April - The Cullman Grotto

The FLOWSTONE
Vol
Vol 17 Issue 04
April 2010
Three on a String
A Monthly Newsletter of the Cullman Grotto of the National Speleological Society
April 2010
Cullman Grotto Flowstone
CULLMAN GROTTO FLOWSTONE
April 2010
Volume 17, Issue 04
Inside this Issue
2
3
4
5
6
7
Echo Chamber
TAG Calendar
Whiteside Changes
War Eagle
Bday at Valhalla
WNS - Meeting Notes
Hato Cave on Caracao
Island
Caving in Utah
Candid Caver
Minutes
Visit us online @
www.caves.org/grotto/cullman/
or
www.cullmangrotto.com
The Flowstone is published monthly by the Cullman Grotto of the National
Speleological Society. Items submitted for publication must be received by the 20 th of
each month for inclusion in the following month’s issue.
The Cullman Grotto will exchange by request with any publishing grotto.
Republication of items within The Flowstone is allowed provided credit is given to
author and source.
Membership to the Cullman Grotto is fifteen dollars ($15) per year for individual or
twenty dollars ($20) per year for family. Dues are payable at the first grotto meeting of
each year (January) and includes subscription to The Flowstone. Subscription rate for
non-members is fifteen dollars ($15) per year.
The Cullman Grotto meets on the first Tuesday of each month unless the first Tuesday
falls on a holiday or otherwise noted. In those cases the meeting will be held on the
second Tuesday. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. and are held at the old L&N train depot,
Arnold St., Cullman, AL. All visitors and prospective members are welcome.
Official Grotto Address
Cullman Grotto
c/o Harold Calvert
123 Co. Rd. 250
Cullman, AL 35057
webecavers@hotmail.com
Newsletter Exchange
The Flowstone
c/o David Drake
110 Co. Rd. 1386
Falkville, AL 35622
idopits@peoplepc.com
2010 OFFICERS
Chairman:
Harold Calvert
123 Co. Rd 250
Cullman, AL 35057
(256) 287-9770
webecavers@hotmail.com
Front Cover:
Weaver’s Point, Little River
Canyon, AL
On rope: L-R Perry Clayton,
Scott Murphy, Jeff Lynn
APPOINTMENTS
Vice Chair:
Patrick O’Diam
1632 Logan Dr SW
Cullman, AL 35055
(256) 595-2548
patrickodiam@gmail.com
Secretary:
Sharon Clayton
1628 Edmondson Rd.
Hanceville, AL 35077
(256)352-0235
Treasurer:
Tracy Calvert
123 Co. Rd. 250
Cullman, AL 35057
(256)287-9770
dcpbookwyrm@hotmail.com
tcalvert@cullman.net
Advisor:
Victor Bradford
8333 US Hwy 31
Hanceville, AL 35077
only way to contact is
by carrier pigeon
Membership/
Editor/Library
David Drake
110 Co. Rd. 1386
Falkville, AL 35622
(256) 739-0811
idopits@peoplepc.com
Safety:
Mike "Tiny" Manke
PO Box 3584
Jasper, AL 35502
(540) 903-2314
Webmaster
Amel Drake
186 Co. Rd. 1386
Falkville, AL 35622
(256)590-2515
Tiny_butterfly_onrope@yahoo.com
ameldrake@bellsouth.net
April 2010
Cullman Grotto Flowstone
actual
ECHO))))) CHAMBER
GROTTO TRIPS
Here's a list of the trips planned for
the next 6 months; these are also on
the Yahoo group calendar.
Patrick
April 10 Torode's Pit
May 8
Paul's Cave - The Cataract
June 5
Green's Well
July 2-11 El Capitan
August 7 Pretty Well
____________________________
The Greenhorn Tourist Caver
Speaks
Ten years ago I made the trip of a
lifetime. I rode down to Mexico and
did an 1100 foot rappel into a great
pit. Time has pulled me from my
friends in the grotto but I will never
forget the trip! Thanks for a great trip
with good friends. I hope to renew
my membership and friendship with
everyone in the grotto.
