern.
The l a s t p a r t of Pi lk ing ton
' s
account desc r ibes
a passage
one hundred and
twenty yards long. two f ee t h igh and two
wide
and a t
the
end you d iscover
ano ther 150
long,
s ix f ee t
high and two wide
. This
does
no t cor r e l a t e
with the
presen t
f l a t -ou t
crawl
en t r ance
from
the
cana l
,
bu t
it
does
cor r e l a t e
with
the downstream
end of the
Assau l t
Course
streamway, which
now ends
a t
a
sump
c rea ted
when
the canal was completed and f looded .
1
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I
~
The
lost
.
PILKINGTON
'S SYSTEM Speedwell (avern.
0V-
n
S6J:VL
Goterd
f T
, ssin9
floors
Pitch Sm
FU
/
~
' W A T E R f A l l (AVERN
St.mple Pitchl8m.l
Dtotb
Pilch
18 . 1
109- ft Itrough bou.dtors ]
t .I
I t..O
HAll /
H ~
/
£lgfi
v
,
Pl.J(t(j
Tc fs
PAss ea:
Sc:olt .
1.J ~ p
1 ~ Z
,
.
od by R.OS
. ..
. J.O_
eR
QrOde
5 ,
Drnwn
by
RP.Shaw
31112182
Pas sage sKlions at
twice
scale
of
p
Spot
tleigtlls
1-121 ) iI
metres
above
100 IN tnt
grid
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120
h·
Wo
tricte Covern
I
--
Mud
Hall
1::
10
_] ]0
~
Waterfa
ll
Covern
PILKINGTON S
CAVERN
60
) Chain Pilch
Projected Section
boat
...
15)- H1 '
60
So ft
L-J
40
Round Pitch
lt
..
abo
••
C
Fi g . 2 . PROJECTED PROFILE
OF
PILKINGTON S
CAVERN
w
In s e t - Pilk ington s
Cavern
r econs t ruc ted
from h i s desc r ip
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EXPLORATION
Pi lk ington
' S
Cavern was climbed
,
us ing s e l f
- d r i l l i n g b o l t s ,
in January 1981
.
g iv ing access to
about
160 metres o f paSsage t rending northwards to a second
cl imb (Round Pi t ch ) . This was cl imbed in
l a t e February
g i v in g access
to some
70 metres of s teep ly ascending
passage inc lud ing a
f ree
c l imbable
th i rd p i t c h
(Galena Pi t c
h) of 7
metres to the four th p i tch (Chain
Pi tch ) . This waS cl imbed
in
November 1981
to
a
f u r th e r 250
o r
so metres
of
passage
inc luding
two
fu r the r
p i tches
(Water fa l l Pi tch and Boulder
Pi t ch ) ,
each of 8 metres ,
making
s ix p i t ches
in
a l l
.
DESCRIPTION
Pi lk ing ton ' s
Cavern
i s c i r cu l a r in plan and about 5
metres
in diameter .
This f i r s t p i t ch
i s
a cl imb
of 12
metres ,
the
ladder hanging
under the small
s t ream t ha t cascades
from
the passage
above. Orig ina l ly the
cavern had c l imbing
stemples and a
s temple-suppor ted pla t form
over
the
top . Deads
a re s t acked a t
the bot tom.
From
the
head
o f
the cl imb
Pi lk ington
' s Passage ex tends
some 160
metr
es
genera l ly northwards. The
passage
i s developed in
one
bedding plane (probably
the same one as the c o n t r o l l i n g bedding plane of the Peak
Cavern
strearnway) as
a vadose
canyon
.
I n i t i a l l y
t h i s i s 2.1 m high and 0 . 75 m wide bu t
soon
reduces
in
he igh t
and
width .
In
many
p laces it
was
enlarged
by
the
miners
who
removed
sharp corners to enable them to ge t the long s temples through. Where the
passage
height
al lowed
the
rubble
from
t h i s
operat ion waS packed
onto
the f loo r
.
The su rp lus was
t aken
back to the bottom
of
the Round
p i t ch .
Towards the
nor thern end the
passage i n t e r s ec t s
a number of small
s c r i ns
and a c a l c i t e pipe
ve in .
none of which were inves t iga ted
by
the Old
Man . A
number of a r t i f a c t s
were found in the
passage
including the end of
a p ick . a
brass
bu t ton
and buckle
,
the remains
of a
pa i r
of boo ts , a
rope
and a number of
na i lS
.
The chamber a t the nor th end of p i lk ing ton ' s Passage and the
passage
immediately
above
are par t l y developed in a
c a l c i t e
pipe vein . Beyond the top
of the 11
m
Round Pi t ch the passage i s
a
phrea t ic tube
about 1 . 5 m
in diameter
developed in the pipe ve in . A
shor t
d i s t ance
beyond
t h i s the passage becomes
a high
vadose
rift
to
a cl imb
of
7 m (Galena
Pi tch) i n to
a
chamber
.
Here
t he re i s evidence of the presence of the miners in the form of an ore
washing
f loo r of r o t t e n plankS with
a
little galena on them, though the re
i s
no
evidence of mining
.
Above the dress ing f loo r i s
a
c lus t e r o f l a rge s ta lagmi tes .
A se r i e s of cl imbs
leads
to the
bottom
of the th i rd p i t c h (Chain Pi tch ) , a
cl imb of some 12 metres . The p i t c h i s
covered
with massive
f lo
wstone
, a hole in
which
waS
found
to con ta in a l eng th of
i ron
cha i n (P i lk ington noted t ha t a chain
was used on
t h i s
p i t ch )
.
Above the p i t c h the
passage
i s again developed in
a
c a l c i t e pipe ve in to a l o f t y
chamber,
Water f a l l
Cavern
.
Jus t before
the
cavern i s reached are
the remains
of another
o re
-
washing f loo r
.
but aga in no evidence of mining. The cavern
i s
a t l ea s t 20 metres high with
water
en te r ing
from two
points
. one in the
roof
of the
cavern
and
the o the r down
two
s templed
c l imbs. The
cavern
i s
adorned with s t a l a c t i t i c format ions , some
of
which were broken
in
mining days
but
have s ince
par t l y
regrown.
From Water fa l l
Cavern
two
d i f f i c u l t f ree
climbs (Water fa l l and Boulder
Pi tches)
up
a
formerly
- stempled
sec t ion ,
each
of
8 metres ,
l ed v ia
a
shor t
low
passage
to the
bottom
o f
a s templed s ha f t through boulders .
The top of
t h i s
sha f t
i s
in
a
l a rge
chamber
naIrLed Mud
Hal l
.
This
chamber
i s
not as
l a rge
as
Pi lk ing ton descr ibed
it
but
it
i s ce r t a i n l y impress ive.
It
has a bedding plane
roof
and a
f loo r
of
boulders bur ied in
mud , the
chamber being up to
5
metres
high and
15
metres wide.
At the
e a s t end . the chamber reduces in
height to
a bedding plane about 0 . 35
metre high bu t the miners made an eas i e r route by
digg ing a
t rench in the f loo r
.
Beyond t h i s , over
a par t l y
co l l apsed d ry - stone wal l . which
may
have
marked a
proper ty
boundary
,
i s
another chamber which Pi lk ing ton descr ibed . Named
Watr ic le
Chamber. t h i s
was
beaut i fu l ly decora ted befo re being s t r i p p e d
by
the
miners
.
The s t a l a c t i t e stumps are s t a r t i ng to regrow
bu t
two hundred years i s
no t long enough for t o t a l recovery . Pi lk ing ton
descr ibed
it thus : -
When the miner
f i r s t
broke i n to it it
appeared beau t i f u l beyond
desc r ip t ion
.
