lNDA HE:5LOP

Inside:Cascade Caver

Trout Lake on Two Caves a Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 27by Joe and Laura Roeder

Pryor Mountain Project 28by Bob Brown

Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 28Discussion of Kelly's Cave Puzzler

Hawaii, December 1990 29by William R. Halliday, M.D.

NSS Computer bulletin board established 32

New NSS section for diggers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 32

Robin's handy household caving hints 32

The Vandalism Chain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 33

On conservation and breaking the vandalism chain 33by Tom Kilroy and Sandy Major

Calcium Carbide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 34by Ben Tompkins

Grotto Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 36April Grotto Meeting; New Grotto; New Members; Dues

Carbide Shortage Predicted 37by Frank Reid

Copyright(i:) 1991 bylhe Cascade Grotto of the National Speleological Society, SeanleWashinglon. All righls reserved. The Cascade Caver is published approximately 10times a yeaI. Any material may be reproduced by other imemal organizations of theNSS without permission, except for items that are specifically copyrighled, as long ascredit is given to the Cascade Caver and to the author. Opinions expressed hereinare not necessarily those of the Cascade Grono orthe National Speleological Society.

Correspondence including address changes, exchange pLblications, slilscr1ltions, andrenewals, should be sem to the Editor. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toCascade Grono, c/o Ben Tompkins, 18002 First Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98177.

Ben Tompkins, Editor , , , , , , .. , , , .. , , , .. (206) 546 8025

T K'I nd San~B002 First Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98177. 5om Iroy a uJ'MajOr, :ilalf , .. , (206) 324-400Joe and Laura Roeder , (206)789.2404Tycho Knudson (206) 543-6820

Cascade GrottoSandra Major, Chair , , , ,... (206) 324-4005Tycho Knudson, Vice Chair , , '. (206) 543-6820Jim Harp, SecJTreas , (206) 745-1010

Mail Address: , .. ,. P,O, Box 75663: Seattle, WA 98125-0663,

"'"tlngsRegular grotto meetings are held monthly at 7:00 pm on the third Friday of eachmonth at the University of Washington, Room 6, in the basement of Johnson Hall.Business meetings are held inodd-numbered momhs immediately following the regulargrotto meeting for the momh,

______ Upcoming Events _May 17 - Grotto meeting. Slides of BighornCaverns and Pryor Mountains. Business meetingafter general meetingMay 25 - Northwest Regional Meet (NCA), TroutLake,WA, Memorial Day weekend hosted by theCascade Grotto. Contact Jim Harp for details.Jun 21 - Grotto Meeting. Pre-Convention slideshowJun 29 - Cave Ridge - Mark Wilson - Cave registerprogram needs your help. (formerly scheduled forJune 22)Jun 30 - NSS Convention in Cobleskill, NYJ ul 13 - Cave Ridge - Mike Wagner - Rappellinginto Hellhole Cave.Jul19 - Grotto meeting.J ul 20 - Rock climbing and SRT clinic - JohnBenson - Larabee State Park, on Chuckanut Dr.July 27-Aug 10 - Northwest Cave ResearchInstitute project in the Pryor Mountains ofMontana.Contact John Buchanan, project coordinator, at (509)259-7493 or in Seattle contact Ben Tompkins at 546-8025.

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Aug 5-11 - 6th International Symposium onVulcanospeleology, Hilo, Hawaii. Contact W. R.Halliday, 6530 Cornwall Court; Nashville, TN 37205.Aug 10 - Index Ice Caves - Karl Steinke - A funhike with beautiful views ..Aug 18 - Windy Creek Cave - Jerry Thompson -Investigating the new Discovery room.Aug 30-Sep 2 - Papoose Cave - Jim Harp - Laborday near Riggins Idaho - great formations. ISep 14 - Cave Ridge - Mark Wilson - Rappellinginto Newton Cave.Oct 5 - Dynamited Cave - Alan Coakley - Goal isthe seldom visited New Big Room.Nov 23-30 - Lava beds National Monument - RodCrawford - Field research project. I1992 - NCA Regional in Idaho.1992 - NSS Convention, Salem, Indiana, Aug. 3-7.

I

Cascade Caver • May 1991

Trout Lake on Two Caves a DayA guide page to the general area

by Joe and Laura Roeder

Getting there

From Seattle, brave 1-5southbound (a risk duringrush hours but I like it at 4 a.m. on Saturdays) untilnearly to Vancouver. Take 1-205 south and aftercrossing the Columbia River, pick up 1-84going east.Drive to Hood River, take the exit for the toll bridge(second exit), pay the attendant four bits (50 cents),and turn left after crossing the river. You are now onHighway 14 but not for long. In a mile or two turnri~ht onto a winding road that leads shortly toHIghway 141, the road to Trout Lake. It is 23 miles,all uphill, to the sprawling metropolis.

Or instead of turning left after crossing the tollbrid~e, turn .right. In two miles you enter Bingen, aquasI-BavarIan burg that's interesting to look at.Turn left onto Highway 141, go through WhiteSalmon, and in a half hour or so you will findyourself in downtown Trout La-lee.

Staying There

Here are the accommodations in and aroundTrout Lake, in no particular order whatsoever andwith no guarantees on akkuracy. '

The Llama Ranch B&B is just before town onHighway 141. Rates are $40-$60 per night.

The Trout Lake Grocery has three rooms for$25 per night on a first come-first served basis and isin ~he middle of town. The Trout Lake Grocery istypICally open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. but, like many ofthe establishments we spoke to, they plan to extendtheir hours during the Memorial Day weekend.

The Country Inn is just north of the main roadand has rooms. They serve breakfast to guests butlunch and dinner are open to the public. Rooms arein the $40-$60 range.

