[Texascavers] caver/Indiana Bats in the news

[David]

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/federal-court-rules-massive-wind-energy-project-in-violation-of-endangered-species-act-78886682.html

I presume this is the same Dave Cowan that is active in the
Southeastern Cave Conservancy.

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[Texascavers] a new digital camera

[David]

Here is a new digital camera claiming to be "impact resistant,"

 http://www.skymall.com/images/products/23/1b/0c/203105202x.jpg

 http://www.skymall.com/images/products/23/1b/0c/203105202gx1.jpg

It uses the same lithium-ion battery as their flashlight, and several
lightweight power tools.

And it is readily available at the Home Depot store.

Ref:

http://www.ryobitools.com/catalog/tek4/documentation/RP4200#

Here is a review:

http://www.epinions.com/review/Ryobi_Durashot_RP4200_8MP_Digital_Camera_epi/content_483357396612


I have seen 2 or 3 cheap digital cameras recently that claimed to be
water-resistant,
or rugged and have a flash.   I

For example,

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4100K2hxYeL._SL500_AA280_.jpg


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] clothing related

[David]

I know many of you like to wear North Face clothing, or camp in
North Face tents.

Here is a funny story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091215/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_north_face_lawsuit;_ylt=AiEZ6QvcVTOpQx2AiQaTbvXtiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1Z3FoZjNlBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMjE1L3VzX29kZF9ub3J0aF9mYWNlX2xhd3N1aXQEcG9zAzMEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawN0aGVub3J0aGZhY2U-

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[Texascavers] a caver passed away

[David]

I just learned a few minutes ago, that an old caving friend
of mine from Texas A&M had passed away a few years ago.

His name was Mason Estes.

He made a trip to Huautla in 1987, but most of his caving was
with the A.S.S. to caves near Bustamante, and west Texas.

I will try to find an obituary, or get more details.

If you knew any Aggie cavers back around 1986, he was the
one with the deep froggy voice.

His passion was rock-climbing, and that got him interested
in caving.

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[Texascavers] recent caver fatalities

[David]

It seems that the 2 recent caver fatalities could have been prevented
if the novice caver that died had had some basic information about
the cave hazards of that particular cave.

I would propose that a list of Texas cave hazards be published on
CaveTex or in the Texas Caver, or in a special publication to be only
handed out at grotto meetings.

Also, a PVC canister could be placed in a cave with a note inside warning
of the dangers in the cave, along with a list of known fatalities or accidents.

For example, where is the spot in a particular cave that a fatality would
most likely occur?

For example, I would not recommend that a novice caver do certain pits,
or visit caves with possible histo, or visit caves with bad air, or sump where
a novice caver could drown.

I think the situation in Texas is far different than in other states.
  It is hard for
a novice to get in a cave, and even less into a cave that is hazardous.   And
also, Texas caves are not as wet and cold at the same time as caves in
other parts of the country, so being lost is more of a dehydration issue than
a hypothermic issue.

The only place in a Texas cave that I have visited that I propose be off-limits
to all novice cavers, is the last pit in "Emerald Sink."  The hazard is the
air quality and the contact with bats.   The crawlway beyond the 140
foot pit leads
to the last pit.  [ The 2nd pit is in a small enclosed area and the
only time I ever did the pit was in 1994.]   At that time, there was a
bat roost in the pit, and the guano in the
pit was nasty.  So I can't think of a good reason why a novice caver should
go down the crawlway to the last pit.There is a nasty sump a very
short ways beyond
the last pit.   I think somebody dove the sump.   Does it need to be
dove again ?   If it
doesn't need to be dove again, then a good video needs to be made of
the passage, and
I propose that the crawlway be gated.

I bet many cavers have been to a certain cave and not known there was
a fatality there ?   Like out at Punkin ?

How many new active Texas cavers can describe to a novice caver ( off the top
of their head ) all the cave fatalities that we have had in Texas?
It seems like
the number was 13 or 14?Several were vertical related.

I bet if you could asked the novice cavers that were on the trips with
the victim, if they had ever heard of the publication American Caving
Accidents, they would have said, "no."

"Cave fatality funerals suck.   I don't want to attend one, or be the victim."

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] a tentative caver party

[David]

I have an opportunity to host a caver party on the evening of May 22nd.

The owners of a private camp have offered to let me use their
beautiful 60 acres and
their facilities for $ 250 for a 3 day weekend.

This camp is something I have talked about before on Cavetex.   It is
just south of
Lake Somerville and a few miles off of Highway 290.

What I would like to try is to invite everybody for a Saturday evening
cookout.

My goal is to start a long term relationship with the owners, for
something bigger in
2011 and beyond.

Those attending the proposed cook-out would be allowed to camp from
Friday evening to Sunday evening.

If anyone is curious and wants to know more details, send me a message
on Facebook.
I will be sending out updates there.

The problem at the moment is the owners want "special event
insurance."They also
want the $ 250, plus a $ 250 deposit by Dec. 31'st, or there will be
an additional $ 50
charge as their rates go up for 2010.

They claim they have never rented the camp before except to girl
scouts.   I would like
to accept their offer, and don't believe they will make it again.

I think at least 30 people would have to show up and pay $ 15 each to
help defray the
cost of hosting the cook-out.  I would pay for the cook-out, if I could.

Again, this is a tentative announcement with the primary purpose being
to get some feedback - both negative and positive.

The cook-out is the weekend before Memorial Day weekend.   Is that a problem ?

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] portable ladders

[David]

I think someone posted this a few years ago.   But the company in the
link below now
has a portable ladder rated for 300 pounds.

   http://www.xtendandclimb.com/index.htm

They claim their 12 1/2" ladder reaches the same height as a traditional
16 foot ladder, which I guess means it is set against the wall at a steeper
angle than a traditional ladder.

They do make a slightly taller one.

Can you think of a good cave to take this ladder to ? Grutas de Carrizal
has an old wooden ladder on a drop that is less than 3 meters.

Langtry Lead Cave has some short drops, but the fun part of that cave
is free-climbing
the drops.

I think I have heard cavers use the term "nuisance drops."   I believe
this is where the drop could possibly be free-climbed, but some kind
of webbing etrier is used on the side of caution.   Or maybe it is
when you have to rig a rope to rappel but the drop is only a few feet.
Can someone clarify that ?Anyways, the portable ladder pictured
above might come in handy on those kind of drops.

I went on a really fun caving trip in Indiana, at Middle Cave, were
the local cavers had custom built a portable ladder to take into the
cave.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caverscott/sets/72157607097021612/

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] valley traffic report

[David]

Please ignore this message if you are not driving
into South Texas or heading to Mexico.
__


This is for anybody heading to south Texas tonight
( Christmas Eve ).

There is a dust-storm in parts of the valley, around points south of
Kingsville.   I saw two 18-wheelers flipped over in the same area
completely blocking both sides of the freeway.   Traffic was backed
up for miles and miles.   I felt for the rescue and clean-up crews as
it was miserable weather.

It was no fun driving in it either, but I was actually heading
north instead of south.

Also,

Anyone crossing the border back into the states late at night needs to be
aware that some of the rural bridges now are closed at 10:00 p.m. and others
at midnight.I don't know when they started doing that.I arrived at
Pharr ( on the Mexican side ) at 1:30 p.m. and they would not let me cross
back into the states.I had to choose between risking a remote drive to Rio
Bravo at night ( a.k.a. Zeta turf ), or going to the crossing south of
McAllen were all the northbound Christmas traffic would be and were
the greedy traffic cops would be trolling.
I sat on the bridge there for nearly 2 hours.Wish I had
had a DVD player to pass the time.

David Locklear

P.S.   Anyone travelling thru Reynosa, Mexico this Saturday or Sunday,
I should be back there.   My cell number is 281 - 960 - 0687

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[Texascavers] re: valley traffic report

[David]

Oops.

I meant 1:30 a.m. ( not p.m. )

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[Texascavers] The Anzalduas Bridge

[David]

I was not aware that a new bridge opened last week near McAllen, until
I was already
coming back thru customs.   But the guard told me it closed at 10 pm, so it
would not have mattered had I known about it.

The Anzalduas Bridge is just south of the town of Mission in the
valley part of Texas.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/anzalduas-106349-bridge-mission.html

I can't think of any reason why San Antonio cavers would go this way,
but Houston,
Corpus Christi, or cavers coming from the eastern states, might
consider this crossing.
I don't think Dallas or Austin cavers would go this way either.

It is my opinion that U.S. citizens should not have to wait more than
an hour to re-enter the states, so this bridge may help me.   Even if
I don't use the bridge, it should cause less traffic on the other 2
bridges nearby that I use.


Also,

I saw a storage container at U.S. customs at the 25 mile checkpoint
where officials were storing several hundred packages tightly wrapped
in brown paper.

David Locklear

Ref:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8yna1QM0e0

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[Texascavers] re: rope climbers on wind turbines

[David]

Joe's post on climbers and wind turbines was one of the more
interesting post of 2009.

Tied for 2nd place, I think.

Had Joe waited a week, he could have tried for best post of 2010, but then
he would have risked losing 2nd place.

How can cavers be against wind-turbines now in the week economy we have ?

A few bats are just going to have to bite the dust.   Right ?

Maybe there is something to put on the vanes that would send bounce a sonar
signal ?Like those deer repellent things they put on car bumpers ?

Or maybe they could put something near the windmills that would
attract the bats there,
instead of in the path of the vanes ?Like maybe a big mosquito
attracting light source ?

What if there were a way for windmill farms to help bats somehow ?
Like putting the bat houses on the windmills and letting the bats
adapt to their new environment ?

For the record,

I wrote an interesting report on giant windmills in 1982 and presented it to my
engineering professor at A&M.   ( I still have it in the attic ).
He gave me a B, and it seemed to me that he saw no future in windmills
as an electric energy source.   I was an Ocean Engineering major at
the time, and my counselor looked me right in the face and said "I
couldn't get you a job, if you had a PHD in Ocean Engineering.   You
need to change majors to another branch of engineering."That was
the worst advice I ever had in life.
The best windmill farms will eventually be ocean based, but probably
not in my lifetime.


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] cheap digital cameras

[David]

Every caver knows that a good digital camera can now be found
at affordable prices.

About a year ago, it was reported on Cavetex, that a digital camera with a
hot-shoe port for external flash, had broken the $ 400 barrier.

Now, you can find at many camera store's a similar Canon model for just
$ 370, with even more bells & whistles.

 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/09/9sep09_canonspz.jpg

That is the Canon SX20.   It is considered an entry level camera by
today's standards,
as it doesn't offer the RAW format, or take fast-action shots.

I am not a photographer.But it would seem that if this trend
continues, that poor newbie cavers will someday be able to score some
really nice caving photos on their first
caving trip.

I think the flashes are still expensive.I will let somebody else
talk about that.


I wonder if we will ever see a hot-shoe on a camera-phone ?

In the meantime, here is a potential gadget:

 http://www.phonephlash.com/ask.html

David Locklear


Ref:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_shoe

http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/camera-parts/hot-shoe/

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[Texascavers] OT - border crossing report

[David]

I crossed into Mexico on Saturday afternoon at the newest bridge
that just opened up 2 weeks ago.

