2003 Spring VAR Meeting May 9-11, 2003 Sponsored by the DC Grotto and the Potomac Speleological Club at the Old Timers Site, Dailey, West Virginia

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1 Volume XVI Number 3 The Region Record Summer Spring VAR Meeting May 9-11, 2003 Sponsored by the DC Grotto and the Potomac Speleological Club at the Old Timers Site, Dailey, West Virginia Final Financial Report INCOME: Pre-registration (142 people) 2,130 On-site registration (177 people) 3, Total Income $5,491 EXPENSES: Campground rental ($2/person) 638 Porta-potty rental (4 pots added to 2 on-site already) 260 Porta-potty pumping (one pumping of 6 pots) 58 Trash pick-up (2 dumpster loads) 40 Registration and administration (name tags, etc.) 22 Program printing (275 copies of 24-page booklet) 37 Dinner for 300 people 1,381 Munchies for Saturday party 92 Beer (1 keg Friday, 5 kegs Saturday) 432 Sodas (14 cases assorted) 82 Payment to VAR ($3 per VAR attendee) 828 Payment to MAR (approx. $5 per MAR attendee) 362 Plaque to mark flood level in pavilion Total Expenses $4,240 Net Event Profit $1,251 NOTES AND COMMENTS: The Spring MAR meeting was held at the same time as the VAR meeting. The events were really separate, but the MAR used the VAR infrastructure. People could register for the VAR, the MAR, or both (and get both newsletters). 244 people registered only for the VAR ( and will receive the Region Record) 41 people registered only for the MAR (and will receive the MAR Breakdown) 32 people registered for both events (and will receive both publications) There were already two porta-potties on the site. We wanted about one potty for each 50 people so we rented 4 additional potties (for a total of 6). These were cleaned during the day on Saturday. We had 142 people pre-register. We assumed that half of the attendees would pre-register, so we ordered 300 dinners. However, on-site registration was larger than expected so latecomers got a discounted registration fee and no dinner. We had 1 keg of beer on Friday night and 5 kegs on Saturday. We should have had 2 kegs of beer on Friday and 4 on Saturday because we ran out about 10:30 PM on Friday evening. There was left over beer on Saturday due to the flood curtailing the Saturday evening party. The DC Grotto and Potomac Speleological Club try to not directly profit from caving events they sponsor. The governing bodies of both clubs voted to distribute the event profit as follows: 50% has been donated to The Robertson Association s Pavilion Fund (to help pay for a replacement pavilion at the OTR site) 25% has been transferred to PSC s Cave Bucks Fund. 25% has been transferred to DC Grotto s Cave Bucks Fund. page 6

2 Volume XVII Number 1 The Region Record Winter Income: Pre-registration 100 ($25-adult, $20-child) On-Site Registration 90 ($28-adult, $23-child) TOTAL INCOME: $5, FALL VAR 2003 SUMMARY by Janet Tinkham Host: Front Royal Grotto September at Rural Retreat Lake & Campground, Virginia (Income includes some adjustments-- ex: just caving no camping, camping but no meal, no camping but include dinner, etc.) Comments: Attendance - Fall VAR typically has a lower attendance than Spring VAR because there are numerous caving events scheduled in the fall that may conflict with the date. Fall MAR was held the same date as Fall VAR but at a different location. It was a special anniversary for MAR, which drew some of those who belong to both organizations. Historically the Fall MAR has been held in October and we thought by having VAR in September it would avoid this but unfortunately, this time it didn t. An effort to coordinate dates with MAR would be recommended because it s nice to be able to gather with the MAR folks and having different dates would allow MAR members to take part in VAR and vice versa. Beer - We had two kegs of beer for Friday night and two kegs of beer for Saturday night. One keg on Friday would have been adequate and probably three on Saturday, especially with a higher number in attendance. We had an issue involving underage drinking for the last three or so VARs a college outing club of approximately 40 members has been attending. It is a very nice group of individuals with many having a true interest in caving conservation and safety. Some of the members are under 21 though, and on Friday were found to be making visits to the keg even after we had asked them not to. Saturday we had someone at the kegs carding people. We don t want to come across as old sticks in the mud, but with holding this event in a state park where normally alcoholic beverages aren t allowed and with being put in the position of serving alcohol to underage people who are on a college outing being paid for by their school. it did have us concerned. Campground - this is the first and most important step in hosting a VAR. Once you have a campground secured then everything else falls into place. What we found in our search for a site is that the campgrounds on National Forest Service property involve a lot of red tape when having vendors and they are firm about no alcoholic beverages. Rural Retreat Campground is one that is owned by the state and managed by the county, so the local park manager was able to make the decision to allow us to have low-key availability of alcohol. Having a pavilion is a plus, but there are grottos in the region that have offered their tarps if a shelter is not available. Food-if you find a campground that has kitchen facilities your grotto could attempt to prepare dinner yourselves. But why torture yourselves unless you have an experienced person who is used to cooking for a few hundred people? Caterers are the best bet, you can go online for the area you ll be in, or you can get caterer information from the past hosts of VAR. Some areas have local organizations who cook page 9 Expenses: Camp Ground Rental $1, Registration (Name tags, Program Printing, Copying) $ Dinner for 220 people $1, Sodas & water for Friday, Saturday $ Beer for Friday, Saturday Night $ Porta Potties (2) $ Firewood $ Payment to VAR (190 X $3) $ TOTAL EXPENSES $4, INCOME EXPENSE $ for the fire department fundraisers It s best to have the food served rather then self-service. This insures that everyone who paid for a dinner will get a decent meal and then people can go back for seconds with whatever food is leftover. Programs - A Saturday evening caving related presentation is a must most everyone attending enjoys and looks forward to this. Also, BATS Grotto started offering a New Caver Orientation during the VAR they hosted and a vertical workshop on Saturday. These are well-received but optional additions to VAR Cave trips - With the much appreciated assistance of Mountain Empire Grotto, Powell Mountain Grotto, and VPI Cave Club, we were able to offer guided trips to some really special caves near Rural Retreat. We thank our guides and the landowners for allowing us access. For those grottos that haven t hosted a VAR yet, we encourage you to do so. It really is fun and a great way to meet cavers in the region. You don t need a whole lot of people to do the preplanning, and during the actual event there are cavers from the different grottos always offering to help out if they are needed.

3 Volume XVII Number 3 The Region Record Summer 2004 Leesburg VA dculver@american.edu Thanks. Fall VAR Meeting September by Doug McCarty The Monongahela Grotto will be hosting Fall VAR and celebrating its 40 th Anniversary on the weekend of September at Camp Kidd near Parsons, in Tucker County, West Virginia. We will be aided and abetted by the West Virginia University Student Grotto. Although things are still in the planning stages, we don't have a lot of VARs in this area, so we are hoping to make this a VAR to remember. The centerpiece will be the anniversary party, which will feature a live band, some surprises, liquid refreshment and some of Monongahela Grotto's former or inactive members as the guests of honor. We are hoping to get a Saturday night program that will focus on the early days of cave survey in Tucker County although that is still up in the air. Other features of the VAR will be a Tucker County specific guidebook featuring information on Tucker County caves, geology, surveying history and areas of interest hopefully with some cave maps you probably have never seen. There will also be information in there on the Shavers Mountain area, which extends into Randolph County. There will be led trips to various Tucker County caves, of course, but we also plan to have some special trips. For example, we hope to do a caving hike into the Otter Creek Wilderness, which will feature visits to two or three different caves. We hope to have trips to caves not often visited such as Suicide Sump, Lukes Cave, and Fanchlers Pit. We are also hoping to offer people an opportunity to do the first ever through-trip at Alpena. There will also be a few one-day surveying and ridgewalking opportunities for those who are so-inclined. For people who would rather take a break from caving, there will be at least one (or more, depending on interest) led mountain bike trip.s Kayakers may want to bring their kayaks and enjoy a leisurely day in what are usually class II and III rapids on the Dry Fork and Cheat Narrows. Visit one of the three state parks in the area - Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, and Cathedral. If it is a clear day, climb Olsen Fire Tower on Backbone Mountain and see how far you can see. Hike up the Blackwater Canyon, and try to find a few of its many small caves and interesting karst features. Camp Kidd is on Horseshoe Bend in the Cheat River. The coordinates are E and N (NAD 83). The road to Camp Kidd is on the east side of Rt. 72, four or so miles north of Parsons and two or so miles south of St. George. You can check on the latest Fall VAR information at If you have any questions you can contact Doug McCarty at (304) or mongrotto@caves.org. New Directions for Persinger Cave Access by John Pearson A Greenbrier County landowner has requested that no one use the current road to the Persingers Cave Preserve. There is a chain across the lane to prevent though traffic. This is NOT due to any cavers upsetting the owner. It is in response to construction equipment using his road and tearing it up, just like the problem we had at the Lightners Cave Preserve. To now travel to the Persingers Entrance, please turn east onto Benedict Lane from U.S. Route 219. This is the road located just north of the Little General Service Station, which is in turn located about one mile north of the Lewisburg bowling alley. Follow Benedict Lane 2.9 miles to Chesters Garage and turn right. Go one mile and turn right on a gravel road into a new subdivision. Go down this lane for 0.6 miles. You will pass the ruins of an old house and a pond on the left, and you will see the WVCC kiosk in the field on the right near the cave entrance. Turn right onto the gravel lane leading down to the Persingers property. Let's all pitch in and drive the couple of extra miles to go to Persingers. VAR (More than you ever wanted to know) by J. C. Fisher At the last VAR Business Meeting a motion was made and passed to strongly urge Hosting Grottos to submit a report of their VAR. Many years ago The Triangle Trogs hosted a VAR at Seneca Rocks and Bill Bussey wrote a detailed report with tips on hosting VARs. This is our attempt to do the same. Tri- State has hosted (5), co-hosted (1), and assisted (1) in 7 of the last 32 VARs. Judy and I have been in charge of six of these. We are constantly looking for comments both good and bad for ways to improve the next VAR. page 5

