Cavers & Spelunkers's topics - tribe.net

lechugia cave

MonkeyDo — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 07:44:24 GMT

Is it possible for people to get a group and go there. It's like the most incredible cave in the world. A cave with a lake and the most enormous quarts pylons. A cave so expansive that there hasn't been finding to it's ends.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 9 replies

Cavers in N. Cal. ?

Jeff — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 09:54:36 GMT

I am looking for folks who know the best beginner caves in the N./Central California Region. I have a full schedual most of the time, but I would love to take a day off and do some serious caving.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 5 replies

"New" member introduction: Roger

Roger — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 22:54:16 GMT

I've been here a while, actually, but just got around to proviiding some profile details.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 4 replies

Caves Near YOU!

AtlantaHoopla — Sun, 22 Feb 2004 02:31:36 GMT

What caves are close to home & have you been there?

Have a link w/ directions, a map or property owner contact infomation?

Being a native Atlantan, all of my standard 'sure things' are in the TAG! (Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia) Most of my fav's are located in Alabama (even though I live in Georgia) because that's where I first experienced caving & have lots of friends who frequent the caves there.

A couple of the easiest & more well known caves are

HURRICANE CAVE - Fox Mountain, Dade County, Georgia
Here's an EXCELLENT link:
http://mapwing.gsu.edu/projects/karst/gss0386.pdf

TUMBLING ROCK CAVE - Mud Creek Valley, Jackson County, Alabama
maintained by the property owners the Precise family who are SUPREMELY cool!
http://www.caves.org/io/iolookup.php

Contact ANY of the grotto's listed if you'd like more info
- OR -
Just ping me w/ a note & we can talk!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 20 replies

Fellow North Georgia Hiker, Meredith Emerson: Missing - PLEASE HELP.

AtlantaHoopla — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 11:43:10 GMT

Please click this link to read my blog entry about Meredith's disappearance (complete with informational links and photographs).
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=62762565&blogID=344218110

The following is a TEXT ONLY cut & paste of my blog entry about this over on MySpace:

Please call 706-439-6038 if you have any information about missing University of Georgia graduate and fellow North Georgia hiker, 24 year old Meredith Hope Emerson.

Meredith is an athletic, experienced hiker and has a blue belt in martial arts. She is a white, blonde, woman, stands 5-foot-4, and weighs 120-pounds. She was last seen on BLOOD MOUNTAIN located in UNION COUNTY, Georgia on Tuesday, January 1st.

She left a note for her roommate explaining that she went hiking with her black Labrador retriever, Ella.
Meredith is originally from Colorado.

Click the photo of Meredith below, to read a news article about what's going on:

*** please go to blog entry for photo and link ***

A PERSON OF INTEREST HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED

A 61 year-old white man, identified as Gary Michael Hilton (approximately 5-foot-10, 160 pounds with grey / white/ or silver hair and having either bad or no teeth) was last seen with Meredith along Freeman Trail on Blood Mountain inside VOGEL STATE PARK. He was wearing a yellow jacket with a large, older backpack and had a sheath of some sorts attached to one leg.

On multiple occasions, Hilton and Meredith were seen talking together by several eyewitnesses on Tuesday, January 1st and were also reported to have been letting their dogs play together. Hilton was seen with his own dog, believed to be a "reddish" colored Retriever, most likely going by the name of Dandy (or possibly Danny).

Hilton has two white, Chevrolet Astro minivans both registered in DEKALB COUNTY even though Hilton is not believed to live in DeKalb County according to Union Country Sheriff's investigator, Kimberly Verdone.

Police say Hilton was last spotted driving a white Chevy Astro minivan.

He is registered as owning TWO WHITE, CHEVY ASTRO MINIVANS. He has a 2001 model with the license plate number AFQ 1310 and a 1996 model with license plate number 76 APZ.

This is the only photo I've been able to find of 61-year old Gary Michael Hilton:

*** please go to blog entry for photo and link ***

There are lots of videos on the local Fox channel's website.
You can CLICK HERE to go directly to that page.