Upon
in t roduc ing h is candle
thro
' t he ho le , which he had made . he was s t r uck
with aston ishment . But
when
he en te red the cavern , it in beauty exceeded h is
h ighes t expec ta t ions
.
The roof
and s ides
were
covered with water
i c l e
,
almost
as whi te as
snow
.
But
now
it i s
in
a
grea t
measure
s t r ipped
of i t s
ornament
by those who have
passed
through
i t
.
To the eas t t h i s chamber extends 20 o r
so
metres to
a
f a l l ,
caused
by the
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1
Climbing Pilking
to n
s Cave rn; r
emai
ns
of
mi ne r a w
ooden
pla t fo
rm
above .
2 . Watricle Cavern
looking west;
ore -
dressing bench on r igh t .
PILKINGTON S CA
V RN
J .
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PILK
INGTON
S
C
V
E
RN
4. Miners
t
rench cut in
f loor
from Mud Hal l to
Watr ic le
Cavern.
5
Climb through
b
oul
der
shaf t
in to
f loo
r o f
Mud Hal l
6 6.
Remains of
washed
ga lena on r o t t en boards
above Galena Pi tch
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co l lapse of sandy
grave l ill
f rom
a
phrea t ic cav i ty in to the mine workings.
The
chamber has
been extensive
ly
used for ore dress ing which
must have
been
ca r r i ed
out
d r y
for the re i s
n o water
ava i lab le here . The s o r t e d ore was
then
taken
down 3 o r 4 p i tches , f o r some 50 m to the bottoms of t he we t t e r
p i tches
fo r
f i na l
c le
a ning, and w
aS
then
appa r e n t l y
ca r r i ed back
out to t he su r f ace
v i a a
sha f t which appea
r s
to be back
-
f i l l e d or t o t a l l y run- in
now .
From Wa t r i c le Chamber l ead a number o f par t l y na t u r a l ,
pa r t l y
mined
passages
a
nd mine
workings .
Most
o f
t hese
a
re le ve
l s
dr iven in Fauce t Rake or branches
to
the nor th .
Only
in two
p laces
a re the workings cont inued
below the
bedding
plane
con t ro l l ing
the
roof
o f
Mud Ha
ll
in the
form
of f looded ,
par t l y
back
f i l l e d s t apes . Where presen t , s topes on the ve in above t h i s l eve l are 0 . 5 to
0 . 8 m
wide extending
i r r egu l a r l y
upwards for up to
7 m. All
sho t
holes
made fo r
mining
are about inch i n d i amete r . To
the
west a
passage mined
through
sed iment ill
leads
to a smal l , ~ e n w s h e d p hr ea t i c
chamber
with a 10 cm . h igh
bedding p l
a ne wi
th
s o l i d
rock
f l oo r and
roof
being
the
only e x i t .
A number o f a r t i f a c t s were
found
in t h i s sec t ion o f the system in c l uding a
wooden k ibb le with i ron bands, t a l low
d ips ,
a l ea t he r
harness
and chain
for
dragging corves , i r on banding from a corve , a broken wedge and a c lay pipe
1750
to 1790 in s ty le) .
On
t he su r f ace
above th i s
area
. about
50
m a
bove ,
i s a
l a rge na tu ra l
depress ion c l ose to Faucet Rake whi c h probably r epr
esen ts
the
su r face loca t ion
of
the na tu ra l pa r t
of
the
cave system .
Any cave be t
ween t h i s p o in t and
the
top
of
th
a t explored
appears to
be i l l e d
wi th
loess and so l i f l uc t ion sed iments .
THE
SURVEY
The survey was ca r r i ed
out
us ing Suunto compass and
cl inometer ,
read to 0 .
25
0
a
nd F ib ron tape
read
to the nea r es t
ce
n t imet r
e .
Sec t ions were made a t
a l l
s t a t i ons
and
between where the l egs were
l ong .
The
l i n e
survey was i n i t i a l l y
p lo t ted by
computer . A
B. C
.
R.A. grade of
5C
i s Claimed
.
In t o t a l
about
500 metres o f
new
passage
waS
s u r v e y e d o f t h i s
on ly
about
40 m
i s mine l eve l . The top o f the
n a t u r a l
pa r t
of
the
sys tem
i s some
127 . 1 m
416 fee t)
above the cana l
which
i s
some 55.2 m 180 fee t ) above the downstream
Bung
Hole sump
in
SpeedWell
cavern . Th is gives a
t o t a l
a l t i t ude range of 182 . 6 m
596 fee t)
which i s very c lose to the EngliSh depth
record for
na t u r a l cave passage .
GEOLOGY AND
EVOLUTION
Thi
s
par t of the Speedwell system i s developed in well-bedded l imes tones of
Asbian
D
1
)
age
con ta in ing
a
number
of
s ty
l
o l i t e seams.
The
l imes tones
a re cu t
by
a
number o f
smal l ,
l e s s
than 1 em . , scr ins of
bary te and
f l u o r i t e and
i r r egUla r
c a l c i t e
pipe
veins
as wel l as the la rge veins of
Faucet
Rake
.
The minera l i za t ion in Faucet Rake con s i s t s of void f i l l i n g s in veins of
banded f l uo r i t e , b a r y t e , c a l c i t e and galena up to 0 . 8 m wide
though
genera l ly
l
ess
.
In
Watr ic le Chamber
the re
i s a sed imentary depos i t
conta in ing
der ived
f luo r i t e , bary te . c a l c i t e and
ga lena
which has a lso been worked
.
P i lk in g to n s Passage
i s
a s inuous vadose t rench developed from a prominent
s h l ~ f i l l e d
bedding
plane with a
th in
2
to
3
mm
coa l seam
which haS
a lSo
been
recognised in Speedwel l ' s C l i f f Cavern and in Peak Cavern. The passage below the
Chain Pi tch i s developed
along a
non-mineral ized
f au l t
of
1 . 5 m
throw
down to the
south , as shown
by
upturned l imes t one beds in the roof . Mud
Hal l
and Watr ic le
Cavern are associa ted
with a
prominent bedding
plane ,
probably
a
cl y wayboard.
In the case of Mud
Hal l
t h i s hor izon forms
the
roof whi le in
Watr ic le Cavern
it
forms
the
f l oor . This wayboard may r ep resen t the Cave Dale Lava in
t h i s
l ocality .
Development of Watr ic le Cavern has a l s o been con t ro l led
by
Fauce t Rake which
runs along
i t s
l eng th but
has
o
n l
y
been
wo r ked
n
the
f loo r
a t t h i s po in t .
Most
of the system i s
vadose
in o r ig in connecting shor t s ec t i ons of
formerly
phr ea t i
c passage
developed in Fauce t
R
ake and
assoc ia t ed
pipe
v
e ins
.
The vadose
inc i s ion
i nd i ca t e s
t h a t it formed as an i n l e t s w a l l e t to
a system
al ready
dra ined a t l ea s t to
the
l eve l of t he
cana
l and thus Hope Valley was i n ex i s t ence
when
t h i s in le t system was
l a s t
ac t i ve ,
th ough it seems un l ike ly
t ha t
the
Winnats
PasS
could have
bee
n
presen t
so
c lose
to such a
swa l le t
a t t h a t t ime .
The l i m i ted
phrea t ic development
a t
the
t
op
of
the
cave sys tem probably
cons ide r ab ly p re -da t e s the vadose
development
perhaps r ep resen t ing ear ly
cavern iza t ion in Faucet
Rake
a nd assoc i a ted pipe ve ins . Watr ic le
Cavern i s
p a r t i a l l y f i l l e d with a
s i l t y
g r ave l ,
s i
m il a r
to
t ha t in the
en t r ance se r i e s
of
Gian t ' s Ho le , probably of s o l i f l uc tion o r i g in , conta in ing la rge rounded c l a s t s
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C VE
SCIENCE
Trans . Br i t i s h Cave Research
Associa t ion
Vol.
