Mike Jones, Warren Pusak, Mark Daughtridge, Mike Broome, Pete Hertl, Jon Plyler, Diana Gietl, Melanie McCullough, Dave Duguid, Ken Walsh, Howard Holgate, and Matt Westlake were in attendance.
Dave Duguid began the meeting by thanking Mark and Rhonda Little for hosting the 20th Anniversary Party that went late into the evening. Mike collected dues during the break and agreed to send them to the absent Treasurer.
Mike entertained discussion about changes to the TriTrogs web site. We talked reinstating the WNS links, the web site introducing the officers, and how the emails will be forwarded to officers.
Ken mentioned that the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has petitioned the U.S. government to close all American caves and mines indefinitely because of the WNS threat. Included in their petition would be the closure of all caves on Federal lands (including places like Carlsbad Caverns), the criminalization of any landowners who allow access to their caves, and the acquisition of caves with significant bat populations. Dave shared a letter written by Peter Youngbaer, NSS WNS liaison, to the CBD. Diana described six web pages on the CaveChat forum dedicated to this one action and described that the NSS has asked grottoes to send letters to the Departments of the Interior, Department of Defense, and the Fish and Wildlife Service to block the action, as well as a letter to the CBD.
The absurdity of enforcing the proposal was discussed with speculation of police stationed at tens of thousands of cave entrances and descriptions of cave gates being destroyed month after month in New York.
The TriTrogs discussed informing the state fish and wildlife organizations about this petition. Diana agreed to draft letters to the Federal agencies, and Dave said that he will apprise Mary Fraser and the museum about the situation. Melanie agreed to help draft a press release, but we will likely hold onto it until a story develops through other challenges.
Mike Broome agreed to reply to Bill Bussey’s offer to share his old caving publications. The TriTrogs would be particularly interested in adding WV cave maps to its collection. Matt Westlake suggested that a university library might be interested in the old publications, but other members noted that libraries no longer accept such donations.
Mike Jones had asked if grotto members other than Steve Simmons have squeeze boxes that could be used at a scout meeting. No one knew of other local squeeze boxes, but we began discussing the construction of them in the grotto.
From the mailbag, Mike mentioned a SERA Summer Cave Carnival survey. He also suggested that extra money could be spent on the 3000-sq.foot residence in Highland County, Virginia as a fieldhouse for just $1.3M.
Pete Hertl mentioned that Dave Lennott is working with a guy on worms (mostly aquatic in moist environments) and is interested in looking in cave waters. Seeps and springs would be okay too. Pete asked if we thought that we could make a list of caves where they might find mature specimens. Members rattled off several possible locations.
With regard to trip reports, Dave Duguid described the trip he and Ken Walsh took to Smyth County on January 1. More details are in the Trip Report blog. Dave added the details about his cave suit freezing to his body in 6 degree weather. When discussing Easy Way Down Dig, grotto members starting discussing the possibilities of using electronic equipment to explore before people move enough rocks to get inside.
Upcoming trips include:
Feb. 27 return to Smyth County with Diana, Ken and Dave
Mar. 27-28 trip to Cribb Cave with Warren Pusak and his venture crew
May 22 Spring VAR in Lewisburg, WV
During the break, members paid dues.
Elections pulled Diana Gietl and Howard Holgate into the positions of co-vice chairs. Mike Broome, Mark Little, and Ken Walsh will continue their roles as editor/webmaster, treasurer, and secretary. A chair will be elected at the February meeting. The February meeting may include a Greenland program from Diana Gietl.
We adjourned to the after-the-meeting meeting at The Diner, a tasty new place on Glenwood Avenue.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Friday, November 27, 2009
November 2009 General Meeting Minutes
Warren Pusak, Ken Walsh, Mark Daughtridge, Zeke Van Fossen, Matt Jenkins, Diana Gietl, Gordon Bolt, Lisa Lorenzin, Mike Broome, Pete Hertl, Brian Bolt, and Mark Little attended.