I complied all of this information from articles I found online. There is much more info. floating around out there. Click on THIS LINK for more news links at the bottom of that page.

*** please go to blog entry for photos and links ***

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

10 Famous Caves in Europe

AtlantaHoopla — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 08:20:30 GMT

the article lacks awesome photography... w/ the exception of the main pic which of course, IS COMPLETELY KICK ASS!!! heh!

http://blog.hotelclub.com/10-famous-caves-in-europe/

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

Caves at Lassen Volcanoes National Park?

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:25:39 GMT

I'm headed for Lassen Volcanoes National Park, anybody know anything about caves there? I would think there might be some good lava tubes.

I live in Santa Cruz and have had a lot of fun looking at the rare organisms in our caves here.

I'm a biologist, but very much an amateur when it comes to cave exploration. I am not working with climbing equipment, at least not on this trip. Any suggestions of what to see?

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 6 replies

China's last cave people

AtlantaHoopla — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:02:15 GMT

"...Zhongdong is, the local government believes, the last place in the country where people live year-round in a naturally occurring cave..."

Here's an article about it:
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_budget_story_skin/990219

and here are some photos:
http://www.yousaytoo.com/user/kitty/4544

Freaking amazing!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

Caves on Mars

Shooter-666 — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:37:36 GMT

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/09/21/marscaves_spa.html?category=space&guid=20070921163030&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000

Sept. 21, 2007 — Get out your Martian spelunking gear: NASA has found what appear to be seven cave entrances on Mars.

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft relayed images of the dark, nearly perfectly circular features ranging in diameter from 328 to 820 feet.

At first the dark spheres puzzled scientists, but Odyssey's infrared camera then checked the daytime and nighttime temperatures of the circles and suggested they were, in fact, openings to subsurface spaces.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 4 replies

NSS convention in Indiana

Bonuksha — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:11:29 GMT

anyone on this tribe going?
http://www.nss2007.com/index.htm

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

Newbie seeking guidance

adventurekim — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:25:33 GMT

So i'm pretty new to the spelunking/caving area. Well okay...REALLY new. Never tried it. But i've recently gotten into rock climbing so i figures, since i enjoy going up...maybe i should try climbing down. I've always wanted to see what caving and spelunking is all about but i really don't know where to start.

Can anyone offer some advice on how to get started? cool places in the Bay area to explore? Anyone willing to show a newbie the ropes ...so to speak :)

I've also been wanting to try SCUBA diving so i wondered if there are any interesting underwater caverns and stuff that wouldn't be to hard for a newbie to check out. Any help would be much appreciated.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

Help a Teacher

Tina McKinney — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 20:08:35 GMT

I'm a teacher and we are divided into teams. Our team is called the Spelunkers.
4 teachers with 25 students each. I'm looking for books, info, products, posters, anything that I can get to share with our students. Remember, I'm a teacher and funds are low.
Thanks so much.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 11 replies

rare book for sale...

fuego — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 00:09:56 GMT

yes you can have your very own copy "Caves of Colorado" by Lloyd E. Paris
out of print for nearly 20 years! contianing much information that was never meant to be published.
rebound hardback copy in very good condition.
and yes it can be yours for a mere $100.
interested?

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

PettyJohns Cave - Walker County, GA - Pigeon Mountain

AtlantaHoopla — Fri, 12 Mar 2004 08:31:10 GMT

Posted by Kelly D:
March 11, 2004 - 05:57 PM
Re: Caves Near YOU!

i've been spelunking at pettyjohns around rome georgia. do you know of it?
.................................................

Hey Kelly! Welcome to the tribe & THANKS for the post! I just wanted to start a new thread to answer your question & introduce anyone else who's interested to this AWESOME cave & surrounding area!

While i've not actually been to Pettyjohns Cave, i HAVE been camping & climbing at The Lost Wall which is an EXCELLENT place to rock climb & is right by the cave. There are no camping 'facilities' which i PREFER! Your cell phone will NOT pick up a signal out here, so make sure someone knows where you've gone while out exploring!

