texascavers Digest 19 Feb 2012 20:31:37 -0000 Issue 1500
Topics (messages 19589 through 19604):
Re: Fwd:Good, used caver wetsuits
19589 by: Preston Forsythe
Re: Cave Diving on PBS
19590 by: Jim Evatt
Re: Feb 12 See My Shovel Cave (CM Cave) trip report
19591 by: Bill Bentley
TCMA Auction at TSA Spring Convention
19592 by: Saj Zappitello
LightSquared Denied Permit
19593 by: Mark Minton
Google Streetview goes underground
19594 by: Randy Baker
19595 by: Andy Edwards
Endangered species get protected habitat
19596 by: Mark Minton
19597 by: Preston Forsythe
Texas Highways magazine March 2012
19598 by: Logan McNatt
19600 by: Louise Power
19603 by: Fritz Holt
USFWS Whitenose Webinars
19599 by: Mark Minton
cave-diving video
19601 by: Mixon Bill
2012 UT Grotto Program Schedule
19602 by: Gary Franklin
Any speleo-illustrators?
19604 by: R D Milhollin
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--- Begin Message ---
My first wetsuit was used from an Austin dive shop. Now on my 5th wetsuit.
Preston
-----------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: germa...@aol.com
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com ; greater_houston_gro...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 5:24 PM
Subject: [Texascavers] Fwd:Good, used caver wetsuits
http://tomsscuba.com/component/content/article/148
Kristina Hager posted in The UT Grotto.
Kristina Hager 5:01pm Feb 15
Tom's used equipment sale usually has some good
cave-ready wetsuits for ya'll
View Post on Facebook · Edit Email Settings · Reply to this email
to add a comment.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Note that this is a repeat showing of the documentary that originally aired
in 2010.
Jim Evatt
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Minton
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 2:20 PM
To: Texascavers
Subject: [Texascavers] FW: Cave Diving on PBS
-----Original Message-----
From: varlist Discussion List [mailto:varl...@listserv.vt.edu] On
Behalf Of Walt Pirie
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 11:16 AM
To: varl...@listserv.vt.edu
Subject: [VARLIST] Cave Diving on PBS
There's a great program about blue hole diving in the Bahamas,
scheduled to air on PBS this evening.
Extreme Cave Diving on NOVA
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/extreme-cave-diving.html
Airs February 15, 2012 on PBS
A team of intrepid scientists journey into one of Earth's most
dangerous and beautiful underwater frontiers.
Follow a fearless team of scientists as they venture into blue
holesunderwater caves that formed during the last ice age, when sea
level was nearly 400 feet below what it is today. These caves, little-
known treasures of the Bahamas, are one of Earth's least explored and
most dangerous frontiers. The interdisciplinary team of biologists,
climatologists, and anthropologists discover intriguing evidence of
the earliest human inhabitants of the islands, find animals seen
nowhere else on Earth, and recover a remarkable record of the
planet's climate.
