Scouts and Caving, Pt. 2

Part 2 of the treatise. Please read Pt. 1 if you haven't already done
so.

For the cavers:
As I've said before, the requests to take Scout groups caving are not going to g
o away. I do know that
some cavers simply will not, under any circumstances, take a youth group, or ev
en any other
non-caver group underground. In this case, you're wasting your time reading thi
s, it won't change
your mind, no matter what your reasons for your decision: liability concerns, co
ncern for the caves'
well-being, lack of equipment to loan, etc. Nor am I going to encourage groups t
o contact you, or even
suggest that you take them caving. What I do ask, is that you at least consider
the possibility, for
reasons I'll set out later.

Not all Scoutmasters are enemies. If you read the section intended for them, you
'll see some of the
reasons why caving is such an attractive activity, and where many of them are c
oming from when
they contact you and ask for a caving trip. Most all of them are looking for an
activity that is both
educational, challenging, and exciting. Their motives are 99.9% pure: they're tr
ying to fulfill their
commitment to Scouting by providing the best possible program for young boys to
grow into young
men.

Some of the reasons we as cavers should consider fulfilling at least some of the
many requests to go
caving are these:
1. We are, on the whole, better educated about caves, and therefore better able
to teach the
conservation and safety aspects to novices in a convincing way.
2. We have knowledge as to which caves can safely be visited by various groups,
and we keep up
with landowner status regarding by whom, and when their caves may be visited.
3. We have the resources available to teach the general public about caves and
cave resources, and
dispel some of the myths about caves and caving (and bats, too).
4. We will undoubtedly have to rescue at least some of the people we refuse (no
t that we should
accept any and all requests). Some bull-headed people never learn, and will try
to go on their own,
without any preparation, and there's nothing we can do about it.

Probably the best way to explain this topic is to use our grotto's method of acc
ommodating requests
to go caving (by any group, by the way, not just Scouts). First, we
DO NOT solicit trips, we get enough trip requests without looking for themWe hav
e had an
Education Committee for
many years to handle the requests, from initial contact, until the trip comes o
ff. They also arrange
public demonstrations, and schedule our grotto display for outdoor shows, and o
ther public events,
such as Earth Day. We are _not_ soliciting new cavers, we are merely educating
the public about
caves and cave resources, and hoping to reel in the few that are really interes
ted in caving, and steer
them right from the beginning, as I was at 14 years old. Anyone who calls our o
ffice, or contacts any
member of the grotto about taking a group caving is put in touch with the Educa
tion Chairman. The
Chairman explains our policies about age and numbers limits, and a few other mi
nor things. They
also explain that for us to take them caving, we require an orientation by a gro
tto member about the
trip. Then, dates are negotiated. Then Chairman is responsible for finding a tr
ip leader (from a pool
of cavers who have indicated a willingness to take groups, and who, in many cas
es, go out with more
experienced trip leaders to learn cave routes, and techniques for dealing with t
he groups). Usually, a
new leader will go on a trip as an "assistant leader" to get used to working wi
th crews of non-cavers.

We require an orientation meeting or two, especially with youth groups. We have
developed a
scripted slide show that any member can present to a group with only a little p
reparation. It covers
everything from how caves are formed, conservation of resources and why, what f
ormations are,
biota, and the human history of cave exploration. It takes 45 minutes to an hou
r to present. Then,
we go over cave safety, more conservation, and give out an equipment list. Every
item is required to
be supplied by the participants: proper clothing, extra lighting, food, water,
extra light sources, and
batteries. We, as a grotto, supply helmets with mounted electric light sources.
We are not afraid to
refuse to take someone underground who shows up ill-prepared for the trip. SAFE
TY COMES
FIRST!!! This orientation usually takes about 30-45 minutes, which is why we us
ually take up two
Scout meetings. It also provides a different program for the Scoutmaster for 2
weeks. We never
supply maps, directions to caves, or other information directly to group leader
s. If they make a map
to the cave as they drive, there's nothing we can do about that. Hopefully, the
orientation teaches
them that you must have more than just a map to the cave to cave safely.

We limit trips to one per group per year, at the minimum. Usually, we won't take
Scout troops more
than once for several years. Participants with Scout troops must be 14 or older
, and _we_ require
First Class rank. The rank requirement weeds out slackers who don't participate
in the Scouting
program except when it is "exciting". You get a better bunch of kids this way.
The troop must supply
two leaders to go underground. That way, if there is an accident, the Scout lea
ders can deal with the
boys, and the cavers can deal with the emergency. We take a minimum of two cav
ers, which is why
we occasionally stretch the group limit to 14 total - 2 cavers, 2 Scout leaders,
10 Scouts. We do not
camp underground. Our trips stress safety, conservation of cave resources, and
education about the
cave. If it's exciting, too, great. Usually, they boys are so
engrossed with the formations and other
pretties, or so busy slogging through whatever fun the leader has found now - a
nice mud crawl, or
a belly crawl through a stream, that they are having fun, whether they realize
it or not!