For anyone interested, I've posted new pic's in the Tribe's photo journal to highlight some of Pettyjohn's Cave & the area of The Lost Wall. Enjoy the links & PLEASE post any comments / query's! :~>

QUICK FACTS:

Pettyjohns cave is located on the east side of Pigeon Mountain in the Appalachian Plateaus of NW Georgia.

There are many caves in the area, the most well known being Ellison Cave for its 586 foot freefall pit!

Pigeon Mountain is a beautiful plateau just west of the city of La Fayette, Georgia. The mountain is part of the Cumberland Plateau, which stretches from Alabama through Georgia and into Tennessee.

As of 2004, according to the National Speleological Survey (NSS) - Pettyjohns Cave, at 6,074 miles long, is the 119th longest cave (out of the 242 that are listed) in the United States as declared by the GA Speleological Survey (GASS).

Water levels in Pettyjohns Cave do not fluctuate rapidly & all water entering the cave undergoes at least moderate rock-water interaction in the subsurface. The discharge point for cave waters is Dickson Spring, a large conduit spring just south of the cave entrance.

Each year there are approximately 12,500 cavers and 22,000 rock climbers who explore Crockford-Pigeon Mountain!

QUICK LINKS:

MapQuest of Armuchee, GA where the mountain range is located:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=search&countryid=250&addtohistory=&country=US&address=&city=Armuchee&state=ga&zipcode=&historyid=&submit=Get+Map

Chip Talbert's Photography of Pettyjohns Cave and MANY more!
http://www.chiptalbert.com/photo-album/Cave-PJ/default.htm

An EXCELLENT 2-page paper w/ basic info.
written by Allen Padgett of the GA Dept. Nat'l Resources
(he's also the Chief Ranger at Pigeon Mountain, Rocktown and Lost Wall)
for the 1999 National Cave and Karst Management Symposium:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:JqQ8QI5ClEwJ:www.nckms.org/pdf/padgett.pdf+pettyjohns++cave&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

An 8-page paper titled,
"Spatial & Temporal Variation of Groundwater Chemistry in Pettyjohns Cave, NE, GA."
written by James Mayer of the Geology Dept., State University of West Georgia
for the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, 1999:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:sBvIAP_i0FsJ:www.caves.org/pub/journal/PDF/V61/v61n3-Mayer.pdf+pettyjohns+%22cave%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

2003 photos from a beginners vertical instruction (rappeling) hosted by NSS grotto # 285 - Clayton County Cavers on a 65foot wall w/ a waterfall near Pettyjohns Cave (The Lost Wall perhaps?)
http://www.cccavers.org/Trip%20Reports/PettyJohns.htm

The Lost Wall:
http://southeastclimbing.com/climbing_areas/georgia/lost_wall.htm

ENJOY!!!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 3 replies

Schroeder's Pants Cave Link

Rock — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 19:14:44 GMT

Christian Lyon is making a documentary about the tragic death of James Mitchell who died in a caving mishap in 1965 in Schroeder's Pants Cave in Herkimer County, Dolgeville, NY. A thread " 1965 Schroeder’s Pants Cave " began November 3, 2005. Here's the link for those who may want to read it. http://tinyurl.com/qjb5k

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

Another caving forum suggestion for you

CaverOne — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 13:16:29 GMT

The largest caving forum around is run by the National Speleological Society. Just point your browser at http://www.cavechat.org/ The forum is open to all, even non-affiliated cavers and covers all topics of caves and caving.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

U.S. Cavers Forum

Rock — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 17:40:03 GMT

I just found this great website and thought I'd share it with you - it's the U.S. Cavers Forum! It is just cavers talking with cavers! :-) http://www.uscaversforum.com

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

Helpful Links

AtlantaHoopla — Sun, 22 Feb 2004 00:34:41 GMT

Just to get the tribal ball rolling:

http://www.caves.org/

http://www.cavern.org/CAVE/ACCA_index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 10 replies

Cave of the Warrior

AtlantaHoopla — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 23:12:02 GMT

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/cave/

Very interesting!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

Tumbling Rock Cave - 11.19.2005

AtlantaHoopla — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 18:04:10 GMT

THIS SATURDAY! Anyone interested in going, let me know.

