Fall VAR Updateby Rich Geisler

For everyone attending the upcom-ing 2005 Fall VAR, here's the in-side look at what to expect and thethings not to forget. Yes, the usualthings are arranged: trips, dinner,music, refreshments, vendors, fun,friends, frivolity, etc..... Ratherthan telling everybody about all ofthose, I thought a few words toprepare you for the particulars ofthis VAR would be of more use.

• Some fashion of rain/sunshelter. Although we haveover 25 acres available for ouruse, the wooded areas are most-ly undeveloped hillsides. Mostcamps will be setting up in thefields without any natural cover.

• Lawn chairs. We have only alimited number of picnic tablesfor Saturday's dinner and Sun-day's meeting.

• Speakers. Once Mother Na-ture lowers the theater lights wehave shows arranged for Friday& Saturday night. Friday RickLambert will report on recentactivities in Highland County,Virginia. Saturday, DevinKouts will report on ShovelEater Cave.

• Bath house. Our facilitieswere designed for 40 people - atypical RASS weekend event.But with many, many, morethan that expected some pa-tience will be needed, even with

the extra temporary facilities weare bringing in.

• Temperature. Bring some ex-tra blankets and warm clothes.Without fail the actual tempera-ture at our little nook in thecountryside always ends up 10+degrees cooler than any weatherforecast.

And that's about it. Come pre-pared to relax and enjoy the week-end.

A Short Update onthe Grand Caverns

Exploration by Josh Rubinstein

With five presentations, VAR'sGrand Caverns Project was wellrepresented at the 2005 NSS Con-vention. In the US ExplorationSession, Jim McConkey presentedan overview of the caves of CaveHill and Scott Wahlquist presentedon the survey of the new section.For the Spelean History Session,Craig Hindman presented a talk onthe early ownership and passagenames of the cave. Carol Tider-man made two presentations. Forthe Human Sciences Session, shepresented on VAR's relationshipwith the park and, for the Surveyand Cartography Session, she madea quite funny presentation on sur-veying in a commercial cave. Who

will forget the station migratingdown the handrail?

A working copy of Paul Gaskin'smap was hung in the map salon forview only, receiving many compli-ments. In a hall full of maps,Paul's was the only one drawn byhand.

Because of convention, there hasbeen only one survey weekend inGrand since the last Region Record.Three teams went into the newsection. Ed Smith led a team tothe climb at the northern end ofthe Midwest. This passage is lead-ing toward the commercial sec-tion's Ballroom. They mappedthrough highly decorated passageto a flowstone ledge over a 20-footmuddy pit with passage leading off.Making the precarious trip to theedge of the flowstone shelf, theysaw passage leading back under theshelf. At their last station theywere ~80 feet from the nearest sta-tion in, and ~30 feet. below thefloor of the Ballroom.

The other teams began moppingup the remaining leads. Scott Mc-Crea led a team to finish a poleclimb in New Mexico. They fin-ished the lead in four shots andthen took the poles to a lead in theSouthwest room. The lead ledover surveyed passage. ScottWahlquist led a team to check outlow leads in the Midwest. Nonecontained surveyable passage.

The length of cave is now 3.78miles.

Vol. XVIII No. 4 Fall 2005

Volume XVIII Number 4 The Region Record Fall 2005

Regional CalendarSep. 10 Deadline for getting the preregistration

discount for the Fall VAR meeting.

Sep. 23-25 Fall VAR meeting at the RASSFieldstation in Bath County, Virginia. Seeinformation and registration form in thisissue.

Oct. 22 “Conser-Vacation” cleanup day at the NSS-owned Trout Rock caves in PendletonCounty, WV. See flier in this issue for moreinfomation.

Nov. 12 West Virginia Cave Conservancy annualbanquet in Lewisburg, WV. See flier in thisissue for information.

Dec. 15 Deadline for submitting material for the

Winter issue of The Region Record.

Aug 7-11, 2006 2006 NSS Convention inBellingham, Washington.

