Cave Reservations Etiquette

Coeta,

In mitigation of the nasty sounding MCSA auntie, Captain and family did have a tent
it wasn't as heartless as turfing out into the cold night with no shelter.

To repeat my main point, if you have filled in the mountain register knowing that someone is in the cave you want, you can expect all kinds of unpleasantries. Unless of course you meet Ghaznavid

The Code of the West I believe is summed up in its last line:Live by the Golden Rule.
Mutual respect means respecting the privacy of others.

To paraphrase the sentiment, "Don't pitch up at someone's cave entrance if you don't want them to pitch up at your cave entrance."

Fair enough - still believe laying down the law and being polite about it is not mutually exclusive.

ghaznavid wrote: If you want solitude, it is best not to go to a place like Injisuthi...

The irony here being that before the land was purchased by KZN Wildlide, the park was actually named "Solitude"!

Funny thing is, I've never had a problem at Injisuti. I think they're just better organised.

1st time I go to Tarn Cave there were 3 parties present! Blows Ghaz's theory out of the water

Just to add to things, the only time I bumped into Ghaznavid was in Hidden Valley, a "quiet" area of the Berg.

Aah, time and unforeseen occurrence...

@ Coeta/Bigsnake: I agree with you both. Yes, I had a tent and was prepared to camp out. Would I have had a problem sharing? Not at all.

In the context of the incident and the initial interaction it was completely unnecessary for her to be rude. She walked in a without waiting to hear what our plans were told us to "get out! We've booked the cave, you do not belong here." Recall, that I hadn't unpacked the bags yet and we could have been on our way to the ridge above the cave/on our way down and were merely stopping to give the kid a rest. Pathetic behaviour as far as I'm concerned and a very poor advert for the MCSA.

Right of way doesn't give one the right to being rude/arrogant - if it was a guy I might have reacted differently.

Edit: She didn't know we had a tent...the discussions never got that far until after she told us to get out when the older guy first suggested we share the cave then suggested the annex and she said that neither was acceptable for us to stay in as we hadn't booked the cave. I'll never join the MCSA and will never bother asking to share a cave again - not in this lifetime anyway!!! lol!

@ Viking: All good - it was a lesson learned. My wife was too shocked to even respond to this woman.

Definitely MCSA (she was wearing a hat with the badge sewn onto it/embroidered logo. I never approached the MCSA because I didn't know who she was at the time - I did find out who she is a few years ago. I reasoned that yes they had booked the cave so not like I had a case to put forward - I should not have been there.

@Bigsnake: if our plans went as expected, we would have met you guys at Mzimude Cave the night before! I guess the statistical odds of meeting me in the Hidden Valley aren't bad - I seem to hike there quite often these days.

Tarn Cave does get relatively frequent use, but I doubt that the likes of Slab Cave, Lammergeier Cave, Vast Cave, Curtain Cave, Wave Cave, Rob's Cave etc get much use. I actually can't really talk about Injisuthi as I rarely go there - but the only cave I ever slept in there, we hadn't booked, but shared with a young couple and their kids (Lower Injisuthi) - we just used opposite sides of the cave and didn't really notice eachother, aside from the occasional chat about where we are from etc.

Note that the Giants Cup Trail Huts can be booked by multiple groups at the same time, although I have only shared Swiman Hut once and didn't have any problem. The same is true of Bannerman Hut.

Captain wrote: Pathetic behaviour as far as I'm concerned and a very poor advert for the MCSA.
...
I'll never join the MCSA and will never bother asking to share a cave again - not in this lifetime anyway!!! lol!

Lets not forget that there are plenty of good guys in the MCSA - both Intrepid and AndrewP have lead various Berg meets for the JHB and Magaliesberg sections. There are some people in every club with an "elitist" opinion of themselves, but it is best to simply ignore these people.

I am not a huge fan of most mountain clubs, and can very easily say that the "VE Club" has been much more valuable than either of the other mountain clubs I have joined. But these clubs are still necessary - and hopefully they will soon wake up and do what clubs are supposed to do - development and growth of the sports they represent.

@Bigsnake: if our plans went as expected, we would have met you guys at Mzimude Cave the night before!

Chap! You know what my 1st question to you would have been…

Bigsnake wrote: Chap! You know what my 1st question to you would have been…

There's 3 caves right near each other - I'm sure we could have made a plan!

And for the record - on that hike we had no tents and did not book any caves.