To accommodate Warren’s schedule, Mike and Lisa began the meeting with their program describing Burnsville Cove surveys and the exploration of Basswood Cave so far. Lisa also indicated that they have been together as a couple a long time when she described her anniversary gift to Mike. More photos of the Butler Cave system can be found on John Sweet’s web site.
Warren Pusak proffered that former member Bill Mattocks is willing to teach TriTrogs more about safe rock climbing techniques (e.g., proper rigging), if anyone is interested.
Mike and Lisa offered to host the 20th Anniversary/Holiday Party on December 12. Gordon suggested that the program include puppets, and Mike and Lisa insisted that they would not accept pee gifts under their tree.
There was a brief discussion of the TriTrog Facebook site and how open its content should be (it was already fully open). Dues are half price now, and Mark Little agreed to start accepting 2010 dues now.
There will be no December meeting. January’s program will include elections and discussion about a topic (e.g., choosing a helmet for beginner caving). Lisa suggested that the February program could be a discussion of the effectiveness of WNS decontamination techniques.
Matt Jenkins shared a description of the closed caving signs placed before Aqua and Marshalls Caves. Although the caves were not obvious before, the signs make the entrances easy to find.
Pete Hertl described his trip to the NSS Convention. He won vertical competitions and found the facilities really nice. Instead of taking his regular cave gear along, he visited Goodwill and visited some “nasty, dusty caves.” When they entered the last one, they were told “By the way, this cave has potential for bad air.” On the way in, everyone started panting. They labored to breathe in the warm caves. When the group was ready to turn around, the formations were still much further down the passage. The healthy ones took a run into the cave and saw the formations. Pete did get a headache and bruised his shoulder when racing along. He concluded his trip report with “Why even go to a known bad air cave with all the caves in the U.S.?”
Upcoming trips include:
A New Years weekend trip to Smyth County to look for active bats and ridgewalk
An Explorer Scout trip to Cribb Cave on March 27 (volunteers are welcome)
Possible vertical practices this winter
To accommodate Warren’s schedule, Mike and Lisa began the meeting with their program describing Burnsville Cove surveys and the exploration of Basswood Cave so far. Lisa also indicated that they have been together as a couple a long time when she described her anniversary gift to Mike. More photos of the Butler Cave system can be found on John Sweet’s web site.
Warren Pusak proffered that former member Bill Mattocks is willing to teach TriTrogs more about safe rock climbing techniques (e.g., proper rigging), if anyone is interested.
Mike and Lisa offered to host the 20th Anniversary/Holiday Party on December 12. Gordon suggested that the program include puppets, and Mike and Lisa insisted that they would not accept pee gifts under their tree.
There was a brief discussion of the TriTrog Facebook site and how open its content should be (it was already fully open). Dues are half price now, and Mark Little agreed to start accepting 2010 dues now.
There will be no December meeting. January’s program will include elections and discussion about a topic (e.g., choosing a helmet for beginner caving). Lisa suggested that the February program could be a discussion of the effectiveness of WNS decontamination techniques.
Matt Jenkins shared a description of the closed caving signs placed before Aqua and Marshalls Caves. Although the caves were not obvious before, the signs make the entrances easy to find.
Pete Hertl described his trip to the NSS Convention. He won vertical competitions and found the facilities really nice. Instead of taking his regular cave gear along, he visited Goodwill and visited some “nasty, dusty caves.” When they entered the last one, they were told “By the way, this cave has potential for bad air.” On the way in, everyone started panting. They labored to breathe in the warm caves. When the group was ready to turn around, the formations were still much further down the passage. The healthy ones took a run into the cave and saw the formations. Pete did get a headache and bruised his shoulder when racing along. He concluded his trip report with “Why even go to a known bad air cave with all the caves in the U.S.?”