It is in a remote area and allows drivers to bypass the hectic city of
Reynosa.

There were no money change offices in the area.

There were not many signs directing traffic to the bridge and part of the
route from the town of Mission is still under construction.

I crossed back into Texas on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. at the old Hidalgo
bridge ( McAllen ),
and there was less than a 20 minute wait.   I presume that all the
people crossing
north at the new bridge made the wait in Hidalgo more pleasant.

Side note:


There doesn't seem to be any sign of a recession in Reynosa.The
town is growing very rapidly in the direction of the new bridge.
Large factories are sprouting up in the coastal plain.Upon arrival
you will notice new hotels, and a new modern mall.   It won't be long
before this remote are will be in the city.

If you decide to head into Reynosa from there you will see a large
brewery style restaurant on your right.   It is called the Sierra
Madre Brewing Company. They have 3 large
warehouse stores, and lots of businesses familiar to gringos like
Blockbuster Video.

Some people there appear to be buying new European cars, new houses,
flat screen TV's,
etc.  I walked around in one of the warehouse stores, called City
Club, and it
had all the same junk as we get in the states, but just more
expensive.   However,
you get a 10 percent discount if you are a member of the PRI political
party, and the
same goes for some mega-grocery stores like Sorianna.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] a new anti-bat movie

[David]

There is a new movie at the theaters.

It is sort of a vampire movie.   It has subtle hints that a single bat bit a
human and this led to the annihilation of the human race, but you will
miss that if you are not paying close attention.

There are 3 very absurd scenes of a flying fox.

If that doesn't piss you off, the script of the movie will.


The link below is my detailed movie review:

  http://davidsnewjob.blogspot.com/2010/02/movie-review-daybreakers.html

If you can't view that and want to read it, e-mail me privately.



David Locklear

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[Texascavers] old cave videos on DVD

[David]

This post is intended for new cavers.


Below are 9 Amazon listings of old videos
about caves that they sell on DVD:

http://turnerclassic.moviesunlimited.com/product.asp?sku=D54006

$ 18 is the cheapest I have seen to get the video above, but you can
get the entire set of episodes at Costco for just $ 27 now, plus tax.

"Amazing Caves" hasn't dropped in price much lately, but you can
buy used ones pretty cheap:

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Amazing-Caves-2-Disc-WMVHD/dp/B00022PYZW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262239111&sr=1-2

Here is the NOVA tv special:

http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Life-Caves-NOVA/dp/B0015LPRQK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262239216&sr=1-4

Here is a cave-diving video:

http://www.amazon.com/Cave-Diver-Story-Steve-Bogaerts/dp/B002OEBRJ8/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262239216&sr=1-11

and another,

http://www.amazon.com/Caves-Mill-Pond-Jackson-Blue/dp/B0017OGOKS/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262239420&sr=1-27

and a commercial cave video:

http://www.amazon.com/Mammoth-Cave-National-Finley-Holiday-Corp/dp/B000ELR7SI/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262239420&sr=1-33

an Austrian cave ?

http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Wonders-DACHSTEIN-CAVES-Austria/dp/B0012DR38G/ref=sr_1_73?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262239656&sr=1-73

an educational one:

http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Geography-II-Geology-Caverns/dp/B000GAKL58/ref=sr_1_84?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262239656&sr=1-84

and one with a local caver ?

http://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Jobs-Season-Episode-Scavenger/dp/B000KGGNVY/ref=sr_1_119?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262239997&sr=1-119

Maybe you could order several and get free shipping ?

I left off over a dozen horror movies related to caves, and possibly
some Chinese cave
videos or foreign language films.

Here are some possible others:

http://www.amazon.com/NOVA-Secrets-Crocodile-Lance-Lewman/dp/B0001WTUJ4/ref=sr_1_139?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262240148&sr=1-139

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Center-Base-Jumping-Documentary/dp/B001GXU6HC/ref=sr_1_159?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262240260&sr=1-159

This was just from an Amazon search.   There are many many more DVD's
about caves available on-line, some of which have been mentioned on
CaveTex before like:

http://www.cavebiota.com/dvd/dvdcover.htm

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] cavers and Facebook

[David]

Have you ever wondered,

"what ever happened to some caver that you haven't heard from
in years ?

Some can be found on Facebook.

Any of you remember this guy?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10268285878&ref=search&sid=1818118612.2031751878..1

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[Texascavers] for former Aggies

[David]

Here is a new Facebook group for
former A.S.S. cavers:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=226901732529

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[Texascavers] a potential caver test question

[David]

This is for people new to caving:

Multiple choice question, click on link below.

The type of bedrock displayed in the photo,

a.   has potential for caves.
b.   shows layers of basalt and shale, so could have deep gypsum caves.
c.   was formed by arid erosion, so no vadose caves can form.
d.   all of the above.
e.   none of the above.

http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/1137/1089355163030483255S600x600Q85.jpg

Feel free to modify, improve and use for your own purposes.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] The moon pit

[David]

It is possible that some readers will be alive when mankind finally
goes caving on the moon.

What kind of gear should they enter the pit with ?

Should they rappel down on a 7 mm rope ? Should they tie off to a
moon rock or install a bolt ?Should they tie off to their vehicle.

Or will they use some fancy jet-pack ?

I bet they send in a robot first, and take readings, and video.If
the probe doesn't find anything exciting, then it would be decades
before mankind goes caving off-world.

I am pretty sure Hollywood will make a movie about this mission in the
next year or two, and it will feature a plot similar to the recent
"speleohorror films."Or maybe they will do a remake of that old
classic one by H.G. Wells, featuring the alien called Selenites. I
think a virus movie like the one with Dustin Hoffman ( Outbreak )
would be more plausible.

David

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[Texascavers] Re: border wait times

[David]

This is a reply to Joe's post.

 http://davidsnewjob.blogspot.com/2010/01/border-wait-times-spreadsheet.html

I can e-mail the post to you privately if you can't view the link.

David

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[Texascavers] OT - computer printing tip

[David]

This tip may only apply to people with certain HP printers.

If your printer will not print, because the software wrongly thinks
the cartridge is too old.
Just set the time on your computer back a few years.   Turn off the printer and
turn it back on.

When you are done printing, reset the time on the computer.

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[Texascavers] cave preservation news

[David]

The provincial government of British Columbia, Canada will create a
seven-hectare reserve around a significant cave threatened by a
planned limestone quarry development on Crown land on Texada Island on
the Sunshine Coast.

Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell also says the quarry proponent,
Lehigh Hanson Materials Ltd., has offered to remove 35 hectares from
its mining application at the cave site, in effect creating a
28-hectare buffer around the reserve.

The developments follow The Vancouver Sun’s publication Oct. 17 of a
lengthy story based on a personal exploration of the cave with Paul
Griffiths. The Campbell River resident is a global expert in karst
landscapes, caves and other delicate formations sculpted by naturally
acidic water eroding subsurface carbonate rock.

The province’s “map reserve” designation under Section 16 of the Land
Act would protect a small area of Texada Island around Stromberg and
Grow Op creeks, but it falls short of park protection and could be
reversed by a future government.

Griffiths said the province deserves credit but noted the reserve also
won’t protect the greater karst system that connects with the cave and
stretches for several kilometres across hundreds of hectares — and
that calls for a comprehensive karst assessment.

While exploring what is known simply as Cave X, Griffiths and his
colleague, Carol Ramsey, discovered a white millipede that may yet
turn out to be a new species. The carcass of a dead one has been
shipped to an expert in Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia for
identification.

Cave X contains various formations such as flowstone, soda straws, and
a stalactite that would have measured 4.4 metres — potentially a
Canadian record — had the bottom one metre not been broken off, most
likely through an act of vandalism or carelessness.

Griffiths said the quarry proposal emphasizes the need for
comprehensive cave legislation in B.C., something that is already in
place on federal lands in the U.S. as well as in at least 22 states.

Only four of B.C.’s 29 forest districts so far have orders providing
for protection of karst caves.

These orders apply only to forests, not other potentially damaging
activities such as mining, hydro development, and recreational caving.

Bell, the minister in charge of Crown land tenuring through the
Integrated Land Management Bureau, made the reserve announcement in a
letter to Friends of Davie Bay, a community group that is concerned
about the environmental impact of the quarry proposal.

Beyond raising concerns about karst, the quarry would require
construction of a conveyor to haul limestone to a barge site in the
Davie Bay area, a popular and scenic recreation spot.

Richard Fletcher, spokesman for Friends of Davie Bay, said a full
environmental assessment is the only way to fully address the
potential impacts of the project.

Lehigh, part of the multi-national Heidelberg Cement Group, has
proposed to mine 240,000 tonnes of limestone annually on Texada Island
— 10,000 tonnes below the threshold required for a provincial
environmental assessment.

Environment Minister Barry Penner has decided not to use his powers
under Section 6 of the Environmental Assessment Act to order a review
in the public interest. Based on advice from the Environmental
Assessment Office, Penner said he believes that environmental and
impacts can be addressed by the Mine Development Review Committee of
the Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources.

lp...@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

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[Texascavers] caves in movies

[David]

I am certain this has been brought up already somewhere, but haven't
seen it yet.

In the new movie, Avatar, there is an interesting cave scene done
purely in computer
graphics ( CG ).

The cave is a thru trip consisting of large easily walking passage
that penetrates an enormous limestone block floating in the sky.

I guess the passage is about 75 meters long and mostly horizontal with
some breakdown.

Both entrances have a drop to the ground of something like 1
kilometer.   The entrances are about 10 meters wide by 4 meters tall,
and one entrance is probably at a higher elevation than the other by
20 meters.

Getting to the cave is quiet an experience.You have to scramble up
several hundred meters of  floating boulders held together by roots.
 Then you have to make an enormous leap of faith of about 10 meters to
grab a root hanging like a vine.It is swinging and if you miss it,
you fall a kilometer.

Then upon grabbing the root, you have to free climb up about 20 meters
to the cliff wall, and free climb the cliff ( at least a 5.12 ) about
40 meters to the cave entrance.

I think the entire cave passage is in the twilight zone of each
entrance, but that is no problem as the Avatar and Na'vi have night
vision.

Now comes the really trick part - getting down from the cave.I
don't see how they could go back the way they came, as getting from
the root back to the jump point would be practically impossible,
especially for a human.

So they capture some teradactyl's  ( called Banshee ) and do a ritual
symbiotic bond with them; and then ride off into the sky.

Now in the real world we don't have Banshees, so how would a caver
have got down?Parachuting seems to be an option, but the landing
was all tropical lush rainforest with a very
high canopy. Rappelling/Bungee Jump is out of the question.In
the real world ( had we had floating karst features, FKF's ), we would
have rigged a tyrolean to the jump rock as we were leaping to the
root, but the problem with that is that the rope would have easily
broken by the force of the moving FKF, so that would NOT work.

A helicopter landing on the top seems to be the best plan, but how
many of us have access to a helicopter, or a pilot crazy enough to
land on an FKF?

Maybe a winged jump suit, is the solution, but you would still have to
find a soft landing.


One of the most stupidest scenes in the movie, is when the Avatar free
falls to the floor and bounces off the canopy of the large leaves and
hits the ground with a thud only to quickly run off into the jungle as
if the wind wasn't even knocked out of him and no scratches or blood.