4 Volume XVII Number 3 The Region Record Summer 2004 Why host a VAR? You could do it to be a nice guy, or to increase your grotto bank account. Most go for the latter. If you hosted a MAR or the NSS Convention, all profits go to the parent organization, not the host. What happens if you lose money? And this has happened! I know of no commitment from VAR to bail you out. Tri-State has made money on most of its VARs, but we sweat all of them out. Tri- State gives away a lot of money to Cave Conservancies in addition to Cave Bucks, buys equipment for cave related research, and donates to VAR. Tri-State also holds other fundraisers during the year. Budget. How much to charge to maximize attendance and not lose money. How many people are going to come? You are going to base everything on how many people you guess are going to attend! Guess too high and lose money, guess too low and be overcrowded, run out of food, but you probably won t lose money. We prefer the latter. Spring VAR attendance is usually larger than fall. Spring will average 200 to 250. A couple of times it has been 300. Fall seems to come in around 180 to 200. Location, cost, weather, and date are all factors. Some Grottos have a larger following DC, PSC, and RASS seem to get a great turnout. We also worried about the increasing cost of gasoline this year. We feel preregistration is a must. Not only does it give you some cash to cover your deposits, but also more important you get some idea of how many are coming. For a Spring VAR pre-registration forms need to be in to the Region Record by mid-december. We also contact Cavers Digest, NSS News, individual Grottos, and list serves. All this means you have to commit location, food, date, and cost about five months out. Our goal was to keep costs near 25 dollars per person. You will hear from people who fondly recall paying less than 10 dollars per person. Location. We started to look for a campsite two years ago. Do you use a field or commercial campground? Several recent VARs have been in fields, which keeps costs down, but does mean renting toilets and hauling in water. We always get asked about flushers and hot showers. We went the commercial route. Some of the Criteria used: Our first choice was a central location in the Region with easy access, close to an Interstate with I-81 the best in mid-virginia. Our second choice was I-64 in or near Greenbrier County. Some of the sites we checked; Mountaineer for sale, didn t know if they would be open, Greenbrier State Forest field site only, no alcohol, and not cheap, Buckhorn not enough space. Natural Chimney was a nice site where we had earlier successful VARs. Last summer we thought we had an agreement on date and price. In December we were ready to send out flyers for Natural Chimneys. I made one last check to verify things and found the only problem was price, instead of 2,000 plus, we were 6,000 plus. Our budget just jumped to over 40 dollars per person. I called Bob Hoke to stop printing the Region Record and find a new location in the next 24 hours. We had had a similar problem two years earlier when we assisted WVCC with their VAR. Once again we called Grand Caverns for a bailout. Grand Caverns came through again. They agreed to a lump sum fixed price and we added two porta pottys and offered to buy two hot water heaters. We were back in business. Some campgrounds insist on a price per person, others have a sliding scale based on number of people and others have a fixed price. Use of pavilions is sometimes extra, as well as electricity. Some of the little items we use to promote goodwill and hopefully hold the cost of extras are to invite the manager to dinner and stay for a beer. Offer to do security (man the entrance gate), keep the noise down, keep the camp clean, invite everyone in the campground (non- VAR campers) to hear the guest speaker. VAR has been helping Grand Caverns with projects for years, which keeps us special, but you can always offer to do a conservation project anywhere. Food. The first decision is do you prepare or get a caterer? If you fix your own, you can hold down costs. But before you go this route remember it is a lot of work and requires a lot of labor! Or you hire a caterer. They do the work, cost is fixed, and no dishes to do. We like the latter. You can go one of two ways with a caterer. One method is to contact a local civic group, fire department, or church. Make sure they have experience and know what they are doing. Expect to pay at least Seven dollars and up per person and you will probably have to travel to their location. The second option is to hire a professional caterer who will come to you. Expect to pay at least Seven dollars and up, plus travel. A caterer will have a selection of menus and prices to chose from We have contracted with Bob s Big Beef out of Berkeley Springs for four of our last VARs. They have excellent food and we don t get complaints. A caterer will need a final count about a week out. If you order 200 meals they will expect you to pay for two hundred meals, even if only 100 people show up. If you order 200 meals and 205 people show up they will run out of food, they don t bring extra! Make sure you tell your caterer that cavers are big eaters. Most will bring some extra filler. Ours brings extra chicken. For this last VAR, we ordered 250 meals. We had four no shows, several who didn t get back from their page 6

5 Volume XVII Number 3 The Region Record Summer 2004 trips in time and we sold 257 seven meals. This included eight vegetarians. We buy a separate vegetarian entree and have the caterer cook it. We buy Vegetable Lasagna. The caterer gives us no discount for this because he still furnishes plates and silverware, they eat his side dishes and he cooks it. The biggest complaints we have heard over the years are about running out of food. People have paid their fee and don t want to hear take small portions or we re out of food. We stopped charging full fee for attendees when we get to the number of meals we knew we could serve. Late arrivals don t like to find out there is no food, but people who have paid for food expect to be fed. Beverages are another decision cans or kegs? Kegs are cheaper but more complicated. Deposits are required, returning the empty tubs and kegs, and taps, cleaning up the cups are all reasons to use cans. Tougher law enforcement, the fact we re getting older on average, means we don t drink as much. Spring VARs will average about nine cases per night. In addition you ll need about a 14 cases of assorted soft drinks. Guidebooks are always nice, but are expensive. Jerry Bowen and team prepared ours. Jerry works for a printing business and got lots of discounts; vendors brought advertising space. It still cost over a dollar per person. What makes a successful guidebook? Maps and directions to caves are what people want. Don t forget to get permission before you print anything. Final results: Overall we didn t have too many problems. The largest was entertainment. We had gotten a request to host a performance by the Terminal Siphons Band. Unfortunately both the band and we were not dealing directly. It wasn t until one week before VAR that Bill Stone and I talked to each other. We corrected several misunderstandings, but it was too late to pull it together. If future hosts are interested in having them play please contact Bill directly. They would like to play at a VAR. We had several late arrivals that had not pre-registered. We had filled our numbers on food, so we gave them a reduced rate. Several people requested discounts on different items (one night of camping, or no dinner, or no beverages). We couldn t do this. Not only would this have been a bookkeeping nightmare, but also most of our costs were fixed. Finally some good news. Included in our budget was 500 dollars for purchasing new hot water heaters as part of our campground rent. One of the local cavers working on the Grand Cavern Survey was able to repair the existing heaters at no charge. This gave us a windfall profit of 500 dollars. Tri-State has made a donation of 500 dollars to VAR. Financial Report for the Spring 2004 VAR Income: Pre-Registration: Adult $3,472 Child 325 On-Site registration: Adult 3,663 Child 180 Registration w/o dinner 207 Total Registration (263) $7,847 VAR Dues (1) 3 Advertising 80 Total Income $7,930 Expenses Camping $1,960 Food 2,634 VAR Dues 738 Guidebooks, name tags & holders, Beverages 1,286 VAR Donation (from windfall) 500 Total expenses $7,118 Tri-State Profit $812 Island Ford Cleanup Scheduled for October 2 by John Pearson Folks, mark your calendar for October 2, 2004 for the Fall cleanup of Island Ford. Members of James River Grotto and Bubble Cave will be doing the annual cleanup that day. As the trash has been less and less with the installation of the WVCC kiosk, it is anticipated that it will not take much time. Plan on meeting at 9 a.m. at the cave. Trash bags will be supplied, so bring your gear and gloves for this conservation project. If you need directions or further information, contact John Pearson at or him at jpearson@rcc.com. page 7

