Between a rock and a hard place

This is not a story for the claustrophobic.
Take your left arm and raise it straight up against your face, with your head turned to one side. Put the other arm at your side. Lay down on the floor and stay in this position for a few minutes. Now do that in a space nine inches tall and maybe four or five inches wider while underground in the dark for 18 hours.
This is unlikely a dream scenario for many people reading this story, but it was reality for a juvenile cave explorer last Friday, Oct. 7-8. The juvenile and friends were in a cave on private property with landowners’ permission when one of the cavers got stuck in that very position while following an unexplored passage (or “lead”) that was very tight.
The boy squeezed through the passage and then around a tight 90-degree bend along with a slightly larger space where he could turn around, which is typical in cave exploration.
However, when he came back the same way, he was unable to maneuver his body around the bend and became stuck. His companions tried to free him but their attempts were unsuccessful and they decided they needed more help.
Thus began an organized effort to rescue the boy, which involved first responders from multiple agencies, as well as highly-trained cavers from the Paha Sapa Grotto. Among those rescuers were Adam Weaver, who is also administrative vice president of the National Speleological Society, and Rene Ohms, Rocky Mountain regional coordinator for the National Cave Rescue Commission. Ohms was recently presented with a lifetime achievement award for her work in caving.
The stuck person was located approximately 40 minutes from the entrance to the cave (much of this route traversed by crawling), so this was a time-consuming, complicated rescue.
At a press conference last Thursday morning, Weaver said the cave the boy was stuck in was one of the most unpleasant caves to be in because of the tight quarters. The boy was stuck for four and a half hours by the time Ohms arrived on scene.
Digging tools, a rescue gear, warm blankets, a wired phone system (to allow communication from the rescue site to the entrance of the cave) and more were brought to the entrance and then into the cave as needed. Thanks to the phone system, the young caver was able to speak with his parents while the rescue was ongoing.
The phones used were 1940s vintage miliary surplus that are wired together (in this case 400 feet of wire was used from several entities) and are “super reliable,” Ohms said. Regular cell phones, GPS, etc., do not work in caves. The phone was also essential for communicating to the entrance what was needed in the cave.
Hammer drills were brought in, which in the extremely tight passage were used to chip away surrounding rock and widen the passage slightly. A system of webbing (similar to rope, but importantly much flatter) was passed to the boy, who was able to use it with the aid of rescuers to finally pull himself free of the narrow passage.
Ohms said the boy didn’t panic, and was able to assist in his own rescue.
“It was a team effort. This young man was really brave,” she said.
Ohms said even though the cave was 55 degrees, the boy never became hypothermic, and had a first responder or EMT with him at all times during the rescue.
The cavers took turns operating the drill, and had to lie flat in the tight passage, line up the drill and then put their head to the side and run the drill until their arms and shoulders were tired. Then, another caver would take over during the process until they were tired. At times they had to lay rock next to the stuck boy to make sure he was not struck by the drill.
Once the boy was free he crawled to a nearby larger room, where hot liquids, soup (served via a spoon made out of safety goggles) and warm blankets were ready. After some time for rest and recuperation, the young man was able to crawl the rest of the way out of the cave under his own power.
At the surface, the young man was checked by medics and found to have no medical issues.
Ohms said the rescue team was relieved when the boy was freed, as the best possible outcome was achieved—everyone was able to leave the cave safely.
Ohms said although this type of rescue is trained for, they are actually quite rare. The last such full scale cave rescue took place in 1989, when Rachel Cox became lost in Wind Cave and remained there for 36 hours before rescuers located her.
Ohms said the boy was “thrilled to sit up again,” and her instinct was to want to give him a hug after the ordeal.
“We were all so relieved,” she said.