Tumbling Rock Cave is just outside of Fort Payne, Alabama.

There's a $5 or $10 access fee (I can't remember really) & you have to sign a release form with the property owner before going in - it also lets him know not to lock you in there! (there's a cage door thingy w/ a lock at the entrance so he doesn't have problems).

This is a completely horizontal cave and excellent for beginners with lots of variety - especially if it rains the night before.

I've probably posted this stuff before, but here's a few links so you can check out some photos & stuff:
http://www.cumberlandadventures.com/cave/tumb.html

http://www.cavingexpeditions.com/album.asp?cat=Alabama%5CTumbling%20Rock%20Cave

http://www.darlington.rome.ga.us/faculty/seady/viewgallery.asp?galleryID=43

I'll be leaving the Atlanta area early Saturday morning and I'm not really planning on camping out - so I'll be coming home late Saturday afternoon / early Saturday evening.

My car's already full w/ three other people - but if you'd like to convoy or meet up there at a certain time, I've got maps of the cave and I'm planning on making it to the very end of the cave so I can take photos of the mud sculptures!

Post to this thread or send me a private message.

I'M SO EXCITED!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 7 replies

Caves in Afghanistan

Shooter-666 — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 14:57:28 GMT

So, I am in Afghanistan. I am going to try and get to Tora Bora and check out some caves. Not sure yet, though. Anyone know of any cool caves here?

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 4 replies

Cave diver http://www.crimea-guide.com

roart — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 11:24:01 GMT

I invite extreme round, cave cities, underwater caves, tunnels, grottoes the sunk ships, galleys, the Greek settlements on depth of 3-4 meters!
In the spring 2006 all to Crimea!
Look
http://www.crimea-guide.com
Write I shall answer All!
roart@evpanet.com
Roman Kravchenko

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

Fun Hikes

AtlantaHoopla — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:20:19 GMT

I just came across this website & thought it was pretty cool. If you want to get out of the cave & explore the rest of the mountain for a hike... Kind of more geared towards those in the Atlanta area - but looks like fun!

http://www.funhikes.com/

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 6 replies

Carbide or Electric?

Fri, 18 Nov 2005 01:10:36 GMT

Just felt like starting a religious war for no particular reason. ;)

I really prefer carbide. Many's the time I've cursed my "GDBP" (G** D***** Batery Pack), so I really like the self-contained aspect of a brass Justrite. Plus that loud *whoomp* when it lights off is satisfying... and fun to startle newbies with. Perversely, I actually kinda like that vaguely fart-like smell of outgassing carbide that I'm carrying out in my pack.

However...

Some of the state or federal administered caves don't allow it, and carbide itself is getting to be a minor pain in the butt to aquire. Also, I don't cave much these days, so keeping a dry supply and all of the little lamp parts around is getting tedious.

So.... I've pretty much switched to electric. Even though I don't particularly like that "death ray" spot beam. I know you can adjust it, but I yearn for that big warm carbide light circle. Also, you can warm your hands, and heat up a can of chicken soup or a cup of hot tea.

Opinions?

sg

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

CaveChat.org

AtlantaHoopla — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 14:20:13 GMT

I just found this interesting website and thought I'd share it with you - It's the discussion forum of the National Speleological Society:

http://www.caves.org/phpBB2/

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC)

AtlantaHoopla — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 17:44:14 GMT

Thanks to StarGazer for bringing this organization to my attention:

The National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC)

The National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) received its charter from the National Speleological Society in 1979, and serves as the Society?s representative on issues of cave rescue training and operations. It is a volunteer group developed primarily to train and track cave rescue resources throughout the United States. The NCRC is specifically NOT a functional cave rescue team, rather it provides training and development opportunities for persons and organizations engaged in cave rescue activities. Thus, while many of the persons associated with the NCRC perform rescues, they do this as members of their local rescue squads, civil defense units, or cave rescue groups. The NCRC is a component of the Department of the Administrative Vice-President of the National Speleological Society (NSS).

