The DUG SCOOPS Archives - 1984
COMPILED FROM DUG SCOOPS VOLUME 2 & 3
Fisher Ridge Summary January 1984 V2 N3 By Dan Crowl
The month of December brought only a single group of cavers to FRCS. This is unlike years past when literally hoardes of cavers descended on FRCS to take full advantage of extended vacations. As a result, survey footage in December amounted to a mere 802 feet.
The sole December trip consisted of Frank Spirek, Dave LeClerc and Tony Mulbrecht. The goal of this trip was to check leads in Pedigo and Hunky Dory. They were hopeful that luck would lead them to something new and exciting. Unfortunately, it was not to be and the group was condemned to mopping up leads that continually ended in sand fills, flowstone chokes and breakdown. Even the highly touted lead above the Tall Wall Dome, initially explored by Don Coons two years ago, was found to terminate as too tight after several hundred feet.
On a brighter note, FRCS has surpassed 5000 survey stations and is just short of 27 miles (26.84).
For the year 1984, I predict that FRCS will surpass 35 miles, that we will be very close to a connection with Crump's Spring Cave, that the "connection threat" from Mammoth thru the Fisher Ridge Special in Roppel will not materialize but will be replaced by a bigger "threat" of connection in Eudora Ridge, and that central Kentucky cave politics will continue in its present ridiculous state.
Good caving to all in 1984!
Fisher Ridge Summary February 1984 V2 N4 By Dan Crowl
Last night (Sunday) I sat before my word processor deciding how I would write another Fisher Ridge Summary that revealed few new discoveries. I felt that I had nearly exhausted all of the "nothing big" angles. Fortunately I delayed writing this column until I talked to the returning members of this weekend's trip.
I could use the words "scoop!" or "breakthrough!" to describe what happened, but I might be accused of unprofessional excitement so I won't! Anyway, now that I have you on the edge if your seats, let me provide you with the details (even though this information is second hand).
A four man team consisting of Frank Spirek, Peter Quick, Keith Ortiz and Bob Anderson travelled (1/28/84) to the extreme end of Century Tube in the eastern parts of the system. Their objectives seemed somewhat unclear and slightly disorganized. Needless to say they just wanted to "look around."
Eventually, Peter Quick and Bob Anderson, now split from the others, found themselves at the bottom of the so - called Bolt Climb Lead. A nice passage about thirty foot up the side of a dome could be observed here. After several false attempts by both participants, Bob Anderson finally made it to the top and Pete soon followed.
The observed lead led very shortly to a north - south trunk passage (now called Bob's Borehole) with good dimensions. Keith and Frank joined them at this point since their explorations apparently found little of significance.
Survey towards the north led quickly to a terminal breakdown after several hundred feet. Survey to the south led to over a thousand feet of survey, eventually ending in breakdown. Repeated probings through the breakdown finally led them to a connection via a difficult route with the Century Tube Trunk Segments found on a much earlier trip.
The groups split up at this point with each party of two tackling a number of observed side leads. The fate of these side lead explorations is still not clear to this writer at this time (I was lucky to have any information!). Bob and Peter selected an easily - diggable - in - fluffy - sand - -and - blowing - air lead (the EDFSB lead?) and were able to proceed for a ways before giving up.
Bob and Pete now decided to rout while Keith and Frank continued surveying in side leads. Upon reaching the opening of the Remington Sink, Bob and Pete found Steve Miller ready with 15 sticks of dynamite poised to "re - stabilize the entrance pit." After much discussion and considerable waiting, the blast was set and a room - sized section of sink bottom was sent into the hole! For a considerable period after this prodigious event, wheelbarrow sized sections of pit wall could be observed peeling off and crashing to the pit floor below! Instead of theoretically eliminating the unstable material, the blast contributed to a substantial increase in the problem. How would the remaining crew of Keith and Frank use this entrance as planned? Fortunately, after some work on behalf of the surface crew, some stability was achieved and Keith and Frank were able to make their way up the now reinstalled rope.
Hopefully, next months issue will contain section maps of this newly discovered section and perhaps more accurate and first hand trip reports.
In earlier trips in January, Joe Saunders and Preston Forsythe mopped up in Fluffy Sand (see article this issue); Frank Spirek and the Kendricks dropped the dome in the Remington Room to find 800 feet of new passage and also dropped the Neglected Domes in South Fisher Avenue (finding a water crawl); Larry and Jim Bean checked leads in Hunky Dory and environs, finding nothing to survey.
Fisher Ridge Summary March 1984 V2 N5 By Dan Crowl
FRCS has now broken the 28 mile point, just short of the three year, 30 mile objective.
Most cavers seem to be working their own favorite areas. Keith Ortiz continues efforts in the Midway Dome area in Ice Cave Ridge, placing an additional 95 stations here with 1762 feet during February. Keith says "Just one more trip!" I returned with Joe Saunders to the Slimy Way lead off of Sweetwater Canyon. Only 28 stations and about 400+ feet were surveyed in a 20 hour trip. Joe remarked on how this trip reminded him of his earlier Crumps Spring Cave days. I agreed, as we walked sideways through a small canyon with stomach level blades. The Slime Way will require at least another trip to complete the survey to my previous explorations.
