Jim Jacobs
The votes are in, and the big decisions are made, at least for another year. For the first time, the NNG has new officers.
PRESIDENT: In a very close race, our new President is...Norm Rogers of Peoria.
VICE PRESIDENT: At the October meeting, there being no nominees for Vice President, we voted that the runner-up in the presidential race would serve as Vice President. Following Norm by only two votes, John Marquart of Charleston becomes Vice President.
SECRETARY: Brian Braye (Bloomington), running unopposed, was elected by unanimous vote.
TREASURER: Jim Jacobs (Bloomington), running unopposed, was elected by unanimous vote.
MEMBER-AT-LARGE, Executive Committee: Don Coons (Rutland), running unopposed, was elected by unanimous vote.
We wish to thank the outgoing officers, President John Walther, Vice President Kevin Rasmus, and Treasurer Marty Jacobs for their extraordinary efforts in helping to guide us during the first two years of our existence. Their commitment, expertise, and all-around good humor played an enormous part in making the NEAR NORMAL GROTTO the best damn new grotto in the NSS.
New President NORM ROGERS has great organizational skills, as shown by his running of the highly successful annual NSS Field Camp at Mammoth Cave. He has taken an active part in grotto activities since joining, such as the workshop on caving equipment, has organized trips, and presented slide shows in which he critiqued underground photographic and lighting techniques. He has also contributed articles to the NNN.
Incoming Vice President JOHN MARQUART has, from the very beginning, turned his industry and talent for research to the NNG's advantage. He has done extensive research on the history of the Blackball Mine, and the hydraulic cement produced there. One of his projects, on the chemistry of carbide, resulted in an article posted on the Cavers Digest and reprinted in the NNN along with responses from correspondents. Another, on computer networking for cavers, appears in this issue. He has also given extensive slide shows, organized many trips, and presented a demonstration on the chemistry involved in the production of caves. He participated in the NSS Field Camp at Mammoth Cave in August.
New Secretary BRIAN BRAYE became a working member of the grotto from the moment he joined. As co-editor of the NNN, he has been instrumental in raising the newsletter to new heights. He chairs the Grotto Logo Committee, and created and produced the design which now graces our t-shirts. He is also an active member of the Meeting Activities Committee, and with Kevin Rasmus, organized and presented a workshop on cave photography. In August, he also participated in the NSS Field Camp at Mammoth Cave.
Incoming Treasurer JIM JACOBS was the grotto secretary for its first two years, and continues as co-editor of the NNN. He has organized and participated in many grotto activities, trips and committees, took part in the NSS Field Camp, and with Marty, is working on a slide record of our Blackball Mine project.
Ongoing Member-at-Large Don Coons is off caving again this winter, but will return in April to give us the benefit of his extensive experience and knowledge. This time, he is visiting Hawaii and Mexico as well as Lechuguilla and other U.S. caving spots. His work as head of the Blackball Mine Project Committee has been crucial to our development as a working grotto.
The other important question on the November ballot, that of our meeting schedule, has been decided in favor of FRIDAY nights. Henceforth, our meetings will take place on the FOURTH FRIDAY of each month except December. The first meeting under this schedule will be Friday, January 28, 1994 at the First of America Bank, East and Jefferson sts., Bloomington, IL at 7:00 pm.
Group photos will be taken, so EVERYBODY BE THERE! Norm Rogers will present a video, "Lechuguilla, the Hidden Giant" (the caver's version)
Welcome new members D.C. Young, and Eric Rogers. D.C. is a mechanical engineer who lives in Towanda, IL. I understand he will have a surprise for us as the meeting. Eric is another son of Norm. It seems as though good cavers run in the family!
You'll notice new by-lines on some of the articles in this issue. Thanks to the wonders of the InterNet, I was able to pick up some articles of interest and publish them by permission. (An editor's dream). Of course the familiar names are there, too; Norm Rogers first address as president, part 3 of Kevin Rasmus' series on vertical caving, John Marquart on computer networking for cavers, and of course, that guy who doesn't know a cave "from a hole in the ground". Perhaps "Mad Dog" himself will leave a deposit between the pages.
It seems that the struggle between gas drilling interests and Lechuguilla Cave has not yet been decided. The "Dark Canyon EIS" (environmental impact statement) was recently released, and a weighty tome it is. It examines the requests and arguments for allowing drilling near the cave, and sets out the various alternatives (i.e., everything from "no drilling at all allowed" to "let 'er rip".) A two or three inch thick book to study, and *thirty days* to get your arguments together and make your position known! From the messages on the net, the alternative that seems most likely to be chosen moves the drilling company a few hundred feet farther from the *known* boundaries of the cave than their original proposal, but not far enough, say those who argue that much more time is needed to further explore Lech. to determine the actual extent of the cave, and to accurately assess the potential for damage.