6 Volume XVIII Number 1 The Region Record Winter WVASS Spring Meeting by Bill Balfour Plans are underway for the WVASS spring meeting to be held at Cave Hollow Farm in Unus, West Virginia on Saturday April 9, People can plan to show up anytime during the day but we would like to start the meeting around 4. We will have some surface related activities to do (digs) and of course Culverson Creek Cave underlies the whole area. A nice 3 to 4 hour trip will be available from the SSS entrance to Fullers entrance also. After we finish with our meeting we'll have some food, we'll supply the main things but folks are welcome to bring side dishes and munchies. You may also want to bring your favorite adult beverage, we'll supply soda's, tea, coffee etc. After the dinner break I would hope folks will bring some slide programs to show off the latest finds and document what's happening in West Virginia. We'll keep going until we run out of things to look at or talk about. There is plenty of camping space available, a couple a bedrooms and plenty of floor space to crash on for those who want to spend the night. The WVACS fieldstation will also be available. So make plans now to come to our first spring meeting, it will be a good chance for us to all get together without other constraints and we can enjoy getting to know each other better and have a good time. Plus, it should significantly shorten our annual OTR meeting. Directions: look on any WV map, go to Greenbrier County, locate the town of Unus (4 miles west of Frankford and 219). Drive to Unus, there are only two houses, we're in the red brick one with the big red barn. Also: Total number of caves in the WVASS database as of December 13, 2004: 4,240. The new WVASS Web page should be up and running in the near future. History of the Virginia Region for Sale! by Meredith Hall Johnson The History of the Virginia Region, Part II: has now been printed. Checks should be made out to Meredith Johnson. The price is $20 + $5 for mailing. Mail to 8061 Kittiwake Court, Springfield, VA Include your mailing address. We printed 250 books and they are going fast. There are fewer than 20 left. This is destined to become a collector s item. All profits will go to cave conservation. Chapters include: People (a.k.a. Cavers): Questions and answers from more than 100 prominent VAR cavers during this time period. Stories and Trip Reports: Just what it sounds like. Cave Rescues: Many exciting and to-be-learned-from reports on famous and not-so-famous cave rescues. Includes a list of rescues within the Virginia Region. Project SIMMER: A separate chapter on this very important VAR project, one of the last of its kind anywhere and certainly the last huge project hosted by the Region. Grottos/IOs/Organizations: Histories of most of the Region's grottos and groups. Includes a full list of all grottos ever in the Region during this time period. Three other chapters too! 384 pages of very interesting reading and many photos. Even includes a few cave maps! Fall VAR Report by Doug McCarty, Monongahela Grotto Chairman & Bob Griffith, Monongahela Grotto Secretary/Treasurer Fall VAR in 2004, done in the context of Monongahela Grotto's 40th anniversary, was a lot of work, but a huge success. Because Mon Grotto has been tied to Tucker County through the years, we wanted to host VAR in that county, an area rich in beauty and recreational opportunities. The only suitable site in Tucker County for hosting VAR was Camp Kidd, a county owned Four H Camp also used as the site of the county fair. We were able to negotiate a cut-rate price largely because late September is considered off-season and we had no competition for the site. Camp Kidd is an excellent site with plenty of room and we especially liked the idea of having an indoor banquet and presentation. Once we got the site nailed down, the real work began. Some things went very smoothly and presented no problem at all because we had a good team of people working on getting things together. Other things did not go so smoothly for various reasons. Early on we had decided that everyone who registered would eat and 7

7 Volume XVIII Number 1 The Region Record Winter get a guidebook. We also gave a five-dollar break for pre-registration which encouraged pre-registration and we ended up with nearly half the attendees pre-registered which made planning easier. We had initially planned on getting a caterer, but when we were unable to find a local caterer who would handle a group that large, we were more-orless forced to utilize the full kitchen at hand and cook the food ourselves. After considerable discussion, we decided that the easiest course would be to cook large trays of Stouffers frozen lasagna. That made it easy to deal with the vegetarian meal as well. We bought everything but the lasagna and beer at Sam s Club on the Thursday night before VAR. The lasagna came from a variety of grocery stores in Morgantown. Preparing the Saturday meal ourselves made for a lot of extra work, but it allowed us to make more money and gave us more control over expenses. Based on the number of registrants, we could easily go out and buy more food if it was needed but did not have to commit a fixed number of meals with a caterer. Most things went very smoothly. Susan Posey had suggested that we ask Gordon Brace to do a postbanquet presentation on Hellhole and that was easily arranged. The band was more difficult. We thought we could line up a band that would perform for free, but maybe became no about 4 weeks before VAR. Most local bands we contacted were booked, but fortunately we were able to book the Falling Run Blue Grass Band who happened to have an open date on VAR weekend due to a cancellation. This was a close call and clearly we waited too long for a commitment from the first band. We also wanted to give out some door prizes, but weren t sure what they could be until Ralph Hubbard volunteered to go above and beyond the call of duty and make two beautiful bat houses. Doug Moore came through in the end as well with gift certificates for Karst Sports. Another problem was arranging for vendors. We neglected to assign that task to someone, and we belatedly approached several venders at OTR. Some of them were understandably reluctant to set up in West Virginia that soon after OTR and others had other obligations that weekend. In the end, we had no vendors. Another problem arose with the led cave trips in that several people who we believed were going to lead trips had apparently not given solid commitments, so some trip leaders we were planning for didn't show up. We clearly should have gotten more iron-clad commitments, but overall the led trips went very well. The bottom line, of course, was that hosting a VAR requires that you have a core team of people who can get the individual jobs done. FINANCIAL REPORT FALL 2004 VAR Income: Pre-registrations $2,723 On-site registrations 3,097 Total $5,820 Expenses: Camp Kidd fee $985 Food & beverage for banquet 1,100 Guidebook printing 531 Falling Run Bluegrass Band 500 Beer (4 kegs) 406 DJ for recorded music 200 Badges, tickets, markers etc 176 Firewood for bonfire 20 VAR fees (195 $3ea.) 585 Total $4,503 Net profit $1,317 The Monongahela Grotto has placed the profits in a bank certificate of deposit and will donate this money toward the purchase of a cave in our home areas of Tucker, Randolph, or northern Pendleton counties West Virginia. 8 The VAR Landowner Recognition Award by Bob Hoke The VAR Landowner Recognition Award is given to those cave owners who have done an exceptional job of balancing the protection of their cave with allowing responsible access to their cave by the caving community. It is a way for the caving community to express its appreciation to those special folks. The list below shows the Award recipients to date. At least two additional awards have been approved, but they have not been presented so they are not included in the list. If you know of a landowner who is deserving of the award, write a brief letter explaining why and send it to Janet Tinkham, 360 Kings Dr., Fort Valley, VA or it to her at janete@shentel.net. LANDOWNER RECOGNITION AWARD RECIPIENTS 1992 Buddy Penley (Penley s, access to Newberry, VA) 1993 Rhoda Paxton (Paxtons Cave, VA) 1993 Ruth Propst (Sinnett/Thorn Mountain, WV) 1994 George and Lee Sively (Organ Cave, WV) 1994 Robert E. Bright (Simmons-Mingo Cave, WV) 1994 Gene Turner (Buckeye Creek Cave, WV) 1995 Charles E. Simmons (Porters Cave, VA) 1995 Mothes Family (Friars Hole Cave System, WV) 1995 John Knutti (Bowden Cave, WV) 1995 Pricilla Teter (Mystic Cave, WV) 1996 Bill, Mildred, & Judy Showalter

