Montgomery Grotto Officers

Transcription

1

2 Montgomery Grotto Officers P R E S I D E N T : STAN TEW NSS stan_tew@yahoo.com V I C E - P R E S I D E N T : JELENE FRANKLIN NSS jelenefranklin@gmail.com T R E A S U R E R : BO FRANKLIN NSS bofranklin4@gmail.com S E C R E T A R Y : CHUCK TICE NSS chucktice@gmail.com Caving Information Online: to the Montgomery Grotto (MG) newsletter. We would like to take this opportunity to invite anyone interested in speleology to attend our meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at the First United Methodist Church at 7pm. The address is 2416 W. Cloverdale Park, Montgomery, AL Meetings last about one hour during which we discuss grotto business, welcome newcomers, plan trips and more. If you would like additional information, contact Stan Tew at stan_tew@yahoo.com. C a l endar April 07 MG Meeting April 27 Confederate Memorial Day May 05 MG Meeting May 23 Skydiving!! May "Camp on Little River" June 01 Jefferson Davis Holiday June 02 MG Meeting June 21 Father's Day July 04 Independence Day July 07 MG Meeting July 11 Tyrolean Traverse MG Website: montgomery/ NSS Website: SCCi Website: NSS Online Cavers: nsscavers.ning.com/ Cavechat.org: forums.caves.org/ D i s c laimer: Caving is an inherently dangerous and demanding sport. Care should be given when deciding to participate in caving trips. You should be physically fit and not afraid of tight spaces. Caving trips are lead by volunteers; before participating, you should gather information about the difficulty of the trip and the experience level of the leader. Participating in any or all activities is at your own risk.

3 O n T h e C o v e r On March 27, 2009, a group from the MG visited Tumbling Rock Cave. Heavy rainfalls that week made for a drastically different experience. Here, you can see the tremendous flow of water coming through the King s Shower. A n n o u n c e m e nts (1) From the NSS to all grottos: At 2:00 this afternoon [March 26, 2009], the USFWS issued a call for a caving moratorium in all WNS-affected states and adjoining states. This includes Maine to Ohio to North Carolina to Tennessee and Kentucky and everything in between. Here is a link: st/wnscaveadvisory.html. (2) Robert has canceled the Tennessee caving trips he had planned for Camps Gulf and Rumbling Falls. (3) The Nashville Grotto is hosting the 2009 SERA Summer Cave Carnival on May at the TAG site in Walker County, Georgia. They are calling it Camp on Little River. The event website with registration form can be found at: (4) MG stickers and patches are still available they are available from Bo for $2.50 each to grotto members and friends. (5) Check out our website for trips and upcoming events. I n f o / Trip R eports Tumbling Rock (Chuck Tice): Our March 27, 2009 trip to TR was a very memorable one. Stan, Ted, Colin and Chuck were able to visit a few areas that are rarely seen. In addition, the water level in the cave was drastically higher than I had ever witnessed. The flow of water running out of the King s Shower was amazing. No one wanted to go up and check out the Topless Dome because they would have been completely drenched for the remainder of the trip. One place we visited was an upper area in the Rabbit Room. I had been there earlier this year, and was glad to have some smaller guys with me this time who could peek around some tight corners to see if they advanced anywhere (they didn t). We quickly checked out a low area past the King s Shower, then the group pushed on to the Christmas Tree. Once there, we made our way around to the left and climbed the steep slope leading up to the Blue Crawl. Ted and Colin went half way up and decided to go back down. The slope was covered with a thick, slick mud, very much like Mount Olympus. The exposed areas were more than they felt comfortable with. As for Stan and me, we ventured on up using a rope permanently rigged for assistance. Once to the top, Stan commented that from the top of the cave in that area to the lowest part near the Christmas Tree was probably between 400 and 500 feet. It reminded you of the Topless Dome in that you could not really see the top with your headlamp. We took some time to explore the area and attempt to find the Blue Crawl. There were several VERY tight areas that we checked out, but we were never sure we had actually