Buddy Rogers, of Bent Arrow Caving Supplies on Eller Road, near Buckner's Cave is selling some nifty hand-made cave packs. They are made of a highly abrasion resistant rubberized cloth, seem very well made, and are reasonably priced.
Happy birthday to us..........happy birthday to us.........jj
Bruce Anderson
November 6, Brian Braye and Bruce Anderson took another dad and daughter trips to Illinois Caverns. Last fall, four dads and daughters went. This year, only Bruce/Carma, Brian/Brandy and her friend, Christie went.
We woke up to light snow, and it continued all the way to the cave. it felt good to descend the stairs out of the cold, biting wind into the "warm", moist, familiar darkness. Since I was out of carbide, I decided to try my helmet mounted 2AA MiniMag and a second identical light on a loop around my wrist as my operating light sources.
We headed out immediately for our first goal; to find and photograph "The Dragon". Brian had his tripod, camera, and some remote flash gizmos he was anxious to try out. Since we had three fourteen year old girls with us, one of whom was a pure rookie, we stopped along the way to play in the waterfalls and slip and slide on the mud slides.
Somewhere beyond Rimstone river, we met a group of teenage girls led by a veteran NSS caver from MMV. We swapped stories and acquaintances with him and then discovered the teenagers were from an LDS (Mormon) church group near O'Fallon. After swapping LDS youth adventures with the man and woman leaders of the group, we moved on toward the Dragon.
By now, we were beyond where any of us had been, so we moved more slowly, looking for this formation. I was pleased that the standard map we had was accurate enough and that we could read it with a compass check to find the Dragon, right where the map said it would be. We took some interesting photos of it with remote flashes, and also of Rimstone River.
On purpose, we saved Carma's and my favorite, Cascade Canyon for last, so that we wouldn't be cold for the bulk of the trip, or deeper in the cave in case of injury. Carma had become very confident, so she led the group all the way back from the Dragon. As she led up Cascade Canyon, she was a bright blue flashlight on the floor through about 3 1/2" of clear water. On our way out, she "dove" for it after finding it with our feet in the water that we had muddied on the way in. It's an inexpensive turquoise double D-cell with a little rust, but a neat memory. No, it did not work in spite of the Duracells.
Our last picture before climbing the stairs shows the five of us with distinguishable water lines on Brian and Bruce about chest/waist deep (respectively), but no clear waterline on the girls. Just barely discernible are the wet hair tips at should level. Nice day of caving with the girls.
PS. By the way, while at the Dragon, I got out my little can of Sterno and a huge 39 gallon garbage bag, and demonstrated how a hypothermic caver could be warmed by putting the bag over the body with the head sticking out a hole in the top like a raincoat, then directing warm air from the sterno into the bag from below. I'd carried that can of Sterno on many caving and canoeing trips, but had never tried it. It worded great - perhaps too good. I think a candle or carbide lamp might be enough heat to do the job. Question for Marquart - Does burning Sterno produce toxic fumes or just consume the oxygen supply?
PPS. I decided that I like more light than my two MiniMags gave me, but having that side mount on my helmet for a backup headlamp would be very adequate for an exit in case of carbide failure. For those who would like to duplicate my mount - it's an old holder for a dental drill!
by Steve Kaub
The first weekend of November brought freezing temperatures and snow flurries. What better time to practice a cave rescue? After all, you can't plan for perfect weather during an actual rescue.