Derick Mitchell
______________________________
SERA Guidebook
This year's guidebook will be 96
pages long. It will be fresh. That
means, all new maps and cave
descriptions, no "repeats"! These
maps have not even been published
by their respective cave surveys yet.
Here is a quick rundown minus a few
surprises.
-Geological overview of Grundy and
surrounding counties
-Geology field trip guide to
accompany the Saturday afternoon
field trip
-Historical
accounts
of
exploration
in
Grundy
surrounding counties
cave
and
-Articles from TAG's most active
group of surveyors
-Accounts of the survey and
exploration of Nunley Mt Cave
System, Grundy County's premier
cave
-Cave descriptions written by the
explorers
and
surveyors
-Cave maps previously never before
published
in
any
guidebook
-Photos from several of TAG's finest
that feature classic caves and TAG
legends
More information will follow,
usually every Saturday, so look for
posts here on Tagnet. Remember,
preregistration ends May 1st, so get it
in early and save 5 dollars. Go to
http://www.caves.org/grotto/sewanee
mountaingrotto for a downloadable
form. See you there!
Peter
"Mudpuppy"
Michaud
Chairman
PS I left out descriptions of "off
trail" guided trips offered at the
Carnival into the South's premier
show cave. Kind of a teaser, don't ya
think? Stay tuned and keep your
gear clean!
____________________________
Proposed
Bylaws
Change
to
ACS
Dear fellow ACS member:
I am sending this email to announce
the following: During this year’s
spring ACS meeting, there will be a
vote on a proposed change to the
ACS Bylaws. Prior to the vote, there
will be a discussion of the issue.
Here is the text of the proposal:
Proposed Change to ACS Bylaws
Section IV, Subsection D, shall be
amended/changed to read as follows:
D) The word "cave" as herein
defined is, "A natural cavity which
equals or exceeds fifty (50) feet in
length.”
“Length” shall be defined as: “The
sum
total of the measured lengths of all
the humanly traversable passages in
the cave, whether they are horizontal,
vertical, or inclined at any angle.” It
is strongly encouraged that this
measurement be obtained from an
instrumental survey of the entire
cave. An estimated length may only
be used when the reporter is
confident beyond a reasonable doubt
that the cave meets the 50' minimum
requirement.
If you have any questions, I will be
happy to try and answer them. I hope
to see you there!
Steve Brewer
____________________________
2010 NSS BOG ELECTION
By now you should have received
your ballot for the NSS Board of
Governors election. Please take time
to review it and cast your vote, due
no later than May15th.
2010 Bridge Day
The Bridge Day Rappel application
is to be completed online at
www.bridgedayrappel.com on or
before June 4. Complete the entire
application. Incomplete applications
will
not
be
accepted.
All
applications must be submitted
online. Once you have filled out an
application please let Nikky Manke
know so that a spot can be resereved
for you on the VBATS team.
TAG Calendar
Apr 10 - Grotto Trip
Torode’s Pit. Meet @ library 8am
Apr 24 - ACS Meeting
Scottsboro Public Library 1002 N
Broad St. 9:00 am.
June 17-20 - SERA Cave Carnival
Hosted by Sewanee Mountain
Grotto in Grundy County, TN, near
Monteagle. See the SERA Web site
or Contact Maureen Handler.
July - Grotto Trip
Yosemite Park’s El Cap
August 2-6, 2010
NSS Convention
Essex Junction, Vermont
Oct 7-10
33 Annual TAG Fall Cave-In
TAGOTM. Hosted by DCG
Oct 16 - Bridge Day
New River Gorge, Fayetteville, WV
2
April 2010
Whiteside Mountain
Access Changes
From: Chris Kelly - Mountain
Wildlife Diversity Biologist NC
Wildlife Resources Commission
The closure boundaries at Whiteside
Mountain,
Nantahala
National
Forest, is about to change
significantly. The resident pair has
moved to the side of the cliff that is
currently designated as open to
climbing and rappelling. The U.S.
Forest Service is changing the
closure so that the side currently
designated as 'open' becomes 'closed',
and the side currently 'closed'
becomes 'open'.