Parts of this movie are far fetched, but if you get a chance to see it
in IMAX 3D, it is worth noting how well the graphics of the cave were
made.There is no reason now that a really good caving movie could
not be made in pure CG and 3D.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Siffre in the news, but old news

[David]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100109/LIVING/701099937

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[Texascavers] cave event in Spain - November 2010

[David]

http://www.cuevatur2010.es/english.html

This is a 3 day event with 3 lunches and 3 coffee breaks.

There is also and opening ceremony, a formal banquet and a
closing ceremony.

It is only $ 288 if you pre-register by June 6th, but you get in
a little cheaper if you do a presentation.

http://www.rusticblue.com/images/spain_holiday_1706.jpg

http://www.rusticblue.com/images/aracena_15.jpg

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[Texascavers] basic cave geology info

[David]

Here is a web-site about cave geology in the Edwards Aquifer.

 http://www.esi.utexas.edu/outreach/caves/

This was done by the University of Austin, thru the Environmental
Science Institute and
appears to be aimed at junior-high level science students.

The article reads like a 7 page brochure or pamphlet.   It doesn't
really mention the term speleology, but does talk about things like,
"karstified limestone."

If you click under the News section, there a link to caving at U.T.,
and a link for ICS.

It does mention 4 names of people that happen to be cavers:   Ernest
Lundelius, Brian Vauter, George Veni and a bibliographical reference
to, Art Palmer.

The color diagram used to show how limestone is eroded to form caves,
looks like the Tongass National Forest, and nothing like the Edwards
Aquifer.

Here are some of the people that put the site together:

 http://www.esi.utexas.edu/people/dept.html

If you look at their qualifications and the quality of this web-site,
I would have to give the ESI
a grade of D+.Or is that too harsh?

I think if a young person found this site and was truly interested in
finding out more about cave science, that by clicking on the links
such as the Karst Portal, they would eventually find the info they are
looking for.

The site could use some better photos, or links to better photos.
And maybe some kind of interesting cave map with a good profile.
That would get the grade up to B-.   Some good photos of teens doing
cave science in a cave would be better.

David Locklear


P.S.I am trying to post only cave related things, and to do my
babbling on Facebook.
I have typed several post and deleted them without posting.   Feel
free to send me a FFR.

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[Texascavers] helmets

[David]

Has anybody noticed the assortment of helmets the international rescue teams
are using?

 http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/17/07.k9team.afp.gi.jpg

 http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/17/02.rescueteam.afp.gi.jpg

The U.S. and French seem to prefer Petzl, but I don't recognize the fluorescent
orange one the Irish are using and the yellow ones the Israelis are using.

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[Texascavers] caver obituary

[David]

Did anybody know this caver?

Bradley John Smith, 57, of Austin, died Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, at his home.

He was born June 1, 1952, in Austin and graduated from Austin High
School and attended college in Southern Minnesota.

He was self-employed as a jeweler and owned Smith Custom Jewelry.

Brad was an avid outdoorsman and was a spelunker, spending a lot of
time in the caves of Southern Minnesota.

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[Texascavers] Re: caver obituary

[David]

I just realized there was an Austin, Minnesota.

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[Texascavers] bats and windmills

[David]

http://www.heartland.org/publications/environment%20climate/article/26818/Judge_Halts_West_Virginia_Wind_Farm_to_Save_Bats.html

I am pro-windmill.

I think a solution can be found to train the bats to adapt to
windmills.   They are going to have
to learn to co-exist eventually, so somebody needs to invent
something, or find a suitable compromise.

LED lights on the propeller might work.A bat house on top of the
tower might work, as the bats would become more familiar with the
rotation characteristics of the blades.

Or some kind of sonar gadget attached to the tip of the blade that
sends out a warning to the bats to back off.

Or maybe the propellers can be slowed down during feeding times, so
that less bats are
killed.

Why prohibit windmills during the day when bats are not flying?

Maybe the windmill company's saw this coming in the early stages of
the design of the windmill farms, and developed a secret white fungus
to eradicate the bats?   That would make a good movie or novel.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] a concept caving vehicle

[David]

Here is what caver's may have in 100 years, or so:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhpPhvWvLgk&feature=player_embedded

The Puffin only flies 50 miles, so the cave would have to be less than
25 miles away from a charging station.

It looks far fetched, but since the military plane, the Osprey, works
on a similar principal,
it should at least get airborne.

About 22 years ago, I got a private tour of the hanger where the
Osprey manufacturer had both its smallest version and the medium size
prototypes.I still haven't seen one fly, but they have been doing
flight test somewhere around Fort Worth for 20 years, or more.

Supposedly, the military tested 3 Ospreys in Iraq and now they have
one in Afghanistan.
They seem to be keeping the program quiet, as it has been
controversial and very expensive.

But the Puffin seems to make much more sense than the Osprey.   It has
far less moving parts and works like a flying Segway scooter.

One drawback for cavers is that there does not seem to be room for caving gear.

Could the Puffin fly in and out of Golondrinas?

Ref:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wquQXfAOOw4&NR=1

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Robber Baron - fall 1987

[David]

There are 2 links below of Aggie Cavers at Robber Baron from the fall of 1987.

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs170.snc3/19764_1275525402010_1046206333_30767227_164604_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs170.snc3/19764_1275524441986_1046206333_30767225_5366096_n.jpg

I only recognize about 4 people.Most of those students came to one
or 2 A.S.S. meetings before the semester got busy and just went on
this one trip, and never came back.

I believe there were two or three A.S.S. trips like this around 1987.
   I don't recall a newsletter that year, and we didn't know about
e-mail then, so I doubt there is a record of this.

I have absolutely zero memory of being on this trip, but I am in the
pictures with the yellow
hockey helmet.

I am guessing the trip was arranged by Tim Jones, who was the
president of the club in 87.
Whoever arranged it, most likely contacted a caver in San Antonio.

One of the few things I remember about one of those trips, was that
about 6 of us stuffed ourselves into a car owned by a student in the
club that had a spiffy new european sedan with a CD player in it.
The average person, did not even own a CD player, and the idea of
having one in a car, was like science fiction to us.I didn't have
a car, but I could sometimes borrow my parents car, which still had an
8 track tape player mounted on the floorboard.

These photos would have been forgotten, had it not been for Patricia
Wise.   I believe she
is the girl with the long red hair. I hadn't spoken to her in 22
years, but I found her on Facebook about a month ago, and she posted
these photos on the new A.S.S. alumni Facebook site

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=226901732529

David Locklear
former Aggie caver

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[Texascavers] a caver party invitation / update

[David]

As of 01-26-10, my plan to host a cook-out in east Texas is still on.

  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=306448097728&ref=ts

For those of you who can't view that, the date is May 22, and the location
is Burton, Texas, about 1 1/4 hour east of Bastrop.

Try this link for a map showing location in relation to landmarks:

 http://www.mapquest.com/mq/1-wq6T

David Locklear
281-960-0687

P.S.   May 22, is the Saturday on the weekend before
Memorial Day Weekend.

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[Texascavers] caving and insurance

[David]

When I was in college ( mid 80's ), if we wanted to go on a caving
trip, our biggest issue
was where to find someone with a car.

It seems now, all college kids have cars, but their big issue seems to
be dealing with red tape.

According to the web-site below, students who participate in
"dangerous activities like camping" are required to purchase "special
event medical insurance."

http://ss.utpb.edu/student-life/student-travel/

I doubt we ever tried to get the university to loan us a van.   That
idea either never crossed our minds, or we could not have imagined
them loaning it to us. Years later, I saw the A.S.S.
with a university van parked near the entrance of Palmito up above the
town of Bustamante.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] a key chain

[David]

http://www.zazzle.com/texas_caver_keychain-146906151691470073

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[Texascavers] Good news

[David]

I am going to lay low for as long as possible and be off of CaveTex
for as long as I can resist the
urge to post something.I am temporarily unsubscribing.


In the meantime, you can find me posting the usual crap on one of the
links below:

 http://www.facebook.com/search.php?q=%22cavetex%20-%22&type=all&init=srp

I call those sub-groups, but there is not yet a Facebook name for
that.I will be putting
more sub-groups, so check that link above again next week.

 http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm=1

 http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_213300932024864

Safe caving,

David Locklear
not officially retired just yet


P.S.   Anyone can create a group by simply going to :

 http://www.facebook.com/groups

 and clicking the green rectangle "Create Group"

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[Texascavers] Re: the accident report

[David]

uld hand over hand out, or use prusik knots?

He could have taken a huge risk and clipped into the 1st guy's rope
and then cut that rope above to put all the weight
of the victim on him but that would have been suicidal, and he most
likely didn't have the equipment to do that
or enough rope to lower the 2 of them down to the bottom. He
probably didn't have enough information on the
victim to make any rational decision, and was probably driven by the
emotional desire to save his friend's life.


Since rescuers reached them in a matter of hours, it is possible they
could have survived had they been wearing wet-suits,
or dry-suits.I don't know about thermal underwear with nylon caver
overalls.But it would have greatly helped the rescue had
the victims been at least conscious or able to communicate.

I wonder what the value of the duffel bag was that fell in the pit.
 Obviously, they would have been better to just write it
off as a loss. And what became of the duffel bag?



I seem to remember hearing about other vertical accidents were the
rescuer in the group died trying to save a victim.
It would be horrifying to be faced with the decision to abandon your
caving buddy, or go on a suicidal mission to try and
save them.


David Locklear
arm-chair caver in Fort Bend County

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[Texascavers] cave books on e-readers

[David]

This may be old news to some of you.


Now there are several cave related books on e-readers.    For example,

here is one for $ 13

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TH2-nd2PL._SL1200_AAA100_PIkin3,BottomRight,50,34_AAA300_SL1200_OU01_.jpg


and others:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wguj%2Bl9kL._SL1200_AAA100_PIkin3,BottomRight,50,34_AAA300_SL1200_OU01_.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5143UHahC0L._SL1200_AAA100_PIkin3,BottomRight,50,34_AAA300_SL1200_OU01_.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vLyoIYkLL._SL1200_AAA100_PIkin3,BottomRight,50,34_AAA300_SL1200_OU01_.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FxHjf3icL._SL1200_AAA100_PIkin3,BottomRight,50,34_AAA300_SL1200_OU01_.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FxHjf3icL._SL1200_AAA100_PIkin3,BottomRight,50,34_AAA300_SL1200_OU01_.jpg


David Locklear
caver in Fort Bend County



P.S.I wish I was sitting around the camp-fire at TCC with the rest
of you all, but my car suddenly developed transmission
problems, and some other lame excuses.

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[Texascavers] Grutas de Garcia related

[David]

Most of you know of the commercial cave, northwest of Monterrey, near
the town of Garcia,
called, "Las Grutas de Garcia."

According to several news sources today, the mayor of the town there
"claims" a group of men in two vehicles
attempted to murder him. This allegedly happened on Friday and 3
of the alleged hitmen were killed, and 2
others were wounded and captured by his bodyguards.