10 , No . 1 pp 9- 20. March
198)
• •
RESCUE
TECHNIQUES
FOR THE SM LL
SRT
P RTY
Paul Ramsden
I d e a l l y
a l l
cavers should
be
able to help another caver in t r oub le on
a
rope
. Various
techniques of hau l ing and lowering are descr ibed,
bu t
unless
tho roug
h ly
prac t i sed the rescuer could f ind himself
in
t r oub le
as
w e l l
This a rtic l e i s r e s t r i c t e d to
techniques, using
only the
equipment
normal ly
ca r
r ied
by
t
he rescuer and v ic t im
us ing a sit s tand
system
such
as the Frog
r ig , with the addi t ion of a coup l e of pu l leys of the type which can be put onto
the
middle
of the rope .
At the
ou tse t
I recommend pr ac t i ce of a var ie ty o f techniques to give
f ami l i a r i t y
and to see which methods are most appropr i a t e . Often d i f f e r en t
asce
nder s can
be
su b s t i
tu ted fo r
one another or even prus ik knots used.
Try
to
t
h ink through the sequence of
moves
to see which
i s
the bes t way to use the
equipmen t ava i lab le
.
This app l ie s pa r t i cu l a r ly to
h au l ing
systems
,
where the
most e f f i c i e n t
systems
probably use
more
gear and cannot eas i ly e put onto a
t au t
rope . You may f ind you
have
used an ascender to hold the r
ope
i n i t i a l ly ,
while
g e t
t
ing
s lack in to
the
system,
and
then
f ind
you
want
to
use
it e l s e w h e r e ~
Simi la r ly
, if
you
need
to remove the body ascender
whi le
hanging from
a
cowstai
l
t h i s wi l l
e
awkward
or
dangerous if it i s f as tened i n to
the
cent ra l mail lon .
With forward
planning
, a karabiner
would
be in se r ted
between
the body ascender
and
the
cent ra l
mail lon
, then
the
ascender
can be
removed without
unfas t en ing
the harnes s
.
There
are var ious
reasons why
a caver may
be suspended p a r t way up
a rope
(eg . exhaus t ion . rock f a l l . e tc . .
It
i s
es s en t i a l
to GET
HIM
OFF
THE
ROPE
as
quickly
as
poss ib le
,
pa r t i cu l a r ly
i f
it i s
a
wet p i tch
. Even a good harness
wi l l r e s t r i c t h is
c i r cu l a t i on
and he
may
have
problems with breath ing or b leeding.
You
have
a
choice
of e i the r lowering him down , o r
haUling
to the top of
the
p i tch . The par t i cu l a r circumstances wi l l d i c t a t e which course of
ac t ion
i s most
Sui tab le
,
The fOllowing
may
he lp you to reach your decis ion
.
1 .
GENER L
POINTS
1 .1 . You a r e looking
for
a su i t ab l e place to give F i r s t Aid, e tc .
I f
the
p i t c h head
i s
cons t r ic ted o r awkward
. lowering may
be
e a s i e s t .
1 .
2. I f
t he re i s
deep
water a t
the bottom1you
cannot
sa fe ly lower unless
there i s
someone
to
keep
the v i c t im s head out of the water .
1 .3 . It
i s
d i f f i c u l t to
genera l ize
. but in a
wet p i tch
haUling may
be
b e t t e r .
The
rescuer
may
be
hes i t an t
to
pu t h imse l f a t r i sk by performing mid-rope in
the
water ,
and once
down ,
the bot tom of the p i tch i s l i ke ly to
be a
h o s t i l e
p lace .
1 .4 .
I f there are in termediate anchor po in ts . rescue i s
more
d i f f i c u l t .
You cannot
haUl
o r
lower
from
the
p i tCh
head.
un les s you
have
unfas tened the
rope and t h i s needs very c a r e f u l cons ide ra t ion
.
1 . 5 .
I f
you take too long to s o r t it
a l l
ou t , the
v ic t im
may
be dead
. so
speed i s v i t a l .
Lowerin
g
from
Hid-rope . This
i s l i k e l y
to
be
the
qu ickes t
and
l e a s t
s t renuous
method,
bu t
the rescuer has to prus ik up o r down you cannot abse i l on
a
t a u t
r
ope) the rope the v ic t im i s
hanging
on. The
rope
and be lay po in ts must be good.
The r e
i s
potent i a l ly more
to
go
wrong than wi th p i tch head opera t ions
. The
rescuer unfas tens the vic t im s c h e s t ascender and both abse i l down toge the r .
Extra
f r i c t i o n
(e .g
. a
complete t u r n on
a
karabiner ) i s
needed
on
the
descender . F i r s t Aid and pro tec t ion can e
given
to the
vic t im
and
in termediate
be
l
ays
ca n e
unfas tened o r
passed dur ing
the
descen t .
Lowering
genera l ly
invo lves
going
f u r th e r from the en t r ance
i n i t i a l l y
. i n o rder t o g e t of f the
rope qu ick ly .
HaUl i
ng
from
Mid-rope
.
This
has little
to
commend
it
the
p i tch
head an d the r e s ~ r
i s
coming from belo
w.
F i r s t
Aid and pro tec t ion to
the v ic t im
. Rebelays
can
s
t r enuous
.
un less the v ic t im
i s near
The rescuer can give some
be passed ; bu t it
i s
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Hauling
from
the
Pi t ch
Head. The rescuer i s a t l e s s personal r i s k than where
two people
are hanging on
the same
rope
and
belay
poin t , Hauling
i s slow and
s t renuous so unless the
vic t im
i s near the p i t ch head , t h i s i s unl ike ly to be
the
quickes t
method, and
ge t t i ng o f f a t
the top
may
be d i f f i c u l t .
Lowering from the p i t ch Head. This
i s only poss ible
i f an
ex t r a
rope i s
ava i l ab le . but could be
convenient
i f
the re scue r did
not want
to
get on
the
same rope as the vic t im .
Once of f the rope you can
give F i r s t Aid
and
assess
the s i t ua t i on
.
Can
you leave the vic t im and c a l l o u t the rescue team or must you
sit down
and wai t
.
Depending on hi s
i n ju r i e s and the
number of
people
ava i lab le you may
decide to
haul him up.
With ext ra
people or
ext ra
gear , haul ing may be qui te f ea s i b l e .
where it was
inadvisable
alone .
Ass i s t ed
Prus ik .
I f the
vic t im i s able to he lp himsel f (e .g .
damaged arm
or l eg) ,
a good pul l may
be
a l l t h a t i s necessary .
(Fig
. 1) . The
rope
can be
a l t e r ed t o haul ing
if necessa ry .
Sl i d i ng gear dovn
the
rope o r shout ing
advice
may even suf f ice in minor inc ident s .
MID-ROPE RESCUE
The
vic t im
i s
assumed
to
have been prusik ing .
2.
ABSEILING
OFF TOG TH R
The re scue r
climbs
o r
reverse
Prusiks the rope
unt i l he i s j us t above
the
v i c t i m.
It i s necessary to lift
the v1ct im
i n i t i a l l y to remove h i s ches t jammer.
befo re
abse i l i ng
o f f
toge ther . Two
methods of l i f t i n g
are
descr ibed
.
2 .
1 .
Di rec t
L i f t
(F ig .
2).