WEB FEATURES
Watch the entire program online now.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/extreme-cave-diving.html
Walt
Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org
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--- Begin Message ---
----- Original Message -----
From: Ben Hutchins
To: texascav...@caver.net
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 7:09 PM
Subject: [Texascavers] Feb 12 See My Shovel Cave (CM Cave) trip report
Feb 12, 2012 See My Shovel Cave (CM Cave) trip report
By Ben Hutchins with contributions from Ben Tobin
When it started to sleet on us as we drove to Spring Branch, things
seemed grim. But when the taco stand that we religiously visit before our CM
cave trips was closed, the universe seemed downright cruel. Resisting the
temptation to turn around, Brett Gerard, Ben Tobin and I drove on to meet Roger
Blodgett and Tom Rogers at just after 10:00AM. We drove to Joe Eisenhauer’s
ranch in Spring Branch and after brief hellos, we were driving through the
field to the cave entrance. As quick as possible (still sleeting), we unlocked
the cave, rigged the first drop, suited up, and began rappelling the 2 entrance
pits that would take us to Echo River, 90ft below. The nasty crawlway leading
off from the bottom of the 2nd drop was sucking cold air, chilling the water/
mud soup that we were slogging through. To make matters even better, the cedar
duff/ cricket guano/cow urine slurry that is perpetually pooled in the crawlway
was smelling especially ripe. Nevertheless, we were quickly in the main
passage where we were greeted by warm air, warmer water, and definitely nicer
passage dimensions. Water in the main passage was at normal or even low
levels, making the low airspaces a cinch. With all the rain, however, the
temperature of the water was noticeably colder. We started heading upstream at
noon. We had 3 objectives for the day: continue survey in an infeeder sidelead
that had been started back in August, aid climb to the high lead 10+m above the
upstream sump, and in the process survey approximately 700 meters to rival
Longhorn Caverns and Cave Without A Name in length. Because of the increasing
chances of rainfall that evening and due prior obligations in the real world,
we had 6 hours (4 of which would be spent in travel). It took us about 2 hours
to wade, stoop walk, swim, salamander, stoopwalk, walk, crawl, and stoop walk
upstream to the terminal sump. We all went together so that the weight of the
climbing equipment could be divided among us. At the sump face, I donned a
hoodie and goggles to get a better look at the unknown. The water at the sump
face is about 2.5m deep and the conduit is just over 1m wide. In the sump, the
ceiling levels off perhaps a foot below the water level but didn’t appear to
rise again as far ahead as I could see (about 3m). It will take divers to push
this one.
In short order, Robert, Tom and I backtracked to our lead,
leaving Brett and Ben T. to storm the castle. Our lead was a north trending
infeeder, about 200m from the upstream sump. It started out with admirable
dimensions (3-4m high, 2m wide) although travel was made difficult by the hills
of slick mud that we had to crawl up and over. It was not graceful, and this
portion of the passage had been surveyed previously. Where we picked up, the
lead degraded into a 1.5-2m wide, 1m high oval shaped phreatic tube with mud
banks and a trickle of water. Watching Robert contort and wallow in the soup
to read instruments made me thankful to be sketcher. The passage continued
north with these dimensions, getting slightly lower but showing no signs of
ending. After 10 stations and 52m of survey, I checked my watch and we were
already late. So, we made SB23 a semi-permanent station and headed back out.
While the survey team backtracked and began surveying, Brett and Ben T.
sorted through gear and began the climb. Starting up a wall that appeared to
have numerous jugs and protrusions for slings, they quickly discovered that it
was all an illusion. The mud and the rock had very similar consistency, with
the mud possibly being more structurally sound. As each potential hold fell off
in progressively larger chunks, both climber and belayer became progressively
larger balls of mud. Finally, some nice, solid rock was found about 5 feet from
the top. Looking at the time we realized we were approaching out turn around
time, but shear stubbornness led us to finish the one bolt, leaving it at a
nice starting point for the next trip. After quickly packing up, we made our
way out. Barring anything unexpected, the climb should be finished in short
order on the next trip, with 1 or 2 more bolts.
When we got back to the glorious crawlway leading to the
entrance pits, we were a bit dismayed that the cold breeze sucking in was
causing steam above the warmer water in the main passage: it was going to be a
cold exit! But climbing rope is a great way to warm up and thankfully it
wasn’t raining when we exited the cave, just as the last light of evening faded
away. Ben and Brett arrived moments later to the delight of good beer sitting
at the cave entrance. Although we didn’t 700meters of survey or discover
booming upper level borehole, it was still a great trip. After letting Joe
know what we had accomplished, we warmed ourselves by his fire for a few
moments before heading home. See My Shovel currently stands at 4.45km with
several leads remaining to be surveyed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Texascavers mailing list
texascav...@caver.net
http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/texascavers_caver.net
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Howdy Cavers,
Start saving your awesome collectibles and useful items for the TCMA
auction at the TSA spring convention, March 31! Items will be
collected on site and the eloquent Crash Kennedy will be our MC again
this year.