The Ice Caves Campground is ten miles. past(west) of Trout Lake and has about 8 campsites, twoouthouses, and no running water.

Peterson Prairie Campground, site of theR~gional, is just west of the Ice Caves Campground.Smce we've never stayed there, we can't tell youabout it.

Cascade Caver • May 1991

Eating there

Bonnie's Place is the local (read "only")han~out. It is small so don't expect a non-smokingsectIOnother than the table outside. The food's goodthough.

Serenities just before town on Highway 141 hasexcellent food. Their salad bar is wonderful! (apartfrom the J ell-o salads) They only serve dinner and itcan get pricey ($20) but well worth it. In Tout Lake?!Surprise!

The Country Inn serves lunch and dinner, as Ialready mentioned, but the locals don't recommend it.We haven't tried it.

The Logs is about ten miles south ofTrout Lake~nthe "town" of B.Z. Corner. Of course it's "B.Z.", itIS the only corner for miles. It calls itself a familyrestaurant but there were some shady-lookingcharacters swilling beer and shooting pool that wehad to get past in order to get to the restaurant half.The food was decent but they desperately needed tomake the joint non-smoking. If you like adventurehowever, ... '

If you don't want to be there

Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge is tenmiles east ofTrout Lake and has 5,500 acres oftrees,lake, marsh, birds, deer, and an occasional elk.There is hiking and fishing plus Mt. Adams staringyou in the face. (But if you really don't want to bethere, why have you read this far?)

There you have it, the definitive, complete, andtotal guide to the Trout Lake area, at least untilsome other guy decides to take his typewriter andbang out some more propaganda.

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Pryor Mountain Projectby Bob Brown

-.

The Northwest Cave Research Institute will beholding a second field work camp in the PryorMountain region ofMontana. The camp will run July27 to August 10, 1991. The objectives for this campare to assess the accuracy ofmaps and inventories forknown caves, locate additional unknown caves, andperform reconnaissance for future projects. Space islimited to the first 40 qualified cavers to apply.

The Pryor Mountains were chosen for a projectsite because of the enormous potential for discoveryof new caves. The Mission Canyon Formation is thecavernous unit in the Pryors and provides a large,complex area to search for caves. Field campparticipants will. be working at elevations between5,000 and 9,000 feet and in extremely rugged terrainwith virtually no established trail system.

Base camp will be at Big Ice Cave Campgroundat an elevation of 7,600 feet, but other overnightcamps may be used. Many of the 35 known caves inthe Pryor Mountains will be visited during this fieldcamp. Information from new infrared aerialphotographs will be used this year to locate neWcaves. I

The project cost includes base camp cost and allmeals. Fees per participant are the same as lastyear: $70.00 for one week or $100.00 for two weeks.

For information write: NCRI, 9417 - 8th AveN.E., Seattle, WA 98115, or call me at (206) 569-2724.

The Kelly's Cave Leadership Puzzler printed lastmonth outlined a situation requiring decisions by atrip leader as presented in a leadership trainingcourse. Here is the discussion and suggestions asreprinted from the March 1991 SFBC Newsletter.

• Your party is strung out through a set ofvertical pitches and one member has made a mistake- scarcely a fatal one but more in the nature ofembarrassment or inconvenience. The presence of awaterfall pitch could easily compound this to a life-threatening situation. Fortunately, Seth isjust aboveColin and can offer advice, encouragement, andcoaching if necessary. The pitch is narrow, perhapsmaking it difficult to see or reach his feet.

• The simplest solution would be for Colin toforsake the rappel and take advantage of the narrowpitch to chimney upwards taking the load from the

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LeadershipDiscussion of Kelly's Cave Puzzler

jammed rack. By engaging the shunt at the high~rposition it should be possible to back the shirttail outof the rack, extract the slack, and resume the rappel.Iffor some reason the chimneying move isn't possible,Colin has enough vertical gear to do a self rescue.

• Engage the "spelean shunt". Attach theJumar with etrier to the rope and step up into theetrier. Raise the shunt again and sit, therebyunloading the rack.

• Back out the shirt, removing bars asnecessary. Rethread the rack with the rappel rope,extracting the slack rope from between the rack andshunt. Tie off the rack. Descend with the shunt andJumar until the rack and sit harness can take yourweight. Remove the Jumar, release the shunt, anduntie the rack. Resume the rappel.

Cascade Caver • May 1991

,..

Hawaii, December 1990by William R. Halliday, M.D.

Preparing for the August symposium and withother Hawaii Speleological Survey work to be done,my December trip to Hawaii was another extra-busytime. Again, I never got into the water.

We arrived in Honolulu late on December 20.Early the next morning NSS member Darrel Tanakaand I proceeded to the main campus of the UniversityofHawaii where we met successively with ProfessorsCliff Smith (Botany Department, CooperativeNational Park Research Unit), Kenneth Kaneshiro(entomologist in the Hawaiian Evolutionary BiologyProgram), Mike Garcia (Geology Department), andEverett Wingert (Geography Department). TonyJones was away for a couple of months.

Mike Garcia fished out unpublished geologicalmaps and confirmed that Judd Street Cave, PupukeaCave, and Niu Burial Cave are all in Koolau basalt,about 2 million years old. He also gave us the namesof a couple of cave-oriented geologists temporarily onthe Big Island, one ofwhom proved very interested inthe NSS.

Everett Wingert has a contract for a data base ofHawaii data bases and we made preliminary plansfor including the Hawaii Speleological Survey (butnot its file data) in his file.