8 Volume XVIII Number 3 The Region Record Summer 2005 VAR Landowner Award Given to Tawneys Cave Owners by Don Anderson On April 9th, 2005, after a myriad of scheduling conflicts, the VAR Landowner Recognition Award was presented to Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Frank, owners of Tawneys Cave near Blacksburg, Virginia. Approximately 30 cavers from the New River Valley Grotto, and the VPI Cave Club, (after a practice cave rescue at Tawneys Cave), presented the plaque and certificate. Hosting the Spring VAR by J. C. Fisher The past Spring VAR was one of the best-attended and most successful to date. 389 people registered for this event. While luck was certainly a part, we were able to address some of the most important factors in a positive way. First location, location, location. A level site in the middle of some of the best caving in the world just minutes from an Interstate midway in the Region. Second Food. An excellent meal. Third- Several Vendors. Speleobooks, Inner Mountain Outfitters and Howie s Harnesses. Plus- Flushers and showers, DJ John Fox, Guest speaker Chuck Hoffman, a guidebook, 16 led trips offered and non-caving activities close by, a Front Royal Breakfast, and lots of good PR. Also, if you noticed, the noise level did not offend anyone. Now for some of the headaches you didn t see. John Pearson had made arrangement to use the WV State Fairgrounds, but found they required Insurance. WVCC was able to help us out this time and saved us $ Our caterer, Bob s Big Beef had a four-hour drive, which was added to the unit cost. The Fairgrounds required money up front. The Caterer and the brownie Baker required an estimate a month in advance with a firm count 10 days in advance. Over estimate and you still pay; under estimate and you don t have enough food. Lose money or make people unhappy. We have always gone with making people unhappy because they could have preregistered, saved money, and assured they would get fed. Pre-registering makes planning much easier for everyone. Forms to do this are sent out in January with a deadline of three weeks before VAR. We had hoped to have 150 people pre-register. By the 1 st of April, we only had 45, an all time low. We began to scale back on everything. Much to our relief the forms poured in by deadline. Two hundred and eight people preregistered, an all time high. To all those who did THANK YOU!!!! Now we had to guess how many more would come? After a lot of head scratching we used the number of 350. Brownies and food were ordered. The weather forecast turned awful. By Friday morning we were wondering how much we would lose? Much to our amazement by 9 pm Friday we were nearing the 350 mark in terrible weather with people still arriving. Now we were sweating not having enough. The brownies were already on site and we were on the phone begging the Caterer to try and bring more food. They did give us ten more. We wound up having 27 people come in with no food and a reduced rate 5 and we had to make a run to the store to get silverware, napkins and dinner rolls for those last few people in line. The weather did cancel a few trips, but overall most people seemed satisfied. We want to thank Chuck Hoffman, John Fox, Bob Handley, Jeff Bray, Jerry Bowen, all the trip leaders, WVCC, Front Royal Grotto, the Vendors, MAKC, and the Fairground Staff for all their help. Another footnote to the weekend we had 36 children in attendance with a great kids trip to Bob Gee. Spring, 2005 VAR Financial Report Receipts: $10, Disbursements: Campground: $ Guidebooks: Beverages: Name tags: VAR 1, Food 4, Total $7, Profit $2, Bubble Cave LLC Bubble Cave thanks VAR Trip Leaders by John Pearson Bubble Cave LLC would like to thank all the people that led trips at the Spring 2005 VAR. There were lots of led trips, with a few having to be cancelled due to weather. So, in no particular order, we thank the following people: Dave Cowan, JC Fisher, Brice Walker, TinY Manke, Vik Garg, Garrett Beck, Gordon Birkhimer, Fred Grady, Jason

9 Volume XIX Number 1 The Region Record Winter and ready to leave by 7:00 PM, quite some tome after the planned 1:30 PM time. The Alpine group is lucky that Roy Powers' cave gaters took longer than planned with their large gate and cleanup. [From the Blue Ridge Grotto's Carbide Dump, October 2005] The VAR Landowner Recognition Award by Janet Tinkham With the New Year upon us, for many, it s a time of reflection. We look back and reminisce about the cave trips we experienced in 2005 and we look forward with anticipation to the caves we will visit in the future. If not for the graciousness of these cave owners, we would not have these special times to reflect upon. Please take a few moments to think about the landowner that you know who has had a long time supportive relationship with cavers in the Region we know there are many. There is an online nomination form on the VAR Web site ( I ve heard from a number of you that you have someone in mind that you d like to nominate. It only takes a few minutes to sit down and do it. This is a New Years resolution that will be easy to keep! The landowners recognized in 2005 were John Mooney and Helen Baker (Higginbotham Cave, West Virginia) and Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Link (Tawneys Cave, Virginia). [Editor s note: The Links name was incorrectly reported as Franks in the Summer issue of the Region Record. I apologize for the error]. Region Record Exclusive! Scandal at Grand Caverns! Chairman Implicated! by Jim McConkey Ladies of the night coming and going beyond the locked gates at Grand Caverns? Scantily clad females slinking into a plush, cushion-lined getaway? All behind Mike s house? Is the VAR really involved? Can the reports possibly be true? Simply scandalous, but I m afraid it s all true. For the first time in history, the Region Record has scooped even the National Enquirer! Region Record spies have witnessed naked females running in and out of Grand s newest structure, popularly known as the Pussy Palace. Hidden behind Mike the Maintenance Man s home, the air-conditioned Palace is outfitted with two floors of plush cushions, secret nooks, and a carpeted porch. It appears to have a regular nocturnal clientele, with activity continuing long after the park gates are locked. Reliable sources have implicated VAR Chair Craig Hindman as the designer and primary contractor on the construction of the new facility, which appeared this past summer. Craig has even been seen petting and stroking several of the regulars! Rumor has it that at least one salad bar and several couches perished in the construction, also known as Craig s Cathouse. Stop by and visit if you are not afraid of your reputation! Easier Access to VAR Limited Access Cave List by Bob Hoke The Virginia Region's Limited Access Cave list contains over 200 caves in the Region that have some sort of access restriction on them. For many years the Web version of the list has resided on the DC Grotto's Web space on the NSS Web server. The list was rather difficult to get to without going through the DC Grotto home page. The List now has its own URL: The list still resides in the Grotto's Web space, but it is now much easier to access. Also, the Web version of the list is now the master copy. There used to be both Web and Paper versions of the list, but there seems to be little demand for the printed version and it was increasingly difficult to maintain two version. The paper version is now retired. Fall 2005 VAR Wrap-up by Rich Geisler A quick note to all who attended the most recent VAR and to all those considering hosting a future VAR you can run an event (mostly) on budget, and at an af- 7