Upcoming trips include:
A New Years weekend trip to Smyth County to look for active bats and ridgewalk
An Explorer Scout trip to Cribb Cave on March 27 (volunteers are welcome)
Possible vertical practices this winter
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
October 27, 2009 Minutes TriTrogs General Meeting
Dave Duguid, Diana Gietl, John Plyler, Mike Broome, Warren Pusak, Ken Walsh, Dawson Duguid, Pete Hertl, Matthew Lubin, Mark Daughtridge, and Martha were in attendance.
The 20th Anniversary celebration is set for December 12 . It was suggested that we continue to promote the event bigger with past members. Dues are still half price.
Mike Broome affirmed that the new web link is working. He will work on a new pics notification that gets sent to the membership. He will also post links to the Virginia WNS protocol and the FWS decontamination protocol.
The November program from Mike Broome and Lisa Lorenzin will examine exploration in the Burnsville Cove area and promises to be a dynamite presentation.
The Trip Reports portion of the meeting began with Mark Daughtridge’s photos from caves in Washington State. He was able to ascend to 8000 feet but not summit Mt. Shuckson and Mt. Baker because of weather. So he drove further east to the impressive scablands where he visited Polluz Falls and Soap Lake. Mark visited the Lake Lenore Caves that were once used by Native Americans. He went looking for leads in the biggest one he found there, and he decided that one diggable spot held promise. Mark also visited Boulder Cave in Natches, Washington to find popcorn on the ceilings, a gated bat colony, and some trash that he removed.
Matthew Lubin and Ken Walsh shared a report of their survey trip to Lovers Leap Cave.
Dave Duguid described his recent trip to Busted Turtle Cave with Tanya McLaughlin and Robbie Spiegel. Several big leads just didn’t go, but they managed 370 feet of survey. One passage had many helictites and other formations, but one wall was totally cleaned of the formations. Tanya wants to place a sign there about the Virginia Cave Law protecting the cave from vandalism. There are still several leads left to explore, with some especially for small people. One corner needs some work to get past, but it lies in two inches of water.
Dave spent Sunday ridgewalking in gorgeous fall colors but still found it very vegetated. With a little digging, he managed to find a cave in a spring. Explorers will get wet.
Mike Broome talked about his rappels at Bridge Day. It was a cold nasty wet weekend with Pete Hertl and snowflakes.
The previous weekend Mike Broome and Lisa Lorenzin went to the Burnsville Cove area and entered Basswood Cave on Saturday afternoon. They went to survey into the Little Girls Room and started from the base of a cable ladder. Lisa found a wet puddle at the beginning of the trip, so she wasn’t with the guys when they found a tall narrow passage that doesn’t give up its secrets readily. Mike had to go past two-foot long soda straws in the narrow passage. It led to a walking section with a 15-foot high flowstone formation that was perfectly white. They surveyed 240 feet of passage.
Regarding upcoming trips, Ken mentioned that he may help the Virginia cave biologists collect samples in Hancock Cave in November. He may team that with a trip back to Lovers Leap Cave. Warren Pusak is planning a Cribb Cave trip with scouts on January 30 or February 20.
Dave Duguid shared a program about Cave Diving.
The 20th Anniversary celebration is set for December 12 . It was suggested that we continue to promote the event bigger with past members. Dues are still half price.
Mike Broome affirmed that the new web link is working. He will work on a new pics notification that gets sent to the membership. He will also post links to the Virginia WNS protocol and the FWS decontamination protocol.
The November program from Mike Broome and Lisa Lorenzin will examine exploration in the Burnsville Cove area and promises to be a dynamite presentation.
The Trip Reports portion of the meeting began with Mark Daughtridge’s photos from caves in Washington State. He was able to ascend to 8000 feet but not summit Mt. Shuckson and Mt. Baker because of weather. So he drove further east to the impressive scablands where he visited Polluz Falls and Soap Lake. Mark visited the Lake Lenore Caves that were once used by Native Americans. He went looking for leads in the biggest one he found there, and he decided that one diggable spot held promise. Mark also visited Boulder Cave in Natches, Washington to find popcorn on the ceilings, a gated bat colony, and some trash that he removed.
