COVER: COPYRIGHT CREDIT LINE, Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat Conservation

International. BCI Homepage: http://www.batcon.org/

Mailing Address Bat Conservation International

P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716

Catalogue orders and inquiries: 1-800-538-BATS

Contact this great organization for info on the preservation , conservation, and research into this interesting and reclusive creature!

The OZTOTL Caver is a monthly publication of the Dallas/Fort Worth (D/FW) Grotto of the National Speleological Society. The publication is free to D/FW Grotto members. Subscription rate is $10 per year for non-members. Visitors are sent three free issues after their first visit. After that, subscription is required to continue receiving The OZTOTL Caver.  

COPYRIGHT © 1997 Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto. Internal organizations of the National Speleological Society may reprint any item first appearing in The OZTOTL Caver as long as proper credit is given and a copy of the newsletter containing the reprinted material is mailed to the editor. Other organizations should contact the editor before reprinting The OZTOTL Caver material.

The opinions and methods expressed in this publication are solely those of the respective authors, and not of the Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto or the National Speleological Society. The Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto and the National Speleological Society do not endorse, guarantee, or otherwise certify any such opinions or methods in any application or usage.

SUBMISSIONS and DEADLINES: Articles, announcements, artwork, photos, and material for publication are welcomed. All submissions must be submitted to the editor by the 2nd Wednesday of the month of desired publication. The editor reserves the right to edit inappropriate material, errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation, and to edit for clarity. In the event of significant changes the author(s) will be given an opportunity to review changes prior to publication.

EXCHANGES: The Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto will exchange newsletters with other grottos at the Grotto's discretion. Contact the D/FW Grotto editor for further information.

MAILING: The editor is not responsible for lost or mis-directed newsletters caused by failure to notify editor in writing of address changes by the 2nd Wednesday of the month after address change.

CAVE RESCUE Call Collect (512) 686-0234

Texas Caver The Texas Caver

$25/year U.T. Station

Box 8026

Austin, TX 78713-8026

Texas Speleological Assoc. John Spence

U.T. Station

Box 8026

Austin, TX 78713-8026

$30/year Cave Avenue

Huntsville, Al 35810

Regular- $100 Austin, TX 78720-2853

Payable in (4) $25

installments

REI is located just west of the intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and the LBJ Freeway. To get there from Fort Worth and the mid-cities, take I-30, 183 or any east-west artery to Dallas and get on Stemmons Expressway (I-35), then follow it north and then turn east on 635 instead of continuing north toward Lewisville and Denton.

Take the North Dallas Tollway-Dallas Parkway exit (the Galleria and its twin towers are visible on the left or north as you exit.) Make a left on the overhead ramps, cross over 635 and make a left (or U-turn) to go back on the I-635 West service road. Stay on the service road, go through the light at Welch Road and REI is on the immediate right. If you get to Midway Road, you've gone too far.

From downtown Dallas, go north on the tollway, crossing over 635 and make the left to go west on LBJ. Then stay on the service road and watch for REI past Welch Road.

The REI store closes at 9 p.m. A climbing wall and shopping are available at the store before the meeting. If cavers want to get some climbing practice in, it's advisable to come around 5:30 p.m. The line forms quickly and early.

The REI store is the company's second largest in the country. REI stands for Recreational Equipment Inc. The Seattle-based cooperative sells climbing (and caving) hardware, rope and yes ... even carbide lamps.

The national retailer of outdoor gear and clothing for muscle-powered recreation employs several grotto members!

A prepared statement from the company says REI has supported outdoor conservation efforts since 1976. The company's corporate contributions program is designed to assist in the protection of public lands, rivers and trails nationwide. And REI takes an active role in the communities it serves with service projects for outdoor recreational opportunities.

CHAIRMAN David McClung (972) 594-1183

NSS# 29384RE

E-mail: cavers@gte.net

VICE-CHAIRPERSON Jerri Pearson (972) 843-8029

NSS# 43381RE

E-mail: pearsons@ix.netcom.com

SECRETARY Mike Pearson (972) 843-8029

NSS# 31572RE

22014 C.R. 850

Farmersville, TX 75442

EDITOR Mark Alman (972) 279-2386

NSS# 43400RE

3132 Emily Drive

Mesquite, TX 75150

TREASURER Barbe Barker (972) 594-1183

NSS# 33397RE

E-mail: cavers@gte.net

QUARTERMASTER Mark Alman 972-279-2386

The "Unofficial" DFW Grotto Homepage - (Mark's)

http://geocities.datacellar.net/Yosemite/Rapids/1854/

The "Offical" DFW Grotto Homepage - (Mike's)

http://pw1.netcom.com/~pearsons/grotto.html#Table of

Contents

The meeting time and date is 7 p.m., February 25^th, 1998. The program will be given by Woodrow Thomas and will be called "Reflections and Ruminations".

