Category: News

The NCRC Weeklong 2012 Cave Rescue Seminar is taking place on 5/18/2012 5:00 PM CDT – 5/26/2012 1:00 PM CDT at
Location:
Camp Skyline
Mentone, Alabama 35984
United States.  

In addition to Levels 1, 2 & 3 this year we are offering 2 additional special classes.

 
Caving and Wilderness First Aid is an elective level that students can choose to take to increase their knowledge of the medical aspects of cave rescue. This level includes a two day Wilderness First Aid course, a half day Psychological First Aid course, and various other medical topics applicable to cave rescue. The rest of the week will be a review of level two rescue techniques with a heavy emphasis on the medical care of the patient during each evolution. You will be with the rest of the group for the walkthrough and the mock. You must have passed level 2 to be eligible for this course. If you have taken level 2 since 2000, you will renew your eligibility to take level 3. There is an additional registration fee for certification and the special text book.

  Team Operations and Field Exercises is a weeklong course of hands-on field experience through a variety of rescue scenarios in cave and cliff environments. Emphasizing the core skill set developed in Levels 1 & 2, this course provides cave rescuers an opportunity to acquire more practical problem-solving experience. Successful completion of NCRC Level 2 or 3 within the past four years is a prerequisite.

  We expect the available registrations to fill up quickly. To register click here:Click Here to Register for this Event 

  For more information, check out the NCRC website at: www.caves.org/commission/ncrc

 We look forward to hearing from you!  

 Thank you,   

 Jane Morgan, Registrar
104 W. Indiana Street, Apt A
LaFayette, GA 30728

Phone 770-315-2608

2012registrar@ncrc.info

Hi Everyone,

Update! Ho-ho-howdy!

The latest forecast calls for 100% chance of rain around 6 pm, going
down to 50% around midnight.

We will still hold the vertical practice, but most probably (unless when
I show up the skies are clear) it will be indoors. Unfortunately indoors
there is only one anchor and we can only set one rope, so depending on how many people show it, it can get crowded. We will start getting on rope as soon as possible to give a chance to everyone.

See you tonight!
—
Howdy!

Yup, 2012 is marching on and it’s now time for the second vertical
practice of the year. Please join us tomorrow for an evening full of
excitement and camaraderie, all while hanging from thin Nylon strands above an abyss (note: objects may not be drawn to scale). Sounds like fun? Of course it does!

Our kind hosts will be Bill and Peri Frantz, please join us at their
estate in Los Gatos:

16345 Englewood Ave,Los Gatos, CA.

On Google maps: http://tinyurl.com/3bqjg2o

View Larger Map

You can arrive any time after 6:30. The grill will be expecting you in
case you brought something for it. Please bring your own main dish, and a small side dish or dessert to share.

After dinner we’ll get on rope and you can practice to your heart’s content.

Fofo

To gauge if there is significant interest in offering trainings for SFBC members and non-members, the grotto has decided to poll the group by providing a simple survey to our members. Please fill out the survey to indicate your interest in cave-related training programs.

Trip Leader Training

Interested in becoming a trip leader? Want to start leading trips to caves that you have been to? The trip leader training is just for you! It will cover topics such as emergencies, how to be cognizant of the team, and how to communicate to your fellow cavers. The trip leader training is essential for any caver looking to take the next step in their caving.

Project Work Training

Those that are interested in surveying, producing maps from survey data, draw pretty stuff that are almost artistic in nature, cave cleaning, and promote conservation would benefit from attending training sessions that teach you these skills. Cave survey and maps give you the ability to draw data and help out on work trips. It also gives you a sense of PURPOSE when caving. Those that are artistic, would love to draw cave maps since they’re just awesome to look at and stare for hours on end. Cave cleaning? Ever hate crawling into a cave filled with graffiti or broken glass? Here’s your chance to shine and lead trips to clean your local cave!

Mock Rescue

Ever wonder what to do when you’re in a rescue situation? This training focuses on practicing mock rescue situations that could potentially make you a hero. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.

New Member Sessions

New to the grotto? Not sure what is going on or what trips to go to? Wondering who to talk to? This would be a session geared for new members looking to get underground asap and see cool stuff!

Bruce White will give a presentation on his participation in a 2-week expedition to -4500 feet in Croatia during the Summer of 2011.

Personal Caving History: Started caving in 1992 in Indiana. I’ve caved in 14 states, mostly Indiana and TAG. I’ve also caved internationally in Canada, Mexico, Malaysia (Borneo) and Croata.

Caving Interests: Currently I’m interested in international caving, original exploration, and survey. I especially love vertical caving.

Trip Calendar is up. We will have a separate calendar for signing up and scheduling trips since those are for member use only. This can be decided at the meeting.

Hi Everyone, as the meeting comes closer and the weekend draws near, I have a bit of a homework for grotto members for the upcoming trip planning meeting as well as a special request. (This is what you get for rolling me into office…HOMEWORK)

1) Please list all the caves you are interested in going to in California (or abroad!) Caves you have been to and caves you have never been to are great. This is your chance to speak up on caves you wish to explore, conserve, map, survey, sleep in, you name it! – Write on paper and bring to meeting.

2) State at the meeting whether or not you’re willing to lead trips along with which trip/cave you’d like to lead. We’re in need of some hardcore, bad@$$, Metal Gear Solid leaders to lead Type 2 fun caves trips that rival those during the Heltsley administration. (cheap stab I know…)

Special Request: Does anyone have a projector I can use for my laptop at this meeting? I’d like to project the trip calendar as well as a spreadsheet of the caves + trips for all to see. We used to use a big white board (which I have and can bring) but I feel a laptop with projector would be most useful. Please email me if you have one that I can use for the meeting!

Transparent Administration:
– MLG Grotto Calendar was sent to me (thank you) and I updated the SFBC Calendar to include it
– Waiting for CRF calendar which will most likely be sent Saturday and updated on the calendar before Tues
– Diablo Grotto will have their trip planning on the Thursday after our meeting thus we will share our calendar with them should they want to plan around our trips
– Beta run of blog/news announcement wordpress to be integrated with the website eventually at (http://blog.sfbaycaving.org/) I’ll be working with Kelley on something to put the two together.

Thanks and I look forward to having a fun and productive meeting!

Hello and welcome to the first rendition of the SFBC blog. I’ll be updating this monthly (hopefully) for members to read up on what is going on with the grotto, upcoming trips, and calendar updates. Stay tuned.