Matthew Lubin and Ken Walsh shared a report of their survey trip to Lovers Leap Cave.
Dave Duguid described his recent trip to Busted Turtle Cave with Tanya McLaughlin and Robbie Spiegel. Several big leads just didn’t go, but they managed 370 feet of survey. One passage had many helictites and other formations, but one wall was totally cleaned of the formations. Tanya wants to place a sign there about the Virginia Cave Law protecting the cave from vandalism. There are still several leads left to explore, with some especially for small people. One corner needs some work to get past, but it lies in two inches of water.
Dave spent Sunday ridgewalking in gorgeous fall colors but still found it very vegetated. With a little digging, he managed to find a cave in a spring. Explorers will get wet.
Mike Broome talked about his rappels at Bridge Day. It was a cold nasty wet weekend with Pete Hertl and snowflakes.
The previous weekend Mike Broome and Lisa Lorenzin went to the Burnsville Cove area and entered Basswood Cave on Saturday afternoon. They went to survey into the Little Girls Room and started from the base of a cable ladder. Lisa found a wet puddle at the beginning of the trip, so she wasn’t with the guys when they found a tall narrow passage that doesn’t give up its secrets readily. Mike had to go past two-foot long soda straws in the narrow passage. It led to a walking section with a 15-foot high flowstone formation that was perfectly white. They surveyed 240 feet of passage.
Regarding upcoming trips, Ken mentioned that he may help the Virginia cave biologists collect samples in Hancock Cave in November. He may team that with a trip back to Lovers Leap Cave. Warren Pusak is planning a Cribb Cave trip with scouts on January 30 or February 20.
Dave Duguid shared a program about Cave Diving.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
TriTrog General Meeting Minutes August 25, 2009
Howard and Hayden Holgate, Mark Daughtridge, Matthew van Fossen, Warren Pusak, Ken Walsh, John Plyler, and Rob Phelps attended the meeting. Howard presided and covered the business issues in record time (half-price dues, web hosting, sign outside the museum, and upcoming programs before I had time to type).
Discussion then turned to White Nose Syndrome once again. The Virginia cave specialists confirmed that Hancock Cave bats were infected. They will begin a monitoring program this fall and winter and are looking for volunteers to help observe bat behavior in Smyth County (possibly at Hancock and Buchanan Saltpeter Caves), and Ken will serve as a contact point for volunteers. Warren expressed some interest in scouts helping with the monitoring efforts.
[Why Dave Duguid should come to meetings]
Rob Phelps shared a trip report and photos about his survey in Busted Turtle Cave with leader Dave Duguid. The upper level dropped 45 feet followed by a 15-foot nuisance drop. The team aimed to get to the bottom, so they passed by walls covered by giant flakes of dirt and clay. The giant flakes looked as though they could easily fall off, but Dave pressed the team to go lower.
When they reached the stream passage, Dave laid Robbie Spiegel in a few inches of water to check out the downstream area until a rock blocked his way. Robbie got cold quickly after this coating in mud and water, so they sent him out of the cave.
Dave Duguid scooped forty feet of passage headed upstream and then ordered Rob and Brian Williams to survey it. Dave contended that he had cleared the passage out by shoveling the dirt to the sides of the passage. The bottom of the passage was U-shaped, so all of the dirt had fallen back to the center after Dave used his trowel. Rob crawled backwards twenty feet in order to survey the passage. He could not turn his head, stopped several times to be sure he could breathe, and found that the cave suit cut into his scrotum. He could only move backwards three inches at a time but eventually found a spot too tight for him. At least it wasn’t muddy there.
Instead they found a shorter stream crawl that let them come out in the same place, a little bit wetter. Beyond this they left a blowing lead for someone fresher than themselves.