4 found the passage. We eventually made our way back down to the rest of our group. We had been in the cave for 3 hours and decided it was time to make our way toward the entrance. We estimated that it would take us 1.5 to 2 hours to get out we did it in one hour! Once we decided to be wet, we were able to greatly increase our pace. Everyone had a great time!! Cahaba River Grants Mill to Overton Road (Robert West): March 21, 2009: No caving this weekend, instead Mike, Bo, Jelene, Chuck, Colin & I paddled the section of the Cahaba River between the Grants Mill Road Boat Ramp and the Overton Road Boat Ramp. Took us about 5 hours, with numerous stops for libations and other breaks. Would have made it in about 2 hours with more serious paddling. Water level was about right. Six inches less and we'd have bumped a lot of rocks and maybe had to drag canoes. We got off to an inauspicious start when Colin and Chuck rolled about 25 yards into the trip. Diagnosis: one too many coolers in their short boat. Cure: Mike transferred one cooler to our boat and we continued with out any further serious incidents. Of course I almost flipped us leaning too far to pull away from a sand bar, and we picked some of the slickest rocks on the river for one of our breaks. That brought about a few slips and slides and smiles. And, there was the incident of the female swimmer and what she did or did not have on. It is hard to describe perfection, The sky was clear, the temperature moderate, the company good and the river fine. Not many days that good in a lifetime. One other treat: we twice saw a flight of 4 WW2 era trainer planes pass over the river at less than 1000 ft elevation. I think the rumble of massed propeller planes may be more ominous than the whoosh and scream of jets. Thought about my now 92 year old father-in-law flying a similar craft against the Japanese in the Philippines during What did he think, and what did the Imperial soldiers think when they saw a mass of American planes diving on them. Probably about the same as my father thought when Japanese craft dropped bombs all around him at Pearl Harbor, or when the Kamikazes targeted his ship. Initially, it is all hatred and frustration, but in the long run, I guess hate, anger, fear, frustration and seeing death after death makes brothers out of enemies. Each, at least, can understand how the other felt. I last ran this section of the river in 1970 with + Lee Alexander, a good friend and sometime caver, to whom I owe a lot. He Departed this life about 4 years ago. I miss him still. The trip brought forth a lot of good memories of times with him, but created several new memories that were just as good. Caving Article (Chuck Tice): 18-Year-old rescued from cave Posted by David Brewer February 15, :32 PM The Huntsville Times WOODVILLE - An 18-year-old man was rescued from Stephens Gap Cave near here Sunday afternoon by members of the Scottsboro-Jackson County Rescue Squad. Jordan Garren of the Limrock community near here was exploring the vertical cave with some friends when he fell, said squad spokesman Eddie Tigue. He said squad members removed Garren by means of a rope and a basket. Tigue said Garren received a possible broken leg and a cut to the forehead. Squad members transported the victim about a mile over extremely rugged terrain to an ambulance, which then carried him a short distance to an awaiting Air Evac helicopter. Garren was flown to Huntsville Hospital where his condition was not immediately known. But his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, Tigue said. The squad was assisted by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, the Limrock-Aspel Volunteer Fire Department and paramedics from Highlands Medical Center ambulance service. A Powerful Quote: "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security

5 does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure." ~Helen Keller Article from The Birmingham News (Chuck Tice): Several Alabama caves closed as deadly disease kills scores of bats here s the link: news/stories/index.ssf?/base/ne ws/ xml&coll =2 M G M e e t i n g M i n u t e s February 9, 2009: Meeting started at 7:03pm Chuck: o Passed out meeting minutes from last meeting o January 6, 2009 meeting minutes were approved. Stan: o Asked about money; Chuck looked at last meeting minutes and we had $251 o Discussed Guess Creek Cave trip per Robert ; meet at Target on February 16 at 7:00am o Mentioned possible TR trip on February 21 o Mentioned possible Frick s trip on February 28 o Discussed working on trip to Anderson with Birmingham Grotto o Discussed from Birmingham Grotto; WNS is getting worse and spreading south Jeff discussed recent TR trip: o There were 12 cavers o It was very cold! o Described the ice cycles in the cave o Everyone had a great time! o Pictures on Internet Roger asked about area behind Sewers in TR o Stan thinks it is old cave o Ted said they ve been back there and got lost Stan discussed Glory Hole trip: o Went on January 17 o The gate damage has been repaired o Lots of water has been through the cave o Stan tried the Birth Canal feet first Robbie used a computer to show everyone pictures from recent trips o Jeff narrated for pictures from TR o Stan narrated for pictures from Glory Hole Door prizes o Chris won a light o Gus won an iron-on MG logo Stan asked for a volunteer to conduct a presentation at the Sierra Club in the near future; Cassie showed interest Cassie suggested that the MG plan a trip to the new bowling alley Meeting adjourned at 8:09pm Montgomery Grotto Apply Postage Here