It sounds like all of the news sources were going by a radio address
that he gave, or some kind of
press conference:

http://i2.esmas.com/2011/02/25/184538/jaime-rodriguez-calderon-alcalde-de-garcia-nl-610x430.jpg

And they are all taking his word as the truth of what happened.(
Meaning, it might have been a
drug deal gone bad, and nobody will ever know )


Supposedly, there was another gunbattle on the other side of Monterrey
in the town of Cadereyta, and
4 alleged bad guys were killed.


The rest of this post is just personal opinions:


I have been closely following the news in Mexico the past 2 or 3
weeks.  ( I don't believe everything I
read in the news ).Many of the gruesome photographs show the dead
person wearing poor clothes and
tennis shoes.   I pictured the bad guys dressed like the villains
in the Spanish soap-operas wearing custom
hand-made expensive cowboy boots.It also seems to me that most of
these alleged bad guys come
from the minority class of Mexicans, meaning of Native-indian
heritage, and not the ones of European
heritage.If that observation had any merit, this so-called drug
war, would be more a class war,
as in ethnic cleansing.Probably just a coincident, as so many
other factors are involved in this mess.

Governor Perry of Texas announced the "border area" was dangerous.
It seems to me, the tourist
areas "adjacent" to the border bridges are not the areas were the
violence is taking place.  What is scary
are the pockets of extreme violence deeper in the country in places
like the state of Guerrero,  where bodies
are being found that have been skinned, according to one tabloid like
web-site.Another frightening thought is the manner
in which messages are attached to the victim by the killers.

It seems ironic to me that Mexico does not have a death penalty yet
officers are free to fire at
will at "alleged" criminals.I love Mexico - don't get me wrong.
I just see some hypocrisies
that are not being addressed.  There is no way to know who the
real bad guys are there.   I
don't trust the cops there, based on previous contact with them.
And until recently, I was always
more scared of the cops ( in Mexico ) than the bad guys. In a
society were dozens of people are being killed
each day by the gov't, and there is a little investigation, it seems
like there could be the potential for
some tainted cases.

So far, I have only seen one tourist experiencing a nightmare.A
Canadian woman is claiming something
terrible happened to her in a tourist town in the state of Quintana
Roo. If her story is true, it is hard to
imagine why the bad guys let her go.

I will be posting updates for the time being at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/News-Updates-Mexico-Edition/184577178248871?ref=ts


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] another movie coming

[David]

I think this is old news, but I don't remember if anybody has mentioned it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nw0RZ8yzK0,

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[Texascavers] Video of the Day

[David]

Here is a new video ( from Croatian cavers ) showing how to ascend up
a rope while crossing a stuck caver,
and putting their load on you and changing over and rappelling back
down with the rescued caver.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOk1rruXbwg

It can be viewed in 720p, and has good sound.


I have no idea what kind of acoustic music that is but it sounds sort
of like a steel guitar.   Is
it Croatian folk music ?


Note they thoroughly practice the move on a cliff in daylight, before
trying it in a dark cave, and they
do a complete mock rescue, dealing with hypothermia, wound management,
transporting the victim
in the cave, etc.

The song at the end has a catchy rhythm.


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] another equipment test video

[David]

The video below shows some Italians studying the effects of
a fall on a rope as the belayer would experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqRgoEdrR50

It is a 30 minute video.

The first series of test uses a Munter Hitch knot on
a pear shaped carabiner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munter_hitch

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/HMS_complete.jpg/616px-HMS_complete.jpg

A similar test is done with a small Figure-8 descender, and then on a
regular oval locking carabiner.

The test is done with a new rope in dry non-muddy conditions, which I
guess is 10 mm.
( I couldn't tell if it is dynamic or static rope ).

Video available in 1080p.

Skip to 16 minutes into the video to see the belayer's in action.

I don't understand much Italian, but I get the idea that this is a
group of engineers or students
trying to understand the physics on the materials and equipment during
a climbing accident.

It should be noted that the belayer in the test knows he is about to
experience a belay on
a major fall.

At 27 minutes into the video they do a load test on the rope with a
real climber falling.

Apparently, shouting "Cazzo!" in Italian means "Oh, f*ck!"


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] movie related

[David]

In the new animated movie, "Rango," there is a very short scene where
the inhabitants of the town
( various animated animals ) go into a tunnel that intersects a large
cavern and there are large
speleothems that they must negotiate over.I say large in respect
to the size of a chameleon.

Later, there is a scene with a squadron of bats flying in "V" attack
formation and attacking Sheriff Rango and his animal posse.
Riding on the bats are various types of rodents, whose features are
exaggerated to make them
look like bad guys.They have gatling guns mounted on the bats.
 I didn't get a good look at the
bats, but they had a nose like vampire bats, but I did not see any teeth.

The rest of this post is sort of a review:


The movie is an animated Spaghetti Western, aimed at the Dumb and Dumber crowd.

The movie starts out very slow in an effort to develop the character
of Rango, who is a chameleon and
has spent his entire life living in a terrarium in the city and has
completely gone mentally insane
from loneliness.

An accident leaves him abandoned in the middle of the Mojave Desert,
and that is where this story
really begins.

The artist did their homework, but I thought the movie was boring.
Wait till it comes out on DVD.

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[Texascavers] OT - tsunami video

[David]

The news agencies have been showing short clips of the destruction.

Here is one that contains 15 minutes of footage:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTwnxVIlWss

[ You can enlarge it, by clicking on the symbol with the 4 arrows
in the bottom right corner of the video.Mute the narrator by clicking
on the speaker symbol on the bottom left corner of the video. ]

If you look carefully you will see some cars driving down the road
being swept away.

Below is a map of Japan that lets you click on certain areas:

   http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/maps/index.html

For example, if you click on Kinkasan, you get this map:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/miyagi/kinkasan.html

There are areas in the path of the tsunami that have not been mentioned
in the news yet.  So it would seem likely that more grim news is to come.
Possibly people filming the destruction were swept away, like the guy
in California.

Some of these coastal towns were not only leveled, but apparently
the topography of the landscape was permanently changed, so some
people's lives have been permanently uprooted.

A large area of this region is going to be without utilities and potable
water for months.   Within days, the mountain of flood debris will
smell worse than a landfill.Some areas are not going to be
inhabitable again for months, and some others maybe years, especially
near the nuclear plant at Fukushima Daiichi, but that problem is
still unpredictable.

>From the perspective of some of the survivors there, we can't
imagine what they must be going through.Despair, is the only
word I can think of.

One mudslide buried a small community.

It is hard to imagine things being worse, but theoretically, there could
be more aftershocks and tsunamis, making things even more miserable.

They will rebuild, and hopefully find ways to at least limit future destruction.
Hopefully, others can learn from this too.There are supposedly areas along
the coast of the states of Alaska, Oregon and Washington, and the
province of British Columbia that have potential for a similar catastrophe.


Imagine if thousands of years ago, our ancestors that crossed the Bering Strait
were living peaceful lives on the beaches of Washington State when a
tsunami of this
magnitude hit.There would be no trace of their existence.Tens
of thousands
could have been washed out to sea. I would bet something like that
happened in pre-historic times.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] OT - tsunami related

[David]

The link below appears to contain the quickest news updates:

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2

Also,

YouTube seems to post video news faster than any local news
channels, or even CNN. Just type "tsunami and 2011" in the YouTube
search bar.

For example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7crIPPhmVI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3_JZ7cnMR4

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[Texascavers] OT - map of nuclear plant location

[David]

This post is only to help those following the news headlines in Japan.


If you click on the link at the bottom of this post, you should see an
aerial map of the nuclear plant in Japan that has had 4 hydrogen explosions.



There is a scale in the bottom left of the map.You can zoom out, by
moving the slider bar at the top left.The authorities
allegedly have 50 personnel at the plant trying to stop a meltdown.They
have asked people within 30 km of this location to
stay indoors, if they haven't yet evacuated.   Since it is on the coast,
that means everybody to the west, north and south of the plant.

The largest city in that zone is Minamisoma, which was devastated by the
tsunami.All the other towns in that zone are
small.

If you look closely up and down the coast in this region, there were no
developments along the beach berm except for a few nuclear
plants, or complexes that resemble large plants.There are lots of
villages behind the beach berms, and lots of agriculture, and lots
of small towns to the west of the beaches.Many of these towns have not
made the news yet, but my bet is they were
leveled by the tsunami.

On a related note,

Supposedly, nuclear fallout is not good for fruit production.

and,

Hollywood has postponed the release of 2 movies dealing with disasters
similar to this.



 Fukushima Prefecture Futaba District
Okuma夫沢
Japan

Show on Google 
Maps
[image: Google Maps]


Below is another map site that seems to have more details:

http://diddlefinger.com/?ll=37.664255,140.932617&z=11&t=h

[Texascavers] Re: Blair Pittman

[David]

For you that don't know Blair,

here in east Texas, he is most famous for the book below:


http://www.fsbooks.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_book_info&products_id=217

You can sometimes find it in the Texana section of used book stores,
or in the nature
section.

Of course, he is better known to you all for cave related things.

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[Texascavers] Personal

[David]

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-576750?ref=feeds%2Flatest

click on the link below my photo

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[Texascavers] caving gear for Mars

[David]

Somebody posted something about 2 years ago, concerning what would be
suitable caving gear for
Mars.

Here is some new info:


http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/03/21/nasa-tests-mars-space-suit-argentine-antarctica/?test=faces

I don't see any place to mount the Scurions and a helmet strap would
never work on that configuration.

A person can tolerate a lot of cold when they have good gloves and
good boots and good neck and head
protection.   I would rather have gloves that fit over the arm
sleeves and have a gator-like sleeve that goes
up to the elbow, like the ones below, except custom made.

  http://arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/Mens/Gloves/Alpha-SV-Glove

Whoever goes to Mars is just going to have to really love frigid weather.

Somebody like Lonnie Dupree:

http://www.lonniedupre.com/

David Locklear
unofficial candidate for U.S. Ambassador to Mexico
http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Locklear-for-US-Ambassador-to-Mexico/159385147452007

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[Texascavers] sort of cave photography related

[David]

http://www.360cities.net/image/inside-gila-cliff-dwellings-nm#173.80,16.80,70.0

click on full screen ( top left choice ) and slowly move the mouse around.

He has some other good 360 degree shots.

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[Texascavers] Berry Cave Salamander

[David]

This is a news update on a topic that has been discussed on other
forums in the past few days.

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2011/11-028.html

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[Texascavers] related to caves on Mars

[David]

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/robots-search-martian-caves/

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[Texascavers] Kartchner Caverns

[David]

Not sure if this is news, but you can now order tour tickets on-line
with VISA / Mastercard.

https://azstateparks.itinio.com/kartchnercaverns/tours/

The Big Room tour will be closed soon, but will re-open on October 15th.

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[Texascavers] LED flashlight review

[David]

I bought this flashlight at Batteries Plus store.

 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81KmaAa7LuL._AA1500_.jpg

It uses 2 D size batteries.

The low setting is bright enough for hiking in a dark forest ,and with
the click of the
large switch, the brightness seems to double.

The construction is cheap plastic, but surrounded by an aluminum
shell with thick rubber ends.My bet is the plastic parts will break
long before the rest of the parts on this flashlight.

The light claims to have an adjustable light pattern from flood to spot,
but that is worthless. I would seal this permanently.