The ropes were incredibly muddy as the crew ascended. The crew needed to clean their ascenders with each step. During their exit they passed a number of leads on the first level and noted that the back canyon had some interesting possibilities if they could traverse it. The photos showed that the upper section of the cave was quite beautiful with 50-foot-high canyons. The team surveyed 472 ft in 21 stations to a depth of 145 ft.
Upcoming trips were discussed:
Meeting adjourned at 9 PM.
Discussion then turned to White Nose Syndrome once again. The Virginia cave specialists confirmed that Hancock Cave bats were infected. They will begin a monitoring program this fall and winter and are looking for volunteers to help observe bat behavior in Smyth County (possibly at Hancock and Buchanan Saltpeter Caves), and Ken will serve as a contact point for volunteers. Warren expressed some interest in scouts helping with the monitoring efforts.
[Why Dave Duguid should come to meetings]
Rob Phelps shared a trip report and photos about his survey in Busted Turtle Cave with leader Dave Duguid. The upper level dropped 45 feet followed by a 15-foot nuisance drop. The team aimed to get to the bottom, so they passed by walls covered by giant flakes of dirt and clay. The giant flakes looked as though they could easily fall off, but Dave pressed the team to go lower.
When they reached the stream passage, Dave laid Robbie Spiegel in a few inches of water to check out the downstream area until a rock blocked his way. Robbie got cold quickly after this coating in mud and water, so they sent him out of the cave.
Dave Duguid scooped forty feet of passage headed upstream and then ordered Rob and Brian Williams to survey it. Dave contended that he had cleared the passage out by shoveling the dirt to the sides of the passage. The bottom of the passage was U-shaped, so all of the dirt had fallen back to the center after Dave used his trowel. Rob crawled backwards twenty feet in order to survey the passage. He could not turn his head, stopped several times to be sure he could breathe, and found that the cave suit cut into his scrotum. He could only move backwards three inches at a time but eventually found a spot too tight for him. At least it wasn’t muddy there.
Instead they found a shorter stream crawl that let them come out in the same place, a little bit wetter. Beyond this they left a blowing lead for someone fresher than themselves.
The ropes were incredibly muddy as the crew ascended. The crew needed to clean their ascenders with each step. During their exit they passed a number of leads on the first level and noted that the back canyon had some interesting possibilities if they could traverse it. The photos showed that the upper section of the cave was quite beautiful with 50-foot-high canyons. The team surveyed 472 ft in 21 stations to a depth of 145 ft.
Upcoming trips were discussed:
- Ken Walsh is organizing a trip to Lovers Leap Cave for August 29
- John Plyler has seats available to Old Timers Reunion Labor Day Weekend
- Fall VAR will be held September 25-27, but no caving trips will be organized
- Ken suggested that anyone looking for a sport trip organize a trip to horizontal Cribb Cave
- Ken will share more details about the bat monitoring when they are available
- Mark Daughtridge announced that he hopes to explore lava tubes near Mount Baker and Mount St. Helens.
- Dave Duguid is hoping to return to Busted Turtle in October
Meeting adjourned at 9 PM.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
TriTrogs General Meeting Minutes 7/28/2009
Howard Holgate, Bryce Schoeder, Janell Lovelace, Mike Broome, Lisa Lorenzin, Hayden Holgate, Matt Westlake, Mark Little, Matt Spears, Mike Dooley, and Ken Walsh were in attendance. Howard ran the meeting quickly, so the minutes are short.
Mike announced the new web hosting and photo gallery is up on the new service and the old site at rtpnet is now redirecting.
Howard is still building the sign to place outside the museum.
The Region Record lists a proposal to save a population of the endangered Virginia Big-Eared Bats and is looking for donations. Mike Broome will contact Bob Hoke and establish a link on our site to notify members.
Bryce, Howard, Ken and Mark talked about the survey trip to Flat Ridge Cave and the Potato Bin. Good formations were found, but the caves don't appear to join. Spiders in the cave were delicious treats because the Sugar Grove Diner is closed while the town is without a water supply. Howard recommends not eating Mexican food before caving. We also found a 72-inch-diameter pipe that leads 100 feet into a cave entrance. The pipe protects the road above from the cave spring.