As for Kenneth Kaneshiro, even though he is onthe Board of Nature Conservancy of Hawaii and isthe entomologist of the Hawaiian EvolutionaryBiology Program, he had received very littleinformation about the extraordinary insect andarachnid cave fauna of Kauai and the threats to itposed by urbanization. We urged him to have FrankHowarth brief him and see what he could do to helppreserve it.

Cliff Smith turned out to be generally favorableto tread-softly cavers as resources to Park managersand is interested in publication of a data base onHawaii caves. He also suggested publication of ahandbook for overseas and mainland cavers comingto Hawaii.

At the State Office Building we found that theHistoric Site Section of the state's Department ofLands and Natural Resources had just moved to apart of town with heavy traffic and little parking. Soit didn't work out for us to meet with any of thearcheologists. Instead, we proceeded to the BishopMuseum where we were cordially received by DonaldDuckworth, its Director. He agreed that the museumwould be one of the co-sponsors of the symposium.Finally we met with Sandi Halualani to makearrangements for the pre-symposium reception andmuseum tour August 2. These will have to be late

Cascade Cauer • May 1991

Friday afternoon instead of Friday evening astentatively planned. Unfortunately, this means thatsome symposium participants may have to come aday earlier than planned if they wish to attend.

Next day we flew to Hilo and on Sunday we gotorganized there, beginning a lot of telephoning allover the Big Island and Maui. On Monday Ideposited the second increment of HSS file data inthe restricted innards of the Lyman Museum and hada cordial but short meeting with its director, LeonBruno. At dinner I met with Spike Werner, HSSvice-chairman, in preparation for the annual HSSexecutive committee meeting. We continued the pre-meeting meeting at lunch Christmas Day then heldthe meeting itself.

On December 26 Sis and I flew to Maui whereNSS member Linda Scully drove us up the mountainto park headquarters at Haleakala National Park(which contains several important lava tube cavesand some pits famous in Hawaiian folklore). As webegan liaison work there it became apparent that thispark is badly under-funded and that the NSS and itsHSS should be able to be a significant resource to itsstaff. Contact person is Ron Nagata, a geographerwho is chief of its resource management. At dinner,Linda and I reviewed the speleological potential ofMaui at length; she knows Maui very well and haseven dived in the Wainapanapa Wet Cave. Next dayshe drove me to Skull Cave (called Kalua 0 LapaCave in some of the biological literature) in the mostrecent lava flow on Maui. It is a delightful little two-level cave in an area of great cultural importance,and is of considerable biological significance. Wefound fresh offerings in the cave, including cookedrice, berries, ti leaves, and pocket change (to which Iduly contributed). But sport cavers will want to go tothe Hana area instead, where much larger and moresporting caves exist.

Friday, December 28, had been billed as a fieldseminar for staff members of Hawaii VolcanoesNational Park, with me as leader. But it turned outto be merely a normal introductory field trip withabout half novices and half experienced cavers: DanTaylor, Andy Kikuta, and Chuck Stone from thePark, plus NSS members Spike Werner, DarrelTanaka, and Barbara Schaefer. Dan led us to anewly-reported little cave near a pig-control fence inrain forest wilderness about a mile from ThurstonLava Tube. His thought was that it might be a goodcave for wild caving in the Park. It has notablegeological features and indeed is a good one forvisiting cavers with the tread-softly ethic. But it is

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much too fragile for local outing clubs with dubioushangers-on. Its lava dripstone and both itslongitudinal and vertical flowstone are special,including two small but notable cockscombstalagmites. We called it Fence Cave. It issomewhere in the general area Robin Holcomb wantsinvestigated but landmarks are few in the jungle.After belated locomocos at the Volcano Store,

Spike, Darrel, and I checked out a few reports. Firstwe visited Bill Rowland on Ala Loop just off theVolcano highway. A couple of years ago Bill wasdigging in his garden and opened a small hole hecould see down into. Not being a caver, he used it asthe drain for a pipe that carries runofffrom the road,put a slab over the hole, buried it with cinders, andwent on with his garden. Eventually he told Spikeabout it. With obvious glee, he redug his hole for uswithout worrying about the garden. A bit of pryingpahoehoe slabs and the entrance was human-sized.Alas! Bill Rowland's Cave is just seven feet deep, 19feet long, an 4 feet in diameter. It is a genuine lavatube cave in a granular red-brown lava, but isvirtually featureless.Next we searched in vain for a cave entrance

supposed to be alongside a church alongside theVolcano highway. Then in vain again for the ladysaid to be a source of cave information in theParadise Park Subdivision. Then in vain for a cave

J(1R CAVEENTR~NCf

30

said to be at the end of 18th Street in thatsubdivision. At this point we decided it was time tostart talking to the experts - the neighborhood kids.One promptly led us to the entrance of a low cavenear the outfield of the Paradise Park softball field.It was so filled with roots that we decided not to gomore than a few feet until it had been checked bybiologists.

Finally we had a look at two possible descentroutes in an intriguing sheer-walled crater at the endof Hinoloa Street. It will require more non-stretchrope than cavers currently have in Hawaii. Maybeduring the field work after the symposium.On the 29th, Spike and I returned to map Fence

Cave with Curvin Metzler of the Glacier Grotto andgeologist Will Bussard. The sink makai also waschecked and it appears that opening the nextsegment of this tube system will not be difficult.Afterwards we talked with some of Spike's Hawaiianfriends about caves and pits near the lower East RiftZone, and looked at new construction (house almostfinished) alongside Malama Cave in this rift zone.