If you need carbide, contact Dave "Cave'' McClung at (214) 594-1183 and place your order for delivery at the meeting. Join us afterwards for the grotto social hour at a local eatery.

If you do not see a trip listed, but wish to participate, call some of the previous trip leaders to find out if a last minute trip is in the making. Many participants call trip leaders about possible upcoming trips; it is rarer to see trip leaders phoning potential participants.

It is a truism in the Dallas/Ft. Worth grotto that many trips are planned at the social hour after the meetings. Count on spending the hours from 9:00 to 11:00 hearing about previous trips and planning new ones.

27-29 February-- Powell's Cave Project. The entrance pipes are installed and backfilled to the rim, creating Texas' newest pit--28' deep. Bring vertical gear for a fast entry, or a seat harness for safety while climbing the ladder. (Bring a 50' rope in case no one else does.) Still lots of caving to do. Contact: Terry Holsinger @ 512-443-4241 or trhli@sprynet.com

Late February - Mystic Cave Tunnel Dig. Contact Woodrow Thomas at 903-395-4431 before 9 PM or email him at wwthomas@technologist. com.

7 March - Brehmmer Cave Trip - Camping will be available on the Guadalupe River at Camp Beans. This cave is down towards the Houston/Galveston area. Contact David Locklear at 713-683-TRIP or email him at locklear@accesscomm.net.

Agenda: 9 A.M. - Registration and visiting. Trip sign-up.

Terry Holsinger: Intro and overview to days' activities.

Review of necessary and best equipment.

Allan Cobb: Natural lighting and single flash photos.

Peter Sprouse: Multiple flash photos w/wo tripods.

Keith Heuss: Exposure control.

George Veni: Photographic cave documentation (scientific).

Pete Lindsley: How to take your camera caving. 35 mm to 4 X 5.

Hildreth-Werker and Jim Werker: Photomonitoring- photography

For cave restoration and management.

Bill Tucker: Underwater/extreme-wet cave photography.

Discussion.

5-6 April -- Southwestern Regional, New Mexico. McKittrick Hill near Carlsbad. Contact: Belski (belski@caverns.com)

18 April - "Rites of Spring Party" - Tentative. Watch for more info!

Project 379: "Karst Processes and the Global Carbon Cycle" -, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. Contact Chris Groves at 502-745-5974 or email: chris.groves@wku.edu or Joe Meiman at 502-749-2508 or email: jbmeiman@scrtc.blue.net.

The Program consisted of trip flashbacks, slides, and trips down memory lane by Jay. Woodrow Thomas promised an intriguing program called "Ruminations and Recollections" for the February meeting on the 25^th.

The meeting concluded at 8:55 upon which we descended upon Taco Cabana for Mexicali caliente and cerveza frio!

Honey Creek- Mark Minton, 512-847-7422.

Carlsbat Cavers- Phyllis Weston, (505) 887-6790 Restoration, Educational Programs, Off trail cave trips during busy holiday periods.

Carlsbad Caverns CRF - Contact Barbe Barker @ 972-594-1183 or e-mail: cavers@gte.net

Fitton Cave Survey- Pete Lindsley (972) 727-2497 or e-mail: lindsley@mcopn.dseg.ti.com

Madonna Survey Trips- Mike Huber (505) 887-6065

Mystic Cave Survey- Woodrow Thomas (903) 395-4431 or e-mail: wwthomas@tenet.edu

Colorado Bend State Park- Ed Young (915) 628-3449

Butch Fralia (817) 346-2029

Rune Barnett (512) 444-1127

Keith Heuss (512) 280-2812

Powell's Cave Survey - Terry Holsinger (512) 443-4241

Whirlpool and Lost Oasis (TCMA caves)- Contact Nico Hauwert (512) 282-8441

Robber Baron (TCMA cave)- Contact James Loftin (210) 731-9392

0-9 Well (TCMA cave)- Contact Walter Feaster (915) 559-3297

Amazing Maze (TCMA cave)- Contact Walter Feaster (915) 559-3297

New TSA Trips and Projects – Marneldo Ranch – Uvalde County

Stiver Ranch – Kimble County

Creek Ranch – Bandera County

Precipico – Bustamante, N.L.