2.1 .1 . You a t t ach the vic t im t o your cen t ra l mail lon us ing a karabiner
o r t he v i c t im s
shor t cowsta i l , a shor t attachment i s
bes t
when agains t a
wall
so you can use
your
f ee t t o puSh away
with .
2.1 .2 .
Remove the v ic t im s foot ascender .
2.1.3 . Using
both f ee t
in your
foot
loop . t ake a sho r t
s t ep
u ~ r d s
This
i s
very
s t renuous
as you
are
tak ing the weight of two
people .
It
i s
eas i e r
to
s t r a i gh t en
your
legs with a shor t s t ep than a long one. This should produce
s lack above h i s ches t ascender .
2.1
.
4.
Remove h i s ches t ascender . He i s now hanging below you.
2.1.5
.
Change
to
abse i l
as
normal
.
Lock
of f
the
descender
immediately
below your ches t
ascender wi th
an ex t r a
tu rn
on a
karabiner
to give ext ra
f r i c t io n .
2 . 1.6 . Before s tanding
up
on your foo t lOOp
to
re lease
your
ches t ascender ,
unfas ten the sa fe t y bacK-up/cowstail to the foot jammer. You
are
qui te safe
as you are
both
on
the
locked
descender
- but
wi l l
not be acc iden ta l ly
suspended
from
the
s a f e t y
as you sit
down
onto the descender .
2 . 1 .
7 . Comment.
The
d i r ec t
lift method i s
f a i r ly Simple , but
haS
two
s t renuous
moves, so
i s
b e t t e r for
a
vic t im l i gh t e r than
yourse l f .
I n t e r
mediate
anchors
may be
unfas tened
in
some s i t ua t i ons , o r
passed.
us ing the
foo t
loop
to unfas ten your cow s t a i l .
2.2. Mid-rope Counterbalance
(Fig . 3)
. This
method uses the
vic t im s
foo t loop and jammer, i s
l e s s
s t renuous than
the
d i r ec t lift but i s Sl i gh t l y
more complica ted .
2.2 .1
. On
reaching the vic t im,
Clip your
cowsta i l
i n t o
h i s for sa fe ty
.
Your
two
ascenders
are
between
hi s
ches t
and
foo t
ascender .
2.2 .2
.
The
vic t im S
descender i s fas tened
to
his cen t ra l mai l lon . the
rope fed
through
with ex t r a f r i c t io n and
locked o f f
.
2 . 2.3 . The v ic t im s foot loop i s
l e f t
a t tached to
h i s
cen t ra l mai l lon , but
i s
taken out of h i s
foot
ascender karab ine r and run through t h i s karabiner
l i ke
a
pUlley. The foo t end of the
foot loop
i s c l ipped i n to
your
cen t ra l
mai l lon . The vic t im S foot
ascender
i s adjus ted so
tha t the
foot
loop
l ink ing
the two
of you i s t a u t .
2 . 2.4.
Stand
in your own foot loop
and remove
your ches t ascender . As
you
sit down
onto the foot loop ,
your own
weight
ac t s as a counterba lance allowing
you to lift
him
r e l a t iv e ly eas i l y with your arms and
l egs .
2.2 .5 . Remove
h i s
ches t ascender ,
and
lower him down
to the
locked
descender by s tanding in your own foot loop .
2.2 .6 .
Re-at tach your ches t ascender , then remove the upper ascender and
v ic t im s foot loop .
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I
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Fig . 4 pul ley foot
ascender .
t
Fig .5 .
Pul ley below vic t im s
ches t
ascender
2 :1
lift .
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2 . 2 . 7 .
Prus ik
down
u n t i l
you
can
a t t ach yourse l f
to the
v i c t i m s
locked
descender
with a karabiner , remove your ascenders and abse i l down .
2 . 2 . 8. Comment. Unless you
are
l i f t i n g a l i g h t person t h i s method i s
prefe r red because the re are no s t renuous moves .
3. H ULING
FROM MID-ROPE
I f you have a good reason
for
not going down ,
o r perhaps the
vic t im i s
near
the top
and you
are
climbing
up. towing i s
a
p o ss ib i l i ty .
3 . 1 .
Di
r ec t Lift-Towing . F ig . 2) .
Climb
above the vic t im , c l i p
shor t
cows t a i l s
toge the r , continue c l imbing, feeding
the
rope through his ches t
ascender
.
Comment . Very
s t renuous and
not recommended,
unless
a
very l i g h t
vic t im
i s
to
be
l i f t e d
fo r a shor t dis tance . Simpl ic i ty i s
the
only advantage .
even
then
ge t t i ng o f f
the
rope
wi l l
probably be
d i f f i c u l t .
3 . 2. Pul ley Foot Ascender-Towing (Fig . 4) . A va r i a t i on
to the
d i re c t lift
(3 .1) w i l l make tawing eas i e r
but s lower .
Remove
your
foot100p from your
foot ascender
karab ine r
and run it over
t h i s
karabiner (or
pu l l ey
i f ava i lab le )
and a t tach the end of the
foot
loop to
the
top of your ches t ascender . The
foot loop
wi l l
now
need a l t e r i ng to
get
the
optimum lift The
long
cowsta i l
can be a t tached
to
the foot ascender for added secur i ty .
3 . 3 .
Pul ley below Vic t im s Chest
Ascender 2 : 1
Li f t ) (Fig
. 5) .
The rope
from below
the
vic t im
i s l i f t ed and
fed around
a
pul ley
i nser t ed
immediate ly
below the
v i c t im s ches t ascender . The
rescuer
then t i e s
the
rope
to
hi s
harness and cont inues to c l imb. The v ic t im s ches t ascender gr ips the rope
and the load
i s halved.
unfor tuna te ly the pul ley
of ten
jams
agains t
the ches t
ascender . so i t s use i s dependent on the par t icu la r
equipment
used by the
vic t im .
4 . H ULING FROM THE PITCH HE D
We
assume the rope
i s t a u t with
the
vic t im s
weight , but not
a t tached
(or
already detached)
below .
The rope
i s
l i f t e d
a
sho r t dis tance with an
inver ted
jammer
,
and
s imul taneously pul led
through
a
second inve r ted jammer
, which
i s
at tached
to the
anchor.
The
haUling can be cont inued with
the
s lack gained on
each
lift
being held
in
the anchored
jammer.
Once
s l ack
rope
i s ava i l ab l e ,
the
system can be a l t e r ed to a
d i f f e r en t
haul ing system
or
to lowering. A
high
belay
i s
des i rab le for
ease
of
opera t ion
and
to
f a c i l i t a t e
get t ing
the
vic t im
of f
a t the
top .
Three
methods
of
haul ing on a t au t rope are descr ibed .
4.1. Direc t L i f t .
(F ig .
6) .
4 . 1 . 1 . Clip
long cowsta i l
i n t o
main
4 .
1.2 . Put the foot ascender
upside
a t t ach
it to the loop
of
the
belay with
handled ascender)
.
belay
for sa fe t y .
down on
the
rope
below the
knot
two karabiners (only one needed
nd
with
4.1 .3 . Rig your ches t ascender ups ide down
between
ches t and sit harness ,
c l i p onto rope.
4 . 1 . 4. Bend
down
s l ig h t ly with a squa t t ing ac t ion and s t and up. keeping
your back s t r a ig h t . The vic t im i s l i f t e d
by
your
s t ronges t
muscles .
4 .
1 .5 . Pul l the Slack
gained through
the
inve r ted
foot
ascender . The
cyc le
i s
repeated as necessary .
4 . 1 . 6 . It i s poss ib le
to hang
from
the
main
belay
by a cawsta i l
(Fig . 7)
s tanding
up
in
your
foot loops
,
though
t h i s
may
cut in to
your
fee t .
