Expedition preparation course (4 days)
Taught by Mark Dickey and Jessica van Oord.
- Dates
- 2-5 March 2023
- Course price
- 1500 ILS
- Down payment
- 300 ILS
The expedition preparation course of the Israeli Speleo School and the International Caving Academy is a practical, intensive course of four full days that is the opening shot of six months of preparation for a small group with high personal abilities and the ambition to enter the world league of caving: expeditions to the great caves.
At the end of the course each participant will be able to progress and become a valuable contributing member of an expedition, ready to work with advanced rope systems while handling the bags and expedition equipment required to explore caves 1000 m deep and more.
Registration depends on a down payment of 300 ILS.
Cancellation policy:
- Up to two weeks before the course: full refund
- Up to one week before: 50% refund
Course goals
- Optimization of SRT systems
- Assessing anchors
- Types and purposes of rigging
- Important knots and their uses
- Safety during rigging
- Equipment management and correct packing
- Expectations of expedition participants
- Correct handling of ropes
- Solving problems on the rope
Efficient SRT movement while:
- Building stations
- Passing knots
- Changes of direction
- Climbing a rope without equipment
- Traverse passages (sideways movement)
- Tensioned traverse passages
- Guided (secured) traverse passages
Participant requirements
Participants must have a full personal SRT kit and basic knowledge of vertical caves. This knowledge must include the ability to move on a rope with the frog method and to pass stations and knots at a reasonable speed. You must also know how to tie basic knots.
A condition for entering the course is passing a test that checks the above.
Registration
The cost of participation in the course is 1500 ILS, and registration depends on a down payment of 300 ILS.
For any question, contact the course coordinator, Yoav Negev.
The course is limited to 8 trainees in order to keep a trainee-to-instructor ratio of 1:2
Logistics
Participants are responsible for their own food, transport and accommodation
General schedule
The course takes place on 2-5 March, 2023.
Activity hours - 07:30 in the morning until the evening.
General curriculum
2 March
The course starts by making work in vertical caves efficient - maximizing movement efficiency and optimizing existing equipment. Participants will move along simple SRT routes as preparation for advanced rope work while carrying a load of a size similar to what they will carry on an expedition, focusing on efficiency of movement on the rope and reducing effort.
In the evening there will be a lecture on the requirements of expedition participants and on preparing for an expedition.
3 March
On the second day of the course participants will apply the material learned on the first day by moving on more complex SRT routes while managing the carrying of loads. Solutions to personal equipment failures will also be taught.
In an interactive lecture we will go over the basics of leading and opening an SRT route safely, with demonstrations and practice.
4 March
We will apply the principles of leading and opening an SRT route in a cave as a team that does this work at the start of an expedition into the depths, focusing on the criteria required to do this safely and optimally, namely choosing a smooth route without friction that is comfortable for the leader and those who follow.
We will review the best ways to reduce energy expenditure and practice a systematic approach to rigging.
At the end of the field work we will hold a rigging lecture that will expand the knowledge beyond what was learned the previous evening
5 March
The last day will focus on going over and practicing the principles we learned during the course. Use this opportunity to ask all the questions that accumulated during the course and to get feedback on your practical abilities.
Now that all participants are well versed in optimal rigging techniques, we will briefly review the expectations and requirements of the SRT route on an expedition and compare 'push rigging' with rigging intended for heavy traffic.
At the end of the course we will discuss the lessons we went through and review the personal abilities of the participants, in order to encourage a pattern of learning and improvement.
Course price
1500 ILS.
The price includes: instruction, equipment.
The price does not include: food, travel, personal accident insurance.