Cullman Grotto Flowstone
Why did they move? It's hard to say,
but the resident female was replaced
in May 2009 by a new female, so that
could partially explain a shift in
behavior. Also, we did document
violations to the closure last year, so
these birds may be responding to
disturbance. The pair is currently
incubating. By adhering to the
closure, climbers can help ensure that
the birds will be able to finish nesting
in a timely fashion, and the closure
will be lifted as soon as possible. If
they are disturbed, they will attempt
to re-nest, which will delay opening
of this cliff significantly. So please
help spread the word.
WAR EAGLE
A non-conventional cave trip
By Harold Calvert
Have you ever been caving in your
birthday suit? We did in War
Eagle(sort of). Here's the story...
I got a call from Patrick asking if I
was going on the trip. After I said
yes, he informed me that Saturday
would be his birthday and only two
days until yours. I have a new caving
suit to give you, come by to try it on.
Knowing Patrick like I do, there had
to be more to this than what it
seemed. There was.
In terms of climbing routes,
everything to the right of (east of) the
Mainline route will be closed (right
when viewing the cliff face from the
base of Whitesides). This means that
Traditions, Original Route, Whipping
Boy, and all other routes on the right
side are closed this year. The change
should go into effect in the next
couple of days, once they have
notified their enforcement officers
and updated signs, and I will update
you then. The Forest Service is
working to change signage in the
kiosk, post signs on the trail, and
write a press release.
When I got there he handed me a
suit. Not just any old caving suit, a
Sunday best with a tie! A very ugly
tie I might add, the ugliest he could
find! It’s our birthday, we should
dress for the occasion, he said. Oh
come on, it will be fun, he added. So
off I go with a brand new birthday
suit, just for caving.
Everyone was surprised when we
arrived in style. Of course we
hammed it up a bit. It had snowed
that night and we hiked around for
awhile (searching for the trail). The
trail was never found. When we
located the entrance, it was nice to
warm ourselves by. All rappelled
with no incident.
Once all were inside, we headed out
for the first formation room, which is
not far from the pit. After a few pics
of the formations, the bulk of the
group headed deeper into the cave.
All but Bruce and myself. He wanted
to see what was down a sand crawl at
the end of the room. Not to let him
go alone, I volunteered to join him.
Thinking that this would choke out,
we continued on. It did not. We
broke into a stream passage, with lots
of leads.
Consulting the map, we found that
we had ventured into areas that had
not been mapped, and had very little
traffic. We trudged on, checking out
lead after lead. What bugged us the
most was the fact that everywhere we
went, above us was more passage
that we could see but not safely
reach. Fearing that we had been gone
too long from the group, we
abandoned the new territory and
returned to the others They had gone
to the end of the main trunk passage
and were now returning.
“What happened to you guys”, they
asked. We told them of our
discoveries, I am not sure they
believed us.
Returning to the rope, we began our
ascent. It was much drippier now,
when we topped out the reason was
obvious. All the snow had melted .
There was the trail! The snow had
covered it that morning.
After changing, we headed out for
Mexican food. Isn’t that the reason
for caving, anyway?
The next day I hosed off the new
caving suit at the local car wash. It’s
ready for the next caving trip. There
will be a "summer formal" caving
trip. Get your Sunday best ready.
Black tie required.
3
April 2010
Cullman Grotto Flowstone
stayed in my climbing
gear thought I might
bounce the pit before
we did the cave but
after standing around
for a while down in the
bottom it got a little
chilly. I took my gear
off and did a little
exploring. I noticed
when I went back to
Toms Chimney room I
noticed that there was a
lot of debris of sticks
twigs and leaves going
to that room.
Birthday Party at
Valhalla
3-6-10
By Scott Murphy
Met at the library at 8 dressed in my
tux for a formal Birthday party.
When Patrick, Harold, Perry and
Sharon showed up I noticed that I
was under dressed. We were on our
way to the Wal-Mart in Scott's
Borough…[yeah whatever…ed] to
get some mulch for the trip and to
meet up with Jeff, Wendy and Aaron.
Buddy asked us to get five bags for
the lip around the pit. I think that is a
good Idea. I really think he should
get everybody to bring a bag of
gravel for the road to the cave but it
wasn't that bad diving up this time.