It
i s
eas i e r to
s tand up on
l edges , bu t the
pul l
must
be
v e r t i c a l ly
in
l i ne with the
be l ay , otherwise you
wi l l waste
e f f o r t o r get f r i c t i o n on edges. Unused
equipment can
be used to weight the
locking
ascender o r
foo t
loop Clipped
in
d i r ec t l y .
4 .1 .
7. Comment. This
i s
the
s imples t
method, but a l so the most s t renuous,
Severa l shor t
squa t lifts
are
eas i e r
than
one big
one
and s t and l e s s
chance
of
damaging
your back .
There
i s
no problem with f r i c t io n over pul leys , e tc . The
main disadvantage
i s
the need for
a comfortable
s tance
which may
not be
ava i l ab le
with a f r ee hanging rope . The method i s bes t for a very
shor t
lift
or t o
get
s lack befo re
Changing
to
a
b e t t e r
haul ing
system
.
4 . 2 .
Pul ley L i f t with Footloop
2:1
Advantage) (F ig .
8) .
4 .
2.1
.
Attach long cowsta i l
to
main belay
.
4 . 2 . 2 . Attach inve r ted
locking
ascender
t o
belay as above. with two
karabiners .
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F
ig
7
D
i
re
c
t
li
t
ha
n
g
in
g
f
ro
m
c
ow
s
ta
i
l .
1
F
ig
S
2
:
1
p
u
ll
e
y l
i
t
w
i
th
f
o
o
tl
o
o
p
s
i
.9
.
C
o
u
n
te
r
b
Y
o
s
em
i
te
1
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4 . 2 . 3. Cl ip
end
of foot
loop/ches t
harness e tc .
to
bot tom of locking ascender
pass
down th
r ough karabiner
(pu l ley
be t t e r ) on weighted
inve r ted ascender and
back up .
4 . 2 . 4 . P u l l a n foot laop
or
load
i s theo re t i c a l ly
halved .
lowe r ascender w i l l s l ide down
repeated .
a t t ach to harness
and do squa t t ing
lift .
Pu l l s lack
rope through
locking ascender .
a f t e r each lift i f
weighted
and
t he cyc l e
he
he
4 . 2 . 5 . COmment .
Sui t ab le
to gain
i n i t i a l
s lack before
changing
to a b e t t e r
system
.
Longer
haul ing
i s
poss ib le ,
but
t ed ious .
4 . 3 . Counterbalance
Li f t
Yosemite Li f t ) Fig . 9) .
4 . 3 . 1 .
c l i p your
shor t cows ta il in to
the
karabiner holding
the rope
.
4 . 3 . 2 . Fix an inver ted ascender below the knot
wi th two karab ine rs
l inked
to
the loop of the belay.
4.3 . 3 . Cl ip a karabiner and pu l l ey i f ava i lab le ) i n to the lower hole of the
lock i
n g ascender .
4 . 3 . 4 . Put the foo t ascender on the rope upside down, with the foo t
loop
running over
the
pul ley (karabiner) of
the locking
ascender .
4 .
3 .5
.
Standing
in the
fco t loop wi th
your fu l l
weight
, while p
u l l i ng
upwards
on the l owe r
ascender
much eas i e r with a
handled
ascender)
w i l l
lift the
v i c t i m.
Slack
rope i s
then pul led
through
the lacking
ascender .
4 .3 . 6 . Comment . This method i s the most
su i t ab l e
for
haUling
as
it
i s
simple and
l e s s s t renuous. t
can be done from a
ledge or hanging
by a cows ta i l ,
which i nc iden ta l ly i s a sure way
of
put t ing
a l l
your
weight
on t o the footlOOp.
4 .4 . Lif t ing
the
Vict im
of f
the
Rope
a t
the
Pi t ch Head
4 . 4 . 1. Cl ip the vic t im s
long
cowsta i l i n t o the
t raverse
rope a t
the f i r s t
oppor tuni ty .
4 .4 . 2 . Using
the
counterbalance
method, Cl ip
your
fco t loop
in to h i s
cen t r a l
mail I on
and
s t ep down
to
lift
him a little , while you open the cam of t he
locking ascender .
4 . 4 . 3 . Lower
him
u n t i l his weight i s on the
long
cowsta i l , t h i s may t ake
more
than one l owering cycle .
4 .4 .4 . Once he
i s
f r ee o f the rope . how you get him in to a
on the s i tua t ion .
You can
s l i de him
along
the
t raverse rope
below to haul him
or
j u s t grab hold
and
heave - but
make sure
fas tened on yourse l f .
safe
place depends
use the
rope
from
you
are secure ly
4 . 5 . In termedia te Belar Poin t s
I f you are haul ing , it 1S poss ib le to haul
from
the in te rmedia te belay above
the vic t im . Remember t o a t t ach your ches t ascender by a karabiner t o the cen t r a l
mail lon , then you
can
remove it eas i l y
while
hanging on the
cowsta i l .
Using the
counterbalance method,
lift
the vic t im
l eve l
with the belay .
4 . 5.1 .
Cl ip
your foot laop in to
his
cen t r a l
mail lon and
lift
him
as h igh as
poSsible .
4 . 5 . 2 . Fasten
the v i c t im 'S
foo t
ascender
onto the
rope
.
as h igh as
poss ible
above the rebelay .
4 . 5 . 3. Stand on
your
foot loop su f f i c i e n t ly to a l low you to
open
the cam on
the locking ascender .
4.5 . 4. Lower him down u n t i l he i s
hanging
by the sa fe ty
rope o f
hi s foot
ascender . I f
there i s
a l o t of rope above the rebelay ,you may have
to
r epea t
the lowering cyc le t o get
r i d
of the
s t r e t ch
.
4 .5 .5 .
The
vic t im i s f ree
o f the lower sec t ion of rope .
C l i p h i s
cowsta i l
i n t o the belay , before removing
h i s
ches t ascender and
t r an s f e r r i ng
it
to the
upper rope . Unfasten the rebelay .
Trans fe r
the vic t im s weight back
to
his
ches t
ascender
so
t ha t
the foot
ascender
can
be
used
l a t e r
.
4.5 . 6 .
Put
your own ascenders on the rope between h i s ascenders .
4 . 5 . 7 .
Run
the foot loop from
hi s
cen t ra l maillon over h i s foo t
ascender
karabi
n
e r l i ke
a pul ley
to your foo t .
4 . 5 . 8 . Step in the loop to lift him, so t ha t h i s weight i s t r ans fe r red to
the
ches t ascender .
4.5 .9 . Comment.
long
t ime.
This technique makes such a lift poss ib le , but it t akes a
5. H ULING WITH THE
M IN ROPE IN A Z - RIG
The Z- r i g can be assembled once
s l ack
rope i s
ava i l ab le
, us ing
any
of the
hau l ing
methods
4 . 1 , 4.2
o r
4 . 3 above. 311
Advantage) Fig
. 10) .
5 . 1 . The ches t ascender
i s
used as the locking ascender
and i s
c l ipped
in to
the l
oop
of the belay , with two karab ine rs .
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F
i
g .
1
0
Z
r
ig
.
F
ig
.
l
l .
Z
r i
g
.
\
•
Fi
g;
1
2 . 1
F
l
g
1
2
.
S
t
a
g
es
fo
r
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5 . 2 . A pul ley
i s
c l ipped to the belay karabiner , the
s l ack
rope fed over
the
pul ley
and
down to the
inve r ted ascender
to complete the
Z-r ig .
A pul ley
wheel on a karabiner i s adequate for the
lower
ascender .
In
orde r t o preven t
the locking
ascender from r i s i ng
with
each
lift
,
c l i p
your
foot loop i n t o
the
lower hole and s tand on it .
