From Cambridge University Caving Club - CUCC wiki
Revision as of 12:27, 18 October 2007 by OliverMadge (talk | contribs) (Gear return: Spelling mistake)
Jump to: navigation, search

Gear Required for Caving

All caving-specific gear can be borrowed from CUCC, but there are a few less technical items that you'll need to bring on meets.

Essentials

  • Warm clothes for normal wear
  • Raincoat
  • Robust trainers/boots for normal wear
  • Old underwear and socks for wearing in the cave
  • Old T-shirt/vest for underneath a furrysuit. Cotton is not ideal as it keeps you cold when wet; a rash vest or thermal top is better
  • Gear set (can borrow from CUCC): undersuit, oversuit, wellies, helmet, belt or harness, karabiner, survival bag, whistle
  • Lamp (can borrow from CUCC)
  • Cave food (e.g. a few Mars or Snickers bars, for when you need a sugar fix)
  • Towel
  • Sleeping bag (CUCC have a few sleeping bags that can be borrowed)
  • Money for food when travelling & more chocolate supplies
  • Experience: have climbed a ladder on the surface if possible
  • Knowledge: what's the plan for this meet?
  • Communication: tell meet leaders of medical things, ask if unsure of anything, be briefed before going underground.

Should have...

  • Wash kit: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, etc. (Or just don't wash!)
  • Second pair of old underwear & socks for wearing in the cave the next day (putting on dry underwear is more pleasant)
  • Cave gloves (e.g. washing-up gloves). Although some people claim it's warmer to not wear gloves.

Nice to have...

  • Thermal top
  • Head torch (e.g. Petzl Tikka, Princeton Tec Eos).

If you become a regular caver with CUCC you'll eventually want to purchase your own set of gear; it's best to ask club members for advice on what will suit you best, as there are lots of products available. Muddy caving gear, especially metal work, all looks similar so you will need to mark your stuff with a unique colour combination, or label it with your name. Look at the gear tape colours list to see which colour combinations are currently in use, before choosing your own.

Information regarding the operation of the tackle store, and the club inventory are also available online.

The Tackle Store

Location

The CUCC tackle store is located on Grange road; it is a garage with blue doors, next to the building number 6. It is shown on this map, marked with a red arrow: CUCC tackle store location.

Access to the tackle store requires a set of keys, so borrowed gear is best returned at ropewashes or pubmeets (when the chosen pub is near the tackle store!)

Contact the President or Tacklemaster if you need to access the tackle store at a different time, or if you feel you require a set of keys.

Gear return

Borrowed gear should be returned as soon as possible, and before the next training session or meet. Gear should be washed before it is returned and not left in a muddy pile to accumulate rust and mould. Upon returning any gear, please tick the gear off in the gear logbook (usually on top of the filing cabinet in the tackle store).

Gear Tape Colours

To avoid confusion it is best to tape all of your gear with a unique conmbination of colours. Pick a combination and add yourself to the list!

Please avoid combinations using purple - purple is reserved for club equipment.

CUCC gear

Purple, Red CUCC SRT Kit 1
Purple, Black CUCC SRT Kit 2
Purple, Orange CUCC SRT Kit 3
Purple, White CUCC SRT Kit 4
Purple, Blue CUCC SRT Kit 5
Purple, Yellow CUCC SRT Kit 6

Individuals

Colour Name Often seen?
Black, Blue, Black Edvin Deadman Current Member
White, Black, Blue Kathryn Hopkins Current member
Red, White, Black Adam Kessler Current member
Orange, Blue Richard Mundy Current member
Red, Black, Blue Ollie Stevens Current member
Red, White, Green Serena Povia Current member
Brown, Grey, Earth Tom Handford Current member
Red, Earth* Pete Harley Current member
Red, Orange Peter Clifton Current member
Blue, White Stuart Bennett Current member
Red, Orange Peter Clifton Current member
Red, Green Aaron Curtis Current member
Blue James Hickson Current member
White, Earth Olly Madge Current member
Red, White, Blue Chantalle Mouwer Current member
Red, Green, Blue John Billings Current member
Yellow, Green Nial Peters Current member
Red, White Simon Redhead Current member
Black, Brown Tony Rooke Current member
Purple, Yellow Mark Shinwell Current member
Black, Blue, Yellow Mark Shinwell Current member
Black, Yellow, Black Toby Speight Current member
Orange, Yellow Djuke Veldhuis Current member
Green, Grey Sarah White Current member
Red, Brown Emma Wilson Current member
Green, Brown Wookey & Tess Current members
Red, White, Green Serena Povia Frequently
Orange, Green Olly Betts Frequently
Earth Jenny Black Frequently
Green, White Julia Bradshaw Frequently
Yellow, Black Anthony Day Frequently
Orange, Orange Martin Green Frequently
Blue, Green Letty ten Harkel Frequently
Blue, Yellow Becka Lawson Frequently
Yellow, White David Loeffler Frequently
Earth, Earth Earl Merson Frequently
Red, Blue, Red Julian Todd Frequently
Earth Frank Tully Frequently
Red, Earth* Brian Outram Sometimes
Black, Blue Chris Densham Sometimes
Grey Sam Lieberman Sometimes
Red, Black Steve Bishop Rarely
Purple, Earth Duncan Collis Rarely
Red, Purple Julian Haines Rarely
Black, Red, Black Erin Lynch Rarely
Grey, Black Alex Cheesman Ever?
Yellow, White, Yellow Dave Fearon Ever?
Red, Yellow Mark Fearon Ever?
Red, Yellow, Blue Ally Graff-Fearon Ever?
Black, Yellow Penny Reeves Ever?
Blue Mike Richardson Ever?
Red, Black, Blue Jeremy Rodgers Ever?
Blue, Green Tanya Savage Ever?
Yellow Andy Waddington Ever?
*Pete Harley's colours currently conflict with Brian Outram's, but he will change them if it becomes an issue or there are complaints.