On Sunday, Rob Shapiro joined Curvin, Darrel,and me in another fruitless search in Paradise Park.Then Curvin took us to what he remembered as anunexplored pit at the bottom of a crack near Highway130 between Pahoa and the site of Kalapana, nearthe 15-mile turnout. Things evidently had changed

.--- t<!I ~/-Ir _-'Pu,,-Jab

Cascade Caver • May 1991

a lot since he and Mat Champion had been there afew years ago: maybe an earthquake's effects.Instead of an unplumbed pit at the bottom of a grottoat the bottom of a fissure longitudinal to a lava flow,we found a high, narrow natural bridge at the bottomof the crack. The crack itself was interesting, someten to 25 feet wide and locally as much as 50 feetdeep. It was floored with unstable breakdown, dirt,rubble, and vegetation, much of it near or at theangle of repose. Much of the walls also appearedloose. The natural bridge is slightly sinuouslongitudinally and in cross section. It is a much as25 or 30 feet high and ten feet wide. The ceiling lineis so irregular that it is difficult to determine itslength. Looking aback to its makai side, however wecould see typical lateral coatings characteristic ofdeposits by flowing lava, suggesting that the naturalbridge is a remnant of a true rift cave. Superimposedseveral yards above the passage we also observed theopening of a smaller tube remnant. Champion's Cavewe called the cavernous natural bridge, in honor ofthe first caver we know to have seen it.

Curvin led us onward along the crack, beyond thenatural bridge, into lengths that he and Matt hadnever explored. We clambered along the open rift foranother 200 or 300 feet to a point where it seemed toend. But at its seeming end was a gaping caveentrance, much larger than the natural bridge(although it, too, had a small upper level tube aboveit). This cave, too, had lateral lava coatings.

Clearly someone had been here before, however.In twilight at the bottom of a steep talus entranceslope about 80 feet long we could what turned out tobe the crumbled remains of black plastic tarps andbroken wooden frames: evidently the remains of anunsuccessful attempt to hide a marijuana operationunderground. Beyond this spacious entrance room isa tall, rocky inner chamber about 35 feet long. Atopits steep rear wall a crawl continues through thebreakdown but does not appear promising. We planto return to see if the crack continues further makaiwhen we have plenty of daylight hours. The jungleis dense here and Rob had to leave early.

The rest of us proceeded to MacKenzie Park torecheck a suspicious-looking bearing that linked themain cave to the dwelling cave in the August survey.The bearing was OK; it was my cave sense that wasoff. Then we proceeded west on Highway 137 for theSurvey's first look at the Natural Bridge System,newly purchased by a transplanted Virginian whohas done some Shenandoah caving. Here we foundonly a series of short segments of a once-extensivetube system, developed on at least three minor levels.But none was more than about 100 feet long andprimarily, they were of cultural, biological, andspeleogenetic significance. A native octopus lure had

Cascade Caver • May 1991

been left in one, maybe not so many years ago.Another is a refuge cave where a Hawaiian familybuilt a rectangular enclosure of rock over the cave'sstoopway entrance in such a way that visitors -hostile or otherwise - still must squeeze down andthrough, slowly and awkwardly, one at a time. Thereis no sign that it ever had to be used as a refuge.

In the wide entrance crawlway of another arerounded cobbles that look like beach cobbles from anold sea level. In still another, a brand-new coconutsprout more than two feet high was trying to make itin a cave about 4 feet high, deep in twilight. Themost mauka segment of the system, whose entranceis barely across an old stone fence mauka of theWeede property, has numerous roots and flyinginsects. Almost entirely in breakdown, it is about 60feet long. In two of the longer caves we noted archedred lava on the floor and in one, an undergroundtubulus is present. We ran out of time beforecompleting more than preliminary work here.

Darrel and I met at length on December 31 withDan Taylor, Chief of Resource Management atHawaii Volcanoes National Park. While things lookgood for a deep rift trip after the symposium and forvideotaping lava flowing in active tubes within thepark, he was obdurate about controversial parts ofthe park's cave management plan, insisting, inseveral unfortunate places, on using hisinterpretation instead of t.he exact wording of theFederal Cave Resources Protection Act, the NationalPark Organic Act, and other Federal definitions. Theproblem thus was not resolved at Park level. We alsomet with Hugo Huntsinger, Park superintendent,who was favorable to Park co-sponsorship of theAugust symposium.

On proceeding to the Hawaii Volcano Observatoryof the U.S. Geological Survey, we found nearlyeveryone at work. Considering that this was NewYear's Eve, this constituted true dedication. Here wefirmed up a lot of plans for Observatory participationin the symposium. Then we checked a cavementioned in a recent publication of the Volcano ArtCenter. As suspected, it turned out to be littleRoadside Cave in the Kealakomo Village Systembelow Holei Pali. Despite its short length, thispotentially is an interpretive site for the public, withmuch nicer flow features than Thurston Lava Tube.

Anyone planning to come to Hawaii to enjoybeach life had better not get involved with theHawaii Speleological Survey. And while the groupwas relaxing after field work one afternoon,participants decided to form a Hawaii Grotto of theNSS, with Spike as chairman and Darrel assecretary-treasurer. The application has been sent toEvelyn Bradshaw for approval.

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NSSComputer bulletinboard established

The NSS has established an electronic bulletinboard, according to the NSS Administrative Memo,for access by NSS members. There is not a lot on ityet other than the usual message service but plansinclude maintaining a nationwide list of cave rescuetelephone numbers, a closed cave list, aninternational calendar of caving events, plus caverelated software available for downloading.Suggestions for additions and improvements fromusers are eagerly solicited.

The BBS is running PCBoard software on aIBMPC-XT with a 2400 baud modern is operated byTorn Rea. The telephone number is (317) 745-2197.

A more detailed two-page article by Torn Rea inthe 2/91 D.C. Speleograph lists what is currentlyavailable including the NSS constitution and bylaws,an "IBM"-based cave survey processing programcalled CMAP, some Macintosh data conversionutilities, and more.

