Vertical Practice at Wissahickon Park 8_6_06

One of the advantages of belonging to a group like the Philadelphia Grotto and the National Speleological Society is that thousands of people over many decades have put a lot of effort into compiling and analyzing accidents and situations in order to learn and make recommendation on how to pursue caving as safely as possible. One of those recommendations is to regularly practice skills above ground in a controlled environment. This helps to teach the beginners and exchange ideas and practice new recommendations.

So, Sunday we went rappelling of the William Penn Statue. No, not the one on top of City Hall, the one in Wissahickon Park. Well, maybe not exactly off the statue, but the rock face it sits on.

The grotto's Safety Officer watched everyone like a hawk and no one was permitted to do anything stupid.

I had an opportunity to talk to folks who have similar equipment to mine and see what works and doesn't work for them, then try their techniques. I learned a lot from this. Even though I still have a healthy fear of heights, I'm learning to trust my equipment and my ability to use and maintain it. By the early afternoon I was bouncing down the wall and climbing back up with confidence.

This is a short drop of about 30 feet or less. A good place to try to gain some confidence. Now I've done a few short drops and I'm enjoying it. The experienced folks have picked out another spot for us to practice next. Three different drops. One 28 ft. drop to start off with. Another 50 ft. drop for warm up. Then a 100 ft. drop to give us a good feel of what we are capable of doing.

I don't have any pictures of this trip. I tried to take a couple, but, well, … my hands were full at the moment. I have a new respect and appreciation for those National Geographic photographers. Climbing and getting "the shot" is a lot harder than it looks.