BLUE RIDGE GROTTO of the NSS
Meeting Minutes
Jersey Lily’s Roadhouse Meeting Room
January 19, 2018
Attendance:
Bob Gulden – Chair Mary Sue Socky –
Secretary Susan
Burr – Vice Chair
Carl Cornett David Socky – Treasurer Doug Feller
Trish Geiger Karen Kastning Lynn
Ott
Jeff Huffman Dusty Gulden Nicole
Gulden
*Odin Gulden *Jerry Fuller *Stephanie
Breen
*Dawn Weideman (* guest)
Marian McConnell popped in for a
minute to say ‘Hi’ – she wasn’t feeling well, went home.
Meeting began 6:40p
TRIP REPORTS:
11/25/2017: Culverson Creek Cave, WV
(Echo Tubes): Participants included
David Socky, Nick Socky, and Eric Pelkey. We had very good 12 hour trip past
the Echo Tubes in Culverson Creek Cave. We set a total of 15 bolts for 2 down
climb drops and two up climb drops. We made it to within 600 feet of the lead
we are trying to get to, but ran out of rope and hardware. Now most of the
route is rigged & good steps have been cut into the steep mud slopes in the
Culverson main passage. It was a particularly exciting trip because we were the
first people to be back in that section of the cave for at least 30 or 40
years. The other good thing we discovered was that you don’t need a wetsuit. We
were overheated most of the time and I didn’t have to use my polypro. We only
got wet up to our thighs. What really helped was being able to by-pass
Hurricane Lake.
11/28/2017: Redington Cave, VA: Participants included David Socky, Mark
Hodge, Phil Lucas, and Jim Redington. This is the cave that Phil Lucas and Amos
Mincin broke into virgin cave the week before. Dave got on this trip to help
dig and survey the known cave. The idea was to dig on the lower entrance tunnel
so it would connect into the upper cave that was going. The survey was to find
out how close we were. As it turned out, we
made a voice and light connection. Dave Socky will draw the map. We
surveyed 143 feet for a 5 hour trip.
12/2/2017: Cave Hollow Arbogast, WV: Participants included David Socky, Jay
Balakirsky, and Joanne Smith (Miles Drake’s wife) - team one. Dave West, Karen
Willmes, and Rick Royer - team two. Aaron Bird, Hope Brooks, and Eric Pelkey -
team three. My team did the H survey down the stream passage toward the Cave
Hollow Entrance. The cave down this way was a lot different then what we had
done last month. This was stream canyon passage and involved a lot of narrow
stuff, plus lots of crawling. We got into an upper level which was a lot dryer,
but most of it was pretty low. There was one huge wide room, but it was only
two to three feet high! Above this level was a set of canyons, one end of which
was too tight but maybe a real small person could push. The other way was
tight, but passable, but not by our crew. We surveyed in the mid-level until we
reached a real crawly section. Since it was getting late in the day, I figured
we would better spend what time we had left by going back to the stream and
continuing there until it was time to turn around. As it turned out, we did a
crawly side lead off the stream and ended up in walking canyon passage, with
air! We got a couple of shots in, but then had to quit because it was time to
get back to the entrance where we were to meet the other two teams. It was a
good seven-hour trip with 426 feet surveyed.
12/2/2017- Paxton
Cave, VA: Doug Feller & Susan Burr took 8 Greenbrier
Grotto members, including Bill Balfour, Ed Swepston, & Ed Saugstad into
Paxton Cave. We did the normal tourist
trip route to the Christmas Room loop & Western Maze, then back out. Had
fun.
12/2/2017: Mary Sue Socky and Cyndi Hutchison ventured up to Grand Caverns VA to help the
"Grand Cavers" with "Caroling in the Caverns",
a Grottoes/Ruritans event to raise scholarship funds. This year, over 900 people showed up to hear
singing, bagpipes, and brass groups play Christmas carols in the cave. Caver volunteers light and position hundreds
of tea lights throughout the cave rooms.
