Whilst thinking about projected and extended elevations on the other paper survey thread, it reminded me a of a great example I’d seen on cavemaps : http://cavemaps.org/surveys/independent/full/Ind%20Waltham(1970)%20The%20Leck%20Fell%20Cave%20Systems.png Waltham survey with a great elevation...

You may already be aware of this, but you can do individual parts of a projected elevation on any bearing you like and then manually insert them back into the final map output. For large sections of cave, you just create a new ‘map’, plot it as a pdf and then insert the pdf in the layout section...

On a recent CNCC workshop, I think the basic pitch head rescue one, it was suggested to carry two useful bits : A 2.4m length of 8mm tied with a scaffold knot onto a small HMS pear shaped crab. The beauty of this is the way it can be stowed double, doubled up and knotted so it’s about the size...

Where this might be useful is for folks using a petzl stop or simple on a climbing harness with a belay loop. With a D on a caving harness or a centre type harness the descender carabiner lets the stop lie flat for loading it and the handle is the right alignment. If someone is using their usual...

Oh and if you are scanning an existing survey without centreline data and it's not aligned to paper north = grid north, then it's worth drawing on your scale bar (with a pencil) in the direction of north / grid north before you scan it. Then when you use the scale feature, it will align the...

The image morphing in therion is an exceptionally powerful tool if you can figure out how to use it! It allows even poor quality sketches to be used effectively whilst maintaining dimensional accuracy of the core survey. I struggled to get it to work initially. You need to first import a...

XTherion editor is already designed for the task you describe Relict. You can re-survey the cave with fresh centreline data, ensuring that you put stations at common locations that are identifiable on the existing paper survey. This may require splay shots to identifiable features. You can then...

If it’s of any interest, the archive of the Fylde Mountaineering Club is now publicly available on our website. We have always had a small but active group of cavers. The website is now hosted on AWS and much faster to load the larger documents...

The handline / drystone wall pitch in Gavel?

There is quite a good written description on the CNCC page for Valley Entrance. I’m double your size and couldn’t even get through the sideways rift at the top of the first rope to get into Toyland.

This is a cave in Australia scanned using Zebedee in 2014. The detail captured from someone just walking about on the surface and then underground is amazing :

Moasure is a double-integration solution to turn acceleration and digital compass bearing into plan displacement. It is very sensitive to technique. You need to move the puck horizontally, smoothly and quickly between stations. It must stop and be stationary at each station to find another...

From a 'sport' caving perspective, what I'd really like to see is a hybrid of really good, human drawn, 2d line surveys , combined with a 3d perspective in line art. Create like a old-school climbing topo for the cave trip. I think a 3d model from the likes of iphone polycam would make it much...

Whilst I’m sure some folks will go SRT caving by themselves, most don’t so the real question is who are you planning on going caving with once you leave uni? Most folks will cave with a club or a group of friends. The bigger and popular clubs will have a tackle store full of gear to use. If...

Lost Johns' Cathedral Pitch?

Really enjoyed this last night. Thanks to all who made it happen.

Gavel?

This file appears on a google search and is hosted on the cncc website, but doesn't appear to be linked from the Great Douk page : https://cncc.org.uk/file/237d2e8a-ef23-2f9a-4ea5-af71052caefa

The correct size peli case is improtant too. I started with a case for the camera & triggers and a smaller case for the strobes. Total pain, difficult to carry two and peli cases don’t fit in caving bags very well. I’m currently using a single 1400 and that’s fine for a camera, bits and three...

To put a date on it , in his own "Basic Cave Diving : a blue print for survival", Sheck Exley claims "The author devised the third rule in 1968 based on two assumptions..." That document was first published in 1979, but was predated by the "Dixie Cavern Kings Cave Diving Manual" (Exley 1969)...