Here's a link to their website if you're interested:
http://www.caves.org/io/ncrc/

This link will help you get in touch w/ people in your area:
http://www.caves.org/io/ncrc/regions.html

There are MANY other very helpful links on that homepage - check 'em out when you get time!!!!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

looking for caving buddies

Duco — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 23:50:54 GMT

I visited a cave years ago and caught the bug right away, however I have not been able to follow up. Recently the idea resurfaced in my brain and now I am looking for others to hook up with in the New York area.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

The Lost Sea

AtlantaHoopla — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 06:35:10 GMT

Interesting article that just popped up on CNN about The Lost Sea Cave in Tennessee:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/08/26/lost.sea.ap/index.html

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

new

MidnightOrchid — Sun, 15 May 2005 03:42:25 GMT

Hi,

This is the first time I have ever heard of spelunking. Before I actually clicked the Join button I looked up what it is.... I'm fascinated. Is there anyone or a group/club in the southern CA area that I can check out?

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

Belize caves

Mon, 09 May 2005 16:06:36 GMT

I'm down here right now - I would highly recommend Belize as a destination for cave fans - WOWWWWW!!!!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

Anyone attending SERA next month?

NRVcat — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 00:23:53 GMT

Hmm? I'll be in Decatur on May 13 for business and will head out to Mentone afterwards.

~Elizabeth

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 3 replies

sutherland peak cave, AZ

ramsay — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 21:30:38 GMT

just posted some pics from a trip back in '99....still digging through old photos to find some more...that was the best trip I have taken. pristine! beautiful travertine dams, parachute shields, "the blessed virgin" and the cactus...I wish i could go back.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

caving in Oregon?

Sun, 20 Mar 2005 23:58:10 GMT

Anybody have any suggestions?

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 8 replies

Quickie trip report

NRVcat — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 13:07:38 GMT

A couple of guys from the New River Valley Grotto and I went to Haynes Cave and Atkins Cave near Union, WV this past Saturday. Haynes is a nice, dry cave where saltpeter was once mined and you can still see some of the old boards and a winch from the mining days. You can still use the boards as bridges, tho' I don't know what their weight limit is. Lots of gypsum flowers all over, tho' most of them were pretty dusty. Lots of graffiti in the back end of the cave but that seemed to be the worst section of it. Not too many formations but it was neat to walk through a cave that glittered.

Atkins Cave is a pretty damp cave though for the most part you can avoid getting in the little run of water. At the very back of one section, the mud and dirt are pretty loose and it's hard to get around without pulling the walls down. A couple of tight belly crawls, one of which is through shallow water. Lots of good formations. I didn't get as many photos as I might have with a larger group, and also because the thing required so much work to get through that I didn't want to stop to drag out the camera. Pics of Haynes are up already; pics from Atkins will be up later today. A warning about the entrance to Atkins -- some animal uses it for its potty, so it's pretty nasty until you get past that.

Have fun!
~Elizabeth

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 3 replies

TAG Fall Cave-In date?

NRVcat — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 13:01:06 GMT

No, I'm not looking for a date, I just want to know when this year's Cave-In is scheduled? Or, have they gotten that far yet?

