BLUE RIDGE
GROTTO of the National Speleological Society
BRG Minutes
10/20/23
Jersey
Lily’s; Roanoke, VA
Order of Business
Introductions:
|
Lauren
Appel – Chair |
Nick
Schmalenberger – Vice |
MarySue
Socky – Treasurer |
|
Marian
McConnell – Secretary |
Dave Socky
– Newsletter |
Lynn Ott |
|
Carl
Cornett |
Barry
Ferguson |
Helene
Ferguson |
|
Susan
Burr |
John
Pearson |
Doug
Feller |
|
Jeff
Huffman |
Wes
Spangler* |
Trish
Geiger |
*Guest
Trip Reports:
·
9/16: Dry Cave, WV. Participants included
David Socky, Greg Springer, and Lucy Ogle. We went upstream of the Blowhole,
past the 2nd Bypass, and continued the resurvey of the main stream passage. We
started out by doing a dry short loop and then continued upstream. After surveying
15 stations or so we took a break and then ran upstream for 15 minutes to get
warm. Lucy and I checked an upper level which needs to be surveyed. We got
about 36 stations and 1110 feet of survey. Our survey was mostly in big walking
trunk passage. We headed out at 9 pm and got out at 11:30pm. It was a good
12.5-hour trip.
·
9/23: A river cave, in Alleghany County,
VA. Participants included David Socky, Mark Minton, Yvonne Droms, Bill
Koerschner, Riley Drake, and Katarina Kosič -Ficco. This was a science
trip with Riley and Katarina being the prime investigators. We entered the cave
around 11am. The trip in was pretty standard. The water was really low, but the
air and water temperatures weren't as high as they had been seen in the past.
Water samples and temperature readings were taken at the Hot Tub. Mark and I
collected a few tools from the Air Acclivity dig just before the Hot Tub. We
left a piece of dynamic rope in the cave because of a bolt climb we saw that
will need to be done. We finally got to the location where we had seen the
orange slime from previous trips. Riley and Katarina put on sterile gloves and
put together the lacrosse double pole with gauze on the net. Then Katarina went
into the low passage to find the orange slime. She found it! She got it into
the gauzed net. It was successfully collected! Yeah! And then further upstream
Mark and I found some other globules of orange slime. These were successfully
collected in a bottle and snorted up using a turkey baster. We then made our
way to the back of the cave where the siphon was located. Riley, Katarina, Mark, and Vonnie went into
the lead beyond the sump, but before the rabbit hole, to collect more orange
slime and take water and air temperatures. The trip out was a lot quicker than
the way in. We got out at 9pm.
·
9/30: Dry Cave, WV. Participants included
David Socky, Tatiana Olin, Ripley Taylor. Second team Greg Springer, and two
others. More survey in the main stream passage before the Bitter End. We picked
up from where we left off on the last trip. There were several ways up into big
high leads, but we didn’t survey those - just marked them on the map. Greg's
team climbed up into high lead upstream from where we started and tied them
into the stream. Then they surveyed upstream. It was a good 12-hour trip with
665 feet surveyed by our team.
·
10/14: McClungs Cave, WV. Participants
included David Socky, Chris Coates, Brian Young, Ned Rose. We went back to the
Waffle Foot passage to tie into Kelly's NIP survey. Took three hours to get to
the start of our survey. It continued gnarly and small, but nothing too tight.
Everything was covered in slimy mud, which may have been left over from the
2016 flood. But it wasn't wet. After tying into the NIP survey, we did an
upper-level loop back the way we had come. The start of it was a tight belly
crawl I barely fit through. After that the passage was gnarly and small, but
nothing uncomfortably tight. There were numerous places it ties back into the
lower level. We finally called it a day after 43 stations, but stuff still left
to do in the Waffle Foot area. Probably several hundred feet, plus leads to
check according to the old map. It was a tiring 13-hour trip, but we surveyed
541 feet.
·
9/30: Clover Hollow Cave, VA – Nick
Schmalenberger during Blacksburg Cave Rescue Training.
·
10/1: Tawney’s Cave, VA – Nick during
Blacksburg Cave Rescue Training.
·
10/7: Neversink, Moody’s, Stephen’s Gap,
Tumbling Rock - Nick in TAG with the Greenbrier group.
·
10/20: Smoke Hole, VA – Nick during Blacksburg
Cave Rescue training – mock rescue.
·
9/16 – Paxton’s, VA – September’s BRG
trip – see write-up in the Carbide Dump.
·
10/1: Lowmoor Cave, VA – Pick-up trip
with Lauren and some newbies. Saw lots of salamanders and took lots of photos.
Each laid back trip.
·
10/16: Crozet Tunnel, VA – Easy trip, 4
people, see write-up in Carbide Dump.
This
Month’s trip – Lost Cave, WV – October 21st,
note that the entrance looks different now since a big rock fell in it.
Next
Month’s grotto trip –
TBA
|
BUSINESS MEETING |
Treasury Report – Mary Sue Socky,
Treasurer
Fund Amounts
$
45.96 Cave Bucks
$
2.00 Conservation Fund
$ 144.12 Equipment
Fund
$ 3,672.52 General Fund
$
3,864.60
Total Funds
Asset Amounts
$ 152.00 Petty Cash
$ 3,712.60 BRG Checking Account
$ 3,864.60 Total Assets
Committees:
●
Newsletter – Awesome job. Great salamander
pic on the cover – John Pearson said one of the best he’s seen. Thanks to all
who submitted trip reports, photos, etc.
