I called and left a message today and got a call back this evening. Ordered my stuff and it will be here at the end of the week. woo hoo

I heard of a cave that was next to a road where I live. I thought one day while driving by that I would go wearch for it. I went and searched for it and found it within the the first 20 minutes after leaving my car. My friends searched the entire day for it when they went. I'm like seriously. There was a limestone rock cliff and they decided to venture past the rock cliff and into the woods I'm like, Okay??? Anyway back to the scary part. I went searching by myself and found the cave. I thought you know I have a light I might as well go in a little ways. I went into a cave by myself ugh that's scary in itself. Before venturing into any cave I give a loud Woop to make sure there's nothing big living in there. I didn't here anything afterward so, I ventured in. I went about 1/8 of a mile into the cave and peered around a corner just glancing and all of the sudden I saw a flicker I said "what the hell" They were glowing eyes. I went " Oh crap" That was the fastest 1/8 of a mile run I've ever done.

Im a caver from West Virginia and live in one of the most karst areas in the state. We have a cave that has not been fully surveyed and an expirianced surveyer and myself are doing the job because I informed him of it and he's helping me. He informed me that that this cave was my job. Of course, we already have permission from the owner to survey the cave. I happened to stumble upon a cave that is setting in a geologically rich area for caves and it just happens to be setting directly on top of an anticline. I have searched this cave as far as I can with out the help of blasting material or hammers.
I have found what I think is a joint because it runs along an anticline and has a crack with no vertical movement. After studying this area I have found out that there just happens to be a passage on the other side of this joint so, I need to open this joint up just wide enough for me to get into. I was trying to fit into a virgin pit and couldn't squeeze though safely. So, I ended up Wooping loudly into the pit and I heard an echo that came out in the lower pit out of that joint. So, this is how we know that there's a passage on the other side of the joint. So, my question is, What are the best hammers to use for this job? By the way, the area I need to break open is vertically sloped. Oh, I almost for got to mention, If you would like to read more on this go to my Blog on http://www.wordpress.com and type in the search box Alan Pitzenbarger Cave. It's about my beliefs of the cave and the geology and layout of the cave. It has numerous pictures. Don't mind the pictures of the group of teenagers. I was included but the picture was taken before we knew the basic safety rules of caving and such. We have grown after a couple of years to being safe adventurous, cautious cavers
Thanks very much,
WVCaveman

Even though the beam-shots may not be a perfect substitute for seeing it for real, I am still very impressed by the gorgeous combination of spot and flood. I emailed the manufacturer today and will be ordering one very soon. . . . So how exactly are you powering this? I'll need to build a battery pack and was told that it needed 3.6-4.5 volts to run.

Phil,

You really did a lot of caves when you were in Germany. And you have a good memory.

At the Swabian Mountains ("Schwäbische Alb") where I live there is a Todtsburger Schacht and a Todtsburger Cave. Last year I went to the easy Todtsburger Cave with my kids, but had no partner for the more demanding Schacht. Will do it the next time. Both caves are very close to the motorway Stuttgart - Munich and are about 50 minutes away from my home.

The Vercors meeting was in Lans-en-Vercors, maybe half an hour of driving from Grenoble. Unfortunately, I could only stay a few days. We visited Gour Fumant, really a nice cave. Here is a link to the website of the festival:

http://www.vercors2008.eu/

Regards, Jürgen

Anybody know how to get in touch with Mark Joop? I have emailed him twice with the address in the Joop Boot thread, but no answer.

You guys are really, really taking me back. Chuck and I caved all over Europe in the mid-70s when alpine caving (for us American continent types) was coming into vogue. I remember Jim Chester's writing, but I don't think I ever met him. And Frank Binney...don't get me started!

That era was often referred as the golden age of Texas caving. I think I have the full set of Inside Earths, but I may have framed that one cover of the girl cavers jumping into the cave: "Get'em Bernice!". Texas had some real activist females at that time...as did the USA in general come to think of it. We've come a long way since then.