~Elizabeth

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

Huntsville - anybody?

firebug — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 06:06:06 GMT

going to national convention?

if so lets have a party, trip or both.

fire bug

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

Trip report: New River Cave (VA)

NRVcat — Thu, 03 Feb 2005 12:59:32 GMT

Went caving this past Saturday, the day we in the New River Valley were "supposed" to get 4-8 inches of snow and maybe some sleet just for kicks. Eleven of us scrambled up the side of a small mountain to reach the cave. Seven hours later...<sigh> I've never been caving for that long. I could barely move on Sunday. But it was a good cave, five miles long and we saw most of it. I sat out one part because my fear of heights had reached its tolerance limits, plus I was getting really tired. The guys were really great at helping me climb on the way out because I was running out of steam despite the protein bars and snacks I'd eaten. Got some good photos (NRVcat.smugmug.com -- look under "Other"). None of me, as usual, I just never think of having someone take a shot of me with my own camera. Lots of breakdown to get past, tho' not quite as bad as Tumbling Rock. Down the China Slide, which was actually dry so we didn't all just go shooting to the bottom of it. This trip had me do my first "chimney" down a hole (with a belay cuz I'm a scaredy cat newbie) and then back up it (where are the elevators in these things?). We went back to the waterfall, which was flowing pretty strongly. I'll leave out the parts where our trip leader(s) forgot which way to go. Twice. Once out of the cave, we saw that it had snowed about two or three inches -- all we were going to get from that particular storm. The only way to get down the mountain was to scoot down on our butts. Everyone else wore jeans. Me, I wore my usual caving outfit of polyester shirt and pants. The pants held up without a tear but my butt was mighty cold and I got bruises where a person should never get bruises.

Several of us agreed that winter caving wasn't fun when it snows, at least not the getting to the cave part.

Later,
~Elizabeth, the caving librarian (or one of 'em; I'm the only one I know of, but I've heard there have been others)

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 4 replies

Missouri/Arkansas

kamikazekelly — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 12:52:54 GMT

Greets All
Any suggestions/members local to me?! SW MO. Ozarks...
KK
Ozarks Exploration Tribe

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 0 replies

South Texas

wendyraustin — Sun, 31 Oct 2004 16:40:58 GMT

Anyone near South Texas? Anyone willing to take a newbi along with them? I have done some caving as a youngster, but not as an adult. I always went with a cantene, some peanut butter crackers, and a flashlight. Yeah I know, but this was the 70's and kids did weird things in those days. I am so interested in going exploring again, but have limited financial resources. If there is anyone out there willing to have a newbie tag along, let me know!!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

SF Bay Area peeps?

cicadaloca — Thu, 03 Feb 2005 21:48:24 GMT

I would love to take a day trip up to calaveras county and explore some of the caves and maybe do a bit of bug hunting. I live in SF. Anyone else on this tribe from around these parts that would be interested in joining me? It would be great if we could rally a group of 3-4 peeps.

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

Happy Holidays!

AtlantaHoopla — Thu, 23 Dec 2004 21:41:13 GMT

Have fun, travel safely and get cho' freak on!

Happy Holidays to all!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 4 replies

Weinman Mineral Museum

AtlantaHoopla — Wed, 13 Oct 2004 21:56:33 GMT

TEMPORARY EXHIBIT: "Take Nothing but Pictures..." The Story of Caves

From September 7, 2004 through January 15, 2005

"...Caves are nature's underground wonderlands! Hands-on and visual exhibits will highlight the geology, biology, and ecology of caves, as well as efforts that are taking place to conserve these irreplaceable treasures..."

here's the musem's homepage if you're interested:

http://www.weinmanmuseum.org/

or call them at (770) 386-0576

they're located near Cartersville, Georgia at:

51 Mineral Museum Drive
White, GA 30184-3102

here's a map:

http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=JGq2n.p_0ToID2849FmPhY_c4T3f4RHPCu0MbHpbNio-&csz=White%2C+georgia++30184&country=us&cat=

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 6 replies

Willing newbie

NRVcat — Thu, 20 May 2004 17:41:42 GMT

Anyone in the TAG area willing to take a total newbie on her first cave trip? I have the boots and a helmet and can get headlamps at Wally World, just nobody with the time to take me in June (I have a possible trip in July, but even that's uncertain right now). Atlanta's only 5 hours away, ditto Chattanooga.