The light pattern is tolerable.   There is a tiny ring of light around the area
you are shining in the 50 foot to 100 foot range.Beyond that the light
shines good for 200 feet.

Best use for this flashlight would be the glove compartment of a vehicle.

Price was around $ 25, but probably only worth $ 15.I guess you are
paying extra for the circuitry.

The light claims to survive a 15' drop test.I wonder if that was with
the heavy batteries in it ?

Ref.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Rayovac+Roughneck+LED&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10717348129315168663&sa=X&ei=AY2JTfPjLsiO0QHJ66zfDQ&ved=0CDwQ8gIwBg#

http://store.officeworld.com/ProductImages/united/LargePlus/RAYRNR2DB_1_1.JPG


This light is suitable for walking around in the entrance of
Cottonwood Cave, or La Boca
south of Monterrey, or Goat Cave in Slaughter Canyon, or Bracken Bat
Cave, or any other
big dry cave room near the surface.

It comes with a pair of cheap alkaline batteries.

If I don't take the light back to the store tomorrow, it will end up
as a door prize somewhere someday.


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Mexico related

[David]

The article below sounds credible:

 
http://www.zacatecasonline.com.mx/index.php/noticias/policia/11857-encuentran-cadaver-mina-diablo


a body was found in a cave in Zacatecas.



The cave or mine is known locally as, "Devil's Cave," or "La Cueva del
Diablo," or "Devil's Mine," or
"La Mina de Diablo."

It is said to be near a community or neighborhood called "Alma Obrera."

The man appeared to be 60 years old.

The mountain or hill is known as "Cerro de las Bolsas."

They think his body had been there for several days.


The article below sounds credible:

http://www.zacatecasonline.com.mx/index.php/noticias/policia/11857-encuentran-cadaver-mina-diablo

A wild guess is the cave or mine is within a kilometer of the coordinates below:

22.749628,-102.554841


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Ventana Jabali

[David]

I don't know how up to date Google aerial photos are but,

check out the coordinates below and zoom in on the area that looks
like a cave at

22.072457,-98.881416

I believe that is a cave known as Ventani Jabali, and if so, it may be the lower
entrance.

Note how close the large mine is coming to the cave.

The good news is that maybe you can drive up there, and camp within a short hike
to the deep drop, if you can get permission.  This mine is going
to get bigger
and eat up more of that beautiful hill, and there is little that can
be done to stop it.

When was the last time any cavers did the drop ?

I know some Virginia cavers did it back around 93 or so.


Has anybody closely looked at new aerial photos from the El Abra.
Sure does look like there
are a ton of sinkholes up there. I recall an old AMCS map, showing
about 30 known deep
pits in that area, and several serious caves, some of which were
visited during the 1st Mexpeleo
in 1989.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] coordinates for interesting places near Valles

[David]

I don't understand why when you input coordinates into the Google Map search
bar, it gives you a letter "A" to a nearby point on a road, and then
draws a green
arrow pointing at the coordinates.  You may need to zoom in or out to find
the green arrrow, which points to the coordinates.


Check out the Hotel Taninul, on Google Maps,

21.936761,-98.890182


And here is the fun cave, "El Nacimiento del Rio Choy."

21.98896,-98.884839


And someone can correct me, but I think the interesting
archaeological site, known as Tantoc, is at:

21.924942,-98.812805

Zoom in on that, to see the layout of the mounds.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_YfVO7NPJEsM/StioElyBm0I/AjM/EVUpoMg2ues/s800/DSC_0046.jpg


Here is the must see place, "Cascada Tamul."

21.801264,-99.179699

Here is the swimming hole at Tamasopo:

21.938707,-99.396722

And here is the best swimming hole I know of in Mexico:

21.931213,-99.416056

Anybody want to show us were the cool caves are ?

Does this sinkhole have a name ?

21.924723,-99.310141


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] caves and radiation

[David]

Since we may soon be talking about nuclear fallout, I thought I would
post a link related to radiation and caves.

 
http://www.ozarkundergroundlab.com/Downloads/STRATEGY%20FOR%20MANAGING%20ALPHA%20RADIATION%20IN%20SHOW-CAVES.pdf


For those of you caving or away from the news, the nuclear plant crisis
just got worse according to the latest report ( Saturday, midnight )

TEPCO, says it measured 2.9  "billion"  becquerels of radiation per one cubic
"centimeter" of water from the basement of the turbine building attached to the
Number 2 reactor.


Here are some others:

http://www.forums.caves.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9816

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8026972

http://www.northerncoloradogrotto.com/node/179

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B8GWG-4PS6VS1-2H&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2005&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1694759276&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C50221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=80a550cab4d13ddd6c7b1c54feaff88d&searchtype=a

There are probably some better links than these.


David Locklear

( Disclaimer:I know zilch about radiation, but I did take the
commercial tour of the Aggie Nuclear Plant, back when it was active,
and I once had a cat-scan  )

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[Texascavers] another cave-diving video

[David]

I don't remember if someone posted this:

   http://vimeo.com/jorgenb/mx2011

Although, it resembles others that have been posted recently.


Click on the arrow to play, and click on the symbol with 4 small arrows to
enlarge to full screen.

At 8:28, there is a good demonstration on how to re-spool the safety
line reel ( finger-spool ? ).
( Someone can re-phrase that correctly, if there is a better way to word it. )




David Locklear


Ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_line

There are lots of recent caving diving videos on YouTube related to gear:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvHtdwYb2s8

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvmkohXYUg0

and also some sort of Nova / National Geographic documentary called
"Extreme Cave Diving."

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[Texascavers] Grutas de Carrizal

[David]

Here are the Google Map coordinates ( I think ) for Grutas de Carrizal.

26.77888,-100.569556

The map is to fuzzy to be much use, but if you pan to the left or to
the east on the mountain, the image
becomes much clearer.

The coordinates below are for the top of the mountain at Pico de
Candela, but it is hard to tell, because
it was cloudy when they made the photo.

26.763851,-100.59

I zoomed in and panned around, but didn't see anything notable.
There are too many shadows and not
enough detail.

Is Carrizal the best cave in that whole area ?I only know of one
other cave up there, not counting
the mines.


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Re: cave-diving video

[David]

Here is the same video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2hY6hfCGnI

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[Texascavers] an LED light review

[David]

Yesterday, I purchased the product below at Home Depot:

 http://imagethumbnails.milo.com/009/218/201/600/9218242_10844201_600.jpg

They have had it for a while, so this may not be news.


This is a very good purchase.  This product is much more practical
than a Coleman gas lantern or propane lantern.  It is more
practical than a fluorescent
lantern.And in some ways more practical than a flashlight.

I like it.It seems to be well constructed.  The hexagonal ends
allow you to lay it flat in 5 different directions, but I think only 2
of those
are practical. This also keeps it from rolling like all the other
competition does.

It stands on its own, if you have a sturdy flat surface.

It only has an 800 mAh battery, but it is NiMH.

Since it is easily recharged, you can take it on road-trips and use
for a variety of things that require light.

It is not water resistant, but I bet it could be rigged with some
duct-tape to make it better.

It doesn't have a dimmer setting, which is the number one flaw to me.
It does have a night light, but that only works when
plugged in.

This would be an excellent light for cavern tour guides, especially
those doing lantern tours, like in Grutas de la Juxtlahuaca.

I am going to recommend this product.

I will keep this one, and might buy some more.

David Locklear

Ref:


 
http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Electrical-Tools-Accessories-Work-Lights/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xg1Zbm8p/R-202532404/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=2

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[Texascavers] Bracketville and Kinney / Edwards County info

[David]

Here are some pictures and info of the Brackettville area:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3081/3150629821_29684fc5e9_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3647/3669787753_3287ef5c13_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3364/3336698447_12c4d0fb1f_z.jpg?zz=1

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5162/5253905297_d35e7b0dfb_b.jpg

http://www.texascaves.org/images/history_03.jpg

http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/tss/CaveMaps/mapimages/stuardbatcave.gif

http://www.yelp.com/biz/crazy-chicken-cafe-brackettville


Also,

for anyone itching to go to Acuna, I spent about an hour surfing the web to see
what the situation is like.  As long as you go during the day to
the main tourist zone
and are not driving a vehicle that the bad guys want to steal, then
you should be o.k.
One frequent visitor recommended a bar called the Macarena.   I don't know it.
It is said to be, "on Calle Madero, the main Mexican business street.
If you head over the
bridge, walk or drive down Hidalgo about five or six blocks, then go
one block left until
you hit the street called Madero."




David Locklear


Ref:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brackettville,_Texas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickapoo_Cavern

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinney_County

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamo_Village

http://www.lapoliciaca.com/nota-roja/capturan-a-lider-de-banda-de-ladrones/

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[Texascavers] TSA convention related

[David]

5 cavers from the convention are having a pleasant afternoon in the
Mexican bordertown of Ciudad Acuna.

Our host is Charlie Loving and his wife, and along with me are Jay
Jorden and David McLung.

We had a very nice dinner at the infamous Crosbys, accompanied by a
local Mariachi infamously
known here as El Buki.  The waiter that waited on us rolled out
the red carpet, as he is old acquaintences
with Charlie.

Now we are walking the deserted dusty streets of town, and it is
difficult to imagine how a bustling enterprise
can be in the desolate shape it is in now.The 5 of us appear to be
the only customers in town.

David McLung is sitting in the salon of a dentist office pondering
whether to get an estimate on a broken
tooth. I am down the street in a Panaderia, and asked the manager
if I could use his personal laptop,
and he said, "por supuesto."

I do not think we are in any hurry to cross back to the states, but
probably will by 5 p.m.

David Locklear

P.S.   I will try to post a video on YouTube once I get home.

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[Texascavers] East Texas Caver's Cookout update

[David]

The Cookout is still on schedule for May 21st at Camp Happy Hollow
near Burton, TX.

It is highly likely that there will be no cooking. It may either be
Popeye's Chicken or KFC.

Unlike the previous caver gathering in west Texas, that had unlimited flow
of beer, we are going to show you how we lay it down out here in the wastelands
void of Karst.We will have an Oreo brownie for every attendee, and hopefully
some factory-fresh Blue Bell ice cream.

I do not expect anyone who lives more than 2 hours from Burton to attend this
event, and I fully understand.

My plan is to find new people in east Texas and invite them to this
event.   I tried
very very hard to do that last year with zero success.

If you think you might come, please keep my cell-phone number readily available,
281-995-8487 ( maybe 281-960-0687 ).

My personal goal this year is to build a stronger relationship with
the owners of
Camp Happy Hollow. I strongly feel this place has the potential to put on a
very large caver gathering someday.

The town of Burton is almost a ghost-town, and is between Brenham and Austin,
just off of Hwy. 290.

The bicycling around the campground is good.Shade is abundant and
all campspots
are large and shady with electricity and water included. Very good
hot showers.
The lodge is about 1/3 the size of the Fort Clark hall that was used
at TSA Spring
Convention.

I can realistically see 30 cavers attending, plus or minus 20.

This is an informal get-together that will have some gerry-rigged
features thrown in
in the minutes before the event.