Palmito Clean up - Bustamante, N.L.

Yucatan Camping and Caving Trips - Dave Milhollin at 817-459-3959 or email Dave at rdmilh@tenet.edu.

Submitted by: Mike Pearson of the DFW Grotto.

The Celebration was the 25th anniversary of the connection officially making it the longest cave in the world and the 40th anniversary of the formation of the CRF. There were all kinds of activities for the four-day weekend.

Pete Lindlsey, Danny Vann (from Arkansas), and myself arrived at base camp after dark Wednesday night and socialized with cavers from all over the USA and at least one caver from Central Europe. On Thursday we got our assignments and headed out to Flint Ridge. Our assignment was to survey a crawl out past Spike's Way. Spike's Way is a low crawl with sharp rocks that shred clothes and knees. Roger Brucker took us in the Austin Entrance. He stopped along the way and gave us bits of history about the Flint Ridge exploration. We found our jumping off point and set off on our assignment. The low crawl we were to survey turned out to be wet as well. After about six hours of surveying we headed out of the cave so we could catch the ferry back across the river. Well we didn't make it. We had to drive around the Park to get back to base camp. Fortunately, someone left us some turkey and dressing in a warmer so we sat down to our Thanksgiving meal about midnight.

The next day I had to decline an assignment going to a crawl, as my knees were raw. Instead, two other casualties and me were sent on a ridge walk to a cave that had been visited in 1952 and that needed inventoried and surveyed. After losing the trail shown on the park map we found an alternate but longer route to our area of search. We found the cave. It had a small entrance that none of us could get into but it was blowing cold wet air. I took a GPS reading, and then we headed back to the truck.

On the way back we found the trailhead of the trail we were trying to follow from below. We headed down it and were doing fine until it got dark and we lost the trail again. This time I pulled out the GPS unit and called up the GPS location of the trailhead where the truck was parked (The GPS unit can't help you find your way back unless you record the location of where you started). We were about a quarter of a mile from the truck. After going cross-country we came out on the trail about 100 feet from the truck. I made a believer in GPS out of two cavers that night.

Later that night there was a gathering in Cave City at the Lodge. There were cave books to buy and a large assemblage of cavers from the early days of Mammoth Cave exploration.

On Saturday there was a seminar to attend and activities out at the site of the future CRF Research facility. We also went out to Floyd Collin's Crystal cave for a quick look around. Later that evening there was a banquet followed by a group of cavers singing cave related and whimsical songs. We stayed late enough that we missed the ferry again and had to drive the long way back to camp.

We had to head home early Sunday morning. I left Mammoth with more memories that I could hope to have had. I had signatures of caver authors in the books they wrote, caved with "historic" cavers, met cavers whose names I had read about, met cavers that I only knew through e-mail, spent more than I needed to on memorabilia, and made new caver friends that I hope to cave with again someday. But most importantly, I got to explore Mammoth Cave via Flint Ridge. I hope to return someday, better prepared for the type of caving required in Flint Ridge.

The only downside to the trip was when the transmission went out in Pete's Explorer, on the way home, and we had to have a tow truck haul us about an hour and a half into Little Rock, Arkansas. Pete was able to rent a car there and we loaded everything into the car and continued on home. We left the truck to be repaired and he later retrieved it.

January 9^th-13^th, 1998

Submitted by: Mark Alman of the DFW Grotto

Group Participants: Mike and Jerri Pearson of the DFW Grotto and

Members of Boy Scout Troop 138 of Mesquite, Texas.

After loading everyone up in the misty weather Saturday, we headed to our usual rendezvous point at HEB in San Antonio. We met a group of cavers there from the Sandia and Bexar County Grottos who were escorting some brave students from a local elementary school as a reward for great work in class. They were suitably impressed and dirty! A new generation of cavers is born!

(Robert Swanner, Matt Rowland, and Josh Wascom down below)

(Matt Sanders in one of the tight squeezes in the Main Hallway.)

The boys excitedly trooped down to the cave and were quickly in their apparel and ready to head down. A couple of boys took some coaxing, but finally made the trip down. We then proceeded thru the nether regions to the Graffiti Room (see the cover of last month's OZTOTL Caver for a photo) and to the Great Southwest route. The boys were then led to the surface after about a couple of hours while Mike went to check out the air in the back of the cave towards the Registry Room. His news was not good. The air went noticeably downhill as he went and had started to get funky after our second trip in. So deep exploration was out.

