Pitch (vertical space) - Definition

For other uses, see Pitch

A pitch is a significant underground vertical space in mining terminology. The name is thought to have originated through the description of deep shafts which had bottoms that could not be easily seen as being "pitch-black".

The term has been adopted by cavers to refer to a drop (of anything above trivial size) in a cave. (It is usually only applied to a drop that has to be descended; a vertical space that has to be ascended is known as an aven).

The deepest pitch so far discovered underground is 603 m in Vrtoglavica cave in the Julian Alps in Slovenia. Many other deeper caves exist, but they often have ledges. A strict definition of a single drop refers to a pitch which is completely free of ledges.

Climbers also apply the term to a section of a (generally, above-ground, in a modification of its original meaning) climb between two belays. See climbing system.

External link

• The world's deepest pitches, by Bob Gulden (http://www.pipeline.com/%7Ecaverbob/pit.htm)
• Caves with the deepest drop, by Jochen Duckeck (http://www.showcaves.com/english/explain/Statistics/DeepestDrop.html)