The National Cave Rescue Commission is a nationwide network of cavers, organized by regions, who perform rescues of unfortunate persons who become lost or injured in caves. Training is a major part of what the NCRC does. There are several levels of training. This particular course was the weekend orientation which is a brief look at the many aspects of cave rescue, including a mock rescue on Sunday. There are week long courses which are much more in depth - levels 1 through 4, with 4 being the instructor course. The weekend started early Saturday morning at the Perryville Fire Department. After registering, we sat down for several hours of classroom instruction. Don Paquette introduced himself and allowed the instructors to tell a little about themselves. He said one of the objectives of the course was to convince cavers and agency people that it is possible to work together without killing each other. Since the important thing is getting the patient out of the cave as quickly and safely as possible, everyone needs to contribute what they can without letting their egos get in the way. The instructors gave short talks on things like communications from inside the cave to the outside, getting an initial response team in the cave to locate the patient and assess the situation, logistics and what to put in a medical kit. Frank Reid, the communications expert, talked about media interaction. He compared reporters to hyenas at a wildebeest kill. They need to survive and make a living like everybody else but they should be treated carefully. There should be a person assigned to the media to feed them information as it becomes available, but they should be kept away from tired cavers. After a tasty lunch, we were all getting a little drowsy so Frank Lamm woke us up with an energetic talk on psychological considerations. He said you don't talk about how bad the situation is around the patient even if they're unconscious. If the patient starts getting scared or depressed, you have to talk to them and find out their name, tell them your name, and do what you have to do to get their mind off the situation. Next, we practiced packaging and transporting patients inside the fire station. Then we put on our cave clothes and went to a park and moved a patient through a series of obstacle courses the instructors had set up. At first Lannis was our group's patient, which was no problem. We had to look to make sure she was still in there. Then we changed patients and Frank told me to be the patient. Everyone in her group whined loudly. I was nice and warm inside the plastic moisture barrier and sleeping bag and it was a surprisingly smooth ride even over the wall of the outhouse. Later that night Mark Andrich and I went to the local Pizza Hut and all the instructors were there plotting the next day's strategy to confuse and bewilder us at the mock rescue. The waitress seated us next to their table, so they thought we had been sent in as spies to discover the cave location or whatever. That couldn't be further from the truth, we had planned all along to eat pizza that night, it's not a cave trip without pizza! Anyway, we ate quickly and left none the wiser. That night some of the Perryville firemen were laughing around the campfire about being referred to as "agency" people. It was so cold I couldn't even get warm by the fire, so it was time to go to bed. In the morning, we went to the fire station to wait for the call out. We heard it had gotten down to seventeen degrees that night, which explained the absence of my posterior. Instead of everyone showing up at the cave at once, our names were drawn and we were sent out in small groups to more closely simulate an actual situation. When Earl, Lannis and I got to the cave, the initial response teams were inside. As more people arrived on the scene, it suddenly got real confusing. I got stuck on the outside of the cave with the personnel job, putting together groups of people to go into the cave. I wanted to go in the cave to get warmed up since it was about twenty degrees warmer than outside. Klump Cave was the scene of the rescue, it has an easy walk-in entrance that immediately splits into two passages. There were injured people in both passages so it was a good thing we had two sets of field telephones to keep in contact with the two evacuation teams. The rescue teams got the two patients out so fast that the instructors threw in a third injured person. After the last patient was out of the cave we returned to the fire station for a critique of the rescue. Most of the instructors came from Indiana to donate their time and expertise to familiarize us with what is involved in a cave rescue. Rick Haley did an excellent job organizing the whole thing. Don told us the main reason he is involved in cave rescue is for the caves. Since a rescue usually causes negative publicity it sometimes results in the landowner's closing the cave. But if the landowner sees that there are responsible cavers, they may be more likely to keep the cave open. There were a lot of MVG members in attendance, we were probably the largest group represented, and I'm sure we all learned a few things. One of the things I learned is how much is involved in getting an injured person out of a cave. So the best thing to do is cave safely so you can walk out instead of being carried out. Re-Printed from the "Caver" - Meramec Valley Grotto's Newsletter - 12/93 and posted to MoCaves - The Missouri Cavers
November 22, 1993
Called to order at 7:23 pm. Present: Jim Jacobs, Marty Jacobs, Al Winston, Val Winston, Brian Braye, Tim Mikesell, Tim Sickbert, Deb Smith, Tim Shaffer, John Marquart, Larry Avery, John Walther, D.C. Young, Norm Rogers, David Carson, Jered Rogers, Kevin Rasmus.
The minutes of the October meeting were approved. The Treasurer's report was approved. John Walther and Brian Braye agreed to check the books against the treasury, as Marty Jacobs declined another term. Jim announced that Dave Mahon had called from Quincy about a possible trip to Missouri. Any interested, call.
Trip reports -- John Marquart described the Camp's Gulf Cave, TN trip. Traveling with Sara Goeking and Eli Rodemaker they stopped at Horse Cave, on the way down, and checked out Hidden River Cave and the Cave Museum. Tim Shaffer reported on a trip he took with Tim Sickbert down to Ross Cave, TN. They also visited Camp's Gulf. John Walther coordinated an ISU campus recreation trip to Kreuger's Dry Run Cave.
Voting for officers: Each of the three candidates for president gave a brief speech. Votes were turned in and counted. The tentative results (subject to change if eligible absentee ballots arrived in the next few days' mail):
President - Norm Rogers
Vice President - John Marquart
Secretary - Brian Braye
Treasurer - Jim Jacobs
Member at Large - Don Coons
The proposition to change our meeting nights to Fridays PASSED. Next meeting, January 28th.
All were astounded at the helmet/light combination put together by Al Winston. He adapted a neon light to the helmet. The books and treasury were audited and pronounced correct by John Walter and Brian Braye. Adjourned.