After some lunch, Mike stayed topside and chatted with a couple of other folks from the Bexar Grotto while I took about 10 boys in for exploring around the main entry hallway. Luckily, there were a lot of tunnels, room, and tight squeezes that connected up with each other so the boys did not have to worry about getting lost. We had a great time just doing that for a couple of hours and I got some great photos and the boys came away with some great memories.

After heading back to the Pearsons at about 4, we had supper and supplied a full night's entertainment for our hosts by the Scouts performing a wide variety of actual new (!!) skits and songs around the fire.

Sunday morning after packing up, Dave brought out a large map of Robber Baron for the boys to peruse and see where they had been and where we need to go next time. Dave assured us of more caves we can visit next time and welcomed us back any time. He complimented our work on the trailer he donated and volunteered his services in the event that we want to improve it. After heartfelt good-byes, we departed for Dallas, driving through fog early one and rain and thunderstorms later on. All made it home, safe and tired, and ready to go again!

December 13, 1997

Submitted by: Terry Holsinger - TSA

Person-hours: 66

Personnel: (8 folks) Melonie Alspaugh, Dale Barnard, Jim Kennedy, Butch Fralia, Keith Heuss, Ben Heuss, Chris Gilbert, Terry Holsinger.

Melonie Alspaugh, Dale Barnard, and Jim Kennedy returned to the Lost Petzl System to survey the new crevice that Jim found last month (called something like Big-Ass Cave, Big Booty Cave, or Floorless Crevice). They tagged the cave as SAB218 (this number is reused from the entrance next to SAB194 that now connects to SAB194). They spent four hours in the cave shooting 15

survey stations, reaching the vertical extent of the cave. The remaining unsurveyed areas include the horizontal passages at the bottom of the crevice.

The survey stations are clearly marked with carbide.

Total human hours=18

Terry Holsinger and Chris Gilbert started a surface survey in the Lost Petzl System. They surveyed from Chimneyers Delight, SAB225 up the hill including SAB280 (which may connect to SAB225), SAB281 Chris2 (squared), SAB282 Little Red Cave, BAC SAB218 Golden Motor Oil Cave, and SAB227 Cave of Many Names, as well as tagging 3 Karst tags. The Karst tags are the same type of tag as the cave tags; they are stamped with a K and a number. These will help to keep track of features that do not yet meet the definition of a cave.

After finishing the survey, they headed further uphill to see if they were as close to the Lively pasture as the survey data said. After encountering the pasture fence they headed over to Gorman Creek Crevice to check on a couple of Karst features in the creek bed, K4 & K5, then went to show Chris the entrance to G.C.C. They then headed back to Railroad Ridge, (the ridge on which the Lost Petzl System is located, is also where the "old" railroad bed is located) to see if they could find Cavity Creep Cave & Railroad Crowbar Crevice. The Brush was to thick and they were unable to go far enough to reach these caves. This area might yet yield a cave or two, If one wants to bushwhack through some thick cedar and oak scrub.

They reached the road, walked to the trucks for a little snack then went in search of Mouse Hole. It has been about 8 years since Terry had last been to Mouse Hole and he was unable to locate it on this hike. They decided to hike cross-country to BAC were the others were working and were they had left some gear.

On the way Terry re-found a couple of Karst features on the "top" of the hill above Cicurina. These will be tagged some time in the future, after GPS has located them. After joining up with the others, all headed back towards the trucks with a stop to see if any one could fit into K1.

After moving a few large rocks a nice deep fissure was seen beyond a rock that will need a little work to remove. Small rocks dropped into this fissure were heard to drop around 40+ feet. This is getting close to the depth of Chimneyers Delight, which is trending this way the large amount of frost and moisture around the entrance is an indication of a good lead.

Total human hours=12

Butch Fralia, Keith Heuss, and Ben Heuss had another of those lets try a bunch of GPS stuff types of weekends. DGPS to date hasn't worked reliably at CBSP. This weekend saw the addition of a FM preamplifier on the DCI-3000 DGPS receiver. It didn't work, never got a lock so fall back and punt.

There's a software package available on the Internet called SA-Watch. It's a shareware package that can be downloaded and tried for 30 days before deciding if it's worth $20.00 to register. With the aid of a notebook computer, a GPS receiver and lots of battery power, it's possible to set up a data-logging base station and record the drift of selective availability.