Only NSS members will be accepted as users ofthe board. On your first call you can leave your NSSnumber and other information. Once that has beenverified your security and access levels will beupgraded so that you can read messages or downloadfiles.

New NSSsection fordiggers

John Halleck, Section Coordinator for the NSSInternal Organizations Committee, has announcedthat a Section was added to the NSS last October forcave diggers. Its chairman is Steve Peerman and BillYett publishes the Diggers Journal. The section had34 active members as of December, 1990 and duesare currently $5 per year. To contact the group,write to: Digging Section ofthe NSS, P.O. Box 2763,Las Cruces, N.M. 88004-2763

John's announcement carne in response tocomments from Rane Curl on a cavers computernetwork.

"The prospective NSS Digging Section," Ranewrites, "prompts me to broadcast a request to alldiggers: record all connections made by digging,including entrances, both in your survey records andon your maps. Over some period of time I havestudied the relations between cave lengths, numbersofentrances, passages sizes, and other aspects of cavesize and shape. These all exhibit a great deal of

32

internal order, in fact, fractal order. For example, itis reasonable and possible to estimate the number ofentranceless caves in an area, knowing the lengthsand number of entrances of caves with one or morenatural entrances. The key word is natural. If anentrance has been dug open, that cave must beconsidered as an "entranceless cave" in using theestimation method. The same is true of internalconnections: these change the length and number ~fcaves, again changing the "natural" statistics. Iwelcome a Digging Section that could help save thedata about the natural state of caves, even whenfurthering exploration. Otherwise the destruction ofan accurate data base about natural caves would intime make such statistical/fractal studies impossible."

Robin's handyhousehold caving hintsYoo-hooit's me again. Ever wonder how to get rid

of the smells that corne out of those grubby old cavepacks? I think the absolute worst is that carbide -phew! You know the stuff, it looks like the bottom ofan aquarium. Well, we all have our own pet cures,but the only sure cure I know is: make sure it getsout and STAYS out of the house! Lysol won't work,and it makes such a mess when it spills on the floo~.I believe the kids wanted to use it in theirpea-shooter last Thursday. You could poke out aneye, and just the other day Mickey was saying to me..(Oops. Leslie's word-proceser is just so much fun.)

Les calls it carbide, although after that mess inBhopal India, how a caver could use union-madechemicals is just beyond me. We horne-makers haveto take a stand. Get rid of these lethal, and smelly,goods being sold as common caving supplies! I'mputting my foot down!!Tonight is Leslie's Wednesdaynight card party. While Les is gone I'm getting rid ofevery last bit of that carbide.

Since they're always babbling about water this,and water that, it's probably like ballast in florescentlights. I'll bet if I switched it with old aquariumgravel nobody would even notice the difference. I'lleventually think of some good way to get rid of thestuff, but for now I can just flush it down the toilet.

Thanks for February's tip from Pat about keepingused kitty litter from accumulating under the porch.I didn't know you could seal up that kind of stuff inpressure canners. Gerry adds - "Put in scrapingsfrom dinner. It saves the seals". Gerry is alwaysgetting advice on seals from that Greenpeace bunch.Moe tapes space blankets inside the top of cavehelmets. It's there for emergencies and adds warmpadding. Till next time - keep those letters corning.

Cascade Caver • May 1991

The Vandalism ChainEditorial found in the middle of some executive

meeting notes in the February 1991 D.C. Speleograph.What is the vandalism chain? Lets say that you takea novice, who mayor may not be a friend of yours, ona trip to a reasonably easy cave. It has nothingvertical, no tricky hazardous traverses, but enoughmud and crawlways so they know caving isn't allpretties. You don't see the person again but he hasbecome hooked and decides to take some others to thesame cave. You may have given him a good dose ofsafety and conservation messages and some of it mayhave rubbed off.

After two or three trips to this same cave, thesuspicion grows that there probably are otherinteresting caves to visit. A trip to the library orsome questions of individuals does yield directions to

other caves and off our friends go, merrily trooping toa cave that has a number of hazards for which theyare not prepared, as well as formations of whosefragility they are not really aware. So all the caretaken on that initial novice trip to instill safety andconservation guidelines is lost in the vandalismchain. Because the initial experience was a safe oneinto a cave with little that traffic could reallydamage, those involved have little preparation formore hazardous or more fragile caves.

If at all possible, it's probably better to bringwould-be cavers into the grotto where there can becontinuing contact and training. Experience hasshown that the conservation ethic usually isn'tabsorbed at the outset but grows upon one gradually.

On conservation and breaking the vandalismchain

by Tom Kilroy and Sandy Major

Experienced cavers often bring beginners intocaving, the sport, but do not bring them into thecaving ethic. There is a need for a continued re-enforcement of responsible caving practices in orderto instill a conservation ethic in your caving.Beginners should be encouraged to cave through thegrotto and to join the NSS. We have thought of someways that we, as grotto members, could work withbeginners to instill a conservation ethic. Some thingsto think about.

Food: Eat well before entering a cave and makesure everyone has enough to eat while inside. Ahungry and tired person becomes a sloppy caver andloses judgement.

Nature's Calling: Remember to remind everyoneto relieve themselves before entering the cave.

Clothing: Just as with food, a cold or hypothermicperson is no benefit to a fragile cave system. Makesure beginners are well prepared.

Use of Carbide: Remember a bottle or bag forspent carbide. Describe to beginners the hazards ofcarbide to the cave ecosystem. Instill care inrecharging. When taking water from a source in acave avoid dipping the lamp top into the water.

