Minutes 09jul27
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Sandia Grotto Meeting
27 July 2009
Taken by Nathan Dale
Contents |
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Opening Remarks (Robert Grubbs)
- We need to organize grotto files, primarily
- Present paper work
- Archival paperwork
- Consider ideas and suggestions for content
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Introductions
- Robert Grubbs: went to Fort Stanton
- Lee Skinner: Remarked on "illegal" carbide fun near Laredo, Mexico, resulting in a brush with authorities.
- Duke McMullan: (inaudible)
- Joe Gavigan: (inaudible)
- George Bates: crawlspace caving only
- Carl Pagano: regional, and FSCP mud turtle passage
- Roger Burt: Ft Stanton grotto trip to hellhole, helectite hall
- Jennifer Boyette: trip to Moab and Arches Nat'l Park--sand dune arch is magnificent
- Sam Bono: ICS convention, by way of Carlsbad Caverns, and back by Caverns of Sonora; attended the convention howdy party with Texas bbq, rodeo, and a mechanical bull with drunk cavers; there were 1400 cavers from 50 different countries; Blake Jordan was made an NSS Fellow; Mark Minton was given the Lew Bicking Award; he attended a White Nose Syndrome presentation--terrifying.
- Ron Maehler: Napa Valley caving at the Newton Winery, where wine is stored in mostly natural caves.
- Crystal Kieffer: Ft Stanton
- Bob Cornish: Mexico trip, then on to convention--flat tire along the way, Mexican police encounter (and a small bribe) for speeding
- Linda Starr: Ft Stanton, fireside encounter with a bug in the ear(!) that bit down--yeow!--drowning it didn't work. Went to Lincoln Co. Med Center for help. On the way to convention, she stopped at Balmorhea State Park east of El Paso where there are springs with possible cave dives; proceeded to San Antonio for social; then to Huasteca Canyon near Monterrey, with rough roads--flat along the way; steep hike uphill through lechuguilla to cave; next day to Cueva del Palmito (commercial cave with a lighted trail), which included the birthday passage, new section with velvet, pictographs with snake dancers, and calcite "snow" on the floor; hand-over-hand rope climb for ~120 ft; cloud room with spar similar to Chiricahua Crystal; one of the best caves ever visited, in her experience. Carol Lucero caved every day. She thinks New Mexico has a good bid for holding the 2013 NSS convention.
- Dan Montoya: attended the ICS convention, with a Caverns of Sonora stop--beautiful! Lights went off briefly due to a storm outside. Stopped in Fredericksburg for German food. Hot, hot weather. Terrible dorm rooms at the college--for $80!
- Deb Rivera: Attended the convention and endured the heat.
- Nathan Dale: interested in exploring the Rio Grande Rift karst.
- James Tabinski: staying with USGS and UNM geology for another year
- Jacqui Ortega: no caving--although she has a similar bug story (with loss of hearing) because of a cricket. She plans to go on the Cave Creek trip.
- Karen King: enjoyed Ft Stanton; she explored the cave with Liz Galbraith
- Ray Keeler: 4th of July caving at Aint Barbwire Cave near Winslow; he did some ridgewalking in the area, and found features and entrances. He attended the convention, making a visit to Fleisch Haus Cave near Austin, which has huge paleo deposits. (This cave is being transferred to Fed Wildlife Service control because of its endangered bats.) The NSS headquarters is under consideration for a move from Huntsville, AL. His house has sold, and he is completing his move to AZ.
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News:
- Donald Davis suffered a minor stroke during the convention, but is recovering very well. Attendees donated money--$1200 was collected for his care.
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Upcoming Events
- Aug 1 Cave Creek trip: meeting at Carlisle x I-40 Burger King at 8:30; 3-mile hike. The cave was surveyed by Jerry Atkinson and hers (details from Linda Starr.) The cave is wet and cold in the water section. Camping is available at Panchuela Creek Campground. Expect rain.
- Aug 8 picnic at Liz Galbraith's house, with overnight camping available; there's a possible Perseid meteor shower (bring telescopes), a squeeze box, and maybe horseshoes. Bring beverages and side dishes. A vote was taken to reimburse Liz for food expenses.
- Aug 31 next grotto meeting
- Labor Day Regional near Weed, NM to look for Pinyon Cave, which has 2 vertical drops.
- 12 Sept High Guads caving (Dan Montoya is leading the trip)
- Oct (date TBD) trip to Chiricahua Crystal (limited to 6 persons on each trip.) Carol Lucero needs firm interest among interested individuals.
- 1st weekend of December: the Winter Technical Regional is being hosted by the Sandia Grotto; we are awaiting a call for papers; a location is TBD, with a 75+ person capacity meeting room needed.
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Webpage:
- updates needed for calendar, news, equipment lists, library materials, online store, Facebook link, pamphlet
- Robert Grubbs shows webpage examples: NSS, Colorado Grotto, Sandia Grotto
- some reservations over content and appearance; web application support is a concern
- Facebook page includes some posts about WNS, upcoming trips
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Presentation on Caves of Colorado, by Robert Grubbs
- 7 active grottos in colorado
- 2011 NSS convention is being held there
- only 12 caves are longer than 1 mile
- 50% are located in Garfield Co
- Deepest cave: Spanish Cave is located at 12k ft elevation and is 541 ft deep
- Fulford cave, has a possible "Wonderland" section
- Spanish Cave: "...is the most dangerous cave in Colorado and should be explored by highly experienced cavers only" --Caves of Colorado. It is accessible only by Aug, Sept.
- Caves in the Flat Tops area (Deep Creek): lots of steep terrain and canyon top rappeling
- Groaning Cave: 11 mi long system, with LOTS of crawling, beautifully decorated, with an ongoing survey
- Fixin'-to-Die Cave: below a cliff, where a rappel is required from the canyon top. Located at 10500 ft elevation
- Premonition Cave: entrance located inside an arch in a cliff face, 4th longest, easy to get lost in, 2.3 miles in length
- Thursday Morning Cave: wet, living cave. Small, but pretty.
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Next meeting:
- Linda will make a presentation about the ICS convention in Kerrville, TX
- Meeting to occur about the webpage
