Tidewater Grotto's
Cave Trips and Events
Spring VAR 2005
April 29 to May 1st
This event will be held in
Greenbrier County WV at the state fairgrounds. Some of the major caves in
the area include Scott Hollow, Organ Cave System, McClung, Bone-Norman System,
Portal-Boar Hole System, Friars Hole System, just to name a few.
A limited edition guide book is being prepared.
There will be numerous trips scheduled, including a kids trip and a teen trip. There is everything from horizontal beginner on up to vertical caving to be had.
There will also be plenty of opportunity for self led trips. There will be projects to work on ranging from surveying Maxwelton, re-digging open the Wildcat entrance to Culverson Creek, trail maintenance for Billy Clay Pit, with the possibility of some Monroe County fieldwork. There will be a dinner Saturday night and a pancake breakfast hosted by Front Royal Grotto on Sunday morning.
The State Fairgrounds are located just 4 miles south on Route 219 from Exit 169 of I-64, the Lewisburg exit.
Inner Mountain Outfitters and Howie's Harnesses will be your SpeleoVendors, with possible additions in the future.
There is ample camping space, but there will be no camper hookups available.
There will be two shower/bath houses available, which have 16 showers.
As there is no pavilion, a 20 x 40 foot tent will be set up for various activities.
So, please announce this event at your next grotto meeting and come to West Virginia for some excellent caving.
A pre-registration form for Spring 2005 VAR is attached.
July 4-8, 2005:
2005 NSS Convention,
Huntsville, AL. Hosted by the
Huntsville
Grotto. Check out the website
http://www.nss2005.com/
or contact
Jim Hall jimehall2@cs.com
or
256-772-9829 for more info.
NCRC Weeklong Cave Rescue
Seminar
July 30-Aug7th, 2005
The Eastern Region of the National Cave Rescue Commission will be hosting a weeklong cave rescue seminar July 30th through August 7th, 2005. The location of the course will be Camp Pioneer in Beverley, West Virginia. This is just north of the OTR site and about 8 miles south of Elkins, West Virginia.
The seminar consists of extensive classroom and field work in all phases of cave rescue including underground environment, vertical rescue, hauling systems, extrication techniques, medical management, communication systems, and the organization and management of cave rescue operations. Basic and advanced course material is presented for students who typically include cavers, emergency service personnel, and emergency managers.
Each course provides approximately 100 hours of instruction over the eight day seminar. These classes are physically strenuous and participants must be in good physical health.
LEVEL 1 teaches current cave rescue and emergency management techniques, and provides instruction in caving, basic rope work, litter rigging and transport, and incident command systems. It is specifically designed to meet the various needs of agency personnel with little or no cave related experience, and cavers with little or no rescue or medical experience. Level 1 prepares the student to function as a cave rescue team member.
LEVEL 2 prepares students to function as cave rescue team leaders. The Level 2 curriculum assumes that students have learned, retained and practiced the basic skills taught in Level 1. Students are taught more advanced techniques in medical management, vertical and horizontal rescue, and leadership and management skills. Level 1 is a prerequisite for Level 2 and must have been taken in the previous 4 years.
The tentative cost for each class is $375.00 for NSS members and $410.00 for non NSS members. Course fees may be lower as the budget is finalized.
For information on these courses, the Eastern Region - NCRC or cave rescue in general please contact the ERNCRC Regional Coordinator at eastern@ncrc.info or via telephone at 304-288-3615. Further information will be available on the course in the next few weeks at http://www.er-ncrc.org
