CDS Workshop - FSS Vertical Workshop

One of the reasons for an early arrival on Saturday for the NSS Cave Diving Conference was to visit the FSS booth and sign up for the basic vertical workshop, which was held Sunday morning at Warren’s Cave. Brian Williams was the instructor, Andy Vinzant worked the belay, and Buford Pruitt gave much-needed advice to participants Marianne Gamble, Richard Wylde, Norm Blitch, Simon Richards and Donna Mitchell.

For the first hour, Brian discussed the gear, configurations, and how-tos. He and Andy demonstrated the skills on the 40-foot rope in a tree, and Brian gave a very realistic-looking demo of how easy it is to mess up a changeover. Then it was time for the students to harness up, grab an ascender and give it a go. With varying degrees of skill-level (not to mention lots of help from Brian!) we all managed climbs varying a few feet to the top of the tree.

We were all keen to test our newfound skills, so when Brian asked if we’d like to go for a short trip into Warren’s Cave there was no need for discussion.

Descending had been a breeze earlier, since it involved Andy lowering us via pulley from the tree, but this was going to be our first rappel, so all of us, with the exception of Marianne (who participated in the workshop as a refresher) and Norm (who opted to stay topside) were somewhat nervous. Whilst helping us strap ourselves to the rope Brian offered this advice on the figure eight, “Just place your right hand in back and use it to control your rate of decent…and don’t let go!” It was obvious what the result would be if we did!

Slowly but surely with Brian and Buford cheering and Andy poised on belay at the bottom to stop any free falls, we made our way down. Gaining confidence, we made the climb leading to the Cashew squeeze. Richard completed the climbs then was escorted back out of the cave by Brian — not for bad behavior, just a plane to catch. Not having brought knee pads, Marianne and Donna had the good sense not to crawl through the restrictions; Simon on the other hand (sans knee pads) along with Andy and Buford continued on a circuit to the Infernal Triangle and some upper passages in the Hawthorn Formation. Brian met up with the group again after getting Richard to the top and out of the cave and sang for us on the way to the exit. He’s a terrific caver but could stand a few voice lessons!

We all had an excellent time and look forward to more dry caving. Many thanks to the FSS for making us feel so welcome and comfortable: Brian, Andy, and Buford in particular.