Old Timers Reunion (Labor Day weekend) will include entrance cleanup trips, and the Fall VAR wil be held in Middletown, Virginia on September 25-27. Many upcoming trips (Boone's Cave wrapup, Lover's Leap Cave survey, and Cribb Cave sport trip) did not have firm dates established, so we may need to do a member survey to get some dates set to coordinate. Ken shared notes about Lovers Leap and Mike about Cribb Cave, an easy dry maze with more than 8000 feet of passage.
After a short break, Bryce Schroeder shared an excellent program about his exploration in Lava Beds National Monument.
Mike announced the new web hosting and photo gallery is up on the new service and the old site at rtpnet is now redirecting.
Howard is still building the sign to place outside the museum.
The Region Record lists a proposal to save a population of the endangered Virginia Big-Eared Bats and is looking for donations. Mike Broome will contact Bob Hoke and establish a link on our site to notify members.
Bryce, Howard, Ken and Mark talked about the survey trip to Flat Ridge Cave and the Potato Bin. Good formations were found, but the caves don't appear to join. Spiders in the cave were delicious treats because the Sugar Grove Diner is closed while the town is without a water supply. Howard recommends not eating Mexican food before caving. We also found a 72-inch-diameter pipe that leads 100 feet into a cave entrance. The pipe protects the road above from the cave spring.
Old Timers Reunion (Labor Day weekend) will include entrance cleanup trips, and the Fall VAR wil be held in Middletown, Virginia on September 25-27. Many upcoming trips (Boone's Cave wrapup, Lover's Leap Cave survey, and Cribb Cave sport trip) did not have firm dates established, so we may need to do a member survey to get some dates set to coordinate. Ken shared notes about Lovers Leap and Mike about Cribb Cave, an easy dry maze with more than 8000 feet of passage.
After a short break, Bryce Schroeder shared an excellent program about his exploration in Lava Beds National Monument.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
June 23, 2009 General Meeting Minutes
John Plyler invited everyone to a hike down to Crabtree Creek after the meeting.
Vice Chair Howard Holgate began the meeting with introductions: Howard Holgate, Hayden Holgate, Ken Walsh, Giselle Lõpez, Sam Garvey, Bryce Schroeder, John Plyler, Melanie McCullough, and Mark Daughtridge were all in attendance.
Howard announced that the sign for outside the museum would likely be constructed in July, but the labor negotiations seem to still be underway.
Ken shared Mike Broome's announcements about the web transition. They included the switch to Tiger Technologies, the move of the list serve, the reposting of the Photo Gallery (hooray), and the Facebook page (try http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=123950503288&ref=mf).
Before the trip reports, we recapped that Hancock Cave is closed due to the likely sighting of WNS there. Mark D. encouraged new attendees to send money for research and learn more.
Ken shared a long trip report about his survey trip to Worley’s Cave with Dave Duguid and Tanya McLaughlin. The highlights include very thin layers of separation between the diagonal layers, a long easy dig, a climb up the waterfall, bootsucking mud, and stubbon horses. Speaking of stubborn, Dave Duguid turned a 2-foot-deep cave into a fifteen-foot tube through sheer determination.
Mark Daughtridge waited until after the presentation to share a trip report about his trip to Seneca and Stratosphere Caverns. [ed: Because he was using this computer to show photos, I don't have any notes about this]
Howard also mentioned the upcoming cave trips:
--Boones Cave on June 28 with Dave Duguid
--Ken suggested that the Hancock Cave surface cleanup trip be postponed due to the WNS issue
--Karst-o-Rama will be held in Kentucky this weekend
--NSS convention held in July
--Ken may try to organize a sport trip for July 18, and Bryce and Howard expressed interest in going along.
John Plyler mentioned that his proposed trip to Lechuguilla Cave was cancelled before it began because the National Park turned down his application for a service project.