The Region RecordThe Region Record is the quarterly publication of the Virginia Region of the National Speleological Society. Any articles,announcements, or other materials of general interest to cavers in the Region are welcome. Send all material to Bob Hoke(6304 Kaybro St., Laurel, MD 20707 (301) 725-5877, e-mail editor@varegion.org). Electronic submissions (e-mail ordisk) are encouraged, but any form of input is welcome. Non-copyrighted material contained in the Region Record may bereprinted by organizations that are affiliated with the VAR or the NSS, provided that proper credit is given to the Record and theauthor. The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual author, and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, theVAR, the NSS, or their internal organizations.

VAR Officers & Committee Chairs Chairman: Craig Hindman, 7600 Pindell School Rd., Fulton, MD 20759 (410) 792-0742H, chair@varegion.org Vice Chairman: Judy Fisher, (304) 258-4974H, vicechair@varegion.org Secretary Carol Tiderman, (410) 792-0742H, secretary@varegion.org Treasurer John Fox, (540) 831-7517W, treasurer@varegion.org

Conservation: Andy Reeder, 840 Twin Lakes Rd., Green Bay, VA 23492, (434) 392-7452H, (434) 847-1640Wconservation@varegion.org

Landowner Awards: Janet Tinkham, 360 Kings Dr., Fort Valley, VA 22652 janete@shentel.net

Region Record Staff Editors: Bob Hoke, Pauline Apling, Barry ChuteProofreader Meredith Hall JohnsonCirculation Manager: Meredith Hall Johnson, 8061 Kittiwake Ct., Springfield, VA 22153

(703) 451-3637H, circulation@varegion.org

Region Record Subscriptions • New NSS members in the Region receive two complimentary copies of the Region Record.• Current NSS members moving into the Region from elsewhere receive two complimentary copies. Current NSS members

who move within the Region get no freebies.• When a subscription is going to expire the last issue will be stamped “Time to Renew.” No renewal notice is sent.• When a person attends a VAR meeting he/she is automatically added to the list to receive the next four issues. If he/she is

already on the list, four additional issues are added to the subscription.• When multiple people live at the same address only one copy of each issue will be sent to the address unless a box

requesting individual issues is checked on the VAR registration form or a request is sent to the Circulation Manager.

© 2005 Virginia Region of the NSS

List Your Event Here

If you have a caving event that is ofregional interest please send informationto the Editors listed above so it can beincluded in the calendar.

Volume XVIII Number 4 The Region Record Fall 2005

Some ProjectCaving News from

Wise County,Virginiaby Phil Lucas

Each summer there is an in-cavecamp in Omega to continue thesurvey of this new cave system.This year there were day trips onweekends before and after thecamp as well. I just received news(August 20th) that the teams sur-veyed over 8,900 feet bringing thetotal to 21.94 miles long. That putsOmega at # 22 in the USA LongCave List. The area in the uppercave called Gale Force now has anupper level section named Major,MAJOR! Borehole and the maintrunk still goes roaring off intoblackness upstream, as well as inmultiple borehole upperlevels/side leads. This is not evenat the main stream level (but aboveit), which was reported to be~20x20 trunk - deemed too smallto survey on this trip!

KomorichanTemporary Tattoos

at OTRBy Meredith Hall Johnson

The Battlefield Area TroglodyteSociety (BATS) grotto will be sell-ing temporary tattoos of Ko-morichan, which in Japanesemeans "little bat." BATS will beselling these at OTR. The artworkis by Steve Bennett, the guy whohas been doing bat art on cavers inthe BATS Camp at the last coupleof OTRs.

There is a limited printing of theseunique temporary tattoos, so see aBATS member at the BATS Campor gate duty on Thursday after-noon or anywhere we might be.

There will also be Komorichan tat-toos at the West Virginia CaveConservancy tent. They are onedollar each.

The profits will go to the West Vir-ginia Cave Conservancy.

I’d like to thank Sarah Pearce andSusi Weston for thinking this upand making it happen. Thanks toSteve Bennett, too, for the cool art.Now maybe he can enjoy his OTRwithout having to work!

The artwork can be seen on theOTR Web site (www.otr.org).

If your Region Record arrives atyour house after OTR, and younever got around to buying any ofthese cool temporary tattoos, areyou kicking yourself now? Well,don't. If there are any left over, youcan still buy them. Send an e-mailto Susi Weston (susiweston@g-mail.com) to make sure there aresome left, and then send a checkmade out to BATS in an SASE toher.