David Locklear
Fort Bend County Speleological Society

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[Texascavers] personal

[David]

Last Saturday, I posted that 4 cavers and I had lunch in the
bordertown of Ciudad Acuna.

Here is a video of part of our lunch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR3yiazUdmw


[ recorded using Blackberry Style smartphone ]



( Disclaimer:   I have not watched video yet )

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Video of the Day

[David]

The video below is from a caving trip less than a month ago:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8b33JpSOwk


The 5 minute video shows 2 cavers ( not counting the caver filming )
on rope most of the trip.  They cross several rebelays
while rappelling and cross them again while frogging out with a little
mud on them.

There is a plan and profile of the cave at the bottom of the following page:

 http://www.speleoclubjura.com/index.php/gouffre/entier

I can't read French, but I think the cave is in Switzerland in a
region where French is the language, and that exploration was
begun in 1948.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] a fatality story in the news

[David]

This fatality report is not from caving nor cave-diving, but it
deserves mention.

A young lady was apparently free-diving a short sump and drowned:

 http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article1164502.ece

I have said this before, but it is worth repeating.

A person must wear goggles and have a waterproof flashlight or
waterproof headlamp
when free-diving short sumps.In some cases a hand-line is a must.

I have some questions about this fatality:

Why did they go in the big entrance and out the little entrance ?

Why didn't someone in their party go after her ?Did they really think
calling 911 would save her ?

Fatalities like this are always preventable.Over-confidence and
lack of experience are usually key factors.

It is probably a fun swimming hole, so I presume they could not imagine it being
a death trap.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Re: East Texas Caver's Cookout

[David]

The Cookout is still on schedule. A year ago, I announced the date
of May 21, and I am firmly sticking to it. Unless 10 cavers can
step forward with a better date that the are willing to RSVP, then I
am NOT changing the date.

I may have to downsize the event, or rename the event, but as of April
19th, all the planning is moving forward.

I have sent out invitations and have 5 potential attendees, but it is
too early to cancel.

Camping will be excellent if the weather cooperates. Swimming will
either be a small portable pool or a 15 minute drive to the beach at
Lake Somerville.I plan to swim at that beach in the next week or 2
to see what the potential is.There is a nice public pool just 15
minutes from the campground, called the Blue Bell Aquatic Center.
But I want to swim at night under the stars, so I prefer to set up
something.

Food for the event is still up in the air, but a quick trip to a
rustic restaurant in Brenham or Burton is a final option.

A vertical practice could be set up.  A rope could be rigged on a tree
limb.   I have a 40 foot ladder to reach the
high branches of the big oak tree there.

I would like to especially encourage cavers who live east of I-35 to
make an effort to at least show up for a few minutes
on Saturday afternoon.

I still want to do this again in 2012, so it is important to keep the
ball rolling.

I am treating this event as if it were a party being held in my
backyard.I plan to make every effort to roll out the red
carpet.

In summary, I haven't thrown in the towel just yet, but there are sure
to be some changes in the next 3 weeks, so stay
tuned if you are interested.For example,  I am trying to get the
owner to just rent 1/2 the camp and give us a discount.
If that fails, I may have to compromise on the location of the event,
and move it to west Texas.

David
281-995-8487

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[Texascavers] Mexico news

[David]

Some of you that once traveled south are familiar with the caving area around
Huasteca Canyon.

According to yesterday's news,

in "the area of la Huasteca," that authorities arrested 2 people that were

"cooking" 20 people. The article was very vague as usual.


Another article said the bodies were incinerated using diesel fuel, and the
area was 2.5 kilometers down Huasteca Canyon.

Ref:

http://www.elmanana.com/XStatic/manana/template/notaimprimir.aspx?id=1120376

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[Texascavers] New travel warning by State Department

[David]

For any cavers still pondering whether to travel to Mexico to go caving:


  http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5440.html

I am not sure what this says differently from the warning issued in September.

However, it clearly states to avoid the state of Tamaulipas, which some cavers
would drive thru if they were heading to the Sierra Madre area around Ciuidad
Victoria or points further south.

It prohibits Federal employees from certain areas.   Included are
areas are in the
state of Jalisco.I states they can't go to Boystown in Laredo.
( Rumors are that place was abandoned by tourist years ago, and
I haven't heard of a caver going there in over 15 years. )

Note federal employees are prohibited from travelling several popular routes
used by cavers in the Monterrey area.It also says very clearly that the
area around the town of San Fernando is dangerous. ( This is the area
that has been in the news lately for the mass graves )

It subtly indicates some of the consulate offices have been downsized to the
point they are no longer functional.

It says to not travel Highway 57 in San Luis Potosi.

It subtly warns not to travel to Cuernavaca, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, and
the beautiful tourist resort of Ixtapa.But more clearly warns to avoid
Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, and Puerto Peñasco.

Personally, I think the statement is vague.It does not mention beheadings,
or some of the torture methods, and the public displaying of corpses with
narco-messages, or that the crime is so bad that the criminals are taking
real estate property from people.It doesn't mention all the escaped
convicts. It does not mention the bad guys are heavily armed with
automatic weapons.Nowhere in the article does it describe what the
bad guys look like, so how are you supposed to know how to keep a
watchful eye ?Nor does the article in any way refer the tourist to
the best up to date news sites on the web related to the narco-crime.
It seems designed more to please the Mexican Government, and not
hurt their feelings.

David

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[Texascavers] Grutas de Garcia - Monterrey

[David]

Ted's mention of Spanish Google News led to me find that the
commercial cave near
Monterrey, just had some kind of opening ceremony to its new tourist center
last week.

It sounds nice, with a little museum, and some sort of slide-show area.

The video below only shows the front and a brief tour of the inside:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CagzngG1P0Q



David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Re: recent discussion on caving

[David]

In a perfect Utopian world or vacuum, it might be easier to plan and coordinate
a caving trip and invite other cavers.

But there are realities that prevent this in the real caving world -
especially in
Texas.

Sometimes there are spur of the moment trips, that fall into place because
the leader's schedule and the schedule of other cavers suddenly aligns
unexpectedly.

Sometimes there are complications with the land-owner that make it impossible to
bring unexpected people along.

In some cases it is difficult to spend a 2 or 3 day weekend crammed in a vehicle
with some person you don't really bond well with. It maybe something minor
like they want to sing Lady GaGa music the whole trip, or maybe they just have
really really bad breath. Or it could be something worse, like you
can tolerate
them at a grotto meeting for a few minutes, but that is the peak of
your resistance.
Or they could just be complete cluster-f*cks, and you have to go out of your way
to make sure they don't know about the trip.

And there are enough other reasons, that someone could probably write a nice
article. Like taking cavers, that don't financially contribute to
the cost of the trip,
or the trip is a fragile cave with speleothems or endangered fauna.

Texas cavers that want to go caving need to make an effort on their own to get
on trips, or create their own trips.

I have been telling cavers for nearly 20 years that there are 3 very
nice caves in Langtry, that
someone just needs to make an effort to get to know the rancher, and try to get
him to drop his $ 100 per caver ( per day ! ) requirement.


And on the subject of brochures,

This is the 21st century. Get with the program.
The thing to do is make a nice YouTube video explaining how caving in
Texas works
and how it is different from other regions.Also, make a
tablet-friendly slide-show on-line,
explaining the same information.

This ain't Indiana, or Arizona or Britain. Caving in Texas is
different here.Being a caver
in east Texas really sucks, unless you prefer to hop on a plane to go
to your favorite karst
area.


Also,

I would like to go to Carlsbad on May 13th if anybody is heading that
way from east Texas.

David Locklear
armchair caver with a hernia
281-995-8487


P.S. I will not be doing any caving until I get my hernia fixed.
But I am willing
to sit top-side and camp.

And the East Texas Caver's Cookout is still on as of 4-26-11.

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[Texascavers] East Texas Caver's Cookout - update

[David]

The biggest caver gathering in east Texas of the year is less than
3 weeks away.

Everything is still on schedule.

Several cavers from southeast Texas, and possibly a caver from Austin and
Dallas will be there having a relaxing good time, camping, bicycling,
eating, socializing, and enjoying the warm weather, and beautiful scenery.

There will be activities for toddlers and young children.

This is a very inexpensive event.     I am paying for everything
out of my own pocket, in hopes that there will be a few donations
to offset or recoup the expenses.

Mark your calendars,  May 20, 21 & 22.      Anyone that loves caves or bats
is invited.

Location     Camp Happy Hollow
                Happy Hollow Road
                Brenham, TX

Aerial View:

http://www.bing.com/maps/#Y3A9cDB2dHlrNnlxd3kwJmx2bD0xOC4yNTY2MjU1MDc1ODAzMzUmZGlyPTM0NS42MTYzNTE1NTg4NjMxJnN0eT1iJnJ0cD1wb3MuMzAuMTcxOTYyXy05Ni41MDc3NThfMjE0MCUyMEhhcHB5JTIwSG9sbG93JTIwUmQlMkMlMjBCcmVuaGFtJTJDJTIwVFglMjA3NzgzMy02ODYzX19fZV9+cG9zLjMwLjE3MjQ2Ml8tOTYuNTA4MzAxXzIxOTAlMjBIYXBweSUyMEhvbGxvdyUyMFJkJTJDJTIwQnJlbmhhbSUyQyUyMFRYJTIwNzc4MzMtNjg2M19fX2VfJm1vZGU9RCZydG9wPTB+MH4wfg==

Click on Road, and then click on Bird's Eye.

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[Texascavers] New Zealand caving related

[David]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/4941276/Cavers-near-record-depth

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[Texascavers] Re: new mars sinkhole photo

[David]

If you look closely at the floor of the sinkhole, there are two
parallel lines running across the sinkole

 
http://www.astroengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/hirise_esp_011386_2065_cut-250x250.jpg

My best guess is the former cavers that were there rigged tyroleans,
using one for filming.And due to lack of
time or oxygen, they had to leave the pit rigged.

If you download that image and zoom in, you can see the ropes are
clearly above the floor of the cave, maybe
by at least 100 feet.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Re: NSS Headquarters opinions

[David]

This is a highly opinionated post based on knowing absolutely zero
about the problem:

( surprised ? )



I am self-employed and have been operating a barely legitimate
business for 13 years.
My shoe-string budget is difficult, and I have to make choices every
single day that I despise.
I would love to put my business in the location that would bring in
more business and make
life easier and make the business look more legitimate.  But that
is not reality.

The NSS needs to think outside the box and plan for worst case scenarios.

They need to find the least expensive place possible to operate their
office, and
that may be 500 miles from the nearest cave. Cavers will come to
it if it has
something interesting to offer.

Finding reliable staff to operate a business is a nightmare.I have
yet to find
anyone I can trust with my business. I came close one time, but the person
died of cancer.

Another issue I have, is my customers want something but are not
willing to pay for it.
They complain about crappy free service. If your customers ( NSS members or
potential members ) are not willing to pay for something, then you
have to politely
not offer that service to them, and in some instances, you might have
to get rude.

This facility sounds like it has overhead not related to caving.
You have to have
some kind of security when you operate an office.You have
maintenance cost, and
book-keeping cost.   What good is it to have a business if your
cost are more
than your income?