The
moving ascender w i l l s l i d e back down
a f t e r
each
lift i f weighted.
5 .3 . A s imi la r but Sl i gh t l y
be t t e r
system i s to put a
pul ley-jammer un i t ,
ra ther
than
j u s t
a
pul ley
i n t o
the be lay karabiner
5.2)
above
.
Fig . 11) .
This need s a t h i rd ascender o r
prus ik
loop to lift the loaded
rope, while the
cam
i s opened
on the locking asce
nd
e r
to
t r ans f e r the weight
to
the pul ley
jammer .
The
l ocking
ascender
i s
then
f r ee
to complete
the z - r ig . Of course
i f
the rope
i s Slack to
s t a r t with .
assembly
of the
z - r i g Fig .
11)
i s easy,
and
only needs two ascenders .
5 .4
. Marbach and
Rocourt
descr ibe how t o put a
pul ley jammer
on a t au t
rope.
Figs .
12
. 1 , 12 . 2 , 1 2 . 3 ) .
5 . 4 .1 . The pul ley and jammer are put on the rope
with
a cowsta i l c l ipped
below them to s t op them Sl id ing down .
t
i s very d i f f i c u l t t o get the karabiner
through both
holes
of ascender
and pul ley . You
may
end up with the
karabiner
throug
h only th ree of the four holes - be ca re fu l not to
drop
anything
Fig.
1 2 1 ~
5 . 4 .2 .
The foot
loop i s fas tened
to the
inve r ted
jammer.
fed
over
a
karabiner
a t tached
to
the
belay
karabiner .
5 .4 . 3 .
Stand
up in
the
foot loop and p u l l a n the inve r ted
ascender
as a
cou
nte r -ba l
an
ce
to lift the
loaded rope
as
method 4 .3 . ,
F ig
.
9) .
5 .4 .4
. Cl i p
toge ther the pUlley-jammer
assembly i f
not al ready done) and
a t tach to
the
loop of
the
belay
with
an
ex t r a
karabiner Fig . 12 .
2)
.
5 .4 . 5 .
Repeat the
cycle u n t i l
you
have
su f f i c i en t rope
to use the Z -r i g Plg .
12.3)
5 .5 . Comment . The
Z-r ig
i s qu i te e f f i c i e n t , but still not easy enough to
contemplat
e haul ing very
fa r
by yourse l f .
I f you
have abse i l ed of f i n i t i a l l y ,
it can be assembled eas i l y on a s l ack rope
and
with
two
or more people
can
e
used as a means of evacuat ing
the
vic t im .
Handled
ascenders
a id
haul ing on
the f r ee rope.
6. COUNTERB L NCE WITH PULLEY-JAMMER
This i s a
very
e f f i c i e n t , not very s t renuous
haUling method,
su i t ab l e
for
evacua tin g a vic t im from the
bot tom
of the pi tch Fig .
13)
. Three ascenders
are required, but one can be
taken from
the vic t im . The rope i s t i ed
d i r ec t l y
to
the
vic t im
a t
the
bottom
.
t
then
passes
over
a
pul ley
jammer a t
the
p i t
c h
head. Put both your ascenders on the
rope
for
normal
prusik ing a t the
ascender
s ide o f the pUlley. L i f t
up
on the
loaded
rope a nd you w i l l descend
as your
weight counterbalances
the v ic t im .
You have
two cho ices
6.1.
Continue
to
descend u n t i l
you meet the vic t im hal f way
up.
a t t ach
the two long cowsta i l s . Prus ik
up
the rope u n t i l the cowsta i l
i s
t i g h t , sit
down
and
lift on
the vic t im
s
rope . He
w i l l r i s e a s you descend . Repeat the
cycle u n t i l he i s a t the
top
.
6 .2 . Attach a long cowsta i l
to
the main belay
and
descend/prusik e tc .
u n t i l he i s a t the top .
You
wi l l have prus iked twice the pi tch l ength .
l i f t i n g
the
di f fe rence in weight
pluS f r i c t io n .
6 .3 . Comment. The rope
and
belay point must be good . The
techn ique wi l l
work
qu i t e
e f f ec t i ve ly with
peop
l e of
di f fe r ing
weights . The system
works
with j u s t a pul ley a t the top , hut
can cause
problems when
you
ge t o f f a t
the
pi tch
head.
An
addi t iona l
haUling rope
o r
l i f e
l i ne w i l l
make
l i f t i n g
eas i e r
i f ex t r a ass i s tance
i s
ava i l ab l e .
7 . LOWERING
7 . 1 . Lowering from the
p i t ch
head
i s only poss ible
if an
ex t r a rope i s
ava i lab le Fig .
14) .
I f the rope
i s loaded
i n i t i a l l y .
it
i s necessary to haul
usin g one
of
the methods descr ibed , t o get
su f f i c i en t
s l ack t o unfas t en
or
cut
the
rope.
7 .
2. The rope
i s then jo ined t o the spare rope. which i s locked o t f
th
rough an
anchored
descender .
7 . 3.
To
t r an s f e r the load to -the descender . haul on the rope
again
and
r e lease
the cam
on
the locking
ascender . 00 t h i s reverse haul ing in
shor t
s tages
, u ntil the descender
i s
loaded .
7 .4 . The descender i s re leased
and
the
vic t im lowered .
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Fig 13
Counterbalance
with
pul ley
jammer
A
f
Fig 14 Lowering
from
pi tch he
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i
\
Fig 15 Mid-rope lowering.
LO D
F19.16
. Bachmann
se l f -
locking knot.
LO D
Fi g .
17
. 1
s
_
7.
L oAI>
Fig.17 .
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CAVE
SCIENCE
T r ans . Br i t i s h Cave Research Assoc ia t ion Vol . 10 , N o . 1 pp. 21 -
29
.
ALKALINITY
, ITS MEANING AND MEASUREMENT
L .
Rose
March
1983
I t i s argued that
the
alkal in i ty concept
has
recently
been downgraded.
The
meaning
of
a l kal in i ty
i s
discussed,
including
the
defin i t ion
that
it
i s
only
a
measure
of
how
much CaC03 and MgC 3 has been dissolved. I t can be determined accurately by means
of
a
blanked
t i t rat ion. In
the
experimental part,
the
standard deviation
of such
t i t rat ions
is measured y
repeated
blind
t i t ra t ions . TWo
proofs are given
that blanking
corrects for overshoot in
the
main t i t ra t ion . The
old
bel ief that CO2 causes
error
i s
discarded
.
Ways
in
which
alkal ini ty
can be
used in
speleo1ogy are
described .
Re t u r n i ng to water chemist ry in my 70th year . and a f te r a gap o f 30
years ,
I
f i
n d a remarkable
change in the
s t a t us of
a lka l in i ty
and
i t s measurement
.
I n
1940
and e a r l i e r we
were conf iden t
t h a t
a lka l in i ty was
a per f ec t l y
s t r a i g h t
forward concept , measured to a h igh prec i s ion and accuracy .
We measured
it on
every
samp
l e
of water .
so
fundamental
was
it
to
us
.
Today
it
i s
no t
so
rega
r
ded
,
o r
no t so
un ive rsa l ly regarded. Today s workers seem mainly to use
it
for
cor re la t ions with
i tems
l i k e
[ ~
o r pH . and do no t va lue it
for i t s own
sake
. Th
ey have changed the method of es t imat ion
and in
consequence appear to
have in t roduced
e r r o r s .
I cannot avoid the impression t ha t
many
workers are
not
as fami l ia r
with
a lka l in i ty as
I and my genera t ion
were
.