Know your cave: It is important to learn as muchabout a new cave as possible before entering. Themore you understand the fragile areas the better you

Cascade Caver • May 1991

can avoid inflicting harm. As a leader withbeginners, make sure you're in front, pointing outfragile areas. Explain how formations develop andhow humans impact them through breakage, skin oil,lint, and so forth. Instill in beginners the need forcaution while exploring, unfamiliar territory.

Leadership: How do you respond to a personsaying "I'll do anything to get into that cave. Myfriends and I used to break into that cave all thetime."? What do you say to a beginner who has justbroken a speleothem? How do you re-evaluate yourown leadership when someone breaks something onyour trip? What kind of constructive comments doyou make so the person understands the importanceofthe "mistake"? It is important to think about thesepossibilities and our responses. We should make aconstant effort to teach the cave conservation ethic,to break the vandalism chain. Let's hear yourcomments!

33

Calcium Carbideby Ben Tompkins

Although I'm an electrical type with more of anaffinity for bulbs and batteries, I do use carbide onoccasion and was interested in the discussion on thecave news net about the origins and chemistry ofcalcium carbide.

Frank Reid: Disclaimer: This article is notintended to provoke flames (so to speak) aboutcarbide vs. electric cave lights. For a full discussionof their relative merits, see the excellent articles byDonald Davis and Tom Kaye in Caving Basics (NSS,1988).

An informal survey which I conducted revealsthat many cavers don't know where calcium carbidecomes from. Many believe that it is mined from theearth, and that carbide was used before electric lightswere invented.

Frank quotes James Burke, historian oftechnology, about how Henri Moissan ofParis, Francediscovered calcium carbide in 1895 while attemptingto make artificial diamonds in the newly-inventedelectric arc furnace. After many tests, he tried amixture of lime and carbon at a temperature of 2000degrees C. The result was uninteresting until hebrought it into contact with water: It gave off a gaswhich burned with brilliant white light. Acetylenelight was a sensational discovery in the era of dimcoal-gas light and very expensive electricity. Theacetylene industry attracted much investment, andcompeted successfully with gas and electricity. By1899 there were nearly a quarter of a millionacetylene gas jets operating in Germany, served byover 8000 acetylene plants. The gas cost half asmuch as electric light, and required a quarter thespace needed to provide the same illumination by coalgas. Before 1900 there were acetylene plants nearmajor sources of hydroelectric power where theelectric-arc furnaces necessary to produce the carbidecould be operated cheaply. Acetylene was also usedto produce lampblack, and as a substitute for coal gasin engines (it was four times more efficient), andtogether with oxygen it produced a very hot flameideal for welding.

Then Auer von Welsbach invented the gasmantle, which greatly increased the luminosity ofcoal gas. At about the same time, electricity becamemuch less expensive. By 1905, the acetylene industrywas in trouble, and there was a great surplus ofunused carbide. Chemists of the German BASFcompany, looking for new ways to make dye, heatedcalcium carbide to 1000 deg. C and passed nitrogengas over it. The nitrogen combined with the carbide

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to produce calcium cyanamide, an inexpensivefertilizer. (1, 3)

Larry Lippman: The process ... utilizes calciumoxide (quicklime) and coke, and takes place in lamodified arc-resistance furnace:

CaO + 3C --> CaC2 + CO

The carbon monoxide is usually recovered. Materialsand energy required to produce one ton of calciumcarbide are: 1900 lb lime, 1300 lb coke, and 3000Kwh of energy. These figures are accurate, sincethere happened to be a suitable reference book lyingon my conference table.

Probably the most common use of calcium carbidetoday is the manufacture of cyanamide by combiningit with nitrogen. The use of calcium carbide forproduction of acetylene has substantially declined.Acetylene is today more commonly manufacturedfrom natural gas by pyrolysis and partial oxidation ofmethane. There are various processes operating onthis principle, one of which (the Du Pont Process)employs a special arc furnace with a rotatingmagnetic field for quenching the arc.

Union Carbide used to manufacture carbide andacetylene in Louisville, Kentucky. It's a dirtyprocess; they were cited numerous times for air-pollution violations. Circa 1961, their tailings-pondof spent carbide (calcium hydroxide), approx. 114milesquare x 100 feet deep, broke its dam (a hardenedcrust of the same material) and flowed through theneighborhood like cold lava, overturning trucks andknocking houses off their foundations. Thenewspaper published a photo of a sign on someone'sfront lawn reading, "Don't nudge the sludge." Muchof the stuff was dumped into an abandoned quarry.

...Thomas Edison's carbon-filament light bulb waspatented in 1879. French experimenters had madeincandescent lamps previously (1854)using expensiveplatinum filaments. Electric mine-safety lamps wereused as early as 1869. (2)

Among its virtues, carbide light is aestheticallypleasing. Although electric light is older, some caversargue that carbide is more "basic" (true, in that theresidue has a Ph greater than 7. :-)

It takes about 1.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity tomake a pound of calcium carbide (not counting theheat energy needed to make calcium oxide fromlimestone). A pound of carbide will fill a cap-lampabout 10 times, yielding perhaps 30 hours of lightunder caving conditions.

Cascade Caver • May 1991

A new Wheat Lamp(tm) battery stores 14ampere-hours at 4. volts, or 56 watt-hours. Onepound of carbide represents the electrical energy in24 Wheat Lamp charges (at 90% charging efficiency).With a 1.2-ampere bulb, that's 280 hours of light (butyou must leave the cave to recharge).

Although carbide light appears inefficient by theabove calculations it is still unbeatable for caving, interms of volume, weight, reliability and cost. Akilowatt-hour from the power company costs perhaps10 cents at consumer rates in the U.S., far less forlarge industries (there are large regional variationsin cost of commercial electricity). One Kwh fromalkaline D-cells at retail price is about $67(calculated at 1.5 volts, 15 amp-hours, $1.50 per cell.)