Thanks!
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--- Begin Message ---
Last year a company called LightSquared proposed to create a
national wireless broadband network that many thought would interfere
with GPS reception. After extensive testing those fears seem to have
been borne out. As a result, LightSquared has been denied permission
to
proceed:
<http://www.ntia.doc.gov/fcc-filing/2012/ntia-lightsquared-recommendation-fcc>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/index.do?document=312479>
Mark Minton
Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org
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--- Begin Message ---
Google StreetView cameras visited Japan's Okubo-mabu mineshaft at Omori, Ota
City in the Shimane Prefecture of Japan.
From CNET.com:
"Last week, Google Japan took its popular Street View in a new direction:
underground. The search giant commissioned a photography crew to explore a
centuries-old mine and popular limestone cave in Japan. The result is a
stunning 360-degree photo tour that gives people around the world the
opportunity to visit sites they probably wouldn't see otherwise."
See the images here.
Randy
Bexar Grotto Webmaster
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--- Begin Message ---
Hmmm...it's feels kind of like MYST! But there are no levers you can pull
or switches to flip. Oh well. Back to real caving...
On Thu, Feb 16, 2012 at 12:18 PM, Randy Baker <rjb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Google StreetView cameras visited Japan's Okubo-mabu
> mineshaft<http://g.co/maps/6um5x>at Omori, Ota City in the Shimane Prefecture
> of Japan.
>
> From CNET.com:
>
> "Last week, Google Japan took its popular Street View in a new direction:
> underground. The search giant commissioned a photography crew to explore a
> centuries-old mine and popular limestone cave in Japan. The result is a
> stunning 360-degree photo tour that gives people around the world the
> opportunity to visit sites they probably wouldn't see otherwise."
>
> See the images here <http://news.cnet.com/2300-17938_105-10011303.html>.
>
> Randy
> Bexar Grotto Webmaster
>
>
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--- Begin Message ---
Nine endangered, cave-dwelling species in Bexar County,
Texas have received protected
habitat:
<http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2012/bexar-county-invertebrates-02-13-2012.html>
Mark
Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
How many of these "colorful species" did James name? And, thanks to the
Center for Biodiversity. One of my favorite GREEN groups.
Preston
================
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Minton" <mmin...@caver.net>
To: <texascavers@texascavers.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 3:01 PM
Subject: [Texascavers] Endangered species get protected habitat
Nine endangered, cave-dwelling species in Bexar County, Texas have
received protected habitat:
<http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2012/bexar-county-invertebrates-02-13-2012.html>
Mark
Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org
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--- Begin Message ---
The March 2012 issue of Texas Highways has a feature article on Lower Pecos Rock Art, with a cover photo of Panther Cave. Should be on the
newstands soon.
http://www.texashighways.com/index.php/component/content/article/38-outdoors/6390-panther-cave-rock-art-in-danger
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When I was TSA Conservation Chairman, I worked with the State of Texas while
the Amistad Dam was being built on a mitigation plan for the Pecos/Rio Grande
shelter caves and rock art. Apparently it's not possible to totally mitigate
damage in the face of nature. However, I must say that as the rivers were
rising and the rock art became more and more accessible by boat, we were
already seeing damage by people. Some seemed to think their graffiti was better
than the art.
Louise
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:34:51 -0600
From: lmcn...@austin.rr.com
To: texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: [Texascavers] Texas Highways magazine March 2012
The March 2012 issue of Texas Highways has a feature article on Lower Pecos
Rock Art, with a cover photo of Panther Cave. Should be on the newstands soon.
http://www.texashighways.com/index.php/component/content/article/38-outdoors/6390-panther-cave-rock-art-in-danger
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--- Begin Message ---
More proof that some people are idiots.