Thanks for the information, and the comparison shots.Is the Stenlight an original (older) one, or one with recent LEDs in?It's probably worth reminding people that lighting pictures can be misleading, at least on some monitors.For example, on my screen, in the 'P7 350mA' picture, much of the scene seems effectively black, yet looked at in a photo editor, I can see the scene is being lit, just at a lower level.It's not hard for a 4:1 difference in brightness to look like the difference between sunlight and blackness in a photograph displayed on a screen, whereas to the eye at the time, a 4;1 difference might look more like 2:1, or even less.

Yes, of course I know the Falkensteiner Höhle, it's just in the next valley, I thought the area looked familiar on the map when I googled you guys. I also recognized BarenHohle from the video.It has been many, many years since I went into Falkensteiner. I think the last time was in 1978 when we invited a couple of Swiss cavers, Marcel Braendli and Hans Rudi Ballman, to go thru it with us.Michael (who made great spatzel!) once took us to Totsburger Schacht. That might be near you, too, is it?Was the Vercors meeting in La Chappelle? The first cave movie festival was held there.

Hi Phil and graveleye,

Thanks for the positive feedback.

I used the following video light - in most cases in connection with the enclosed diffusor for a more warm light:

http://www.digibroadcast.com/products/1/S-2010.htm

The camera was an ordinary Sony Camcorder (DVD-505). To keep the equipment dry and save was actually one of the most difficult tasks in the making of the film. For that purpose I used a waterproof case - similiar to the Pelicase stuff, but thanks to Ebay much cheaper.

We actually did the film in 2007, but the English version just became ready for the European Caving Meeting 2008 in Vercors/France in August. Unfortunately the film was shown there at 9am and so there weren't many cavers present to see the film (probably already on a big trip - or more likely, still a bit drunk from the festival activities the night before).

Yes, of course I know the Falkensteiner Höhle, it's just in the next valley, but unfortunately I don't know Michael Kipp. Nevertheless I could ask some other club members whether they know him.

Regards from Germany,

Juergen

I bought these a couple months ago from IMO and they were just too baggy for a tall skinny guy like me. I waited too long to return them because I had hoped my mother in law could tailor them to fit but she didn't think her machine could handle such think material.

They are brand new and have only been tried on twice.

Large size, red with black reinforcements at the heavy wear areas.

Sizing chart and photo can be seen here at the IMO site: http://www.innermountainoutfitters.net/ ... st%20Creek

$110 including shipping (I paid $130+shipping)

Juergen,Nicely done movie. What was used for the camera, lighting, etc?All that water reminded us of Falkensteiner Hohle and getting to the second siphon. Do you know Michael Kipp in Stuttgart?

Hi, Mike,The BOG meeting is Nov 8th and Tom Rea, the EVP, mentions it in his report and he is asking for thoughts and opinions. So, the topic is in the data-gathering mode, I'd say.

cool... i will have to check this out when I get home. My work has blocked almost everything that moves on the internet.

Hi to all. Any new developments on this subject? Did the Board discuss it?Saludos, Mike

Pot hunting and digging in caves is perfectly legal with landowner permission in many states, so long as no gravesitesare disturbed. PERMISSION being the key word here. Same goes for caving on other people's property. Unfortunately,harvesting formations is legal too with permission in most states (federal lands excluded). And unfortunately, mostpot hunters and cave vandals don't have permission because they know most cave landowners won't allow those activities. Most cave landowners I've met are more educated than they were 40 years ago and many of them willactually quiz a caver about their intentions and experience before even allowing them to visit caves on their land.I think that is probably a good thing.Wonder if the family of the pot hunter who passed away would consider donating his collection in his name, to a museum where the artifacts could serve a historical and educational purpose, along with a statement tothe effect that all artifacts were gathered with permission on private lands?

Wow. I've been waiting for an independent review of this lamp and think it will be my next major caving purchase.The last I heard, they were selling it as a lamp only and the buyer had to come up with their own battery to run it. Do you know if they are offering it as a complete kit yet? As soon as they offer it as a complete kit, I'll buy it.

I would say yes, you definitely need a Croll. But you don't need a chest harness. A figure eight of webbing will work just fine as long as you have an adjustment buckle on it.

Wow, that's bright. Thank's for posting. I'm looking at picking one up, but...since you bought I was going to PM later....sucker Just kinding of course. Again thank you!