CAUTION: Alkaline cells contain mercury, andshould be considered toxic waste. During cavecleanup projects, separate them from the rest of thetrash. They should not be disposed of in landfills.I'm not sure how to properly get rid of them.

Paul Hill: I come from an area of the countrythat doesn't use carbide, despite the "friendly" diffuselight, hours of light per pound and heat generatingfeatures. I have attributed this local bias to the morepronounced yellow of a carbide flame in our area. Myquestion for those chemists with the right knowledge,is the marked difference in color: (1) more a result ofless oxygen and air pressure, or (2) more a result ofthe lower temperature of the gases being burned.

Most of our caves are in the 1200m - 2700mrange with more toward the higher than the lowervalue. 40-50 F (5-15 C) would cover a majority ofcaves. I do assume the colder temperatures cause theproduction of carbide to be slowed. This even camein very handy at least once, when I was able to cavefor six hours (!) on one charge of a Premier cap lampwithout a micro sized flame. This was at around3000 m. in a very cold cave. This slower productionalso allows the excess heat to dissipate into the colderair. Cap lamp bottoms rarely if ever get too warm tograb in this area.

Note: The pressure of gas delivery is limited bythe column of water above the carbide. Too muchpressure will release through the water tank andNOT deliver higher pressure gas to the tip.

Roger Haley: Do carbide cavers need to worryabout being able to find it?

Frank Reid: For now, probably not. Carbide isan important industrial chemical. However, givencurrent attitudes of government and the legalprofession, I expect that we may someday have to getit by paths less direct than at present.

Cavers into explosives, and readers ofrec.pyrotechnics, know that the Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco and Firearms (BATF, a.k.a. "revenooers,"part of the U.S. Treasury Dept.) is slowly increasing

Cascade Caver • May 1991

its restrictions on potentially-explosive chemicals.They have not regulated calcium carbide, but whoknows what they might do if some second-rateterrorist blows up a town by dumping 100 pounds ofcarbide in the sewer?

Andrew J. Holtsbery: ...When the UniversitySecurity came through the building [where we holdour meetings and store our carbide] on their roundsthey flipped out when reading the flammable solidlabels on the rusted, but still intact barrels. Theycalled the University Environmental Safety peopleand had them removed ... The University didn't bothertelling us they had taken it ... They insisted that theyput on a "Carbide School" to inform us of properstorage, and disposal of our carbide ... They also askedquestions like, "You do wear dust and mistrespirators with full facepeices, splash-proof dust-resistant safety goggles and use glove when you comein contact with it don't you?"

Scott Linn: In Corvallis, Oregon about a monthago someone had left a drum of carbide out for trashpickup (if I had known, I would have picked it upmyself!). Anyway, it wasn't labeled, and went intothe back of the pickup ... It rains a lot here, and ithappened to be raining then, somost of the trash waswet. The garbage men started to think somethingwas wrong when they heard loud hissing soundscoming from the back of their truck, even when itwas off. Someone from EPA came out and figuredeverything out, before anyone got too close and lit acigarette.

References:1. Connections by James Burke, Macmillan,

London, 1978. ISBN 0-316-11685-8 (paperback).(Companion book for the PBS TV series.)

2. Historical article on mining lamps by ChuckYoung,Potomac Caver 13(1)4-7, (2)13-17, reprinted inSpeleo Digest 1970, pp. 302-305. Partial reprint inSpeleonics 15, vA no. 3, Oct. 1990.

3. Young's article includes references fromScientific American, 9 Feb and 23 Feb 1895, aboutthe invention and production of calcium carbide, andreports that Scientific American ran many articlesabout carbide and acetylene over the next 15 years.

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Grotto NotesApril Grotto Meeting

The April meeting was another well-attendedgathering. Sandy Major opened the meeting with adescription of the NSS Conservation Committee anda call to form a grotto conservation committee. Anumber of people expressed interest.

Mark Wilson announced that the June 22 trip toCave Ridge was rescheduled for June 29.

Sandy outlined the agenda for the May businessmeeting.

Jim Harp made a plea for preregistering for theNCA regional and passed out registration forms.

Chuck Crandell, Phil Erickson, and Mike Wagnerdescribed their adventures getting to LechuguillaCave, working onthe project, and participating in therescue that got so much media attention.

Next came the perennial rehash of who to call ina cave emergency and what the grotto's role ought tobe.

And finally came Steve Sprague's survey clinic.The group broke up into three crews to survey a looparound the building. But it was dark outside and noteveryone had three sources of light so the loops weredone indoors. Disregarding the steel floors, steelpipes on the ceiling, and steel door frames, it was agood first exercise. Each team then processed theirdata on a laptop computer to see that part of theprocess also.

New GrottoPuget Sound Grotto, c/oCharlie Anderson, 547

S.W. 304th, Federal Way, WA 98023

New MembersDean BergEdmonds, (206) 743-1569.

"I am a Phd candidate in Forest SystemsEngineering. I work with geographic informationsystems and can help generate 3D maps, althoughnot on demand and with a little patience. My cavingexperience is limited to being a participant but I havesome basic climbing skills. I'm 35 years old, married,and have 3 dogs." - Dean

Michael ComptonTacoma, (206) 535-5144 NSS 33221

"I am 35 years old, own my own business as anaudio engineer, and have been caving for 2 yearsnow. I am interested in bats, cave exploration, and

36

vertical caving. So far I have been exploring the lavatubes around Mt. St. Helens and am planning a tripto central Oregon and the Bend area caves thissummer."