Fritz
________________________________
From: Louise Power [mailto:power_lou...@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 10:39 AM
To: Logan McNatt; Texas Cavers
Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Texas Highways magazine March 2012
When I was TSA Conservation Chairman, I worked with the State of Texas while
the Amistad Dam was being built on a mitigation plan for the Pecos/Rio Grande
shelter caves and rock art. Apparently it's not possible to totally mitigate
damage in the face of nature. However, I must say that as the rivers were
rising and the rock art became more and more accessible by boat, we were
already seeing damage by people. Some seemed to think their graffiti was better
than the art.
Louise
________________________________
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:34:51 -0600
From: lmcn...@austin.rr.com
To: texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: [Texascavers] Texas Highways magazine March 2012
The March 2012 issue of Texas Highways has a feature article on Lower Pecos
Rock Art, with a cover photo of Panther Cave. Should be on the newstands soon.
http://www.texashighways.com/index.php/component/content/article/38-outdoors/6390-panther-cave-rock-art-in-danger
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--- Begin Message ---
USFWS webinars on Whitenose
Syndrome:
<http://nctc.fws.gov/CSP/Resources/white_nose_syndrome_webinar_series/home.html>.
Click the Archive link.
Mark
Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org
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--- Begin Message ---
I finally got around to watching the cave-diving video that Mark
Minton posted a link to a couple of days ago. Very nice videography by
the late Wes Skiles. Narration is hokey in places and occasionally
inaccurate, but nevertheless I urge you to take the time to watch it.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/extreme-cave-diving.html
-- Mixon
----------------------------------------
Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.
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--- Begin Message ---
Howdy Caver !!!
The UT Grotto is looking for you to present or come out for a Program about
a Caving Trip, Hydrologic or Geologic Scientific Work, or just something
Really Cool. See the calendar links for more information.
http://www.utgrotto.org/schedule.asp
Dig out those old slides or photos, get them scanned and preserved, then
share those caving trips from back in the day. I guarantee it will bring
out cavers that you have not seen for a while as well as spark interest
with the current members. Come see for yourself that nothing has changed
where I invite you to come share some fun in Austin Texas !!!
Contact me to get signed up for an open date listed below.
Gary Franklin
UT Grotto Vice Chair and Program Organizer
512-585-6057
www.utgrotto.org
v...@utgrotto.org
2012 UT Grotto Program Schedule – (Tentative)
Jan 4 – Ben Schwartz – Caving in China
Jan 18 – Logan McNatt – Discovery of el Sotano del Barro
Feb 1 – Bill Stone – Hell Hole Exploration,West Virginia
Feb 15 – Jean Krejca – Recent Sump Dives in Texas
Feb 29 - George Veni - Amazing Ice Caves of Austria
March 7 – Ernie Garza - Proyecto Sierra Mazateca
March 21 – Sean Lewis – Fisher Ridge Cave
April 4 – COA WQPL – Preserving Lands that Drain to Barton Springs
April 18 – Jim Kennedy – Gypsum Bat Caves of West Texas
May 2
May 16
May 30
June 6
June 20
July 4
July 18
Aug 1
Aug 15
Aug 29
Sept 5
Sept 19
Oct 3
Oct 17
Oct 31 – Halloween Meeting Underground
Nov 7
Nov 21
Dec 5
Dec 19
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There are several Texas cavers who are skilled in the graphic arts. This
request for talent might be interesting for some of you ("fame and glory!")
I am working on updating the NCRC text book. It needs many illustrations
updated or created. If anyone has skills and time I'd love to talk. It's a
project that could suck up weeks of time for anyone that wanted but small
contributions are welcome. There is no money for this but you would be
eligible for fame, glory, and mention somewhere in the small print.
Roger Mortimer
NCRC Western Region Coordinator
kf6...@arrl.net
__._,_.___
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