SOLD OUT!by Meredith Hall Johnson

The History of the Virginia Region,Part II: 1971-2000 has sold out.There are no more copies. IF youare kicking yourself right now be-cause you didn't buy one, let me orMary Sue Socky know. IF we get atleast 25 people willing to prepay,we might be able to do a reprint.Send either of us an e-mail (sock-ymss@cox.net or merecaver@ya-hoo.com) Thanks for your sup-port!

The Tight SpotJune 2005By Jay Balakirsky

[The last few issues of The RegionRecord have had articles about theamazing new discoveries in the VAR'sGrand Caverns Project in Virginia.This article is a rather detailed account ofa recent trip in that area. It gives a goodflavor of the problems getting into thegood stuff. Ed.]

I have been part of the Grand Cav-erns survey project since January2004. Once a month, we all meetin Grottoes, Virginia, and spendthe weekend surveying the cave,camping, and having a great time.When I first started, the survey wastaking place in the commercial sec-tion of the cave, the known extentof which was around 3,000 feet.Grand is one of the most beautifulcaves I have ever seen and I wasexcited to be part of this project.After a few months, a tight spot ina lower section of the cave was dugopen and pushed into a new sec-tion of the cave. At first, most ofus "larger" cavers didn't thinkmuch about this new section. Butas the months went by, the knownextent of the cave continued to

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Black & white version of theKomorichan temporary tattoo. The realversion is in color.

Volume XVIII Number 4 The Region Record Fall 2005

grow. At the present time, the sur-veyed length of Grand standssomewhere around 15,000 feet.Yes, that's close to three miles ofcave, nearly all of which I couldn'tget my 6'4", 200-pound body into,or so I thought.

A few months ago, Ken Walsh be-came the largest caver to make itthrough the 8.5 inch high crawl-way. It took him two months todo it. The first time, he ended upbruising his chest. For the secondattempt, he put down a sheet ofplastic to slide over, stripped offhis coveralls, and made it! Well,that gave me something to thinkabout. So in May I decided to takea look at the tight spot. Well, justgetting to the tight spot involvesgoing through a slot that is aboutone foot high. I had my camera inmy pocket and it seemed that Ifilled up the entire slot. As expect-ed, I "weirded" out and backed myway out. But after some teasingfrom Craig Hindman that a girl didit before me, and after I saw ScottDavis literally fall through theopening, I decided to try it againand I made it without any problem.From that point, you pass over andunder a few obstacles, the worst of

which is a mud filled siphon tubethat leads to a small room right be-fore the crawl. I was with AprilCantrell and we took turns lookingat the tight spot. It really didn'tlook too bad. It was about a foothigh and got lower, but it quicklyopened back up. The problemwas, we really weren't sure we werelooking at the right place so we de-cided to leave it until next month.

June came very quickly! I had builta squeeze box in my house (aboard and some books) and con-vinced myself that I could make it

through 8.5 inches without anyproblem. So, here I was gettingready to try the crawl. On this par-ticular trip, Ken Walsh had alreadymade it through and laid down hisplastic. He kept telling me that Ishould strip off my coveralls, but Idecided that if I couldn't getthrough with them on, then I was-n't going at all. Kevin Mulliganwent next and he made it! So, nowit was my turn. But before I went,Chris (?) was nice enough to offerto make the crawl a little larger.He had a garden tool and he wentinto the tight spot and knocked offbetween one-quarter and one-halfinch of mud from the top of thepinch. So, with the newly expand-ed opening, I started forward. Asexpected, I got to the tight spotand found that my chest was onthe floor and my back was on theceiling. The good thing was that itwas wide and I didn't get claustro-phobic. Chris kept offering topush on my feet, but as he did, myanxiety level grew since I knew hewouldn't be there on the way out,and I would have to wait a longtime until I lost enough weight tomake it without him. So, I askedhim not to push and I exhaled,inched forward, exhaled again,inched forward, etc. until ...... mychest popped past the tight spot!!Then the small of my back made itthrough without any problem andnow it was time for my butt. What

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Figure 1 - Squeezing through formations. Photo by Aaron Moses

Figure 2 - The last belly crawl.