Keith Heuss bought a new pop-up tent trailer with a battery option. That provided power and a dry spot for the notebook computer. All the equipment was assembled in the trailer. Butch's Garmin 12XL GPS receiver was placed outside the trailer connected to the computer by way of a 50' RS-232 cable. The interfaces were tested and SA-Watch was left logging SA-Drift. The cavers left camp with Keith's new Garmin 12 GPS receiver to take location data

Jim Kennedy led Ben, Butch and Keith to some new caves near Chimneyers Delight that have been recently found. These are SAB280 (which may connect to SAB225), SAB281 Chris2 (squared), SAB282 Little Red Cave, and BAC cave SAB218. BAC is believed to connect to Chris2.

While in the area, they took location data on these caves as well as SAB206 Chimneyers Delight, SAB225 Golden Motor Oil Cave, and SAB227 Cave of Many Names. They took a way-point measurement of one sample at each cave then used the track log function to record 50 data samples at each cave. This was for comparing to the data log being recorded back at the trailer. In the past, a 10 minute average

of location readings have been used to establish a cave's location.

While at SAB227, Ben leaned over looking into the cave when a ringing echo was heard going down the cave. This turned out to be the keys to Keith's truck. OOPS! Ben had the pleasure of chimneying down into the cave to retrieve the keys. He was the only one small enough. The others waited on the surface with safety lines to retrieve him in the event he got stuck!

After leaving the area of Chimneyers Delight, Ben, Butch, and Keith went to SAB254 Nila's Cave and took similar location data to the above there. They did similar work at the benchmark, and the front gate. They have 1-meter DGPS data for those points so they can be used as a control point.

They later did SAB152 Dynamite Cave, SAB241 Rune's Bad Air Cave, SAB246 Cave of No Return, SAB029 Crystal Crevice and SAB255 G-String Cave.

They returned to camp to begin crunching numbers. After awhile, it was decided that some work at home was going to be needed to understand the process.

Sunday everyone returned home or almost returned home. Butch's Truck suffered a misadventure on the way home with its rear differential locking up. That in itself is a long story suitable for inclusion in one of the Halloween movies. The details will be released after the movie rights are signed.

Total human hours=36

With the projected lows Friday night in the low 20's, it was no surprise that only eight people showed up. And with the overall cold, and a large Christmas party in Austin it was also no surprise that only Butch and the Heuss's stayed over on Saturday night. With slightly warmer weather we should be back up to our normal strength.

It should be stated that even though we are GPS'ing all the caves and features in the park, we are still doing surface surveys. This is because GPS is not yet capable of the resolution or vertical control when working in a small area. We will concentrate our efforts on surveying and drafting cave maps and not on surface survey as a wide-scale project as it once was. We are trying to get cave descriptions written for all the know caves. It would be of help to know of which caves the park has maps of so that we can be sure that your files are current.

As was noted in last month's report The Lost Petzl System is still proving an area that needs more work. The map of Chimneyers Delight, is of poor quality for one of the longer ( 144+ meters) caves in the park. This cave would be a popular cave if a wild caving permit system were introduced. The map of Golden Motor Oil Cave has never been drafted, though the survey may not be complete. The same holds true of the rest of the Lost Petzl system caves. This area will see more work in the upcoming trips, but we will continue to work the rest of the park, as personnel are available.

Total hours for weekend = 66

By SMOKIN' JOHN PRISEL AND AL via "Cavers’ Digest".

Well, it’s been about six months since last OTR, so I guess it's time I put this article together.

You may remember the "You Might be a Caver if... Part II" article that was put together from thoughts gathered at OTR '95. In keeping with tradition this article is being written from thoughts gathered at OTR '96. I'm doing the easy part of putting this article together. The people who stopped by the OTR White House and took the time to read the notebook and add their own thoughts did the hard part, writing the article.

The scary part is that many of the people were writing about real experiences. You may even be one of the co-authors, and if you are, I thank you. Don't forget to stop by the OTR White House and see what we are going to write about this year.

So without further ado....

You know you're caving with the wrong people if....

...Someone in your group has to stop and lie down every 15 minutes to rest his hernia.

...If they say, "This is the first underground cave I've been to."

...They even use whiskey in their carbide lamps.

...They talk about tight squeezes, but not in reference to girls or caves!

...They think "Old Timers" refers to old people.

...They eat chili and sauerkraut for breakfast.

...Someone doesn't know how to use a can cooler.

...They think a squeezebox is an accordion.

