SRT Leader Basic

Horizontal

• All skills of Horizontal Leader
• And done well
• At least 5 trips as leader in 3 different caves

Rigging

• How to protect yourself while derigging.
• Using descender and jammers and cowtails
• Understanding Rigging Guides and knowing where to find them
• Ability to talk someone (whether you can see them or not) through to
• Changeovers
• Abseiling at Pitchheads
• Prussiking 
• Knowledge of common problems
• Knots 
• Starter knot for tying round first anchor
• Eg rethreaded fig-8 or bowline
• Mid rope knot for traverse lines for y-hangs
• Eg Alpine butterfly or overhand loop
• Twin loop knot for y-hangs
• Eg Bunny Ears, Fusion knot or bowline on bight something similar
• Belaying knot
• Italian Hitch
• Loop knot for end of rope for clipping to bolt or person
• Eg Fig-8 loop or overhand loop
• Cowstails knot
• “Barrel knot” eg poaches or scaffold knot
• Rigging a Y-hang
• Equalising loads onto both anchors
• Understanding why an angle of less than 120 degrees is important
• Understanding positioning of pitch rope
• Understanding redundancy of anchors
• Rigging a traverse line
• Appropriate line tension and height.
• Awareness of how long it can take to rig and derig long traverses
• Rope management 
• Tidy ropes so that people know which ropes to use
• So people don’t walk all over them
• Rigging in/out of ropes
• Trying to keep rigging obvious and safe
• Eg at the end of a traverse coil rope and/or put it in a bag to keep it obvious
• Stopper knots in the end of every rope
• Packing ropes into bags in anticipation of the pitches you are visiting.
• Assessment of fixed aids in caves:
• Different types of Anchor
• Natural
• Different types of bolt
• Tat/insitu sling
• Fixed Lines (traverse and vertical)
• When to use and when not to use?
• What does damaged rope look like?
• What is safe and what is dangerous?
• If in doubt, rig your own rope.
• How to protect yourself while rigging
• Using descender and cowstails

Self Rescue:

With an incapacitated or unconscious caver, the aim is get the caver out of suspension and to flat ground, as soon as safely possible – to avoid the risk suspension trauma.

With a tired and cooperative caver, the aim is to assist them towards the exit.

Techniques:

• Understanding the benefit of being at the top of a pitch above anyone who is struggling (vs the available options when below someone)
• Haul from the top to assist a tired caver
• Eg 2:1 or 3:1
• Snatch rescue in descent with an extra rope.
• Eg transferring casualty onto you and abseiling down the extra rope
• Knowledge of what rescue equipment to take to help you personally achieve your goals
• Use of your own bodyweight (and any helpers!) to best affect.