I p ropose
to redescr ibe
a lka l in i ty and
i t s measurement.
with the
aim
of
r es to ri
ng
the
esteem it
once had
. I s ha l l
demonstrate i t s
prec i s ion ,
and by
u s i n g two
methods
, one of
which
1 devised 38 years ago . I sha l l prove t h a t the
resu
l t s a r e very
accura te . These
same
proofs a l so dispose of
a common b e l i e f
t ha t the method I
descr ibe
suf fer s from e r r o r s in t roduced i n to
the
sys tem
by
C02
' e r r o r s t ha t
depend on
Tota l
C02
Now to the
meaning
of a lka l in i ty : it
was
a measure of t i t r a t a b l e
base
con ten t
,
spec i f i ca l ly the sum
of
a l l e n t i t i e s ( ions
and molecules) t ha t can be
t i t r a t e d with s tandard ac id , then 0 . 1 N HZS0
4
.
t
waS ca r r i ed
ou t
on 500 ml
of water using
Methyl Orange
as
ind ica tor .
and
was
charac te r i sed
in
t ha t
a
second t i t r a t i o n
( the
blank)
was ca r r i ed out subsequent ly on d i s t i l l e d water
in a
prec ise ly matching way
. The e f f ec t i ve t i t r a t i o n
i s the first t i t r a t i o n
minus the
second t i t r a t i o n
. For 500 ml Samples . 10 t imes the blanked t i t r a t i o n
i s
the a lka l i n i t y in p . p .
m.,
as
CaC0
3
, o r M x 10-
5
. This un i t M x 1 0-
5
i s
the
modern
equ iva len t of the prewar
p . p . m.
as CaC03
'
Ful l
d e t a i l s
are in the
Appe n dix . bu t
the
ac id
i s
0.1 M HCl today .
In 1940
we
did
no t
know a l l the minor components ca lcu la ted
by
P ic k n e t t (1973)
for
c a l c i t e so lu t ions . but we
knew
accura te ly the
quan t i ty
of s t andard ac id it
would take to reac t
with them a l l .
We fu r the r
be l ieved t ha t
the r e su l t was
independent
o f
a l l
CO
2
- r e l a t ed
e q u i l i b r i a in the water . I have no means o f
knowing what spe leo log is t s be l ieve
about t h i s today. but i f I may
genera l i se
from a
few
to
whom I
have submit ted my view, t h i s i s the nub of the mat te r .
They
t e l l me t h a t
Alka l in i ty i s
involved in the
dynamic
e q u i l i b r i a
among
a
number of i on ic and molecular
reac t ions
.
In
f ac t .
the
connect ion
i s
t enuous .
Unless
changes
in
equ i l ib r ium
r e s u l t in pr ec i p i t a t i on
of CaC03
,
o r
in
more
l imes tone d i sso lv ing . a lka l in i ty
i s
unchanged . The desc r ip t ive term
for
t h i s
i s
conse r
va t ive
.
A lk a l in i t y i s
a conserva t ive
quan t i ty .
and in t h i s
ph raseOlogy it
i s
in t roduced in
Stumm
and Morgan (1970 , p . 129).
I
quote from my
own
war
-
t ime l e c tu r e
notes
to t e x t i l e s tuden ts l
S .
B.V
. •
t ha t
i s
a lka l in i ty .
i s
a German concept of acid-combining power . and
it
i s no t
a f fec ted by CO
2
exchange per
s e .
I f
C02 i s l o s t o r gained.
a l k a l i n i t y
remains
untouched
.
Only
i f CaC03
pr ec i p i t a t e s
does the a lka l in i ty dec l ine . and even
then only i f CaC03 i s
l o s t
to
the
sample. s ince
s o l i d
caC03 and
CaC03
in
C02
Solu t ion have equal
t i t r a t i o n
. t
the re fo re
fol lows t ha t a sample of water
has
i t s
a lka l in i ty
preserved
i nde f i n i t e l y i f the
requi red
water
i s measured
out
i n the
f i e ld
,
provided it i s subsequent ly t i t r a t e d in t h a t
same
b o t t l e
.
Compare t h i s with the fOllowing a l k a l i n i t y has seve ra l sources of
e r ro r .
The
t r ue end-po in t
v a r i e s Sl i gh t l y with the t o t a l O ~
con ten t .
(Hackereth
e t
a l
••
p .
52
.
1978)
.
t
i s
no t
t rue
for
the
a lka l in1 ty
I
desc r ibe
.
and
I
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thought
t h i s
idea had
been
abandoned
35 yearS
ago . We then had a d i ctum l
Alkal in i ty i s not af fec ted by the addi t ion or
subt rac tion
of CO
2
in any
qua n t i t y .
Studen t s
were q u i t e
f ami l i a
r with these ideas .
They
were
r equ i r ed
to show
in
prac t i ca l c l asses t ha t bo i l i ng a
water con ta in ing
temporary
hardness (d r iv ing of f C0 2 '
p r e c i p i t a t i n g
CaCo) left
the
a l k a l i n i t y
unaf fec ted .
To us
, a l k a l i n i t y was
no more
, and no l e s s than a n ac id
t i t r a t i o n
o f the
CaCO) and MgC03 d i sso lved . We demonst ra ted t h i s 250
mil l ig rammes o f pure CaC03
' suspended
in water and d is so lved
by C02
a t
a
Kipps Appara tus , waS made up
to 1 litre. 500
ml o f
t h i s had a t i t r a t i o n
(b lanked)
o f
25.0
ml,
and
an a l k a l i n i t y
o f
250
p . p . m.
as
CaCO)
.
i f
the
caco) was pure enough
. A
t i t r a t i o n
o f
24.9 vas usual in c l a s s
vork
.
A cur ious wordin g i s somet imes used as a vay o f r e ga rd ing a lka l i n i t y ,
t ha t to me betokens
confus ion
somevhere . A l ka l i n i t y i s c a l l e d an
o p e ra t i o
n a l
q u a n t i t y (Mackere th
e t
a l .
1978,
p . 20 and p .50) , whereas ca lc ium i s c a l l ed an
a na l y t i c a l
quant i ty . I w i l l
no t
t r y to
d iscus s the
d i s t i n c t i o n ,
but
I
s imply
s t a t e
t h a t
a l k a l in i t y and
Ca
s t a n d par i passu
. Both
o f them
a re
the
r e s u l t
s
of ana lyses ; bo th a re the
sums
o f component
spec i es . I f
we
r e f e r
to
p i c k n e t t (1973) Table 5 we see
t h a t
,
quan t i t a t i ve l y ,
the
fo l l ow ing
r e l a t i o n
Ships
in
mil l imo les ho ld :
G a Total]
:
e
2
•J
•
~ a H - C 0 3 ]
•
[ e a ~ 3
J
5 .
00
:
4.73
•
0 . 226
•
0 . 04
In t h a t Same Table we
a l s o see
t h a t
-
E l k
T o t a j
•
.
G e 6 ~
•
~ o 3 ]
•
.
Ga-+HcoJ
•
~ a ~ J
:
4 .845
•
0 . 0021
•
0 .1 1 3
-
0 .04
:
5.00
In o t h e r wordS, fo r
t h i s s o l u t i on , {£:aJ
= [ b l ~ Thi s
i den t i t y i s
no t
genera l ly t rue in ka r s t
waters
,
but
it
i s a lways
t rue
fo r
a l l
s o l u t i o n s of
c a l c i t e in C02 wate r . The i d e n t i t y i s a use fu l
way
o f proving
the
accuracy o f
an
a l k a l i n i t y r r ~ a s u r e r n e n t by checking it aga ins t a
ca lc ium ana lys i s on
a
c a l c i t e
s o l u t i on .
