Lost River - Karst Information Portal

2007 NSS Convention Guidebook
without a safety sling
or a belay. As the last
man entering the pit,
it was my job to drop
a heavy metal plate
that was to be used as
a base for the pipes.
Once the rope was
secured out of the way
and everyone was in
the second dome I let
it go. It made a loud
“wop, wop” sound
that increased in
volume and pitch till
it rang the dome like
a bell. It was then that
I realized how deep
the pit was. Also, once
I was on rappel and
hanging free, a sudden
gust of air blew out my
carbide lamp. For a few
minutes I was alone in
the dark hanging on
rope spinning around
and bouncing up and
down. I finally found
my backup flashlight,
turned it on, and stuck
it in my mouth. There
were no walls to stop
the spin, no ceiling, no
floor, just me hanging
on this nylon rubber
band. I remember
trying to say “holy
something” a number
of times all the way to
the bottom.
60
Bill Greenwald rappelling off a small cliff in 1966 (note the use of a non-locking
carabiner with brake bars and a 1-inch webbing sling seat).