●
Membership – has 56 members & 5
subscribers.
●
ROCKS – Nothing.
●
Safety & Techniques – Nick
Schmalenberger attended cave rescue training – also see 2 programs at the end
of tonight’s meeting.
Membership Proposals: None.
Old Business
●
Dave created an Auction link for
Carl Cornett’s caving gear. Auction is open to the caver public until
October 31, 2023 at 11:59p. Contact Dave
Socky sockydr@cox.net for any
questions. So far $1700 has been bid.
●
Nominations for 2024 NSS Awards. It
is time to nominate deserving cavers for NSS awards to be presented at the 2024
NSS Convention in Suwanee, Tennessee July 5, 2024. Please submit nominations to
the appropriate award sub-committee chair by the firm deadline of November
15, 2023. Award information, including the selection process
and what a well-written nomination should contain, is published on the NSS
Awards web page (https://caves.org/nss-awards/). This includes Fellows, and
also the Arts and Letters award – Marian is new Sub-Chair - Hoping to get
interested members to nominate Dave Bunnell who was NSS News editor for 26
years. You can nominate anyone else who qualifies. Nominations must be in to
Marian by November 15th! Two other people are in the running: Angelo George and
Matt Pelsor; if you know them and want to submit documentation, do so. Let
Marian know if you have questions.
New Business:
●
Sign up if you wish receive information and
notifications about NCRC at this link:
Information-on-eastern-region-ncrc@googlegroups.com – this
info is in the Carbide Dump.
●
Christmas card ideas – Bring your photos/artwork
ideas to the meeting. Marian will do a sketch based on some ideas suggested
about a bat on a Christmas tree type of formation and share with the group for
input by October 28th. We need to get the final design by November 15th
to get the discount from Shutterfly for printing.
●
BRG Officer nominations; anyone interested can
put in their offer before the November meeting when the voting will take place.
●
We agreed to reserve the Jersey Lily’s meeting
room for 2024 – January through November. Manager Preston usually works with
us. We can ask him also if Wifi is
available so people who want to attend BRG meetings via Zoom can do so. Marian will go by on
Friday 10/27 and talk with Preston about BRG reservations and ask about WiFi.
●
Susan asked for clarification about the use of
waivers – when are we required to use BRG waivers? BRG
waivers should be used for official BRG trips, such as the regular
monthly trip, and/or when BRG equipment is used. However, it’s up to the trip leader to
determine if a trip is a BRG trip, or a “pick-up” trip done independently.
NOTE: There are “generic” cave trip waivers that can be used for non-BRG trips;
this is highly recommended but it’s up to the trip leader. We have generic
forms on file if a trip leader wants one – it will be filled in with the name
of the cave and the date of the trip.
Announcements:
●
“POOR FARM CAVE RESCUE FROM THE VICTIM’S
PERSPECTIVE” by Doug Feller with a photo by Kelly Perkins was published in the NSS NEWS, Volume 81, Issue 10, October
2023, pp 14-15. Once again, thanks to the whole team, including Susan Burr,
Jeff Huffman, Randy Perkins, and all the rescuers for a successful rescue. And
we continue to send Doug Feller positive vibes for his continued healing. It
was also in the Region Record.
●
Healthy Caving – let’s be healthy going
underground. Rules were posted in the DUMP.
Please
send verified cave info updates for https://var.caves.org/index.php/conservation/closed-caves/closed-cave-list
to Brad Blasé.
●
Winter closure dates for bat caves
in West Virginia is
September 1 – May 15.
●
Winter cave closure dates for bat
caves in Virginia is
October 15 – April15.
●
Jane Furkert, Marian’s friend from
New Zealand, says “hi” to all. Many of
you met her when she visited Virginia in 2012 for a few weeks during the
Convention in WV.
●
Jeff Burns and Jessie are the new
owners of ON ROPE 1.
●
John Pearson and his wife found a
big brown bat on their lanai and with the help of Mary Sue got it rescued and
it’s doing well. It weighed 20 grams – big one.
2023 CAVER CALENDAR:
●
Oct 21 – Bridge Day; Fayetteville,
WV
●
Oct 20-23 – Fall VAR near
Sharpsburg, MD
●
Oct 28-29 – NCRC Orientation to Cave Rescue,
Morgantown, WV.
●
Nov 11 – WVCC Cave Banquet in
Lewisburg, WV
●
Nov 17 – BRG meeting at Jersey
Lily’s 6pm [Marian will not be present]
●
Dec 17 – BRG Christmas party at the
Socky’s Residence (Pot luck, BYOB); this is in lieu of a BRG Meeting
●
July 1-5, 2024 – NSS Convention in
Sewanee, TN
●
2024 TAG will be in Union Grove AL
on the Lazy G Ranch; date and details TBD.
Cold
Beer! 7:50pm
Program: Nick provided the program from
RESCUE 911 “Moses Tomb” (cave
rescue); and also a short from the recent Giles County cave rescue training
focusing on the job of the PIO (Public Information Officer) LOL