It might he lp
usRto
~ c a l l
a l l t h i s if
we t h ink of t o t a l ca lc ium as [
~ C a
]
and
a l k a l i n i t y
as
~ AIJ:tl. Chemists
vill no te
t h a t by pu t t i ng 1}.1Jil in
Square bracke t s , 1 1mply a molar i ty . Thi s i s indeed
intended
. It i s the
number
of gramme
moles
o f c a rbona t e (ca lc ium and magnesium c a rbona t e ) d is so lved
per
litre
from the l imes tone. o ~ people measure
it
i n equ iva l en t s today
( HC0
3
.. 2 C0
2
) - Ca-+HC03 -
2CaC03
) , and t h i s o f
cou
r
se
is
va l i d
.
But it
i s in the h i g h e s t degree convenient to have Alk. and Ca and Mg a l l
in the
Same
mode , and s ince ve use
molar
mode fo r
the
meta l s it should be
molar
mode fo r
a l k a l i n i ty .
Thi s
i s
the
r e a l
reason fo r the
t r a d i t i o n a l
use o f
500
ml
r a t he r
than 1 litre fo r
a l k a l i n i t y
ana lys i s .
On the
s ub j e c t
o f mo l a r i t i e s in wa te r chemis t ry
I
wOUldSlike to be a l loved
a
smal l
d ig ress ion
.
S c i e n t i s t s
today
o f t e n
equa te
1 x 1
0 -
M
with
1 .
00089
mil1igramme
o f CaC03 per litre
(p
. p . m.
CaC03)
' Qui te so , bu t
no one
I have
found
r e a l i s e s t h a t
p.p .m. a s
CaC03 (which
they
misquote
as
p
.p
. m. CaC03) does
no t
mean
pa r t s
per
mi l l ion
CaC03
o r even CaC0
3
equ iva l en t .
The
u n i t p .
p.m.
as CaC03
'
in its prewar
def in i t10n i s
in
M x
10 -
5
un i t s p r e c i s e l y . We used it
to
r e f e r to Ca. to Mg, f o r
bo th
t oge the r ,
fo r
a lka l i n i t y a n d
fo
r f r e e C0 2 '
pending
the day
when
we
a l l
r e t u rn
to
molar i ty ve
have to know
the fO l low ing l -
I m e q/ l i t r e
=
50 p . p . m.
as CaC03 =
50 x
1 0 ~ =
0 . mM
= 50.045 p . p.m. CaC03 '
As
I have
a l r eady
sa id , t oday ' s
a l k a l i n i t i e s
a re i n e r r o r because
the method
has
been
changed . The o ld method used a blanking procedure . I do no t know
who invented a l k a l i n i t y
blanks
, as
it
was
befo re
my t ime
in
i ndu s t ry ,
but ve
can e a s i l y fo l low h i s l i n e
o f l og i c
. Prewar
water chemis t s knev
t h a t C02
in
any
concen t ra t ion met a t a l k a l i n i t y end-po in t s
does
no t t u rn the Methyl Orange
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indicato r . So when in
an
a lka l in i ty t e s t the indicator
tu r r s ,
t
i s
qui te
ce r t a in the t i t r a t ion i s
overshot.
But by how much? The quest ion vas
answered by some Cl ea r - thinking individual who argued tha t pa r t
of
the
overshoot invo l ves the use of acid
to
br ing
pure
water to the end-point . and
par t
to t i t r a t e the ind ica to r i t s e l f . So
the proposa l
was made to
ca r ry ou t
a b l ank , using the Same
amount
of
ind ica tor
on
pure water of the same volume
as
the
sample
. This blank. would be sub t racted from the
main
t i t r a t ion to
yie l d the
t rue
alkal in i ty t i t r a t ion . Blanks
vary
with the
indicator .
For
l ,et) :y l Orrttige
over my
worlring 1i£e I
have found the
blank
to be
bet\olE f r.
0 .
35
-
0.50
mI
. ,
i . e
. 3 . 5
to
5.0
p .
p.ro
.
as
CaC03
Today,
with
newer
indicators
i t
i s
d i
f fe r ent .
For
example, with
BDH
4.5 t s 1 . 2-2.5 p . p .m as CaC0
3
•
I p
uzzle
over why blanked
t i t r a t i ons
seerr. to
have been
forgot ten or
decisive
l y rejected . I t cannot
be
regarded as too onerous,
as
the extra work
is
t r i f l ing . I
think
t
has
to do with
the regrowth of an idea,
ll - founded
as I be l ieve t to
be, tha t di rect t i t r a t ions
to
fixed
end - points are
necessa
r i
ly prone to a CO
2
- induced error .
an
error related to to ta l C02 content
of the
water
. This idea (regarded as a reason for condemning the old t i t r a t ion)
has r eceived great support from the
emergence
of a standard
method (anon,
1960,
Go l terman e t a l . , 1978)
1n
Which the t i t r a t ion
i s
taken to
an
end-point
that
var ies with
to ta l
CO? The pH of t h i s en d - point
i s
discovered from a pr ior
rough
analysis with 1ndica tor to
determine
the
approximate alkal in i ty ,
thence
to the approximate
to ta l
C02
thence to a pH equal to that of the C02 in
water
a t
the re levant temperature . A
t i t r a t ion
to t h i s pH then yieldS
the t rue
alka
l in i ty . I have used t h i s method. and t
yieldS
almost exact ly the Same
answer
as
by
my
method
. I
think
t is
soundly based
in
th ,ory ,
but very
di f f i cu l t to apply .
I t
depends
on being
able to
complete
the t i t r a t ion with
near
-
zero
loss of CO
2
, This can be
achieved
with some diff iCUlty in a laboratory ,
but
is
of no i n t e res t for f ie ld
use
.
There
i s such
a thing
as
CO
2
var iab i l i ty ,
but t
i s wrong
to aSSume t appl ies
everywhere . I t does
not
occur in my alkal in i ty methodl I
proved
t h i s in 1941
on
the f i r s t occasion the C02
myth
arose. I t seems i t haS
to
be proved again.
So
much
is
the C02
myth evident that
I
have
jus t a s ingle reference to
suppor t my viewpoint . With (for me) perfect
t iming
t appeared as t h i s was
being writ ten .
Sutcl i f fe
e t
al .
(1982)
plo t alkal in i ty
by
two
methods against
each other , one a
di rect
t i t r a t ion (no
blank)
to pH 4 . 5 using BOR 4 . 5 ind ica tor ,
the othe r a Gran
t i t r a t ion r esu l t , each pair
on the
same sample. The
Gr
an
p lo t
(TaIl ing, 1973)
i s
a laboratory-based
electrochemical
method for
a lka l in i t i e s
,
regarded
by those experienced
in i t
( the wri te r
included) to
be
highly accurate .
A
plot
of
145
pai rs
shows
the
Gran
f igures
below
the
BOR
4 . 5 figures
by
19.9-22.1 micro - equivalents per
l i t r e . systemat ical ly
and qui te independently
of
the
alkal in i ty
value.
But C02 error cannot possibly be the cause
of
t h i s
20 micro - equivalents discrepancy . I f CO
2
inf luences the
end-point
of
BDH
4.5
t i t r a t ion . t must
have
Sl ight ly
taken
tne place
of
HCl which would otherwise
have had to be used. In other words C02 er rors are negat ive, i f present
a t
a l l .
There i s no way
in which
co
2
- er ror
can make a
BDR
4 . 5
ind ica tor end-point
20 micro -
equivalents
per l i£ re more than the t rue value . But the need for a
blank can and does so.
Under
the condit ions used for t h i s
BDH 4.5 t i t r a t ion .
the blank value i s 0 . 11
m1
, or 1 .1 x 10