It was magical. It left you with
a good feeling! J
(BRG meeting 1/19/2018)
12/15/2017: Butler Cave, VA: Participants included David Socky, Nick
Socky, Tony Canike, and Reilly Blackwell. We went back to the Candle Room via
Crisco Way. Nick and Tony worked on a bolt climb while Reilly and I surveyed
some of the finger passages off of the Candle Room. We also surveyed up to the
webbing climb on the way to the 4-Way Stop, but we didn't climb up because it
was the end of the day and we didn't feel like doing the tricky climb, even
with the webbing. We went out via Goodway Climb (30 foot vertical climb up),
then the Frothing Slosh and the Pancake Crawl, both of which were dry - which
was really nice. It was a long and tiring 14 hour trip, with travel time taking
up a good 7 hours (both ways).
12/23/2017: Bonfire in Catawba, VA. It was cold, wet, and sleeting but hardcore
cavers Keith and Lisa Goggin, their neighbor, Bob Alderson, David Rose, David
and Mary Sue Socky (and assorted dogs) attended, burned lots of brush, and
decorated a wild Christmas tree. Next
year Keith promises there will be shelter from the rain.
2018
1/1/2018
- Porter
Cave, VA: Jeff Huffman, Bill Walker
& Susan Burr took Glen Hugus, his daughter, Tony Smith & several others
into Porter's for their traditional New Year's Day cave trip. Susan reports: It
happened to be freezing outside that day. We practically froze getting ready
& to the cave. I was trip leader & it was the first time that I
lead a group through the Keyhole, into the Attic & down to the Natural
Bridge without Doug Feller. We did the loop out & back through the Keyhole,
& then went to the other Natural Bridge room & let them explore some,
then to the formation room, next to see the Slit & then out the other
direction. This was Glen's daughter' first cave trip since her brain injury.
Other than a little panic attack 3/4 the way through the Keyhole, she did
GREAT!
1/9/2018: Lowmoor Cave, VA. Participants included David Socky, Mary Sue
Socky, Karen Powers, and Makayla Beckner
(Karen’s student assistant). Also doing bat
counts was Wil Orndorff and Chris Hobbs in Lowmoor Mine, and Tom Malabad and
Rick Reynolds in Wares Cave. We saw
a good portion of Lowmoor Cave. We counted 2 Big Browns plus about 35
Tri-colored bats. Most of the Tri-Colored bats where in the long finger passage
that contain the mine overlook at the extreme north of the mine.
1/9/2018: Mary Sue and Dave Socky,
bat biologist Karen Powers, and Makayla Beckner (Karen’s student assistant)
toured Lowmoor Cave, VA to do a bat
count. (This was the morning after the
regional ice/sleet storm, BTW.) 3 Big
Brown Bats and 46 hibernating Eastern Pipistrelle/Tricolor Bats were
counted. Karen also found one dead bat,
and a dead mouse. Karen and Makela were expecting a 2-hour visit
to count bats in a few rooms. But this
IS Dave's survey project! He took us to
numerous areas, with differing temperatures and air flow. We crossed the metal ladder! We crawled!
He kept mentioning "Charlie's Dig", too. After 5 hours underground, Mary Sue and Karen
convinced Dave that, while he usually
spends 13 hours in this cave on a survey trip, they were tired, out of food,
water, and were low on batteries - It is time to leave! So Dave took everyone out. Then he charged back up to the mine entrance
to touch base with Wil Orndorff, Tom Malabad, and Chris to let them know the
counters were leaving. Short trip for
Dave, LONG trip for Karen and Makela, and a great trip for MSS.
1/13/2018: Maxwelton Cave, WV.