10 Volume XIX Number 1 The Region Record Winter fordable price. In the itemized balance sheet you will find Income (what was collected on paper ), Deposits (what was actually put in the bank), and Expenses. There are two important omissions: 1) There s no expense for campground that was donated for the event. 2) There s also no expense for printing (guides, registration forms, promo packets, confirmation cards, etc.) that was also donated for the event. All these figures are accurate and reflect what it took to host out event. It s also offered as a guide for future organizers to give them an idea of what to expect. Summary of the Fall VAR's income and expenses: Income: Pre-registration 2,155 On-site registration 3,200 T-shirt sales 1,614 Stew sales 40 Donation Box 20 Total Income 7,029 Deposits: Preregistration 2,619 Registration 4,126 Beer tap deposit refund 200 Total Deposits 6,945 Expenses: Registration expenses 170 Food 727 Food supplies 270 Firewood 315 Beer & ice 950 Drinks 52 Porta-Johns 928 T-shirts 2,415 DJ & PA system 200 VAR fee (284 x $4) 1,136 Total Expenses 7,163 VAR History is History by Meredith Hall Johnson At the Fall VAR, we voted to donate all of the profits from the sale of the book, History of the Virginia Region, Part II: , to the West Virginia Cave Conservancy. The motion had been tabled since the Spring VAR. After all of our expenses, the profits came to $1, The VAR Treasurer, John Fox, will send (or already has) a check to WVCC for this amount. This may not seem like a lot of money, especially considering how much work Tom Spina, Mary Sue Socky, and I put into it over a number of years, but the main thing was to get it published. That we made some profit that can help the cause of cave conservation was an added benefit. Thanks to everyone who helped in any way, either by contributing to the stories contained in the book or by buying a copy. We sold out in a matter of months. Grand Caverns Easter Restoration 2006 by Meredith Hall Johnson The annual VAR Conservation Committee-sponsored restoration project at Grand Caverns Regional Park will be held April 15-16, As in past years, the Conservation Committee, now cochaired by Andy Reeder and me, will provide lunch on Saturday and a fine dinner that evening. We will have a list of chores to do for the park, including work in both Grand Caverns and Fountain Cave. Camping is free onsite both Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday (Easter) morning we'll be eating breakfast and packing up camp, though if there are projects that still need manpower, please plan to stay a while. Contact me or Andy Reeder if you have any questions about this annual fun event. Like any caver event, many friendships are made, sometimes with folks you only see at this particular weekend. Attention Photographers... Photos for the NSS Members Manual Cover wanted by Meredith Hall Johnson (2006 Members Manual Editor) The NSS Members Manual Committee is gearing up to produce the 2006 NSS Members Manual and we need a great photograph for the cover. In general, we re looking for a photo that depicts caving, but has no discernable person who can be identified. Sort of a generic photo that defines caving. It would be nice to have a person in it. Whether you are an amateur or professional photographer, please consider entering your best work. a small.jpg to Meredith Hall Johnson (Editor), merecaver@yahoo.com, by March 15, There is no limit to the number of photos you enter. If your photo is selected, you will be contacted by and required to write a very short bio for inclusion in the Members Manual. You will then be asked to provide a high-resolution.jpg via CD- ROM. All photographers are welcome, whether or not you have ever been published or entered the annual NSS Photo Salon. 8

11 Volume XIX Number 3 The Region Record Summer 2006 It s that Time Again, Folks!! Submit your VAR Outstanding Service Award Nominations by August 15 by Meredith Hall Johnson Please submit your suggestion for the VAR Outstanding Service Award. When you nominate someone, please include a decent paragraph or two as to why that person deserves recognition. Generally the nominees should be cavers in the Region who have contributed to the Region over the years through cave exploration, survey, administration, whatever. There are many worthwhile cavers in the Region, folks who give tirelessly and without expectation of personal gain. Unfortunately, we cannot, unfortunately, recognize them all. But we sure can try! We can give out three awards each year. We don t have to give out any if no one gets nominated. Include your address along with your suggestion and supporting write-up. Send nominations to me at merecaver@yahoo.com or use our on-line nomination form. The deadline for nominations is August 15. The awards are given out at Fall VAR. Past recipients include: Don Anderson, Evelyn Bradshaw, Miles Drake, John Fox, Fred Grady, Bob Handley, Craig Hindman, Jim Hixson, Bob Hoke, Phil Lucas, Jim McConkey, Andy Reeder, and Carol Tiderman. Spring VAR Wrap-Up by Carol Tiderman After several months of seven people doing some intense planning, the VAR Spring Meeting at Grand Caverns came to life on April 28. Craig and I arrived around 8 p.m. on the 27th to find a vendor and several non-staff people already on site. We set up registration on Friday morning; Meredith Hall Johnson, who had hauled down the soda and water, and Bob Hoke, our chief finance officer, were busy welcoming all. By mid-day there were already about 100 people on site. Trip sign up sheets started to fill. Anya Crane and Kevin Mulligan were set into action on a beer and ice run. (By the way, to the selfproclaimed "Beer Elitist," if it had been possible to serve from kegs, you would not have had any choice and may not have known what you were being served). Ellie Florance set to work on decorating the pavilions. John Fox arrived in the afternoon and scoped out where he would set up his music stand. By now the meeting had taken on a life of its own and there was nothing to do but step back and let it happen. Craig Hindman led an impromptu history trip into Grand Caverns on Friday night. On Saturday morning, groups started to assemble near Registration for the guided trips. Others set out on their own for various trips that Mary Sue Socky and Janet Tinkham had arranged for publication in the program that Ken Walsh had assembled for us. At one point in the day, we received a report that there was no hot water in the showers. Craig investigated and found that someone must have been looking for light switches and got into the breaker box and had turned off the breaker for the hot water heater groan On Saturday evening the VAR fulfilled its commitment to the Upper Valley Regional Park Authority and presented them with the new map of Grand Caverns for the 200th anniversary of commercial operation. The hand-drawn map by Paul Gaskins allows them to show off the fact that the documented passage has gone from 3,800 feet (less than a mile) to 3.82 miles. They were also presented with a copy of what is believed to be an original 1806 map of Amens Cave (now known as Grand Caverns), made from the map in the collection of Dr. William Halliday. The Cave Conservancy of the Virginias funded the purchase of a Ground Water Display for the park. It will be used as an educational tool when school groups come to the cave. Once all the presentations were over, Andy Wells, the Executive Director, who was a bit surprised by all the items the Park received in addition to the new map, spoke to the group. Then it was time to feast. The catered meal got rave reviews and if any left hungry, it was their own doing. Charles Kahn, Howie's Harnesses, IMO, and Speleobooks provided some great items for door prizes. Charles made up original framed and matted prints for each former and current cave on the hill, Fountain, Grand, and Madisons. Jim McConkey and Dave Socky presented the planned programs on the caves of Cave Hill and Chris Nicola arrived with an additional program on caves used by Jews to hide from Nazis during WWII. Later there was more music and socializing. Craig led another history trip into Grand. Sunday the business meeting ran smoothly and was over in about an hour. I wish to thank all the members of the Grand Caverns/Cave Hill Survey team who helped in the planning of the weekend and those who gave up their time during the 7

12 Volume XIX Number 3 The Region Record Summer 2006 event to lend a hand. Aside from the cold night air, everyone seemed happy with what was provided and enjoyed themselves. We thank all of you for coming and making the Spring VAR a success. Most of all, I wish to thank Grand Caverns for being such wonderful hosts and allowing us to hold the event at the park. Spring 2006 VAR Meeting Financial Report INCOME: Pre-registered adults (126 x $25) $3,150 Pre-registered 4-14 (17 x $20) 340 On-site adults (187 x $27) 5,049 On-site 4-14 (11 x $22) 242 Kids under 4 (6 x free) 0 Pets (0 x $0) 0 Day & dinner passes (8 x $12) 96 Other income 0 Total Income $8,877 EXPENSES: Campground rental 1,500 includes Trash removal 0 includes 4 Porta-potties 0 Dinner (355 people) 3,869 Soda & bottled water (476 cans) 126 beer (576 cans) 392 Ice (20 bags) 34 Program/Guidebook (350 copies) 57 Registration and administration 20 VAR fee ($3 x 322 people) 966 Firewood 0 Map framing for Park 150 Total Expenses $7,114 Event Profit $1,763 Note: The Spring VAR Meeting profit has been transferred to the VAR to be placed in a new restricted fund that will be used to fund survey, conservation, and scientific work at Grand Caverns and the surrounding area. 8