After the break, Bryce Schroeder shared his slides from a trip to the caves in the Marble Mountains in California.
Vice Chair Howard Holgate began the meeting with introductions: Howard Holgate, Hayden Holgate, Ken Walsh, Giselle Lõpez, Sam Garvey, Bryce Schroeder, John Plyler, Melanie McCullough, and Mark Daughtridge were all in attendance.
Howard announced that the sign for outside the museum would likely be constructed in July, but the labor negotiations seem to still be underway.
Ken shared Mike Broome's announcements about the web transition. They included the switch to Tiger Technologies, the move of the list serve, the reposting of the Photo Gallery (hooray), and the Facebook page (try http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=123950503288&ref=mf).
Before the trip reports, we recapped that Hancock Cave is closed due to the likely sighting of WNS there. Mark D. encouraged new attendees to send money for research and learn more.
Ken shared a long trip report about his survey trip to Worley’s Cave with Dave Duguid and Tanya McLaughlin. The highlights include very thin layers of separation between the diagonal layers, a long easy dig, a climb up the waterfall, bootsucking mud, and stubbon horses. Speaking of stubborn, Dave Duguid turned a 2-foot-deep cave into a fifteen-foot tube through sheer determination.
Mark Daughtridge waited until after the presentation to share a trip report about his trip to Seneca and Stratosphere Caverns. [ed: Because he was using this computer to show photos, I don't have any notes about this]
Howard also mentioned the upcoming cave trips:
--Boones Cave on June 28 with Dave Duguid
--Ken suggested that the Hancock Cave surface cleanup trip be postponed due to the WNS issue
--Karst-o-Rama will be held in Kentucky this weekend
--NSS convention held in July
--Ken may try to organize a sport trip for July 18, and Bryce and Howard expressed interest in going along.
John Plyler mentioned that his proposed trip to Lechuguilla Cave was cancelled before it began because the National Park turned down his application for a service project.
After the break, Bryce Schroeder shared his slides from a trip to the caves in the Marble Mountains in California.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
May 26, 2009 General Meeting Minutes
Dave Duguid apologized for starting the meeting a bit late and began the meeting with introductions: Mike Broome, Maddy, Kevin, Diana Gietl, Howard Holgate, John Plyler, Ken Walsh, TJ Smith, Warren Pusak, Mark Daughtridge, and Mark Little were also in attendance.
Mark Little continued collecting funds for the NSS White Nose Syndrome Rapid Response Fund. [In total the Triangle Troglodytes donated $460 from their month-long campaign.]
Mike Broome announced that the new web site is up and running. He has been working on restoring the photo gallery but is being too picky about how the old photos should be organized [his own claim]. It was suggested that he examine the amount of hair to determine the age of the photos. He will share the new password for the photo gallery site when he is ready. He also plans to install plugins that will let you link to Flicker to Picassa sites and upload your photos directly.
Howard Holgate announced that he will start working on the new sign to put outside the museum in July. Dave and Howard promised to get back on the stick with regard to programs. They will get the programs listed on the web page send out notices. When Ken suggested a program about lamp maintenance, the electric cavers joked about just banging it on the ground until it worked again.
Mike Broome and Diana Gietl had spoken about caving to Venture Crew 469, and that was successful for trying to understand what people new to caving might ask.
Warren, Kevin, Matty, and Ken went with Venture Crew 469 for a trip to Atwells Tunnel Cave in Smyth County. Unfortunately Maddy took a spill at the entrance before she went inside and cut her hand. The crew members especially enjoyed the freedom to explore rather than just follow a leader through the cave and would like to go again. Ken remained informative during the trip, and Warren discovered why we wear helmets.
Diana visited natural bridges and an impressive sea cave in Capri. She also went shopping for cave harnesses in Italy and discovered one for a frog system that allows the wearer to undo the delta in the front to stand up straight while in the harness.