I would visit the headquarters twice a year, if it were in Houston,
Texas, near Intercontinental Airport.
But the crime rate around that side of town would make this location
risky.I will most
likely never visit it at any of the proposed locations, and I bet the other 30
NSS members in the counties next to mine will never visit it, no
matter where you put it.

Maybe it needs to be a mobile business, like locksmiths. Bob & Bob
may have set a good
example on how to operate a caving business. Someone can correct
me on that, if I am
mistaken.But one of the fondest memories of going to a caving
event was seeing Bob & Bob's
van pull up and start unloading things.

If I were in charge of its location, I would put it half-way between
Austin and Houston, Texas.But
finding staff there to operate it, would be difficult.  It would
have to be right on the highway so that
cavers travelling by, would be able to stop in and visit quickly.

My only other thought about this is that having one centralized
national office doesn't sound like a
way to fairly serve the members or potential members that are spread
out over a large nation.

David Locklear
NSS Life Member 27639

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[Texascavers] Re: more Cookout stuff

[David]

Any caver who goes caving on Saturday morning, May 21, and can get to
Camp Happy Hollow
by 9 p.m., we will save you some food.  You will get in free and a
hot shower will be waiting for
you.I will have some extra cots, and and a roof over your head.

Also, any cavers travelling from West Texas, Lubbock, Wichita Falls,
out-of-state, etc. will get in free.

Anyone with a valid excuse to get in free, just let me know.   ( Like
you shot Bin Laden or something,
equivalent, or discovered the cure for WNS, etc. )

There may be a mid-night movie and popcorn to watch in the lodge.

Hopefully there will be a blender and a table with a few beverages.

I doubt we will run out of wine, or soft-drinks.

If anybody wants to bring milk and cereal for breakfast Sunday
morning, that would be appreciated.

We might have a raffle.( definitely not an iPad 2, but something cool )

Most people will leave Saturday night and the rest very early on
Sunday morning. But I plan to be there most
of the day on Sunday, so please let me know if you can come out Sunday
only, and maybe we can
throw something on the grill.

Please add the link below to your Facebook wall, or pass it along:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=198886710150583

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Facebook related

[David]

Facebook has taken over e-mail for communicating with groups like caving clubs.

It is so easy to create a new group:

 http://www.facebook.com/groups

All the latest smartphones and tablets are Facebook friendly.

It is hard to say where this is all heading. But after playing with Facebook
on a 7" tablet with wireless broadband service ( 4G ), it seems to have a
bright future for several years to come.

Having your caving group communicate this way instead of say Yahoo Groups,
or a list-serve ( like this one ) is much more efficient.There is
more info readily
available, and instant chat is integrated into the service.

There is a bright side to all of this.I will be doing less posting
on CaveTex.

David Locklear


P.S.

My prediction is,

the next big thing in Tablets is the ability to get their broadband in
remote areas.

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[Texascavers] LED headlamp review

[David]

This is an old headlamp, but I am just getting around to it.

 http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/images/383850_lg.jpg

 
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200399969_200399969&issearch=383850


This headlamp sucks pretty bad.

With tax, the cost was $ 27.05.

I think the only positive thing I can say about this headlamp is that
it will stretch to fit
on a helmet, and the battery pack is on the back of the helmet.

The light pattern is almost not usable. The claim of having a low
switch is false.   Or
maybe it is on low and there is no high switch.  I would call the
headlamp dust
resistant instead of water-resistant, as the battery cover is a loose
flap of rubber.

This headlamp is not worth $ 4.99.

You would be better off to duct-tape a cheap mag-lite to your helmet
than to rely
on this thing.  While the switch is beneath the lens, it feels loose.

The hinge looks shotty.

I will take this one back, hopefully tomorrow.Their claim of 120
lumens is way
exaggerated.   Maybe mine was defective?

I would not even use this as a back-up.   There are lots of
headlamps in this
price category that are better.

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] 1,609 meter deep pit found

[David]

NASA claims to have found a deep pit on a moon of the planet Saturn.

They claim to have an image of it taken by the Cassini spacecraft.

They believe that a mountainous ice structure over 900 meters tall
has a hole in the side of it that is 1,609 meters deep. The believe
that a liquid spews from this hole, or maybe some kind of frozen
dust made of whatever compound the mountain is made of.

They have named this feature Sotra and the area around it as
Sotra Facula.

The moon is Titan.

So what kind of caving gear do you rig the pit with?The rope
would be too stiff at those temperatures, and might break from
being too brittle.

Do you wear a down-insulated suit, or some synthetic insulated
suit?

Do you mount a couple of Stenlights, or  a 2 or 3 Scurion 1300's, on
your helmet?

All hypothetical of course as,

the pit is closed until further notice, and cavers are asked
to stay away.A study is being conducted to determine use policies
and decontamination protocols.

David Locklear

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Re: [Texascavers] bats of Yucatan

[David]

That Google translation was pretty bad.

Here is what he is trying to say:


I am in Mexico and will soon be going to the Yucatan area for 1 week to help
a conservation association inventory bats.  I work in France with bats, and
spent a month recently in Guatemala doing the same.

I am writing to you in hopes that you can put me in contact with others who
are familiar with bat conservation in Yucatan. We will be capturing bats
with nets and listening to the the sounds they make.

It is my hope that we can protect the bats of the Yucatan.


Feel free to send a private e-mail to correct me on any of that.

David Locklear
281-995-8487

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[Texascavers] Caver grad student in the news

[David]

http://bernews.com/2010/12/scuba-diving-cowboy-on-bermudas-caves/

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[Texascavers] LED light review - Icon Solo

[David]

The product I am about to describe is one of the best LED lights I
have found so far.

http://www.amazon.com/ICON-D773-Icon-Flashlight-Titanium/dp/B003W5X22S

You could call it a high-tech pen light. It is very well constructed.

It is versatile.You could duct-tape it to the side of the helmet.
  You could use
it as your primary light source in Airman's Cave.  It has a very
sturdy clip that
would allow you to clip on your chest harness while you are climbing rope.

It has a very good light pattern.I really like the way the high
beam and low beam
are.   The high is very bright and the low is very dim.This makes
a great back-up
light to throw in your cave pack. Use the dim setting for when you
are just sitting
around in the cave. Use the high when you are walking around an underground
camp, or for cooking.

It appears to be very water resistant if not water proof to a few feet.

I claim this is the best LED product of the year 2010.

My only complaints after a brief test are that it only comes in a grey
color, and if you
don't screw the battery cap down very tight then the spring on the
battery doesn't make
complete contact. Both of those problems can be corrected with a
little caver ingenuity.

For cavers whose primary light source uses triple-A batteries, I would
call this light a
must have - for the simple reason that you only need to carry a few
spare AAA's with
you in your pack.

I know there are prominent cavers that no longer use mag-lites or
flashlights as their 2nd or 3rd
source of light, but this one is worth having.

If I ever do go caving again, I will be taking this light with me.

There is absolutely no excuse for cavers running out of light on a
caving trip.There
are so many tiny lights now that put out 3 hours of usable light with
just 2 or 3 AAA batteries.


Ref:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=icon+solo]&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=7884724305919424630&ei=wroKTbaVBYL58AbO5qSiAQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCoQ8wIwAg#


Disclaimer: I only briefly tested it in the backyard. If
anybody wants to buy one and test it thoroughly,
in a cave, that would be great.

David Locklear
281-995-8487

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[Texascavers] cavers in the news

[David]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/4456332/Cavers-get-funds-to-explore-deeper

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[Texascavers] Houston Grotto Party report

[David]

Cavers in the Houston area got together this past Saturday evening
for the annual GHG Christmas Party.

Long time cavers Don & Syd Formanek hosted the party at their house,
as they have done for many many years. I am pretty sure this ritual
has taken place in the Houston area for over 20 years, and probably close
to 40.

Kenny McGee couldn't make it, but he furnished the party with local grown
batch of citrus reticulatas, and there was enough for cavers to take home.

There was plenty of free wine, beer, liquor and sodas and a whole lot left
over.

Several of the cavers there were active in the club back in the 70's, like
Mike & Teresa Connolly, and Jim McLane ( & his girlfriend ).

And, there were cavers there that
were active in the 80's like George Sanders. 2 cavers from the 90's were
there, myself and Sheryl Rieck.And quite a few cavers that have been
active in the club recently like Wayne and Gay Lynn Hutchinson and
Clint Ladd.Other members there were Barbara Benavides and her
fiancée Jeff, and 3 other members I haven't seen in 7 years or so, and
can't remember their names, who brought friends and family.

Also attending were, Ray Hertel and his wife, and a new member named
Lucy ( who is anxious to go caving and seems enthusiastic.)

The guest of honor, Mr. Fritz Holt was there, along with his two daughters:
Jenny and Mandy Holt.

 I am probably leaving somebody out?


There was plenty of delicious snacks, including the traditional bacon-wrapped
stuffed jalapen~o.  And two 20" pizzas with extra cheese.My
mother-in-law,
( from Monterrey ) made a batch of fresh tamales from scratch.

There were several members that could not make it and quite a few cavers that
live in the Houston area that did not come. But we still had a
pleasant evening.

The topic of caving did come up.Quiet a few cavers were
embarrassed to explain
how many years it has been since they have been underground, especially
myself.

I would like to thank the host for the wonderful party and also for
letting me stay
in the guest room.

David Locklear
NSS # 27639


P.S. Someone else is welcome to add to this.

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[Texascavers] Another LED flashlight review

[David]

I am posting this on Cavetex because it is an inexpensive product suitable for
caving use.


  
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dorcy-1AAA-45-Lumen-Aluminum-Focusing-Flashlight-4252-/130464151729

I bought this light today at MicroCenter and tested it in the back-yard.

I was very surprised by the quality and the brightness of this tiny light.

It is the length of a cigarette, and only a little thicker.

I like that it only uses one AAA battery and appears to be water resistant.

With tax, it came to $ 17, which sounds expensive, but the other equivalent
lights are about the same price or more.

This would be an acceptable emergency light for caving in most Texas size caves.
You could easily duct-tape it to your helmet.

This light gets my approval.

This would be the perfect light to carry every where you go in purses,
briefcases, etc.

Ref:Dorcy # 41-4252



David Locklear

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[Texascavers] a new headlamp

[David]

This post is mostly for newbies looking for a headlamp.


I saw this headlamp today at Microcenter, but did not buy it.


http://images1.opticsplanet.com/750-500-ff/opplanet-icon-irix-headlamp-ix107a.jpg

It looks promising, and I hope to test it soon.

But it was $ 40, and that was not in my budget any time soon.

There are some good reviews on the web, like:

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Icon_IRIX_LED_Headlamp_IPX107A.php


http://www.backpacker.com/gear-zone-gear-review-icon-irix-headlamp/gear/14984

The headlamp easily snaps onto and off the head-strap, but could
potentially fall down
the pit and leave you without a headlamp, so a string would need to be
rigged to it
somehow.

Note it has a versatile range of light settings, which means it probably is
not very water-proof, as the dial that adjust the brightness needs some
free-play.

>From the reviews on the web, it sounds excellent for newbie cave trips to
Whirlpool Cave.

If anybody wants to test it, feel free to beat me to it.