Elizabeth

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 5 replies

Northern California Caves

Fri, 10 Sep 2004 16:16:25 GMT

Some links below...

http://www.greenstoneinn.com/thingstodo/caverns.php#moaningcaverns

http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/caves98.asp

http://www.mercercaverns.com/Html/Gallery.html

Welcome to my whirlled....

Amador

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

Deepest Hole in Coratia

Wed, 18 Aug 2004 17:53:38 GMT

Apologies to anyone who has already seen this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/17/science/17hole.html
free registration required

In Croatia, Explorers Make a Deep Discovery
By MARK GLASSMAN

Published: August 17, 2004

ASHINGTON, Aug. 16 - Earlier this month, as thousands of Olympians trained to compete in Athens, a small team of Croatian cavers set a new benchmark that went largely unnoticed. They found the world's deepest hole.

There was no medal ceremony awaiting Darko Baksic, the expedition leader, or any of his dusty colleagues when they reached the bottom of the 1,693-foot pit. Just a long climb back up.

Advertisement

The pit, which is at the back of a dark cave in the Velebit mountains, southwest of Zagreb, is about 217 feet deeper than the former record holder in Austria known as Hollenhohle.

Sophisticated mapping has left very little room for dumb luck in surface exploration. But maps do not chart what lies beneath the land or the ocean floor.

"I'm not at all surprised that we're still making these sorts of discoveries," said Lisa R. Gaddis, the program chief of the United States Geological Survey's astrogeology team, said, "I think we have perhaps a better global picture of some other terrestrial planets, like Mars, than we have of some of the more remote areas on Earth."

When it comes to caves, noted David E. Smith, chief of NASA's Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics, "we can't see anything from space.'' He added, "You can't really say very much, if anything at all, about below the surface."

The new find is not the deepest cave on Earth. That title still belongs to the Krubera Cave in Abkhazia, which descends 5,130 feet (almost a mile), albeit more steadily, without such a sharp drop.

Cavers define a hole, or pit, as a straight vertical drop, sometimes interrupted by ledges, that is too steep to walk down.

"Until the era of modern speleology, pits often stopped incursions into caves," according to The Atlas of the Great Caves of the World. Today, most pits are explored by shimmying down ropes.

Mr. Baksic's team, which is now converting its field drawings into precise maps for publication, found the record-setting hole while exploring another cavern nearby.

"People don't tend to go and search for these things," Mr. Smith said. "They tend to find them more or less by accident, while exploring."

The underworld remains a kind of last frontier for explorers looking for new discoveries. "It takes a special kind of person who is willing to walk, crawl a mile underground in pitch black," Mr. Smith said.

Cave explorers are among the last amateurs. "For me, it's like a profession," said Andrej Stroj, a member of the team that found the record-setting abyss in Croatia, "but for others, it's mostly a hobby."

Jim Chester, a fellow of the Explorers Club in New York, received the National Speleological Society's highest award for cave exploration last year for his work charting caverns in Montana. But caving does not pay his bills.

"All the stuff I do with caves is on the weekends or vacation," said Mr. Chester, 60. During the week, he is a postman.

The caving society's official list of the world's deepest pits is maintained by Bob Gulden, a Maryland engineer. Mr. Gulden is a member of a local caving club called the Gangsta Mappers, a network of guerrilla cartographers who remap previously explored caves, but with more care and in greater detail.

"Every cave they remap," Mr. Gulden said, "they always find new passage."

Cavers do not have the technology available to scientists like Mr. Smith or Ms. Gaddis.

"You've got to physically do it," Mr. Gulden said. Ground-penetrating radar could detect the presence of an underground cavity, he said, but that equipment is too expensive and impractical for ordinary cavers.

Cavers rely on old tricks to find new caves, like hunting for depressions in the snow or tracing the passage of water through a mountain. Mr. Chester said his group occasionally takes aerial scouting trips in the winter to search for "smoking entrances," or pockets of steam rising from the snow that could indicate warm air rising through a cave system.