Volume XVIII Number 4 The Region Record Fall 2005

I found out was that there was asmall protrusion on the ceiling thatwas running straight down mybody and that my butt was at thatpoint. I called back to Chris andasked if he could see the knob thatwas pushing on me and he said hecould. I told him, "Get rid of it!!"And, after I was all the waythrough, he used his garden tool

again and was able to remove athumb sized piece of mud.

Tim Charlton followed soon afterand using a tape measure, he in-formed me that the tight spot wasnow 8 and 5/8th inches high at thevery center of the passage anddropped off to smaller dimensionsas you went to the left and right ofthe main way through. So, mysqueeze box was right, I was ableto make it through after all.

Once you are past the tight spot,there is another immediate bellycrawl up a slope and around a cor-ner. Then, you pop into a roomthat is large enough to stand in.What a relief! But, there were stillmore challenges ahead. Therewere two squeezes through forma-tions (Figure 1), a step around a 20foot pit, a rappel down a 30 footpit, a climb up the other side of the30 foot pit on a very slippery slope,and finally one last belly crawl (Fig-ure 2). But, after all of that, wewere in booming passage that hasbecome known as Kentucky.

After everyone caught up, we re-grouped into two teams and set outon two photo trips. I was withKen Walsh, Tim Charlton, and JoeFortuna. We first headed back tothe Broken Finger Room (alsoknow as the Blood Room for rea-sons that won't be explained here!)and took some photos of somenice formations. In Figure 3, youcan see Ken and Joe setting upcamera equipment to take a pictureof a really nice set of draperies.

From there, we headed back intobooming passage where we tooksome multi-flash shots to try andcapture the size of the room.Next, we headed back the way wecame and decided to start lookingfor New Mexico, an area of thecave that is supposed to be ex-tremely beautiful. It was at thistime that I started getting tired. Iguess it could have had somethingto do with the fact that I had flowndown to Huntsville and back onFriday for a business trip and then

5

Figure 5 - Tim coming through the tight spot on the way out of Grand Caverns.

Figure 4 - Me on the way to New Mexico.

Figure 3 - Karen and Joe setting upcamera equipment

Volume XVIII Number 4 The Region Record Fall 2005

drove from Reagan National Air-port to Grand Caverns immediate-ly after I got off of the plane. It re-ally didn't make Ken very happywhen I told him that I was gettingtired and that I wanted to get outof the cave in time to have dinnerin town at the Italian restaurant.What made matters worse was thatTim was also thinking about din-ner! This meant that we needed tobe out of the cave by around 8 PM.I thought that a 10 hour trip wasrespectable, but I'm not sure Kenwould agree with my assessmentsince it meant cutting the phototrip short.

We continued to try and find NewMexico, but after about anotherhour of taking pictures in somecool places (see Figure 4), we cameto a pit that we would have had totraverse. Not knowing if we werein the right place, coupled with be-ing tired and hungry, led to a mobrevolt that found us heading out ofthe cave.

It took us about an hour to navi-gate our way back to the tightcrawl. The squeezes on the wayleft me bruised and the climb upthe cable ladder was memorable,yet uneventful. And, now it wastime to confront my fears aboutbeing stuck on the wrong side ofthe tight spot. Ken went first, fol-lowed by Joe. Then it was myturn. To go into the tight spotfrom this side, you start by goinghead-first down a slope, make aturn to the right, and then try toline yourself up with the largestpart of the squeeze. Well, on theway out it was a lot easier than onthe way in. It was either that thethumb sized projection that Chrisremoved made a big difference orthat gravity was helping, but Imade it through without too manyproblems. Well, that's if you con-sider losing my pack and having toask Tim to push it ahead of him onthe way out, not having too manyproblems. But, I MADE IT!!

Next it was Tim's turn (see Figure5) and before we knew it, we were

out of the cave and on the way tocleaning up and having dinner. Itwas a great trip that ended up in arestaurant having great food. Whatmore could you ask for? Am Iready to do it again on the nextGrand weekend? We'll, I'll have tothink about that!