13 Volume XX Number 1 The Region Record Winter ting steel, welding the gate, breaking everything down, reloading the trailer and getting back out took about eight hours. Once the bulk of the steel cutting was complete and it was hauled from the staging area down the hill to the cave entrance, about 150 feet away, Bob Hoke and Meredith entered the cave to do a line plot survey of the cave passages so we could establish the lie of the cave on the surface. When Craig was almost finished welding, John, Jim, Judy, JC, and I went into the cave for a quick tourist trip. Although the cave has only about 400 feet of passage, it is quite lovely, formations are plentiful, there is an area of water filled rimstone pools and many of the formations are still active. It is easy to see why it was to be the centerpiece of a theme park. It was our hope to return to the cave and do a new survey of the cave (the one in the Caves of Maryland dates from 1941) and perhaps to do a cleanup to remove the fencing wire, broken glass, cans, bottles, and other debris from the cave; however, the mine management felt they wanted to limit the notoriety of the cave. Thus there will not be a new map. We thank the Mellott Quarry for giving us the opportunity to join them in protecting Mt. Aetna Cave and perhaps some day others will have an opportunity to visit this long-lost gem. Thanks to Jim McConkey for the photos in this article. Fall VAR Financial Report provided by Carrie Blankenship Fall 2006 VAR Meeting Sept , 2006 Glen Lyn, Virginia Financial Report INCOME: With food: Pre-registered adults ( 42x $28) $1,176 Pre-registered under 18 (2 x $25) 50 Without food: Pre-registered adults ( 48x $15) 720 Pre-registered under 18 (3x$12) 36 On site adults (82 x $20) 1,640 On-site under 18 (3 x $17) 51 Food sold at the door (18 x $13) 234 Day passes (5 x $5) 25 Total Income $3,932 EXPENSES: Building rental 258 Camping 606 Potties 225 Food 372 Soda 127 beer 279 Guidebook 162 Registration supplies 197 VAR tax ($3 x 172 people) 516 Total Expenses $2,742 Event Profit $1,190 Make Sure Your Information Is Correct for the 2007 NSS Members Manual by Meredith Hall Johnson 2007 Members Manual Editor Don't be disappointed if your member information is incorrect in the 2007 NSS Members Manual. Check with the NSS Office now to make sure your mailing address, phone numbers, and information is how you want it to appear in the 2007 Members Manual. As soon as the 2006 issue came out, I started getting s complaining that the member's info was wrong. Well, it's not my job as editor; it is YOUR job as member to keep your info updated. And if you have let your membership lapse, now is a good time to pay your dues. There is one day early in 2007 that will be D-Day...the day when a "snapshot" of the NSS member database is taken, and if your info is incorrect that day, well, it's going to be incorrect in the printed publication. And you'll be kicking yourself for not paying attention to this reminder. You can update your information online at You can also call the NSS Office at to change your info. Don't forget--do it now! VAR Listserv Provides Timely Information By Bob Hoke Walt Pirie maintains the VAR listserv. This is a computerized list that allows any subscriber to easily send messages to the other subscribers. The listserv is seeing increasing use as a vehicle for quickly disseminating and/or soliciting information from subscribers throughout the Virginia Region. Anyone is welcome to subscribe. All you have to do is send an e- mail message to: listserv@listserv.vt.edu 6

14 Volume XX Number 3 The Region Record Summer 2007 SHAVERS MOUNTAIN: (Rocky Parsons and Barry Horner) The survey of Panther Camp and County Line Caves are finished, and the flows of seven springs have been measured. The group found a ten-foot-deep, dead-bottom pit that was full of old containers for 60mm and 80mm mortars. These were properly disposed of by the U.S. Army. This project needs a lot of help because they had A boat load of things to do! RENICK AREA: (Cliff Lindsay) Doug Medville has given Cliff everything he has, and Cliff has the text typed up and needs to finish a couple of maps. Bone-Norman will be included in this bulletin, the publication of which is several years down the road. CULVERSON CREEK CAVE: (Bill Balfour, Phil Lucas, and George Dasher) Bill and Phil have taken over the cartography of the Culverson Creek Cave map, and Roger Baroody will complete the map in CorelDraw. It is about 2/3 finished, and will be a superb map. WESTERN SLOPE: (Bill Balfour) Mark Passerby and his band of merry men are working primarily in Raders Valley and Zickafoose Blowhole, which is now over three miles long. Once they finish, this bulletin will be ready to be published, as everything else was completed in the 1970s and 1980s. MCCLUNGS-LUDINGTON AREA: (Ed Saugstad) Work in this area has stalled because of a huge vertical error in the overland survey between the Lightners, Mc- Clungs, and main Ludington Entrances. MAXWELTON CAVE: (Ed Saugstad) This cave is now ten miles long, which is roughly the length of the old Chuck Hempel survey. DRY CAVE: (John Pearson): The Phil Lucas map is very good, and John needs to get into the cave to check it out. ORGAN CAVE: (Ray Cole) A large housing development is being constructed southwest of the U.S. Route 219 and State Route 63 interchange. This development will consist of 119 tracts on 245 acres, and it is not known if it will have public sewer and water. MONROE COUNTY: (Jeff Bray) Telemarketer Cave has been surveyed, and digs are on going in Kessel and Mud Run Caves; however, the group has been defeated in both caves by water and mud. MERCER AND SUMMERS COUNTIES (Nick Schaer) This group has gotten into three closed caves, and has dropped dye in KFC Cave. This came out in Beaver Hole. SHARPS CAVE: Bill Balfour read a short report from George Phillips on the status of Sharps Cave in Pocahontas County. He said that George's group, Eight Rivers Safe Development, has been working to protect Sharps and to promote safe construction on the area's karst. The local Public Service District plans to run a five-mile-long, rawsewage pipeline down the valley in front of the cave, and that a pumping station may be constructed over top of the cave. The report also said that the area's largest spring may be threatened by the proposed plant, and that the project has not been as well studied as it should have been. Recycling at VARs by Meredith Hall Johnson At the Spring VAR, the VAR Conservation Committee began its new recycling program. There were two containers with labels for aluminum, Cans Only. For the most part, everyone respected this; not too much trash got tossed in. Thanks! Fred Grady, whom you all know is the king of recycling, was kind enough to haul the two large bags of cans back home. He donated them to the local firehouse, which uses what money it gets for them to help burned children. (Thanks, Fred!) The Conservation Committee plans to have the recycle containers at every VAR from here on out. Please continue to put cans (not trash) in them and feel good about yourselves. Spring 2007 VAR Meeting Durbin, WV April 27-29, 2007 Financial Report by Janet Tinkham INCOME: Pre-registered adults (142 x $26) $3,692 Pre-registered 4-14 (12 x $22) 264 On-site adults (104 x $29) 3,016 On-site 4-14 (1 x $25) 25 Kids under 4 (6 x free) 0 Pets (0 x $0) 0 Day & dinner passes (12 x $13) 156 Other income 0 Total Income $7,128 EXPENSES: Campground rental 1,500 (includes trash removal) 0 Porta-potties 505 Dinner (271 people) 2,600 Soda & bottled water 77 Beer (2 kegs Sat. night only) 181 Wine 15 Program/Guidebook 266 Registration and administration 40 VAR fee ($3 x 271 people) 813 Firewood 0 Total Expenses $5,997 Event Profit $1,131 6