Scott Duncan and Inga ThornellFederal Way, (206) 838-6163.

"I am intensely interested in caves and haveexplored caves in Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky, andArizona. I have spend one night in a cave inWisconsin and loved it. I have also done extensivecave diving in northern Florida. Backpacking is alsoa hobby and I did a lot of free climbing in theseventies."

"I strongly believe in protecting caveenvironments and I strive to leave no trace when Iexplore a cave. Based on the number of caves thatI've found to be locked up tight to keep the publicout, I've come to realize that the only way in is to joina recognized, responsible caving group."

'We were introduced to the grotto by Bob Brownand we look forward to learning more about cavesand caving from the dedicated, experienced peopleI've met at the grotto meetings." - Scott

Roy miL.) RobinsonSeattle, (206) 935-7464. NSS 22848.

"The Northern New Jersey Grotto introduced meto caving in 1979 and I was an active member upuntil my move to Seattle in 1990. I have done avariety of east coast caves in NY, NJ, PA, VA, andWV, all of them horizontal in nature. In the last yearor two I have become interested in vertical caving butso far have limited experience. I am looking forwardto caving on the west coast and possibly trips toBighorn, Jewel, and other expeditions of thatkind." - Roy

Doug SingerSeattle, (206) 285-8340.

"I am new to Seattle, interested in caving for thephysical challenge and as the 'Last frontier for thecommon man', and because it is an exploration ofspace and place, which seems to be a recurring themein my life. I also passionately love to travel."

"I am 32 years old, have a degree in geography,and am studying for a masters in architecture.Currently, I am self-employed as a travel broker.

Cascade Caver • May 1991

Dues

As a friendly reminder, the following members orsubscribers have dues presently due or coming up.You can check your mailing label on any issue to seeyour next due date. Don't panic if your nameappears here and you've just paid. Your treasurerand your editor are no longer the same so there is alittle more delay in the system. As of 05/05/91:

Overdue: Curtis Rideout, Robert DeWolf, RogerGarratt, Shaun Larson, MollyMcBride, Randy Vance,Kay A Willhight, Mark M. Wilson

Due now: Robert Brown

Coming up: Curt W. Black, Wayne Cebell, RodCrawford, Dick Garnick, Kevin Bagley, Howard Hoyt,Dr. Eugene Kiver, Larry McTigue, Daniel W. Smith,Robert Stitt, Sue Elson

Corrections:

The source of the Pits and Domes puzzle was omittedin the April issue. It came from the Winter 1988issue of Compass and Tape, newsletter of the Surveyand Cartography Section of the NSS.

Tom Strongs NSS number is 9110, not 29319 aslisted in the January-February issue.

Lech-Note

From Rane Curl: lech-u-gui-lla, also lech-e-gui-lla[MexSp. fr Sp. wild lettuce, dim. of lechugallettuce,from L. lectuca): any of several Mexican agaves (asAgave lecheguilla) yielding istle fiber.

Lechugilla fever -also- lechuguilla poisoning: a seriousintoxication occurring in sheep and goats in thesouthwestern U.S. as a result of their feeding on alechuguilla (Agave lecheguilla) and involving necrosisof the liver and kidney accompanied by jaundice andin light-skinned animals, photosensitization anddermatitis.

Let's start a projectby Ben Tompkins

Now that we've all had hands-on experience withcave surveying, let's start a project. A nice BIGproject! Something like Mammoth Cave, for example,

Cascade Caver • May 1991

which has about 100,500 stations in the survey. Ifwe're serious about this we could field 3 teamsaveraging 50 stations each for 40 weekends per yearand get the baby done in about 17 years. By thenwe'll have an instructor lined up for a cartographytraining seminar so we can start the map. Or maybewe should start on a small, local cave.

Carbide ShortagePredictedby Frank Reid

Underprivileged delinquents in big-city slums,whose welfare checks are no longer adequate topurchase sufficient quantities of regular booze anddope, have been getting stoned, so to speak, byadding water to calcium carbide and inhaling theresultant fumes.

The practice is widespread in Europe, which iswhy French carbide lamps are very large and havehoses attached. Because of low price and easyavailability, carbide abuse in America is consideredvery low-class, although spectacular disasters haveoccurred among sophisticated drug-users whoexperimented with "getting their rocks off' whilesmoking other substances.

The American Civil Liberties Union attempted todefend a New York carbide-sniffer arrested at aghetto meeting with a can of funny white powder, ongrounds of religious freedom, citing a Biblicalreference to "Shepherds a'biding in the fields, keepingwatch over their flocks by night," during which theyreceived a glorious vision. The judge dismissed thecase because calcium carbide is not, as yet, acontrolled substance.

Needless to say, Big Brother is taking appropriatemeasures to keep this deadly social dynamite out ofthe innocent hands of the youth of our great nation,with the expected result that a kilo of uncut 'bide willhave a street value in excess of $1000. Possession ofcarbide lamps will be regulated by drug-paraphernalia laws.

Exposure to even small amounts of carbide gas isknown to produce bizarre behavior, often causing itsvictims to crawl into holes in the ground. Apreliminary USDA study of NSS life-members hasindicated a possible correlation between carbide useand premature senility.

- reprinted from cavers@m2c cavers news net,originally from Frank Reid (reid@Ucs.indiana.edu)Notice to the humor-impaired: The preceding is ajoke! *(:-) - Frank

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~ascade CaverI

n..!.

fNY :l20

Grotto meeting place at U. of W.

Cascade CaverP.O BOX 75663SEATILE WA 98 125-0663

12/31

Windy City Speleonewsc/o Ralph Earlandson5457 s. I0g1es~decAve. Apt. 2WChicago, Il 6061._,

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