BLUE RIDGE GROTTO
MEETING MINUTES
July 18, 2008
Pat Sims Al Stewart Mary Sue Socky Dave Socky
Susan Burr Carl Cornett Marian McConnell Todd Martin
Cyndi Hutchison Aaron Moses Dan McConnell Cole Frantz
*Molly
Miller *John Semones
Chris Heptinstall dropped by for a moment to open the
room for us.
* denotes guest.
CAVE TRIPS
Dave Socky had 2 pages worth.
Get him to email you the file for cut & paste.
7/5: Doug and Jenny Feller and one more GS went
into Goodwin Cave, VA. I
think Cheryl Feller waited outside
for them.
July
3-6: Carl
Cornett, Dave
Socky, Aaron Moses, Rickey Shortt traveled to Rumbling Falls Cave, TN
and Keystone River Cave, TN for some vertical fun. (see slide show). On Sunday, they searched and found numerous
waterfalls in a pretty area.
July
5: Cyndi H. and Mary
Sue Socky did some easy caving, conservation work with Carol Tiderman in Grand Caverns, VA. They ended up
in the narrow room off the top of the stairs, looking for the elusive air
flow. Cyndi was willing to climb up to
find the airway, until the rotten rock/saprolite kept breaking off under her
boots. There is a good chance the air IS
coming from a high passage in the formations.
They spent the rest of the time digging, moving rocks/fill to uncover a
white flowstone formation and find the “floor” of the room. They did find another piece of an antique
glass bottle that Carol T. is reassembling.
7/12: Dave
and Mary Sue were near Asheville,
NC. They did “Moonshiner’s Cave” and “The
Subway”, as well as numerous rock shelter overhangs in Chimney Rock State Park,
NC. They drove around, looked for, but didn’t
find Bat
Cave in the community of Bat
Cave, NC. Then they went to DuPont State Forest
and toured some waterfalls, including getting into a grotto behind Hooker’s
Falls, NC, that was featured in the movie “The Last of the Mohicans”.
July
5: Pat
Sims, Susan Burr,
Anya Crane, Kevin Mulligan, Scott Davis
and Jay (the annoying one) worked on getting into “Kevin’s Attic” section off Dante’s Inferno in Grand Caverns, VA. They GOT INTO VIRGIN PASSAGE! Susan was first! There were lots of “rafts” that looked like
stacks of pancakes. Pat called this are “IHOP”. Photos
were taken, but no surveying (yet).
Small surveyors are needed!!
6/21: BRG
trip to Greenbrier
PoorFarm
Cave, WVa. Doug Feller led. We got lost and fund underground, lots of
pretty photos were taken, and it was a fun trip!
6/29: Aaron Moses,
Rick Shortt and folks from NRVG did
a Newberry-Banes crossover
trip. They did the Banes drop, Triple Wells, Bill’s
Rappel and climbed the Devils Staircase.
7/12: Aaron Moses, Bob
Zimmerman, others went to Shovel Eater
Cave, WV. This cave involves lots of “European Style
rebelays”. They were cleaning up side
passages and leads for the cave survey.
At one point, no one wanted to follow Aaron, who was in some pretty
sketchy passage.
July
2008: Collier’s Cave, VA. Cole Frantz,
John Semones, Carl Cornett, Don
Anderson, Bill Pond, Leanne Barley,
Rickey Shortt, Debbie NLN, Tommy NLN. It
was not a long trip, except for the “photo trip”. Pretty
cave. They visited Don Anderson’s cabin
afterwards.
July 2008 –
Pig Hole, VA. Rickey
Shortt led the trip. Cole Frantz, John Semones, two other NRVG
cavers. The dropped the entrance pit and
climbed out, did not go through the cave.
July 4, 11.
18 – The last 3 Fridays Marian McConnell
and Carl Cornett have been training
new Roanoke City Park & Rec
leaders and taking RoCiPR trips to Island Ford Cave, VA. The last group of summer camp participants
were a bit “high energy”.