15 Volume XXI Number 1 The Region Record Winter (Breathing Cave, VA) 1998 Bob Brooks (Crossroads Cave, VA) 1998 Ted Monger (Jones Quarry Cave, WV) 1999 Barry Price (Starnes Caverns, VA) 1999 Richard and Frances Latterell (Molars Cave, WV) 2000 The Ferrell Family (James Cave, et al, VA) 2001 The Combs family (Dyers Cave, WV) 2001 Mike and Pat Dore (Scott Hollow Cave, VA) 2001 Dave Mallow (Mill Run Cave, WV) 2001 Robert Wyly (Silers Cave, WV) 2002 Dr. Webb (Giant Caverns, VA) 2002 Upper Valley Regional Park Authority (Grand Caverns, VA) 2004 Charles Cassell (Cassell Cave, WV) 2005 John Mooney and Helen Baker (Higgenbotham Cave, WV) 2005 Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Links (Tawneys Cave, VA) 2006 Steve Silverberg (Lost World Caverns, WV) 2007 John and Christine Shiflet (Glade Cave, VA) 2007 Mike Newsome (Links Cave, VA) Fall 2007 VAR Report by Amos Mincin The Fall 2007 MAR-VAR was held October at the TRA (OTR) Site at Dailey, West Virginia. The weather was a bit cold but the spirit of those attending and of those hosting was warm and friendly. Registration opened at noon on Friday. Some early arrivals went on caving trips. Later in the evening beer and soda were served, a bonfire was blazing, and music filled the air. Hans Nagl, Nate Hirneisen and Bill Schultz of Philly Grotto kicked off the evening with live music. Then Jess Wilson acted as DJ and played an assortment of music and presented a light and laser show on screen. At 10 PM the guided cave trip sign-up lists were put out. This worked out well and nearly everyone was able to sign up for the cave trip of their choice. Saturday morning guided cave trips began to go out starting at 8:30 AM. There were trips to Friars Hole Cave, Cass Cave, Carpenter- Swago, Windy Run Cave, Sites Cave, Sinks of Gandy Cave, Alpena Cave, Sharps Cave, Elkhorn Mountain, and Bowden Cave. The Saturday catered dinner was sliced pork loin and all the trimmings. A nice selection of deserts and a vegetarian dinner option were also available. Following dinner drawings were made for door prizes. Many items were donated by Howie's Harnesses, the West Virginia Cave Conservancy, and others. That evening, a presentation was given by Doug Medville on his early day caving with Philadelphia Grotto, giving an interesting insight into the trips and activities in the late Sixties. This was followed by a presentation by the Japanese Exploration Team showing their facilities and caving activities in Japan, China and other places. Between 8 PM and 10 PM a live professional Blue Grass Band played some great sounding music, as beer, soda, and Philly Grotto 60th Anniversary cake were served. While many enjoyed the bonfire, others tested their limits in the Philly Grotto squeeze box. At least one male and one female caver made it through the squeeze box set at only 6-inches high. Many others set personal records at more typical heights. Sunday morning Front Royal Grotto did an excellent job of serving the Pancake Breakfast. Following the VAR meeting, the event closed and the campground was cleaned up and many positive comments were received in regard to all the weekend activities. Thank you to all those who attended and all those who helped with the planning, and running of this were successful field meet. A total of 267 cavers registered. Twenty-five registered both MAR and VAR. VAR registrations totaled 198, and MAR registrations totaled 94. Below is a summary of the income and expenses. Income Preregistration $3,532 Rope + Bag Auction $120 6 Dinners Sold $ Raffle $207 Registration at MAR-VAR $4,462 Total Income $8,381 Expenses Band $800 Porta Pots ($85 x 8) $1,160 Dumpster $230 Beer + soda + ice $744 Name Tags $48 Cake $112 Trash bags $20 Food (300 x $10) $3,000 Donation to TRA $401 Firewood (got for free) $0 Food For band $40 Guidebooks $446 Philly History Books/CD ROM $219 MAR Fee (94 x $5) $470 VAR Fee (198 x $3) $594 Cups, Plates, Forks $71 Propane $26 Total Expenses $8,381 6

16 There was no financial report submitted by the organizers of the joint SERA/VAR meeting in Bristol, TN, in June, 2008

17 Volume XXII Number 1 The Region Record Winter More than $7,000 was raised during the Old Timers Reunion, and about $4,000 has been donated by individuals and organizations since then. The actual purchase was completed in October. The Conservancy did not have sufficient funds to complete the purchase so a $15,000 interestbearing loan was obtained from a caver and $23,000 was borrowed from the Conservancy's Endowment Fund. Both of the loans need to be repaid and the Conservancy has initiated a major fund-raising campaign to do so. The Conservancy intends to keep the cave open to vertically competent non-commercial cavers with certain restrictions. The complete management plan and access policies will soon be posted on the Conservancy's Web site, Anyone wishing to make a taxdeductible donation to WVCC to help repay the loans can send a check (payable to WVCC) to Bob Hoke, WVCC Treasurer, 6304 Kaybro St., Laurel MD Fall VAR 2008 Report By Susan Burr Both Blue Ridge Grotto and James River Grotto co-hosted the 2008 Fall VAR. This event took place at the Covington, Virginia, Moose Lodge, on September 19 21, We couldn t have ordered better weather or a better turnout. We had a final total of 276 people attending, which judging from past Fall VAR numbers, this wasn t bad at all! It was a huge success because BRG and JRG members came through and did their part. Registration ran very smoothly, cave trips seemed to get off without a hitch, and we had a lot of led cave trips offered. Dinner was excellent and we didn t run out of food; each night we had an awesome campfire, the DJ (John Fox) was great, and the Saturday night speaker (Phil Lucas) was fabulous. We had two vendors attend, both Inner Mountain Outfitters (IMO) and Speleobooks. We also had plenty of wine, beer, and soft drinks for Saturday night. The campground and facilities were great as well, other than the train running next to it about four times per night. Even the people who didn t go caving had a good time. Since I had to stay on the grounds while the majority of you were caving, I saw people fishing and swimming/playing in the creek. Several people went hiking in different areas and some went antiquing. Overall, I think we had something for everyone even the kids had fun. After caving they came back and had a really nice playground to play on. I think the koozies were a really nice touch to our VAR and many people let me know they appreciated them. We did run out, however, since we had ordered only 250. We also had a lot of very nice door prizes, with our grand prize being a 100-foot-long rope donated by IMO. Not being involved in planning a VAR before, I asked several grotto members about hosting one. Basically, their response was that it is too much work. Wanting to host one anyway, my grotto agreed that if I did all the planning and legwork, they would help out where needed. Also, Pat Sims offered to help me in any way that he could. Talking with James River Grotto members, they said they didn t have enough members to host a VAR themselves. It was then that they offered to co-host this one with us. 6 The first thing Pat and I had to do was find a location. It had to be large enough to hold at least 200 people, be close enough to multiple caves, and had to be affordable. We also looked for a place that had electricity on the premises and a pavilion. Bathrooms were a bonus. We were hoping for showers, but that part didn t pan out. It took us approximately four months to find a campsite. Once we did, everything else fell into place. I contacted many cavers from other grottos who have hosted previous VARs, seeking advice on what to do and how things are done. I wish to thank all of you who helped me out. We also listened to comments people made about previous VARs, to see what we needed to try to change or do. One of the biggest complaints we had heard concerned the cave trips too many people were being allowed on cave trips and no one was ever sure where you were suppose to meet. We had strict cave trip limits. This was due in part to cave owner or trip leader restrictions. This allowed the cavers on the trip the opportunity to see more of the cave. The bigger the group, the slower the trip; therefore, you cannot see as much of the cave as you would like in the time allowed. We offered as many trips as we could find cave trip leaders. I think we did a good job, offering a variety of 15 horizontal and vertical cave trips. We also had signs posted designating the meeting place for each cave trip. The hardest thing was estimating attendance. Using past Fall VAR numbers we came up with an estimate, and ordered things accordingly. Since we wanted to keep costs down, we decided to offer a with-or-without meal option. This is where preregistration was really needed. We had approximately 57percent preregister. Since the campground was so close to town, we were not as concerned about people not being able to buy a dinner if we ran out