(Reprinted from the July, 2005, issue ofthe Baltimore Grotto News. JayBalakirsky said that Figures 2 through5 were taken with his camera, but theywere taken by either Joe Fortuna or TimCharleton. Ed.).

Minutes of the SpringVAR Region Meet

May 1, 2005Fairlea, West Virginia

The meeting was called to order at9:20 AM.

Reports

Secretary - Carol Tiderman A motion was made by DC Grottoto accept the minutes as published inthe Region Record. Blue Ridge second-ed. Motion passed.

Treasurer - John FoxA financial report was presented.A motion was made by BubbleCave LLC to accept the financialreport. Tri-State seconded. Motionpassed

Vice Chair - Judy FisherHas given up being the representa-tive for the West Virginia. High-lands Conservancy. Bob Handleyhas taken over that position

Chairman - Craig HindmanEverything is OK.

Conservation Committee - DonAnderson Grand Caverns Restoration Week-end - March 25-27: 35 people

planted 2 dozen trees, installed rail-ings in the cave, did algae abate-ment in Grand, tore down an un-safe overlook, installed blue boardin the kitchen, & did formation re-pair in Fountain Cave. All projectsstarted that weekend have beencompleted.

Island Ford Cave - Fall - FrontRoyalApril 16 - 7 people performed acleanup - the cave is very clean. Itis being visited by outfitters.

Goodwins Cave Management -Blue Ridge - Mary Sue SockyNo problems. Two Scout groupsrequested to go in. Will meet withthem.

VAR Outstanding ServiceAward - - Meredith Hall JohnsonSend in nominations along withreasons. Forms are online.

Landowner RecognitionAwards- Janet TinkamCharles Cassell of Cassell cave, theFranks of Tawneys Cave, andMooney & Baker of Higgenboth-ams Cave have been awarded.

Landowner Legal Support Com-mittee - Bob Hoke No news is good news.

Region Record - Bob Hoke Deadline June. 15 - send material& calendar events.

VAR List Server - Walt PirieNo report.

VAR Web Site - Jim McConkeyNothing new. If grotto contactschange, please advise Jim.

Cave Bucks - J. C. FisherSend in your bucks.

VSS - Phil Lucas No report - Highland County has anew depth record - 436 feet.

WVASS - George DasherThree Bulletins are in process -Culverson, West Slope & Renick.Send in your finds to county coor-dinators or Bill Balfour. Report

6

Volume XVIII Number 4 The Region Record Fall 2005

forms are under development forsubmissions through the Web site.

History of the Region - Mary SueSocky & Meredith Hall JohnsonMoney collected has gone to theVAR. 10 books are left.DC moved the profit from thebook sales go to the WV CaveConservancy. WVASS seconded.Germany Valley moved to tableBubble Cave LLC seconded.Motion tabled.

West Virginia Cave Conservan-cy - Bob HandleyMaxwelton being mapped. A newcave has been found. Funds are al-ways needed.A Karst Hydrology preserve is be-ing worked on.Storm drain marking was not donedue to rain.

New Dixie - Mary Sue SockyPlanning a photo trip in October.Dave says one more survey trip.

Virginia Karst Program - JoeyFeganClover Hollow - Stay High Cave(biologically significant) has beenpurchased along with 30 acres.There has bee one inventory trip.The cave is open with limitations.A Karst Hydrology Atlas is beingworked on. Will fund dye tracing &provide technical assistance.

SCCI - Walt PirieNothing new - they are payingdown the debt & surveying.

Grand Caverns/Cave Hill - JoshRubenstein / Jim McConkey

Cave Hill - 13 caves are on the hill,the park was only aware of 7. Westill have not been able to locateFire Cave. 4 more caves have beenfound - 2 on a hostile land ownersproperty. The surface survey iscomplete.

Grand - current maps are on dis-play - cave has grown from 3,800’to 3.5 miles - dip & strike haschanged in the new discovery area

- less vertical - survey still has lotsmore potential.

Carol - a barrier has been installedbetween the new discovery & thetourist cave.

Virginia Cave Board - Joey FaganVirginia has a state bat - the Vir-ginia Big Eared BatPosters were made from the $500donated by VAR. Thanks for thefunding. $500 from the CCV, $500from RASS & $750 from NSF andassorted small grants from SpeleoVendors were received.Work is under way on a pamphleton the state bat to be put out inbrochure display cases.The next meeting will be on July 30- location to be announced.