Mike and Lisa went up to the BCCS property over Memorial Day weekend and listened to the discussions about the BCCS position on the WNS situation. BCCS voted to adopt the Virginia guidelines.
Ken then described that Matt, Linda, Christian, Gordon, and Brian had recently discovered a fungal growth on bats in Hancock Cave. They reported it to Ken, and he passed on the information to the landowner, Virginia cave specialist, Virginia bat biologist, and VSS county director. The state workers collected pipistrelle samples a few days later and sent them to Madison, Wisconsin for laboratory testing. When discussing WNS later, one suggestion about vertical gear was to dedicate a rope to exploration in a particular cave.
Upcoming trips (with more details on the web site) include:
SERA Summer Cave Carnival—May 29-31
Hancock Cave Cleanup—put on hold based on the bat situation
Worley’s Cave—Dave Duguid (June 5)
Karst-o-Rama—still on (June 26-28)
NSS Convention in Texas in July
Boone’s Cave wrap up—June 28 (Dave Duguid shared a new rumor about the road fill leaking into the cave)
John Plyler planned to propose a service project at Lechuguilla Cave and it was discussed briefly.
Side discussions included using Mr. Bubble for stream tracing and having a grotto program teaching people how to be calm in a rescue litter.
Mark Little continued collecting funds for the NSS White Nose Syndrome Rapid Response Fund. [In total the Triangle Troglodytes donated $460 from their month-long campaign.]
Mike Broome announced that the new web site is up and running. He has been working on restoring the photo gallery but is being too picky about how the old photos should be organized [his own claim]. It was suggested that he examine the amount of hair to determine the age of the photos. He will share the new password for the photo gallery site when he is ready. He also plans to install plugins that will let you link to Flicker to Picassa sites and upload your photos directly.
Howard Holgate announced that he will start working on the new sign to put outside the museum in July. Dave and Howard promised to get back on the stick with regard to programs. They will get the programs listed on the web page send out notices. When Ken suggested a program about lamp maintenance, the electric cavers joked about just banging it on the ground until it worked again.
Mike Broome and Diana Gietl had spoken about caving to Venture Crew 469, and that was successful for trying to understand what people new to caving might ask.
Warren, Kevin, Matty, and Ken went with Venture Crew 469 for a trip to Atwells Tunnel Cave in Smyth County. Unfortunately Maddy took a spill at the entrance before she went inside and cut her hand. The crew members especially enjoyed the freedom to explore rather than just follow a leader through the cave and would like to go again. Ken remained informative during the trip, and Warren discovered why we wear helmets.
Diana visited natural bridges and an impressive sea cave in Capri. She also went shopping for cave harnesses in Italy and discovered one for a frog system that allows the wearer to undo the delta in the front to stand up straight while in the harness.
Mike and Lisa went up to the BCCS property over Memorial Day weekend and listened to the discussions about the BCCS position on the WNS situation. BCCS voted to adopt the Virginia guidelines.
Ken then described that Matt, Linda, Christian, Gordon, and Brian had recently discovered a fungal growth on bats in Hancock Cave. They reported it to Ken, and he passed on the information to the landowner, Virginia cave specialist, Virginia bat biologist, and VSS county director. The state workers collected pipistrelle samples a few days later and sent them to Madison, Wisconsin for laboratory testing. When discussing WNS later, one suggestion about vertical gear was to dedicate a rope to exploration in a particular cave.
Upcoming trips (with more details on the web site) include:
SERA Summer Cave Carnival—May 29-31
Hancock Cave Cleanup—put on hold based on the bat situation
Worley’s Cave—Dave Duguid (June 5)
Karst-o-Rama—still on (June 26-28)
NSS Convention in Texas in July
Boone’s Cave wrap up—June 28 (Dave Duguid shared a new rumor about the road fill leaking into the cave)
John Plyler planned to propose a service project at Lechuguilla Cave and it was discussed briefly.
Side discussions included using Mr. Bubble for stream tracing and having a grotto program teaching people how to be calm in a rescue litter.
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