18 Volume XXII Number 1 The Region Record Winter which we did. After preregistration ended, we still encouraged people to register ahead of time if they wanted a dinner. This helped out a lot. Buying beer, wine and soft drinks was a challenge. How much, what kind, do you get a keg or buy cans? Because we wanted to offer a variety, we opted for buying cans, plus they can be recycled. We bought too much, however. The trend is leaning toward people bringing their own beer or liquor or not drinking as much. We had bought 19 cases, which didn t seem unreasonable for the number of people we had, but we had at least 2 1/2 3 cases leftover. We did provide 1 case of bottled water that was all taken. Of the nine 12-packs of soft drinks bought, we had at least two 12-packs leftover. The extra beer and soft drinks were distributed amongst the grotto members who stayed and helped clean up afterwards. All of our planning and hard work paid off. Even with the unexpected $600 in extra charges for dinner, we still made a very nice profit of $1, It wasn t worth arguing over the dinner charges when everything else was great. We paid such a small amount for the campgrounds and facilities, and they allowed us to use both of the kitchens next to the pavilion as well. The Moose Lodge also provided the ice for icing the drinks for free. Overall I consider this VAR very successful, and I am thrilled I was part of it. Thank you to all who helped and thank you to all who attended. The VAR Landowner Recognition Award by Bob Hoke The VAR Landowner Recognition Award is given to those cave owners who have done an exceptional job of balancing the protection of their cave with allowing responsible access to their cave by the caving community. It is a way for the caving community to express its appreciation to those special folks. The list below shows the Award recipients to date, but there are certainly lots more deserving landowners in the Region. If you know of a landowner who is deserving of the award, write a brief letter explaining why and send it to Janet Tinkham, 360 Kings Dr., Fort Valley, VA or it to her at janete@shentel.net. LANDOWNER RECOGNITION AWARD RECIPIENTS 1992 Buddy Penley (Penleys, access to Newberry, VA) 1993 Rhoda Paxton (Paxtons Cave, VA) 1993 Ruth Propst (Sinnett/Thorn Mountain, WV) 1994 George and Lee Sively (Organ Cave, WV) 1994 Robert E. Bright (Simmons-Mingo Cave, WV) 1994 Gene Turner (Buckeye Creek Cave, WV) FALL VAR 2008 FINANCIAL REPORT INCOME: Pre-registered adults with meal ($27.00 X 92) $2, Pre-registered adults w/o meal ($17.00 X 55) Pre-registered 5-15 with meal ($23.00 X 7) Pre-registered 5-15 w/o meal ($13.00 X 1) Pre-registered 0-4 (free X 3) 0.00 On-site adults with meal ($30.00 X 45) 1, On-site adults w/o meal ($20.00 X 56) 1, On-site 5-15 with meal ($26.00 X 1) On-site 5-15 w/o meal ($16.00 X 8) On-site 0-4 (free X 4) 0.00 Special circumstance prices (4) On-site VAR fee only ($3.00 X 3) 9.00 Total Income $6, EXPENSES: Campground rental (Includes use of pavilion, kitchens, $ permanent bathrooms, trash removal, & ice) Dinners 2, Portable potties (6) Koozies (250 ct.) Name tag holders Guidebook (250 ct.) & registration form printing Soft drinks ( 9-12 packs) Beer (19 cases) Wine ( 2-5 liter boxes) Tickets (double for door prizes) 5.96 VAR fee ($3 X 255) Firewood X 12 envelopes & markers Plastic spoons 1.56 Misc. travel expense Total Expenses $4, Event Profit $1,

19 Volume XXII Number : 2008: Mary Sue Socky Karen Kastning Judy Fisher J.C. Fisher Alex Sproul Janet Tinkham Bill Biggers Annie Wittemore Whitt Whittemore VAR Conservation Update The Region Record right around the corner! John E. Pearson organized the project, which included the Town of Grottoes helping out with a dump truck and a very large backhoe. We pulled out so much trash, old metal, rotting rugs, and other disgusting stuff that it took at least four dump truck loads to haul it off, and that doesn t include the metal that we saved for the recyclers. Thanks to everyone who helped out! Doing conservation work is a good way we can give back to caves and cave owners, as well as stay involved in something cave related. Craig Hindman supervises the operation of a backhoe that helped haul lots of junk out of a sinkhole near Grand Caverns Regional Park during the Spring VAR meeting. (Photo by Jim McConkey). by Meredith Hall Weberg The Virginia Region has been very busy doing conservation projects despite the caving moratoriums. April in particular was busy. Our annual Easter Restoration Field Camp at Grand Caverns was very successful. We hung bat houses, prepared the sinkhole for the clean-out at Spring VAR, spread a lot of gravel on the tourist trails, and eradicated moss and algae by spraying diluted bleach. Mud that was not naturally deposited was scrubbed off of formations. Also, we painted a pavilion and the bumpers at the putt-putt golf course. Summer 2009 Spring VAR at Grand Caverns Regional Park before we had registration open. A steady pace of cavers flowed into the park all day and well into the evening. by Carol Tiderman Camps were established in the ball field and by dark that area was filled with about 150 folks and campers flowed into the areas on the other side of the main field. After a month of intense planning, creativity, and making all the necessary arrangements, it was time to open onsite registration. People had started arriving and setting up The next weekend saw a number of VAR cavers helping to extend the Karst Trail at Crystal Caverns at Hupp s Hill. The trail now goes to Keyhole Cave where a platform will be built so tourists can look down into the cave entrance without possibly falling in. The manager of the cave was astounded at how much work we got done in just a few hours! Some other cavers spent the next weekend up at Crystal Caverns doing even more conservation work. Virginia Cave Week coincided with Spring VAR. And the Region came through with a sinkhole clean-up Part of the debris that was removed during the sinkhole cleanup at the Spring VAR meeting. Several dump truck loads of trash had already been hauled away when this photo was taken. (Photo by Jim McConkey). 7

20 Volume XXII Number 3 The Region Record Summer 2009 Vendors had set up in the main field. Also in the main field, a big tree was rigged for vertical training. So nice to have the vendors nearby in the event you found you could improve your climbing system and needed to make a purchase. Friday evening John Fox and his music machine set up in the big pavilion. In a smaller pavilion, movies were running. A special program, South Park - Cave of the Winds was shown after midnight. All night people were socializing with long-time friends and some new ones. Trips were planned and they signed up for the next day s events. At 9 a.m. Saturday morning, people started to assemble at the registration area for outgoing trips to the Via Ferrata (the Iron Way a rock faces rigged with cables, permanent ladders, a suspension bridge, and lots of exposure ), a trip to Sites Cave, one to Porters Cave, the Crozet Tunnel, and rock climbing in Nelson County. Cavers at the entrance to Crozet Tunnel, one of the non-caving activities at the Spring VAR meeting. The former railroad tunnel was filled with graffiti and trash so the tourist ended up being a non-cave cleanup project. (Photo by Dave Socky). Other cavers partook in activities at the park kayak races, speleo puttputt, the all-day vertical training, and discounted trips into Grand. I was surprised how many cavers had never been in the cave despite the number of VARs that have been held at the park. All who went on the commercial tour reported they were impressed. At the far end of Cave Hill, a crew of 39 gathered to attack a trashfilled sinkhole. We had the invaluable assistance of a local man with a back hoe and a dump truck for a good part of the day. There were four truckloads of general garbage hauled out. About another four loads of recyclable metal were separated out to be hauled away during the week. At this point we have not reached the bottom, but we have hit a layer or organic material that we hope gets flushed out with the next good gully washer. A return visit will be scheduled at some point in the future. Although we did not get the project completed, we did get down about seven feet from the level when we started. Back at the park, folks were returning from their trips. Stories were being passed around regarding what they had been doing all day. Decontamination stations were available for those who went caving. The showers were also available for use by the attendees. Around 6:30, 200 folks headed for the food line. There was an abundance of good eats available for all. Even those who returned late because of getting hung up behind a wreck and having to find another way back, got all the food they could eat. After diner, the VAR Landowner Recognition Award was presented to the Lyall O. Steger family, the owners of Madison Cave, Steger s Fissure, Sink #5 (Corkscrew Cave) and the soon-to-open (we hope) Sink #4. Door prize numbers were called and a lot of folks walked away with some good swag. Programs on conservation efforts in the region the Fencing of Pig Hole, the Highland sinkhole cleanup, the Front Royal Caverns Gating, the Cleanup of the Cave Hill Sinkhole were presented with a lot of noting on the need to find other projects we can participate in that are cave-related and that will benefit the caves while we wait for the WNS scientists to make some determination on the impact cavers do or do not have in spreading the fungus. Music followed, along with plenty of beverages and groups discussing WNS. A few cavers got lei ed at Alex s birthday party. Sunday, the Front Royal Grotto served breakfast to more than 100 people. The VAR meeting was held, more cavers took tours into Grand, and others packed up and headed out. In all, 230 cavers were in attendance, a good turnout considering what is going on in the caving community. We had a beautiful weekend, warm and dry during the day and comfortable temperatures at night. The host group made about $700 profit that will be put into the VAR treasury. Everyone seemed to enjoy the weekend, even the hosts. We endeavored to offer alternatives to caving to the attendees and more than 90 percent of those in attendance chose to take advantage of them. We hope we have set the tone for future VAR meetings to come and inspired others to offer to host the event. We have shown cavers are flexible and when offered alternatives to caving do 8