Gory Hole,
(Click to enlarge pictures)
I saw this classic while on a trip during Cave Capers
in 1991. Gory Hole is the deepest known (air-filled, there is a water-filled
shaft that is somewhat deeper) pit in Indiana at 137 feet from lip to floor and
was rarely accessible at the time. Here our party is loaded up for the trek to
the pit.
The march to the cave, single-file to be as gentle as possible to
the terrain.
Suiting up.
Coveralls (this is still a cave, after all, and rather chilly) sit harness,
chest harness, knee pads, ascending gear…stuff like this is tedious, but care
must always be taken; the smallest detail could mean the difference between a
safe descent and a quick plunge to the bottom.
The pit is carefully rigged with a couple of hundred
feet of PMI rope, then the line is tossed to the
bottom. Rope is surprisingly heavy and you don’t want to tote it yourself if
someone else is willing…
Here I am,
loaded and ready. I was using a modified “Mitchell” rig in those days, with a Jumar ascender for my favored side (right) and a Gibbs cam
on my trailing (left) foot. I found it a little more fluid than the standard
Mitchell and easier to use in tight quarters than a Gibbs “rope walker” system.
The Jumar handles are the yellow widgets at my chest
(run through a Gossett Ascender Block) and at my waist—that latter is the
spare/emergency ascender for when I needed to rest or if the worst case
scenario became reality. I think I still own all this stuff, but I haven't used
it in years.
Waiting
patiently (more or less) for my turn.
Starting down, steadying
myself on a convenient sapling.
At the
lip. Others are waiting so there's not a lot of time, but I take a last
check of the gear, sneak a quick look down…and then take that long, last step…
And finally, after a
glorious minute or two I am finally seated on the floor of Gory Hole. The
steamy stuff is ectoplasm, indicating that a ghost is about to materialize
beside me. No, really, it's just the accumulated perspiration of a bunch of
cavers condensing in the chilly, moist atmosphere. There were perhaps a dozen
of us in the pit at this point if I remember correctly. We took time to explore
a second chamber adjacent to the main pit room, and some did a climb up a
permanently rigged rope to an upper level. Me, I climbed back out…I had someone
waiting for me, after all…
…namely,
this lovely lady, to whom I would propose marriage by the end of the weekend.
She said yes! And she is still lovely all these years later.
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