Seems like last time we were there
the road had some really bad ruts in
it.
Patrick and Aaron did bounce the pit.
When they got back down we
worked on some rope techniques. We
headed back into the cave we got a
little lost at the start ( I think Patrick
was rounding up some birthday
presents) I don't remember the cave
being so tight and strenuous. I do
remember the climb up using the
purple hand line (17 foot up) Before
this room there is a climb down (15
foot) When I was at this point I heard
Patrick ask me to come up there and
take a picture of this bat he said it
was dead. Before I got to him I
noticed three more dead on the floor
and around the room. We were all
really worried about WNS. I didn't
want to the one who had to tell
anybody that we found WNS in this
cave. Found out later that the whole
cave had been flooded killing most
of the bats. Buddy thought it had
killed all the bats. We saw probably
around a hundred live bats but we
were more concerned about counting
the dead ones (Thinking the entire
time this was going to be our last
cave trip.)
We made it back to the Mega Dome
and had a Birthday party with
cupcakes and presents and crickets.
on the way out we didn't have any
trouble. I think Harold got a little lost
in the canyon area. He stayed on the
lower level a little to far. The climb
out was nice. I climbed by myself
with Perry and Sharon tandem
climbing beside me.
We spread mulch around the pit
before we left. It was getting a little
dark. Wanted to stop at Buena Vista
on our way back to Cullman but it
was packed so we opted for Agaves
in the old restaurant. It was a good
trip.
Priceless look from the guy in background.
We arrived at the parking area and I
had to use the bathroom so I went out
into the woods. When I walked back
to the truck to help carry some of the
bags of mulch up. I noticed it looked
like the brush all around the parking
area had been laid over by rushing
water didn't think much about it.
At the top we rigged off the big tree
rapped it up nice with rope pads so
we wouldn't harm it. put two ropes
into the pit I helped more than usual
on the rigging this time even helped
lay some rope pads at the lip. We
rapped on down to the bottom. I
Alabama Bat Working Group:
WNS Response Plan
Under the heading of, “keeping you
informed”, below are some key notes
from the March 23, 2010 meeting.
Valhalla bat
Clean caving = decontamination
recommendations. Why can’t state/
4
April 2010
federal
regulators
enforce
decontamination after any caving
experience? Very muddy subject
may not ever happen. Minimum
recommendation is to cave cleanly in
all caves. Alabama Bat Working
Group needs to develop a “short and
skinny decontamination protocol”
that mimics a recipe style of action.
Let recreational cavers who would
like to collect data, collect data by
providing them a data sheet.
Alabama Bat Working Group needs a
POC for sending the data and a POC
for questions. It was suggested that
ALDCNR Heritage division collect
the gathered data. ALDCNR would
contact federal agencies if data
collect concerned a listed species.
Need to determine what is a
significant number of bats and its
relationship to the different bat
species and identified priority caves.
What happens when a cave has
WNS? Alabama Bat Working Group
recommendations are: Caving gear
that has been exposed to WNS should
only be used in caves that have WNS.
WNS is not the only biological that
we are trying to minimize the spread
of through recreation/ research.
With initial WNS infection, caves will
be closed. When the state has a
large number of WNS infected caves,
caves may be opened due to the fact
that a majority of the caves are
infected and the spread of WNS was
inevitable.
Who
notifies
the
landowner when a cave is identified
with NWS? NSS has a cave closed
list and WNS infected caves can be
added to that list. Alabama Bat
Working Group can encourage
private land owners to close WNS
infected caves to be closed. The
action will be up to the land owner to
close the cave.
Alabama Bat Working Group:
recommendations will be to close
priority caves and will recommend to
private land owners to close priority
caves.
Cullman Grotto Flowstone
Recommend to cavers to report all
biological observations during a
caving trip.
Include information
about bats and other species besides
those bats that are listed. Ask cavers
to report any unusually sighting (i.e.
condensation on pips, bats flying
around in winter, bat clusters, dead
bats, bat clusters at cave opens).
