Vermont finally comes alive with a cave rescue

[Ernie Coffman]

Not to be outdone with the rescue going on across the pond, the state of Vermont has their own cave rescue, what with a young lady from Florida, falling approximately fifteen feet. On top of that the rescuers had to divert the stream that was flowing into the cave. See this link: http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... v=4QcSSxBo

[batrotter]

I'm glad that Vermont has something to talk about. Is it that boring there?

[Ralph E. Powers]

Not to be outdone with the rescue going on across the pond, the state of Vermont has their own cave rescue, what with a young lady from Florida, falling approximately fifteen feet. On top of that the rescuers had to divert the stream that was flowing into the cave. See this link: http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... v=4QcSSxBo

Glad to hear she's alright. What I'd like to know is how/why she fell?

[Ernie Coffman]

Ralph, here's a better explanation of why the sixteen year old slipped and fell deeper into the cave--must be shaped kind of like a bottle, with a narrow entrance and then it widens out for twenty feet or so. On top of that, it was quite muddy and slippery. I believe we've all had that problem, at times.
http://www.timesargus.com:80/apps/pbcs. ... 003/NEWS02

[Ralph E. Powers]

Ralph, here's a better explanation of why the sixteen year old slipped and fell deeper into the cave--must be shaped kind of like a bottle, with a narrow entrance and then it widens out for twenty feet or so. On top of that, it was quite muddy and slippery. I believe we've all had that problem, at times.
http://www.timesargus.com:80/apps/pbcs. ... 003/NEWS02

Wow, that read almost like a ACA report. Great reporting there. Thanks for the link.

[Bill Putnam]

I have been informed by local cavers that the correct name of the cave is "Falls Cliff Cave,", not "False Cliff Cave" as stated in some of the news reports. I have forwarded this information to the ACA editor. If anyone familiar with the incident is reading this forum, we would appreciate a more detailed report of the incident from a caver. The media reports are usually unreliable.

The ACA online report form is available at http://www.caves.org/pub/aca/acaform.html

[Ernie Coffman]

Hey there Bill! Is that "detailed," rather than "detained," or are you playing with the media names, also?

[Bill Putnam]

"Detailed." It's early here in Banff, and I hadn't finished my coffee.

[PYoungbaer]

Hi, Folks,

As one who participated in the rescue, the Times Argus story is very good. Steve Hazelton, who is quoted in the article, took the lead for the Vermont Cave Rescue Network. He has written a full report, which was the subject of a debriefing with the fire, police, caver, and camp personnel just this past Tuesday night. He will be posting a report on the Vermont Cavers Association webpage (http://www.vermontcavers.org), and will send a report to ACA. We are planning an Orientation to Cave Rescue weekend while interest is high among the agencies. Previous OCR's have not drawn as many surface agency folks as we would have liked, but this event has surely brought a focus to the need.

Peter Youngbaer, President, VCA NSS 16161