Wilderness Proposal - Bob Hand-leyWV Wilderness proposed 15 areasbe added to the Wilderness areas inMonongahela National Forest. All5 WV delegations are on the board- 4 have limestone & caves. SenecaCreek, N Fork Mountain, and Dol-ly Sods.

Virginia Karst TrailsA list of trails has been receivedfrom Judy Mulnar.

Host Grotto Report - BubbleCave LLC - John Pearson389 registered. Please clean up yourtrash.New River moved to thank thehost Tri-State Seconded. Passedunanimously.

Old Business

Fall 05 Meet - R.A.S.S. Volun-teered to host on the last weekendin September at their field station.

New Business

Host Grotto for Spring 06 - open.

Grant RequestsA request was made but it was outof scope.

Announcements

Bannerman - the Caver Cruise wasa success. Next cruise - westernCaribbean - will include caving.Carnival Cruise Lines.

Dasher - A 65-foot pit is located indowntown Lewisburg - a gas spillin the area may have drained intoit.

Adjournment

Bubble Cave LLC moved to ad-journ, DC seconded. Motionpassed.

Meeting adjourned at 10:28 AM.

Respectfully submitted:Carol Tiderman

7

Fall 2005 VAR MEETING AGENDASunday, September 25, 2005 9:00 AM

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. DELEGATE REGISTRATION

III. DISTRIBUTION OF AGENDA

IV. CALL FOR INDEPENDENTS

V. OFFICERS REPORTS:

A. SECRETARY - CAROL TIDERMAN1. Motion to accept Spring minutes2. Other

B. TREASURER - JOHN FOX1. Current Financial Report2. Other

C. VICE-CHAIR - JUDY FISHER

D. CHAIRMAN - CRAIG HINDMAN

VI. COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. CONSERVATION CHAIR - ANDYREEDER1. Report on activities2. Other

B. GOODWIN'S CAVE MANAGEMENT -BLUE RIDGE GROTTO

C. VAR OUTSTANDING SERVICEAWARD - MEREDITH HALLJOHNSON

D. LANDOWNER RECOGNITIONAWARD - JANET TINKHAM

E. LANDOWNER LEGAL SUPPORTCOMMITTEE - BOB HOKE

F. REGION RECORD - BOB HOKE,PAULINE APLING, BARRY CHUTE

G. VAR LIST SERVER - WALT PIRIE

H. WEB PAGE - JIM MCCONKEY

I. CAVE BUCKS - J.C. FISHER

J. VSS - PHIL LUCAS

K. WVASS - GEORGE DASHER

L. HISTORY OF THE REGION -MEREDITH HALL JOHNSON, MARYSUE SOCKY

M. WVCC - JEFF BRAY

N. NEW DIXIE - BLUE RIDGE GROTTO

O. VA KARST PROGRAM - JOEY FAGAN

P. SCCI - WALT PIRIE

Q. GRAND CAVERNS/CAVE HILL -JOSH RUBINSTEIN & JIMMCCONKEY

R. VIRGINIA CAVE BOARD

S. WILDERNESS PROPOSAL

T. VIRGINIA KARST TRAIL - REEDER

U. OTHER

VII. HOST GROTTO REPORT - R.A.S.S

VIII. OLD BUSINESS

A. PROFIT FROM SALE OF VARHISTORY

B. OTHER_____________________________________________________________________________________________

IX. NEW BUSINESS

A. HOST GROTTO FOR THE SPRING 06MEETING

B. HOST GROTTO FOR THE FALL 06MEETING

C. OTHER______________

X. GRANT REQUESTS - SUBMITTED TOCHAIR

XI. ELECTIONS

XII. ANNOUNCEMENTS

XIII. ADJOURNMENT

WVCCPO Box 234Frankford, WV 24938

YES! I can attend. Enclosed is $25 per person.

No, sorry I can’t attend.

Name _____________________________________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________________________

City _______________________________ State ______ Zip ________ Phone __________________

Join Us At the West Virginia Cave Conservancy

Banquet

Saturday, November 12, 2005 The Fort Savannah,US Rte. 219, Downtown Lewisburg.