Keith will develop a general data
sheet for cavers; communication
subcommittee will publish on web
and send to SE Grotto newsletter
personnel.
Alabama National
Heritage program could receive data
and add to state database. Any
observation of a bat/ other species
that could be a listed species, then
contact the USFWS.
Hato Cave on Curacao
Island
Stan Tew NSS 18810
Members of the Montgomery Grotto
(NSS 297) no longer need feel
relegated to any sort of lower status
due to the lack of caving exposure of
its president. Members of the
Cullman Grotto (NSS 392) will be
glad to know that one of the newest
members has followed the other
intrepid members and joined the
ranks of the International Cavers that
regularly go to Mexico for the pits. I
am glad to announce to you that I am
now an International Caver having
visited a cave on the island of
Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles
islands. I visited the cave Wednesday
3/17/2010.
The island of Curacao was formed
below sea level and the subsequent
ice age lowered the water level to
expose the island. That’s why they
say the caves have always been there.
The cave is formed in limestone and
has areas of complete darkness.
There are areas which get direct
sunlight and that’s where the algae
grows so a significant portion has
green as its predominant color.
This is a “Tourist Attraction” as well
as a Tourist Cave. Therefore we paid
$8.00 each for the tour. Our guide
was quite knowledgeable and
provided a lot of factual information.
However, in true “cave guide”
fashion he took us to the “Fantasy
Room” where many of the
formations had names based on the
shape. While I don’t recall them all
there was, of course, “The Pirate”
complete with eye patch.
Overall it was a beautiful cave with
good stalactites, rim stone dams, and
a few columns. There were several
pools of exceptionally clear water.
The cave is still active with a lot of
dripping formations. It was hot &
humid inside and they had several
electric fans trying to move the air
across the sweating tourists. Like
everything in the tropics/3rd world
the electric wiring left much to be
desired but none of us were shocked
while inside. I have photos that will
eventually end up on my Facebook
page and I will notify y’all when they
get posted.
You will also be happy to know (I’m
sure) that my yellow bat-sticker cap
was dunked in the Atlantic Ocean on
this trip and in the Pacific Ocean as
well. One of the other shore
excursions of the cruise was a trip
through the Panama Canal. This was
interesting in that our small canal
boat holding about 250 went through
immediately in front of a large
vehicle carrier ship. You know –
that’s how they ship cars all over the
world. Well, the view from about 50
feet in front of one of those is one
you don’t see everyday. Also of
interest was the work progressing on
the construction of the new enlarged
locks.
5
April 2010
Cullman Grotto Flowstone
Entrance to Blow Hole
Caving - Wasatch Style
Kuenn Drake NSS 36723
During the University of Alabama’s
spring break, Hallie, Cyndy and I
decided to take a trip to Utah. Our
main purpose was to spend some
time with Will. He is trying to finish
up his Mechanical Engineering
degree next year and will not be
coming home for the summer…too
long for his Mother to go without
seeing him.
There were added
bonuses of seeing the Wasatch
Mountains covered in snow and
visiting with family. Hallie had
never been snow skiing so we spent a
day doing that as well…it was all a
blast.
A few weeks in advance of the trip I
contacted Michael Levitt, a member
of the Timpanogos Grotto, to see if a
caving trip could be arranged. My
schedule being very tight I knew it
would be a long shot. He, Michael,
was very accommodating and took
time away from his profession to
spend the good part of Friday the
19th caving. Others had planned to
join the outing but as it turned out, it
was just the two of us…Harold never
showed up!
We headed out toward Greeley Hill,
which is west of Provo and on the
western side of Utah Lake about an
hour’s drive. Our destination was
Blow Hole cave (guess every state
has one) which is located about a
mile northeast of the now closed
Nutty Putty cave.
On the drive there we talked
primarily about Nutty Putty and the
tragic event that cost John Edward
Jones his life last November 25th
when he became hopelessly stuck in
an unmapped squeeze passage. At
that time Michael was managing
Nutty Putty cave for SITLA (The
Utah School and Institutional Trust
Lands Administration). This group
desiring to have no part of
administrating cave access for this
and numerous other caves located on
State
owned
property…long
story…so the caving community
stepped in and managed access.
