For the first time ever, a team of European (Hungarian) instructors are flying to New York to join our American team to teach European style alpine SRT, rigging and rescue! Spend seven full days of extensive training with this amazing group of skilled instructors. Hone your existing skills and learn new ones, whether they are for use in your local caves, going on expeditions, or being better prepared for one of the international Caving Academy courses.

We want to emphasize that this course is focused on learning skills and techniques in above-ground, controlled, learning environments. While there will be some rigging performed at/in caves, the majority of the time training will be spent at private bolted cliffs that we have exclusive access to for this course.

This course is hosted at Camp Pinnacle and includes indoor lodging (4-person bunk rooms), private bathrooms, hot showers, catered meals, meeting rooms, on-site gymnasium, and private bolted cliffs. We want you to sleep well, have good food, and be able to focus all your attention on learning. We will take care of everything once you arrive. (Airport/Train Station pick-up and drop-off are available from Albany.)

If you can stay after the course, the 2023 Spring NRO is running from June 9th to 11th and you are invited to stay for the festivities! This includes: numerous caving trips, The Gauntlet rope course (test your new SRT skills in timed runs and challenges), a zip-line over (into) a pond, caver competitions cooked up by our international instructors, an auction, hot tubs, live entertainment, and more. Check out the Facebook Event Page for more details.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions:

Course Coordinator: mark@cavingacademy.org
Phone/Text: +1 (574) 622 8464

Modeled after the Caving Academy course hosted in Hungary, there will be three tracks available: SRT, Rigging, and Rescue. Within these tracks, skills are organized into Modules, and you get to pick your primary focus. It is our goal to tailor your course schedule to the learning objectives which are important to you.

Whether you want to progress your SRT skills, become an expert rigger, rescue someone stuck on rope, or gain insight into bolting, lead climbing, or just test things to destruction; we would like to help you achieve your goals. That said, the precise materials covered will be adjusted based on your skills and adapted to your progression during the course. Due to our excellent instructor to student ratio, it is possible to have substantial personal attention and mentoring.

Review topics such as:

• The types and goals of rigging
• Anchors and anchor systems
• Knot and anchor selection
• Optimizing your rigging system
• Preparing for a rigging trip
• Safety while rigging
• Bolting considerations
• Dome-climbing considerations
• Rigging sketches and documentation

Build a strong foundation with:

• Natural and artificial anchors
• Setting bolts (expansion/glue-in)
• Single-point and Multi-point anchors
• Load-sharing/distributing anchors
• Rope connections

You will learn to safely rig and derig:

• Approach lines
• Rebelays
• Deviations
• Traverse lines
• Tyrolean bridges
• J-hangs
• Tensioned Guidelines

Learn rescue techniques:

• Direct-haul pickoff
• Counterweight pickoff
• Croll-to-croll pickoff
• Rope-cutting pickoff
• Rappelling with a patient
• Passing a rebelay with a patient
• Hauling an injured rigger

Skills Booklet Skills Modules

This is a tentative schedule that is subject to change based on the skills and interests of the students. The schedule will also be adjusted during the course to ensure optimal training. Please make careful note that you should arrive for the course on June 2nd so as to be ready to start first thing on June 3rd. (Transportation from the Albany airport or train station can be provided.) a BBQ for all students and instructors will be organized on June 2nd, with Camp Pinnacle lodging available starting the night of the 2nd. Departure from Camp Pinnacle is on June 9th, with NRO camping available starting on June 9th. (Amazing how that works out!)

Course Schedule

If you can stay after the course, the 2023 Spring NRO is running from June 9th to 11th and you are invited to stay for the festivities! Check out the Facebook Event Page for more details.

• The Gauntlet Ropes Course – training and challenges included
• SRT with a splash - zip-line across the lake!
• Rope races and crazy caver competitions – cooked up by European cavers
• Caving trips (of course!)
• Bet in the NCC auction
• Test out your squeeze-box size - in a rescue litter!
• Hot tub! Multiple hot tubs!?
• Caving Presentations? Comedy? Story-telling contest!
• Live music? DJ? Dance Party!

The costs for the NRO are not included; but are extremely reasonable. See the NRO Event Page for more details as they are available. NRO is a tent-camping environment with meals available at a cost, while the Caving Academy Course is bunking. If you are flying to the training, and want to attend NRO, Caving Academy will help to coordinate tents/camping supplies if needed.

The Caving Academy is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. If you can help with grant writing, finding sponsors, or know of other opportunities for funding/support; please reach out! Anything we receive will help keep the costs for courses lower, as they are currently self-funded solely through the course fees.

The course venue is located at Camp Pinnacle in Vorheesville, NY (Albany County). This venue includes lodge based bunking (4 people per room) with private bathrooms and hot showers. Meals will all be provided at the camp cafeteria, including a make-your-own lunch spread set out each morning. We will hold our meetings/lectures/discussions in either of two meeting rooms provided for our use. We will have access to the camp gymnasium where we will rig numerous ropes for indoor practice, and we will rig rope courses in the trees just outside. The bolted cliffs are on their property and just a 5 minute drive away. While numerous caves are within a 30-45 minute drive; complex in-cave rigging is limited. All complex rigging will be practiced on the cliffs - but there are many opportunities to rig approach lines into single-segment pits and explore the use of natural anchors both above-ground and in-cave.

If driving, you will obviously head straight to the venue. For those using any form of public transportation, target Albany, NY as your destination. You can fly to Albany Airport (ALB), or you can take the train to Amtrak Albany-Rensselaer Station (ALB). Buses from NYC are also available. Travel costs are always fluctuating, but we are here to help you coordinate. We are available to assist with pick-ups/drop-offs in Albany, depending on the day and time, but a multi-passenger uber is quite reasonable as Camp Pinnacle is only 30 minutes from the airport.

There are no fixed prerequisites for this course, and we will support anyone attending from a beginner vertical caver through someone with advanced SRT and rigging skills. We will organize students according to skill and learning objectives, and adapt each person's schedule to push them just the right amount. We are confidant we can accomodate anyone, but it is still best to have a minimum competency and physical fitness level to make effective use of the training. Working on-rope for seven sequential days, being physically active continually, and pushing your limits mentally, can be exhausting. We recomemnd that you have the following skills, and that you are used to being on rope for hours at a time.

Tying the following knots such that they are properly dressed and with appropriate sized bites and safe tails or backups:

• Square Knot
• Water Knot
• Girth Hitch
• Clove Hitch
• Munter Hitch
• Munter Hitch Tie-off
• Figure 8 on a bight
• Figure 8 on a bend
• Figure 8 follow-through
• Double loop 8 on a bight
• Double loop 8 with a forward facing loop
• Bowline around an object
• Double-loop bowline on a bight
• Double Fishermans bend
• Prusik Hitch
• Alpine Butterfly

Performing the following SRT maneuvers with a Frog system and bobbin descender while maintaining two points of gripping attachment or a tested descender:

• Ascending smoothly
• Descending with control
• Change-over from ascending to descending
• Change-over from descending to ascending
• Lock-off the descender
• Pass a deviation ascending
• Pass a deviation while descending
• Pass a rebelay while ascending
• Pass a rebelay while descending
• Travel along a traverse line
• Transfer between two lines