Participants included David Socky, Keely Owens, Errol Glidden, and David
Smallwood. This was a day trip to check and push leads in the Pie Survey to
Ghost Camp and then to the Sweetwater river. The best lead was a few hundred
feet beyond the Ghost Camp and involved an upstream and downstream lead for a
secondary stream off of the Confluence Room. But it had rained close to 2
inches just before the weekend so the water levels where up, making both leads
very wet. Wet suits would have been needed. So instead we dug at a lead that
was above the stream. The dig was opened up just enough for Keely and Dave
Smallwood to get in, so they surveyed the passage beyond for about 10 stations,
getting 170 feet. The only lead left in this section was a real wet one. We
then surveyed another 130 feet in a room off on the left on the way back to
Ghost Camp. All the other leads turned out to be little loops, or small, tight
leads that ended. We didn't survey any of these because of time constraints.
The Pie Passage and cave between Ghost Camp and Sweetwater is really crawly
with some walking but a lot of little obstacles and lots of mud. It's not hard,
but it does give one a pretty good work out. It took us 3 hours and 20 minutes
to get from the entrance to Ghost Camp, but we did stop for lunch and a couple
of rest breaks. It was pretty obvious that this part of the cave reacts fairly
quickly to rainy weather outside. Just the weekend before, water levels were
pretty dry. Then it rained on Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday (1/13) water
levels were noticeably higher. Our trip was a total of 15.5 hours for 303 feet
of survey.
January 2018 cave trip – Starnes Cave, VA. Doug Feller is leader.
February 2018 cave trip –Rapps Cave, WV. Dave Socky is leader.
(BRG meeting 1/19/2018)
BUSINESS MEETING
January 19, 2018 BRG Treasury Report
$ 85.64 Cave
Bucks
$ 160.64 Conservation Fund
$ 235.36 Equipment Fund
$2930.47 General
Fund
$3412.11 total funds David Socky, Treasurer
Committees:
Newsletter – Got out Dec
2017, Jan. 2018 DUMP. Also, vote for
your favorite 5!
Membership - Dues are
due! As of end of meeting, BRG has 43
members and 4 subscribers for 2018.
ROCKS – Lowmoor survey is
active. Locomotive Breath survey will
continue in Feb. 2018. We are still waiting to hear back from the Eagle Rock
landowner.
Safety & Techniques
--- no report
Membership Proposals: Welcomed,
explained BRG membership process to new folks.
No proposals at this time.
Old Business
·
BRG
Christmas Party wrap-up. 12 people attended.
Thank you, Lynn Ott, for hosting and offering an awesome spread!
·
BRG Christmas Cards - Mailed 72 Christmas cards to cave owners. None have been returned.
·
BRG
donations were sent out after the Nov. 2017 meeting. We have received Thank You cards from
CaveSim/Dave Jackson, NCRC Eastern Region/Tony Smith, NSS/Geary M. Schindel,
MAKC/Kim Metzgar, and WVACS/Chuck Frostick.
·
Going Batty – Karst Awareness Day in
Lynchburg, VA. POSTPHONED until
Marian McConnell feels up to it.
Gretchen said she has the grant funds, and BRG can delay until later
this spring, in the fall, or even 2019.
New Business
·
Vote for
your Favorite Five CARBIDE DUMP
covers of 2017. Winners will
be sent to the NSS Cover Art Salon in Helena Montana. Vote Well, and Vote Often!
Announcements
·
Please limit your
trip reports to 3-5 minutes per trip, with a 15 minute maximum of reports per
person.
·
Please submit
written cave trip reports to the secretary.
Thanks!
·
(10/17) New River
Cave Preserve has a new manager:
Jonathan Roberts jonroberts300@gmail.com He is
replacing old cave registers, documenting vandalism. Upcoming projects – trail maintenance in
Spring 2018.
·
Spring VAR April
27-29, 2018
·
FALL
2018: Fall VAR, hosted by VPI Cave
Club. No Other Info.
Meeting ended 7:20p, followed by
Program: Slide
Show of the BRG Christmas Party and Recent Cave Trips. Photos
by Carl Cornett, Susan Burr and Dave Socky.
Minutes by
BRG Secretary
Mary Sue Socky