UPCOMING – July 19 – Buckeye Creek Cave
- WET!!! Mary Socky will lead the easy trip, and Dave
Socky will lead the thru trip into Spencer
Cave and out through Buckeye Creek Entrance.
AUGUST – NO MEETING. POOL
PARTY Aug 16 @ Spring Run Pool, Roanoke,
VA
PROGRAM: Aaron Moses’
and Rickey Shortt’s AWESOME slide
show on Rumbling Falls and Keystone
River Cave, TN – and don’t forget the waterfalls!! (The last half of “Carlsbad
Caverns” will be shown at the September 12 meeting*).
BUSINESS
MEETING
TREASURER 7/18/08
General Fund $ 4575.22
VAR Registration $
189.00
Conservation $
251.09
Equipment Fund $ 341.00
Cave Bucks
$ 85.30
Total: $ 5,441.61
Committee Reports:
Newsletter:
the Editors got this one out in 9-12 hours. Will take a break next month. Thanks for your submissions! Send in your artwork,
photos, and articles for the September edition.
Membership: nothing
new.
ROCKS: nothing
new
S&T: Dan will set up a training session at RocWood climbing
wall once he finds the Director.
Conservation: vacant
Ways &
Means: vacant
Membership Proposals –
Nothing
tabled, nothing new. NSS Membership
brochures are at the front desk.
OLD BUSINESS
BRG Website: Shawn
Hinchee had originally purchased the BRG.com
address; it is now transferred to Dave
Socky.
Hosting Fall VAR 2008 (Susan Burr & Pat
Sims) So far, 19 people have pre-registered!
- We have “ordered” black Koozies with
yellow and grey highlights for VAR (from a different company)
- We will have one vendor –
IMO. Hoping one or two more vendors
can make it too.
- Work on guidebook has begun.
White Nose
Syndrome (WNS) nothing new
to report. Check VAR Limited Access
Cave List for new updates
and “gear cleaning” recommendations.
Several closed caves have been opened for the summer to cavers.
BRG Pool Party. Will be Aug 16, 2008; rain date Aug 17. Please
sign up by Aug 11.
Dixie Caverns Haunted Cave 2008 – Is a GO. Will discuss everything at next BRG meeting*.
Banner Update – Dave
Socky will send the company the banner graphics once they come back from
vacation. Local guy is supposed to make
it, for app. $70.00 Susan Burr
hopes the banner will be flying for the Pool
Party.
NEW BUSINESS
Should we have a BRG meeting one week early in September?
(Sept. 12*) Otherwise, we will have no meetings before Oct. 17.
Susan Burr motioned that we schedule a Sept.
12 meeting. Mary
Sue Socky seconded.
Motion passed; hope that Chris can schedule the room for us on that
date. If no room, we’ll find someplace
to meet.
Does BRG
want to go see “Journey to the Center of the Earth” as a group?
YES. Marian
McConnell will pick date and time, and send info via BRG email.
Finances:
Both BCI
(Bat Conservation International) and
WVCC (WVa Cave Conservancy) want BRG
to “rejoin” their organizations. This is
in addition to our donations. Joining
each organization will cost app. $50.00 each.
Susan motioned that we “rejoin” both organizations. Dave
Socky seconded. Motion passed
unanimously. Susan will send re-applications
in.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Thank You from
WVCC for our “Haunted Cave” donation.
- NSS Convention
2008 (Lake City FL)
Aug. 11-15, 2008 registration info.
- 2008 Nittany
Grotto 60th Anniversary/MAR preregistration form. (Oct 10-12)
- Available from NSS Bookstore:
“Vertical Bill: The
Story of Bill Cuddington and
the Development of Vertical Caving in America”. On sale $28.00 - $32.00
- NEW VAR CLOSED CAVE LIST is available. We have a few hardcopies for folks. Some caves have re-opened for the
summer.
Meeting ended 8:50p.
Minutes submitted by
Mary Sue
Socky
Secretary, Blue
Ridge Grotto.