Nutty Putty, being the Bangor of the
area, had well over 20,000 visitors a
year, cavers and spelunkers alike.
(More at: www.nuttyputtycave.com,
Michael’s creation and webmaster)
TAG standards, but there’s caves in
them “thar” hills.
Blow Hole is an interesting cave,
around 1200 feet mapped with a 350
foot vertical extent. Needless to say
we spent most of the time in-cave on
rope; with most of the non-vertical
passage too steep to navigate without
a safety rope. It started with a 15
foot entrance drop that led to a gate
immediately followed by another 70
foot vertical drop; the remainder of
the cave was about 60 degrees down
bubble (for you submarine dive
officers). Michael asked if I was the
adventurer type and wanted to go
first, “you bet” (Utah vernacular), I
responded. Regardless of the cave,
it’s always an adrenaline rush for me
to dive off into something new.
We spent a couple of hours in the
cave viewing the sites; very little in
the way of traditional speleothems
but some fascinating colors. I swear
to you, the dirt was purple, orange
and lavender…well let’s not go that
far. The temperature inside the cave
was rather warm, 80+ degrees. The
cave apparently was formed by
thermal pressure pushing upward.
Navajo Hall passage
As we drove I asked if it would be
possible to go take a look at Nutty
Putty. Michael said, “Well with my
new 4 wheel drive Blazer I believe I
can take you within 20 feet of it.”
Believe me, it takes a 4x4 to get
there; reminiscent of the remote
roads (term used loosely) in the
Guads of NM. We talked more
about the rescue event along the way;
he pointed out strategic areas for the
scores of media, SAR teams, law
enforcement, helicopter pads…from
his description it was a spectacle to
behold, way out in the middle of
nowhere.
After spending an hour or so we
ventured down the mountain
(following the road was optional at
this point) and headed over to Blow
Hole. This ain’t cave country by
After taking a few pictures,
discussing
vertical
gear
and
techniques we began the exit. Fair
amount of huffing and puffing later,
mostly on my part, we reemerged to
a bright sunny day with a stiff north
wind, OH, I failed to mention, it was
snowing when we began the trip.
This was a special treat for me,
caving in the land of my birth, good
times with a new found caving
friend.
Thanks again! Michael
6
April 2010
Minutes of the Meeting of
the Cullman Grotto of the
National Speleological Society
March 2,2010
The regular monthly meeting of the
Cullman Grotto of the National
Speleological Society was called to
order on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at
7:40 pm by Harold Calvert,
chairman.
Twelve people were
present.
The minutes of the previous meeting
were read. A motion was made by
David Drake to accept them as read,
and seconded by Perry Clayton.
Cullman Grotto Flowstone
There will be a Grotto executive
meeting next month.
A classic video of a grotto trip to
Conley Hole was shown.
Discussed future of old grotto ropes
and whether to retire them or use
them as hand lines and such.
The chairman declared the meeting
adjourned at 9:30 pm.
A trip is scheduled for Saturday,
March 6, 2010 to Valhalla. Trip
members meeting at 8AM at the
Cullman Library.
Bridge Day dues are due and payable
in May.
Trip reports were given for recent
trips to War Eagle and Guffy caves.
CANDID CAVER
A treasurer's report was given.
The trip advisor reported he was still
resting at this time.
Kuenn Drake gave a safety report on
an incident that occured during a
recent trip to Guffy cave. One of the
young people on the trip slipped
while going up the ladder at the
entrance, but was recovered without
injury.
Vice Chairman Patrick O'Diam
brought up the arrival of WNS in
Tennessee and its possible impact on
caving in Alabama. He also made
the group aware of the SCCI's
recommendations for cleaning gear
before and after caving trips.
NFL Meets NSS
Bowling Hustler, Scott Murphy, poses
with National Champion and future
NFL linebacker Rolando McClain in
Decatur. Scott was trying to hustle Ro
for his BCS ring.
Old Business:
There are still a few grotto t-shirts
available.
Patrick is working on a trip calendar
and has around 6 months worth of
trips worked up.
New Business:
7