CAVING
WORKSHOPS & SKILLS COURSES

Caving-Based Workshops & Courses

Syllabus and over veiw of the skills during the workshops

Cave Skills Workshop

2-Day Workshop – Minimum 16 Hours
Ratio: 1:6 max
Price: £75 per person

Ideal for people with little knowledge of caving or those just getting into it.

Day 1: Indoor classroom session in the morning, followed by a walk and talk through a cave and on the surface.
Day 2: Morning session in the training barn and afternoon practice in a cave with ropework.

Subjects Covered

• Personal caving gear

• Items to take into a cave

• Cave formations and how caves are formed

• Survey reading, compass use, navigation skills

• Surface navigation, research, and finding a cave

• Catchment areas, flooding, and associated risks

• Weather forecasting and further planning

• Radon, pollution in caves, Weil’s Disease, ticks

• Basic cave first aid, planning, callouts

• Suitable anchor points, knots

• Handlines, assisted lines, belays

• Spotting: when and how

• Leader position within a group

• Selecting a cave for a group, information gathering

SRT Skills Workshop

1-Day Workshop – Minimum 7 Hours
Ratio: 1:5 max
Price: £50 per person

Ideal for people progressing from Cave Skills with some SRT experience or those new to SRT.

The day includes a morning in the training barn and an evening putting new skills into practice in a cave environment.

Subjects Covered

Personal Kit

• Uses and reasons behind each item

Ground Practice Skills

• Traverses and correct use of cowstails

• Descent and ascent techniques

• Proper use of equipment

Further Skills

• Efficient upward movement and techniques

• Re-belays (up and down)

• Mid-rope changeovers

• Prusiking down a rope

• Emergency descent and ascent methods

• Additional problem-solving techniques

Rigging Workshop

1-Day (7 hours) or 2-Day (14 hours)
Ratio: 1:3 max
Price: 1 Day £90 – 2 Day £160

Ideal for those with SRT experience wanting to begin rigging for personal use or who have completed the SRT workshop.

1-Day: Morning training in the barn and evening in a small-pitch cave.
2-Day:
Day 1: Extended morning training session, then a small-pitch cave in the evening.
Day 2: Rigging and de-rigging a medium-sized pitched cave.

Knots Covered
Single bowline, stopper knot, bowline on a bight, alpine butterfly, overhand, figure-eight, double figure-eight, rethreaded knots, fusion knot, fisherman’s, barrel knot, daisy chain, hitches and others.

Other Areas Covered

• Anchors and natural anchors

• Knot selection: when and why

• When to use a stopper knot

• Master points

• Efficient, simple, and safe rigging

• High Y-hangs: when and why

• Equalised Y-hangs: when and why

• Releasable deviations

• Assists and aids at re-belays and anchor points

• Water, pools, sharp edges, and hazards

• Rope rub and loose rock

• Bag packing and planning ahead

Rescue Skills Workshop

2-Day Workshop – Minimum 12 Hours
Ratio: 1:4 Max
Price: £175 per person

Best suited for anyone leading in caves or wanting to advance their rescue capability.

Day 1: Full training day in the barn.
Day 2: Practical session in a cave.

Pre-Planning for a Rescue

• Preparing for “what if” scenarios

• Rescue gear that may be required

• Adjustments to SRT harness and equipment

• Spare rope and its uses

• Where to keep your comfort sack if needed

• Callout procedures, planning, research, weather, information

• Bag packing

• Prevention wherever possible

Skills and Methods Covered

• Pitch-head cut and lower using spare rope

• Snatch and lower

• Snatch and cut

• Snatch and bring

• Snatch and changeover

Hauls and Techniques

• 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 hauls

• Counterbalance methods

• Traverse hauls

• Group-assisted hauls

• Aiding and assisting a tired caver

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Club / Group Leader Workshop

This workshop is aimed at people who are responsible for a club or group and want to gain the knowledge to safely bring novices and beginners into a range of caves, and to pass on skills using best practice.

The workshop runs as a four-day course or can be split across two weekends.

Ratio: 1:4
Price: £395 per person

After completing the course, trainees must put the training into practice by gathering a small group of cavers (3–4 people) and organising a two-day trip. They will be assessed throughout to ensure they meet a safe leading standard.

Ratio for assessment: 1:1 plus their group
Price: £300

Topics Covered

Kit and Equipment

• Checking SRT kit

• Fitting an SRT harness and understanding its setup

• Questions and answers on SRT gear and its uses

• Personal caving gear and benefits

• What to bring into a cave

• Comfort sack, its contents, and how to use it

Planning and Preparation

• Trip planning

• Callouts

• Weather forecasts and catchment areas

• Local knowledge and research

• Medical information: who needs to know and when

• Cave rescue considerations

• Guidebooks and surveys

• Compass work underground

• Route finding

• Surface navigation

• Gaining knowledge of local caves

Cave Awareness and Safety

• Formations, geology, how caves are formed

• Cave life and conservation

• Spotting safe areas within a cave

• Flooding effects

• Loose rock, false floors, and other hazards

• Maintaining line of sight in a group

• Leader positioning and awareness

Passing on Skills

• Use of cowstails and clipping points

• Preventing and solving issues at anchors or re-belays

• Traverse lines and their uses

• Safe descent, traverse, and ascent for beginners

• How to advance skills in a controlled manner

• Devices used and reasons for choosing them

• Breaking krab: use and purpose

• Re-belays up and down

• Mid-rope changeovers and when they may be required

• Prussiking up and down

• Passing a knot and when it may be necessary

• Rigging skills, bag packing, planning, and rescue equipment

• Assisting or rescuing a person and knowing when it is needed

Climbs, Slopes, and Slip Hazards

• How to aid and keep cavers safe

• Handlines, assisted lines, and belays

• Choosing the right method and setting it up

• Use of naturals and bolts

• Understanding bolt placements and types

Ladders and Line Methods

• Setting up a ladder and correct techniques

• Benefits and limitations of ladders

• Use of releasable abseils

• Ladder use with a safety line

• How this helps new cavers progress toward SRT safely

Rescue and Assisting a Tired Caver

• Types of rescues, when and why

• Assisted hauls and aiding a tired caver

• Spare rope lower and cut

• Spare rope mid-rope cut and lower

• Snatch and lower / bring / change

• Hauling methods

• Haul-to-lower and lower-to-haul

• Traverse haul and group haul

• Counterbalance skills

• Use of advanced systems

• Anchors and Y-hangs

• Types of Y-hangs and their uses

• Knot selection and best practice

• Always planning for rescue at each pitch

Knot Knowledge

• Bowlines

• Fusion knot

• Double figure-eight and bunny ears

• Yosemite finish: why it is not recommended

• Stoppers and safety overhand knots

Rigging

• Best knots for safe group rigging

• Loop lengths at re-belays and why they matter

• Novice-friendly and group-friendly rigging

• Protocols for passing up and down

• Avoiding and solving issues

• Using slings or cord at anchors and re-belays

• High Y-hangs: when they are safe

• Master point on a Y-hang and why it is used

• Redirecting the abseil line and how

• Setting up an assist point and where to clip

• Releasable deviations and their purpose

• Extra krab at deviations: when and how

• HMS on the master point: when and why

• Starting from a solid natural anchor or two bolts

• Keeping loops small unless necessary

• When equalising matters

• Rigging out of water, avoiding rope rub and sharp edges

• When it is acceptable to rig over rock