6:00 pm Social Hour with Full Cash Bar 7:00 pm Dinner After dinner presentation titled, “Pigeons and Blue Holes”by Dr. Stephanie Schwabe, founder and director of theRob Palmer Blue Holes Foundation

Various awards, games, recognition, and some surprises! Cost is $25 by Nov. 1, $30 after Nov. 1, 2005. Watch www.wvcc.net for more information If you’ve been to our banquets in the past, get ready forsome great changes this year!!

Get your form in early, there is a limit of 80 people!!

The last 11 years have seen very successful and popular Conser-Vacations at the NSS’sTrout Rock caves near Franklin, West Virginia. Everybody who is anybody in the cavingcommunity is sure to make an appearance at this major caving event.

Trout, New Trout, and Hamilton Caves are in surprisingly good shape considering thatthey are some of the most heavily used wild caves in the State. However, all visitors leavemarks of their passing. There will be both in-cave and surface work (depending on theweather).

There will be at least one graffiti removal trip to the rear reaches of Trout cave. There mayalso be a cleanup trip in Hamilton if there are enough volunteers. Since the caves should bein good shape these trips usually end up being essentially tourist trip with a little cleaningalong the way. Conser-Vacation trips are suitable for cavers of all experience levels, includingnovices. However, no kids under 14 are allowed on these cave trips, and no kids under 18are allowed on the trips unless one of their parents is also on the trip (due to liabilityconcerns).

Surface activities will include trash pickup along the road, minor fence and sign repairsalong the trail, limb trimming, and assorted other stimulating and challenging activities. Nospecial skills are required and no backbreaking tasks are planned. The organizers promiseperfect weather.

Activities will commence at 10:30 AM. Novices who need equipment (helmets and lamps)must contact Bob Hoke at (301)725-5877 or bob@hoke.net to make sure adequateequipment is available.

For additional information (including directions to the caves) contact Pauline Apling at(301)604-0764 or e-mail papling@verizon.net.

TROUT ROCK CONSER-VACATION

Saturday, October 22, 2005

You are mhosted by Dates: Sept Location: ThThe propertspace is pleSPELEOLOGIstorage shedouthouses a Cost: A pre-age 10 andSaturday evevening refr Please prethan Septe 2005 Fall VAAttn: Rich G11501 GreenGlen Allen, V We hope youcome enjoy y For further i

2005 Fall VAR Hosted by the Richmond Area Speleological Society

ost cordially invited to attend the 2005 Fall VAR the Richmond Area Speleological Society.

ember 23 – 25, 2005 starting at noon on Friday.

e RASS Field Station in Bath County, VA (see attached directions). y consists of 26 acres of meadow and wooded hillside (camping ntiful). Since its acquisition, members of the RICHMOND AREA CAL SOCIETY have established vehicular paths, renovated the , converted the dwelling into a functional bunkhouse, erected four

nd built the bathhouse and pavilion.

registration fee of $19.95 per registrant ($24.95 at VAR / children under are free) will cover the cost of the VAR Guidebook, the ening meal of our world renowned Brunswick Stew, Saturday eshments, and the Saturday night guest speaker.

-register by filling out the form and returning it no later mber 10th, 2005. Registrations may be sent to:

R eisler wood Rd A 23059

take the opportunity to visit some of the fine caves of our area and our stay with us at the 2005 Fall VAR.

nformation please e-mail: richg@chemtreat.com

Directions to the RASS Field Station The RASS Field Station is located in Bath County, Virginia, on State Route 629, 1/4 mile east of State Route 678 between Millboro Springs, Williamsville, and Deerfield. On a 2004-05 Virginia “Official State Transportation” Map, it is located in the I-3 box. In the DeLorme Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer, it is on page 65, block D-5. The bunk house is shown on the USGS Green Valley, VA quad at approx. 79°36’N, 38°04’30’’W, at the end of the unimproved dirt road. Online – go to www.mapquest.com and search for Green Valley, VA. Maximize the magnification and our driveway is the first road (J shaped) just southeast of the search target. The directions below will get you from just about anywhere in VAR to the entrance gate of the property. IMPORTANT!!! Our driveway is, err ... rural, to say the least….it’s a one-laner. Be courteous AND cautious! You are NOT alone! Camper trailers and RV's are welcome. However, be forewarned, there are no hook-ups.