...They want to be at the cave at 6:00 a.m.

...They tell you that it's all right, you won't need toilet paper to wipe with.

...The driver says, "Hey, I know a great shortcut", while drinking whiskey.

...They tell you the cave is dry and horizontal. And when you get to the cave, you are the only one without a wetsuit and vertical gear.

...They tell you they are a member of a "Spelunking Club" and they know of a hole that you never hear a rock hit the bottom of.

...They say that they have to stop at Wal-Mart on the way to get a new caving light.

...You’re at the bottom of a multi-drop cave and they ask how to use a handled ascender.

...After a grueling 5-hour trip, standing just off a road, you and your friends are butt naked changing into dry clothes and none of the inevitable passerbys wave or honk.

...A guy puts on his Gibbs Cam and says he's ready but the pin is only through the shell and not the cam.

...They start evaluating nail polish and how well they stand up to mud.

...They say, "If I fall, just catch my head."

...You say, "we've been doing pits" and they ask "got any more?"

...They say, "Ooh, MUD" and wrinkle their nose as soon as they get in.

...They tell you the written description of the cave they are taking you to includes the phrase "very hostile land owner."

...They take you to a 50-foot drop into a wet goopy crawl cave with a 300-foot rope and are wearing shorts and a Wal-Mart headlamp.

...They don't mill around for hours before leaving for the cave, mill before going' in the cave, mill in the cave, and mill in the bull pasture on the way out.

...All they can talk about are the brownies they had for breakfast.

...They check their makeup before going into the cave.

...They think webbing has to do with computers.

And my all time favorite entry in the notebook....

You know you're caving with the wrong people if they think a Prusik knot is a new kind of pastry.

Submitted by Paul J Steward via "Cavers’ Digest".

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Slimerock to the pages of The OZTOTL Caver! We hope this column will be useful and informative to all those with questions about caves, cavers and caving. Dr. Slimerock is a certified cavetologist.

This is a very interesting question. We get dirty in caves because of

two surfaces coming in contact with each other. One of these surfaces must be in motion. The friction caused by the meeting of these surfaces allows particles (dirt) to adhere from one surface to the other. If you find dirt to be a problem, I would recommend a cleaner sport like cave diving. You would still be caving and the water would always keep you clean. It would also increase your chances of dying and keep WIMPS like yourself out of the dirty caves.

No. Not all caves are dark, only those which are underground. And please make sure your mommy gives you a clean diaper before you go on your next cave trip.

No I don’t, but there are people that do know. I recommend you place an ad in the NSS News, stating that you broke a formation and would like some info on how to glue it back together. Make sure to tell the type and size of the formation and what cave it was in. Also be sure your name, address and phone number are CORRECT and I’m sure people will contact you.

I work at a large quarry that mines hi-grade limestone. At least once a week I find myself having to destroy and quarry away large passages and rooms with many formations. It kills me to have to do this, but it’s my job. I tried talking to my boss, but he won’t listen. What do you recommend?

Please send me the name of your boss and the address of the quarry where you work. Quarries can be very dangerous places. Accidents do happen. You may want to call in sick next week.

Go to the top of the Empire State building and jump off. If you live, you can be sure a little fall in a cave won’t hurt you. If you die...oh well, I don’t think the vertical caving world will be too upset. Gravity can be so cruel.

Wear a helmet.

Friends,

It is with deep regret that I inform you that long-time Bloomington, IN, caver and NCRC Instructor Frank Reid has passed away. On Saturday, January 24, 1998, Frank suffered a heart attack while on a caving trip, which was being conducted in conjunction with the Crawl-a-thon at Carter Caves State Park, KY.

At this time I do not have many details, other than that during the trip, Frank indicated he was not feeling well; he sat down to rest and then passed out. Apparently his companions were able to revive him using CPR, after which he was rushed from the cave to the local hospital. About noon the call came from the hospital that Frank had died.

Frank will be missed by all who knew him. He was a dedicated caver and cave rescue instructor. Year-after-year Frank taught us how to use technology to communicate while caving and during cave rescue operations. He was able to make this difficult subject understandable for us, using his gentle teaching style, unique sense of humor and incredible patience.

I would like to extend my deepest condolence to Frank's family and to his many, many friends. As I am made aware of funeral arrangements, I will pass them on to you.

May he rest in peace.

Memorial Page: http://www.halcyon.com/samara/rstitt/frank_reid.htm

Butch Feldhaus, National Coordinator, National Cave Rescue Commission