Picking the proper cave can be a chore. It's a good idea to pick something with
relatively large passages
that a group can move through fairly easily. Tight crawls slow _everything_ to
a crawl, and the guys
in back get cold and anxious waiting their turn in the barrel. The cave should
_not_ be vertical at all.
Some low exposure is OK, but avoid slippery ledges that pitch off into a bottom
less chasm.
Remember, these guys don't have the cave savvy that we cavers have to move easi
ly over the tough
stuff. Belays really aren't much good with an inexperienced group unless you ar
e going to take the
time to rig them properly, and supervise the crossing of the heights. It's easy
and safer to find
another route with less danger. Excitement doesn't necessarily have to mean dan
gerous places where
sure injury or death can occur on a misstep. See my description of "simple novi
ce activities" in the
Scoutmasters' section of this paper for further guidance. Base your selection on
your best judgment
of the groups' capabilities and desires.

What about liability? That's a question best left for the lawyers, but this is w
hat little I know about
it. If you do not accept money to take someone caving (and we do not even solic
it a "maintenance
donation" for helmet use), you're only liable in cases of negligence, i.e., whe
re you go off and leave
the group behind, or quit supervising them, or take them somewhere they clearly
don't belong (like
the edge of a 200 drop without vertical gear and training).** Of course, anyone
can sue for anything,
and if little Johnny gets hurt underground on your trip, someone will probably s
ue you for it. Proper
safety training can go a long way towards alleviating that risk: witness our gr
otto's perfect safety
record (and mine, too). You can't ignore, or duck all risk, just taking a group
underground is risky,
and if you aren't comfortable leading groups because of this, by all means expla
in this to a
Scoutmaster. If you are a registered Scout leader, working within your training
and experience, and
within National BSA safety standards, they will help defend you, unless it is c
learly negligence or
worse. Get yourself a copy of the Guide to Safe Scouting from a local Scout Ser
vice Center, along
with a copy of the Venture Scout pamphlet Caving, and the Scout Fieldbook, both
of which have
sections on caving in them. Also, get the NSS guidelines. You'll know the rules
, and if nothing else,
you can fend off the Scoutmaster who insists on taking the 11 year old muchkins
along with you on
the trip. Our grotto has helmet users sign a liability waiver, but no state all
ows you to sign away
your right to sue. The waiver basically says that caving can be hazardous, and
the participant assumes
these risks. The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) has an assumption of
risk form -
unlike a liability waiver, it spells out in plain English the risks associated
with outdoor adventure
programs, and tells participants they must take responsibility for their action
s in the activities they
engage in. They will be happy to send you a copy if you request it.
Whether a judge will throw out a suit against a leader if the plaintiff has sign
ed such a form remains
to be seen. So, there is a risk involved in taking other groups caving, you can
't avoid it. It is a
consideration.
**Like I said, I'm not a lawyer, if you are really concerned about this, contact
a liability or personal
injury lawyer for more details. The liability lawyer will give you the case law
, the P.I. lawyer will
tell you he'll sue no matter what the merit of the case - you have to balance t
he two.

If you've made up your mind that neither you, or your grotto will take non-cavin
g groups
underground, at least use a little tact when turning down Scoutmasters or other
group leaders. Part
of the friction between the groups stems from Scoutmasters insisting that they s
hould be taken no
matter what, or the cavers insisting they won't with no further information. At
least return the call, or
send a form letter."We regret to inform you that we do not take outside groups
caving
because.blah, blah, blah". Then, maybe the hostility will not turn into an alt.
caving or rec.scouting
shouting match. If you won't do it, explain why. A simple courtesy call saying
"we're afraid of
being sued" at least does not promote the idea that we are "elitists" of some s
ort.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Cavers and Scouters can co-exist. As with any outdoor adventure sport, it will c
ontinue to grow.
Scoutmasters can try to understand cavers' fears of too many people heading unde
rground, and cavers
can try to understand a Scoutmaster's desire to provide a vibrant, exciting pro
gram to his troop.
Working together, cavers can tap a huge reserve of conservation-minded folks lik
e themselves to help
spread the word about caving and the natural resources associated with caves. S
cout leaders can find
a whole new adventure just waiting for his charges to learn about and try out a
s a new learning
experience. Let's just douse the sparks, and keep the lines of communications o
pen.

For more information:
Your local Scout Service Center
The National Speleological Society, Cave Ave., Huntsville, AL
The NSS Home Page: http://www.caves.org/
My home page, with links to other caving and Scouting resources on the
web: http://www.infi.net/~jgmurphy/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
written by:
Tray Murphy
Scoutmaster, Troop 891, Bon Air, VA
Richmond Area Speleological Society, Richmond, VA
National Speleological Society, NSS#29211 Life member
jgmurphy@richmond.infi.net
http://www.infi.net/~jgmurphy/

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