1) From points North of Staunton, VA: Interstate 81 to Exit 225, Route 275 (Woodrow Wilson Parkway). Follow Rt. 275 West to Route 250.

Turn right onto to Rt. 250 West. Follow Rt. 250 West to West Augusta, about 16 miles. At West Augusta, turn left onto Route 629 (Deerfield Road). There is a gas station/market on the corner. Follow Rt. 629 for 22 1/2 miles, through Deerfield, then past Hunters Paradise to the entrance of the Field Station on the left. Turn left through the cattle gate into the dirt road entrance. If you get to Rt. 678, you’ve gone 1/4 mile too far.

1a) From points East of Staunton, VA: Interstate 64 West to Interstate 81 North (2 exits) and follow directions in 1), above.

2) From points West (way north of I-64): Rt. 250 East to McDowell, Va. Turn right in McDowell onto Route 678. Follow Rt. 678 through

Williamsville. You will break out into Green Valley. After approximately 23 miles (from Rt. 250), turn left onto Rt. 629 (Deerfield Rd.). Cross the bridge, the entrance is on the right, through a cattle gate, and onto the dirt road.

3) From points West (south of Route 250): Interstate 64 to Exit 29 (Rt. 42). Take Rt. 42 North to Millboro. Turn left at Millboro onto Route 39.

Follow Rt. 39 West approximately 1/2 mile to Rt. 678 (Indian Draft Road). Turn right onto Rt. 678, follow it approximately 7 miles to Rt. 629 ON THE RIGHT. (Rt. 629 intersects Rt. 678 from the left about 1 mile from where it cuts off to the right - you want to turn RIGHT onto Rt. 629). Cross the bridge, the entrance is through a cattle gate on the right, about 1/4 mile from the intersection of Rt. 678.

4) From points South: From Lexington, VA, take Rt. 39 North to Millboro. Approximately 1/2 mile past Millboro, turn

right onto Rt. 678 (Indian Draft Road). Follow Rt. 678 approximately 7 miles to Rt. 629 ON THE RIGHT. (Rt. 629 intersects Rt. 678 from the left about 1 mile from where it cuts off to the right - you want to turn RIGHT onto Rt. 629). Cross the bridge, the entrance is through a cattle gate on the right, about 1/4 mile from the intersection of Rt. 678.

OR: Take any route you wish up to I-64, then to Exit 29 (Rt. 42). Follow the directions in 3), above.

IF YOU WIND UP COMPLETELY LOST, FIND A PHONE AND CALL US AT THE FIELD STATION. THE PHONE NUMBER THERE IS 540-996-4188. For further information please e-mail: richg@chemtreat.com

2005 Fall VAR Pre-Registration Primary Registrant __________________________________NSS# __________________ Address ___________________________________________City ___________________ State __________ Zip _____________________ e-mail ____________________________ Phone ( ) _____________________Grotto affiliation ____________________ Secondary Registrants (from same household) Name _____________________________________________ NSS# _________________ Name _____________________________________________ NSS# _________________ Name _____________________________________________ NSS# _________________ Name _____________________________________________ NSS# _________________ Saturday Evening Meal and Guest Speaker Will Be Furnished! ** Vegetarian meal for primary or secondary registrants - Number needed ________ Number of registrants _____ X $19.95 = $________

Children age 10 and under _____ X FREE = $ 0.00

Pets (Leashed and Controlled at all times – NO EXOTIC PETS) _____ X $5.00 = $________

T-Shirts (A limited number of shirts will be available at the event for $10)

S____ M____ L____ XL____ XXL____ X $8.00 = $________

Total number of Registrants _____ Amount Due = $________ Please make checks payable to RASS and return with this form by September 10th, 2005 to: 2005 Fall VAR Attn: Rich Geisler 11501 Greenwood Rd Glen Allen, VA 23059 For further information please e-mail: richg@chemtreat.com

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Fall 2005 Regional News

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