"We do not know what the deepest cave on this planet is," Mr. Chester said, "and unless there is some big breakthrough, like a CAT scan for the Earth, we may never know."

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 1 reply

Wall-Climbing Bot

AtlantaHoopla — Thu, 12 Aug 2004 11:33:25 GMT

http://sun-valley.stanford.edu/~tbretl/

very cool.

the creator Timothy Wolfe Bretl calls it LEMUR IIb

the 2nd clip is a bit boring and fantastically unimpressive, but the other 2 movie clips are interesting to a nerd like me.

i'm just wondering what 'big picture' applications his idea might have that i've not thought of?

IDEAS ANYONE?

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

Cool Tribe

Joseph — Tue, 20 Jul 2004 00:32:44 GMT

Hey there,

Another new member here.

I don't know of any caves near me, so I used to get my fix by crawling around underground in the local storm sewers.

I dig caves, and I'd like to see more. Sounds like a lot of you folks are around Atlanta, and one in the Bay Area, CA?

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

NEIL R: Kentucky caves

AtlantaHoopla — Mon, 03 May 2004 03:26:40 GMT

POSTED IN A DIFFERENT THREAD:

April 23, 2004 - 10:48 PM
Re: Caves Near YOU!

MANY years ago, while I was in the 101st Airborne and at FT.
Campbell, Ky. Two or three others and I went into a cave in the Hopkinville, Ky. area.

As far as I know it did not have a name and I have NO clue how we ever found it.

Based on what we saw, I doubt that more than a few people even knew of it.

There was a small river flowing from the cave and to enter it we had to wade in the water which was up to our necks.

There was about a foot to six inches of head room between the tops of our heads and the top of the cave. We had to wade at least 30 feet and it could have been over a 100 ft to get into the cave.

(Hey, this was in 1961 - 1962 and so I do not remember every thing about it.)

Once you got into the first real cave there was a lot of room. Then you had to crawl thought tight places. etc etc

It was exciting and due to our lack of knowledge as to what the heck we were doing, I am sure it was much more dangerous than we thought at the time.

Anywho, does anyone know what cave it was and if it has a name.

And is now a "popular" place to go?

Thanks!

Neil

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

Hopkinville, KENTUCKY

AtlantaHoopla — Sat, 24 Apr 2004 06:06:20 GMT

POSTED BY NEIL:

MANY years ago, while I was in the 101st Airborne and at FT.
Campbell, Ky. Two or three others and I went into a cave in the Hopkinville, Ky. area.

As far as I know it did not have a name and I have NO clue how we ever found it.

Based on what we saw, I doubt that more than a few people even knew of it.

There was a small river flowing from the cave and to enter it we had to wade in the water which was up to our necks.

There was about a foot to six inches of head room between the tops of our heads and the top of the cave. We had to wade at least 30 feet and it could have been over a 100 ft to get into the cave.

(Hey, this was in 1961 - 1962 and so I do not remember every thing about it.)

Once you got into the first real cave there was a lot of room. Then you had to crawl thought tight places. etc etc

It was exciting and due to our lack of knowledge as to what the heck we were doing, I am sure it was much more dangerous than we thought at the time.

Anywho, does anyone know what cave it was and if it has a name.

And is now a "popular" place to go?

Thanks!

Neil

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

Chiang Dao caves

Tue, 02 Mar 2004 17:34:22 GMT

I just got back from Thailand, and was able to spend a day at the Chaing Dao caves, about an hour north of Chiang Mai. Wow!! If anyone plans on travelling to Thailand, check it out (just don't go with a tour group - you'll be rushed in and out within a half hour). The caves are filled with hundreds of Buddha images, and is surrounded by countless legends. A small part of the cave has electricity, but for about 40 baht (about a dollar) you can hire a guide to take you on a tour with a gas lantern deeper into the cave. Supposedly the cave continues into the mountain for nearly 10 kilometers.

Gorgeous!

posted in Cavers & Spelunkers - 2 replies

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