Ref:

http://www.myiconlight.com/myiconlight/content/templates/main/main/products.html?item=irix1

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Mystery Cave of the Month

[David]

Can anybody guess which cave this is?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4478431170_c393a84cc1_z.jpg

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Re: [Texascavers] Mystery Cave of the Month

[David]

I don't know about the vampire bats, but I think that is the cave.

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[Texascavers] photos of cave entrances

[David]

The link below provides a source for finding a photo of a particular cave
entrance.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1165444@N25/

I think this sounds like a good idea.

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[Texascavers] Flickr related

[David]

This is not news, but maybe a few readers don't know about it.


There are hundreds of photos of Texas caves on Flickr.com.

Most are tourist shots on paved trails in a commercial cave.   For example:

 http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5198174687_ef4a3171fb_b.jpg


There are a couple of good photos.   I like these two:

 http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/429470726_e1a11ca5e4_z.jpg?zz=1

 http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2271/2411161643_10e7aa9152_o.jpg

Here are some more worth mentioning:

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulhitz/504738591/

 http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/389158225_2476e396cd_b.jpg


There are 3 or 4 cavers posting photos of Texas caves.  Here is an example:

 http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/2302432584_8da8ffe0c8_b.jpg

One of these cavers has a very nice section in his photos specifically
about Texas caves.

I am not posting the link to that. He can if he wishes to.


Is Flickr still a good way to post photos, or are there better choices now?


David Locklear

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[Texascavers] a few cave entrance photos

[David]

Below is a link worth saving:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1280&bih=611&q=cave+entrance&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g3g-m7&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=


Note, you can click at the bottom where it says "show more results"
and see more cave
entrance photos.

Some of these photos are interesting.   For example:

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Science/Images/Content/malaysian-cave-402663-sw.jpg

David Locklear


P.S.My New Year's Resolution is to not use e-mail.

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[Texascavers] Re: a few cave entrance photos

[David]

The link below should be more interesting to cavers than the one posted earlier:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=611&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=caving&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

This link has around 900 caving related photos and some familiar
faces, for example:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Caving3.jpg

David Locklear

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Re: [Texascavers] Vietnam Cave

[David]

I only flipped thru the article in about 10 seconds, but it looked
like the author
of the article tried to hype up the exploration a little.

Above the photo of the caver bolt climbing, it reads in large letters
something to the effect that if
just one bolt breaks the caver falls to his death.

I don't know how many caver's feel they have ever "conquered" a cave,
but this cave doesn't look
all that complicated to conquer.

The illustration map of the cave is nice.   I only wish they had made it bigger.

I am curious about a related topic:During the Vietnam war, did
Vietnamese soldiers on the ground
find large caves and did they use them, or did the locals use them to
hide from the war?

David Locklear

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[Texascavers] Re: Vietnam Cave

[David]

I feel an need to post a response to Mary's posting:


If I came across opinionated or cocky in my response to the article,
that was not the
intention.

Armchair caving is not the culprit, but living for years away from
caves can have
detrimental mental effects to a person who loves caves.   I call it
speleodeprivation.
( maybe Don knows the correct word for this illness. )  Also, suffering from
Grumpy Old Man syndrome does not help.

I was referring only to the choice of wording of the author and have
great respect
for expedition cavers, and could use the word jealous that I wasn't part of it.

For example, if one bolt breaks, the belay system will catch the caver
and he will
not fall to his death, if he is caving properly.So calling me cocky
just because I am correct is not kosher.The hyped-up style of writing about
caving used to not be acceptable.I say it still is not.

As for my interest in National Geographic,  I own every issue back to 1945 or
so, and quite a few back to the 1920's.I would love to work for National
Geographic.That would be an awesome job, if it paid enough to pay my
bills.I was in Copan in 1985 and a NG reporter was there and we had
dinner at the hotel, and he told me he explored once the cave under the
big pyramid at Teotihuacan ( or something to that effect ).I have been
interested in this magazine for over 33 years.

David Locklear
Grumpy old armchair caver

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[Texascavers] Re: Issues related to joining NSS

[David]

Certainly somebody has already written an article somewhere
concerning the pros and cons of joining the NSS and the benefits
of joining.

Below are just some opinions:



New cavers or cavers that are not very active, and who don't live in
karst areas with active organized
caving going on, are not going to be easily convinced to join the NSS.

I first heard about the NSS in 1984 when I was a sophomore in college,
living far
from karst in a grotto that was not actively caving.

The student grotto president passed out a recruiting brochure.

I wanted to join the NSS immediately upon seeing that, for no logical reason
other than to feel somehow connected to caving, but most of the
student cavers there
would not join.

Perks of joining:

I love the NSS and one of the best investments I ever made in life
was purchasing a life-membership.


The NSS conventions are fun, but you are not required to be a member to
attend.However, it would be more practical to join, if you do plan to attend
the convention.

Nearly everyone I have ever met thru the NSS was great,
and in almost all cases I only wished I could have developed better
friendships with them, instead
of the once-a-year hello-goodbye type relationship ( ask Don if there
is a word for that ? ).
I miss not seeing my NSS friends regularly, and I am sure there are
cavers who feel the
same way about other cavers they have met thru the NSS. That is
one of the reasons
I drove to and from northwestern Vermont from southeast Texas this past summer.


Reasons some may not join:

One thing that I see, is that there are so many caving organizations to join
or to somehow get involved in. For example, you could dedicate your life
to caving by just being really active in the AMCS or the CRF or the TCMA.
What I am saying is you don't have to be an NSS member to make a significant
contribution to caving.

Another thing is the competition from outside of caving. There may
be 1,000 or
so U.S. cavers who practically live underground and stay active in
various caving organizations
like the NSS, but the other 50,000 plus cavers have lives that
conflict with that.
For example, someone can love caves and cavers, but they can be so dedicated
to their job or family or to an ill relative, or they live far from
karst, etc, that trying
to be active in the NSS is not feasible.

The con's of joining:

Whenever you get sucked into a group,
the first thing they want is your blood. You will be asked to get
off your rear, and volunteer
for something, or you will be labeled, and the label will never wear off.
Eventually, they want your money, and if you don't give it, same as
above.   Then there is the politics
and the getting along with other NSS members who have different
priorities.   And then
you find that some people no matter how hard you try just can't be
pleased.And
then, you find that even though you dedicated your life to the NSS,
that it still wasn't
good enough.   And eventually much of your efforts and dedication
becomes forgotten.



One thing that is changing the scenery is the on-line caver activity.
 Why be an
NSS member when everything you need to know is already on-line? I
think the answer
to that is so other cavers will take you seriously.I don't know
which on-line forums
require NSS membership.   Someone else can post that.


In summary:  join the NSS.Here are just 2 of it's Facebook links:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=103541480620

http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Speleological-Society/109564239062444?v=wall

David Locklear
NSS # 27639


P.S.

On a related note,

According to the NSS member's manual there are 50 to 100 cavers in my
region that are NSS members. I have tried to contact many of them over
the years and had almost zero response. Last year, I diligently
tried very hard to
contact all of them to invite them to the East Texas Caver's Cookout, but
none showed up, and only 3 or 4 even responded to my e-mail.  Had this
been a caver gathering in a karst area with active grottos,
then the member's manual might have been more productive, however, I have
heard attendance is down at several of these types caver gatherings,
compared to the 80's.

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[Texascavers] Re: Irix headlamp review

[David]

My plan tonight was to write a nice review of my latest headlamp, but I got
distracted.

On Dec. 20th, I posted an article about the new Irix headlamp.

This is the follow-up to that.


The first thing that becomes obvious is the high price is partly for the
fancy packaging which you will need to destroy in order to get the
headlamp out, and if not careful, you could injure yourself.

The headlamp does not have a on-off button.Instead you turn a
plastic dial on top of the headlamp.This feels very awkward, and I
don't know if
it is something that you would eventually get used to.

Turning the dial dimly lights 4 small white LED's. The more you
turn the dial the brighter they get until eventually you have a usable amount
of light to negotiate a dark path.   But if you keep dialing a larger brighter
LED kicks in, and it becomes brighter and brighter as you turn.   I think
even the small LED's get brighter.  The light pattern is great. But the
peak of 35 lumens is not going to be enough for large borehole passages.

The headpiece fits very loosely in the mount that it rotates in.I think it
needs to fit tighter for caving. It definitely has a flaw in that
there is not
any easy way to tie a string from the light to the headpiece, as it could
easily fall off and create a dangerous situation in a cave.   The good news
there is that it is unlikely to break, as there is no hinge like on
almost all cheap
plastic headlamps.

I don't think this headlamp would be suitable for Honeycreek, but it should
handle most wet small caves. Should be ideal for something like Whirlpool.

I went hiking near my house tonight, and spotted a family of javelinas
in the woods with
it.So it is a practical light.

For the cost, there are better choices for primary light source.It
could be easily rigged
on the helmet near the primary light as a back-up light.

To me, if feels like a proto-type. The plastic feels cheap, but
claims to be a polymer
body.It is not obvious which end unscrews, to change the battery,
so you are likely
to break that trying to get the battery out.

For anyone needing a purple headlamp, this may be your best choice.

I plan to take mine back for a refund, if they will accept the torn package.

David Locklear

Ref:

http://www.backpacker.com/media/originals/Irix_445x260.jpg

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[Texascavers] Re: some cavers in Puerto Rico

[David]

http://www.cuevaspr.org/fepur.html

You may have to scroll down to see their e-mail addresses.

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[Texascavers] Facebook related

[David]

Facebook has become a more valuable resource to Texas cavers than
CaveTex.

Recently cavers have been posting interesting historical photos, and socializing
in a way that was never done on CaveTex.

Just in the past few days, there have been interesting discussions about
Mr. Jasek's caver panorama shots.

Maybe a few of you haven't got on Facebook yet, but nearly ever Texas caver has.
Many are having productive discussions amongst themselves that were
not possible on Cavetex.

Last year, several large caver gatherings benefited from the Events
planning feature
of Facebook.This feature is ideal for planning caving gatherings.

As mentioned before, several grottos have their own Facebook page, as does
several caving organizations in Texas.

Below is an example:

 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28567352179

I am not saying CaveTex is obsolete. It is just a different form or resource
for communicating.

Potentially there are dozens of Texas cavers on Facebook that are not on
CaveTex, and also hundreds of people that could potentially be good cavers
or make some form of constructive contribution to the protect caves and
bats.

I have made a faithful effort to move all my ranting to Facebook, and
many of the other
things I used to post about.   Most other cavers have too.

It does not look like Facebook is going away anytime soon.  All the latest
cell-phones have Facebook built into them, as will the upcoming portable
tablet gadgets, that cavers will soon be travelling with on their road-trips.

The only logical course now is to find ways to use Facebook to make caving
in Texas even more fun, or productive.For example, a cave rescue call-out
might be more productive on Facebook, or an invitation to the Kiwi Dig project.
You would just need to create a page for those and invite your Facebook friends
to join, and eventually you would have a base of support for that
particular project.

For example,

 http://www.facebook.com/CaveDive


Anyone wishing to continue this discussion may do so at:

 http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_191886334161087


David Locklear
co-host of the East Texas Caver's Cookout

http://www.facebook.com/pages/2nd-Annual-East-Texas-Cavers-Cookout/126749377360713

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