Peter Quick, Frank Spirek and Reid Beauchamp returned to the eastern sections of the cave towards the end of February. Frank first dropped the pit conjectured to be a connection to the Detroit River. After confirming the downstream connection, he explored several hundred feet in upstream Detroit River to a point where the passages disintegrated again. This new connection should hasten further exploration of this passage since it is now readily accessible. The remainder of the trip was apparently devoted to photo taking in Bob's Borehole passage.
Also during February, Peter Quick, Frank Spirek and Chip Hopper began exploration and survey in Peter's original stream crawl found on the initial exploration day three years ago. This low and miserable crawl near Historic was surveyed for 553 feet under the Forcaster Canyon area. Additional work is required here.
Finally, the Remington Entrance remains closed due to de - nerdification. Inspection trips during the end of February confirmed that much work remains here with loose boulders hanging in every conceivable direction.
This reporter has also confirmed that Steve Miller has placed a classy engraved brass plaque at the Stomach Pool Bypass. The plaque reads: "Stomach Pool Memorial Tunnel, Detroit Urban Grotto, July 23, 1983." Will a similiar plaque appear in the future in the Remington Entrance?
Fisher Ridge Summary April 1984 V2 N6 By Dan Crowl
March was a particularly inactive month with only one reported trip into FRCS. This was another one of Keith Ortiz's famous trips to Midway Canyon area in Ice Cave Ridge. Keith's apparent theory is that this maze of upper level passages will lead to new discoveries in the northern part of Fisher Ridge proper. After setting 91 stations and 1284 feet, Keith figured that he had finally finished off the area. However, on the way out, new leads were found and the resulting data plot (see FRCS section map) looked encouraging. Keith now says "Just one more trip!!" Keith (assisted by the DC area crew of Bob Anderson and Chip Hopper has placed hundreds of stations (600+?) and thousands of feet in a square area of less than 1000 x 1000 feet. Furthermore, the area is so complicated that all other groups are essentially shut out (if indeed they would be interested). Keith has discovered a way to have a "cave within a cave," or should I say a "kingdom within a cave"?
FRCS now stands at 28.8 miles and 5570 stations. The possibility now exists to break 30 miles within the next several months (mid to late summer?). While we are indeed now well below the near 10 mile per year discovery average that was maintained for the first two years, new discoveries are arising, albeit at a slower rate. An additional "problem" is the experience of the survey crews. In the early days of discovery of FRCS, 50 station survey trips were considered "big". Thus, new discoveries would require several survey trips by several different teams, generating enthusiasm within a good segment of the FRCS community. Now, however, 100 station trips are very common and new discoveries are consummed almost immediately, short - circuiting the spread of enthusiasm amongst the participants. This "problem" is a different twist to the Caver's Dilemma considered previously in the SCOOPS (Vol. 2, No. 4). This situation results (in this caver's opinion) in an apparent decrease in new discoveries. By "apparent" I mean that new discoveries are still being made, but the enthusiasm generated is not as extensive, leading many cavers to conclude that the discoveries are not as significant or the cave is dying. I suspect that the discovery rate in FRCS has indeed dropped. However, I believe that the rate has not dropped as low as many people are led to believe. Hopefully I can compile some statistics in the near future (stations and/or footage per month) to demonstrate this effect.
Fisher Ridge Summary May 1984 V2 N7 By Dan Crowl
Only two areas received attention during the month of April: the Slimeway (Yes! another trip!) and Bob's Borehole area. Of course, a highlight of the month was the re re - re - re - opening of the Remington Entrance. It appears that this entrance is destined to stay for awhile now since all of the large boulders once clogging the area are removed (As Newton would say, they were moved to a lower gravitational plane.) (LATE NEWS FLASH: Joe Saunders was in central Kentucky on the weekend of April 30 and reports that the west end of the Remington sink has slumped, significantly reducing the entrance area!)
The trip to Bob's Borehole involved Keith Ortiz, Bob Anderson and Ed Devine. As difficult as it may be to believe, this usually productive crew did not, I repeat, did not survey a single survey station! It seems that they started their trip quite late, what with all the fussin' about the Remington Entrance. Rather than take a slight slip in the caver statistics, they opted for a scaling pole trip to check upper leads in the Borehole. These three leads apparently did not pan out, but we'll never know how long they really were since they weren't surveyed! (and probably never will be). On a brighter note, they did manage to dig open the northeast heading lead from Bob's Borehole. They followed the opened lead for several hundred feet to the overlook of a dome. The question is: Is this a new dome, or one that is already known? Stay tuned for later reports.
On the same weekend, myself, Frank Spirek and Larry Bean did take a dip in our caver statistics and completed the Slimeway survey (at least completed until digging is started). We placed 24 stations for 381 feet through absolutely miserable cave mud and water (Note to Joe Saunders: We never could have done it with just the two of us. The water sections were much longer and more miserable than I remembered). The passage ended in a water crawl that was bravely checked by Frank Spirek as Larry and I stayed behind to finish the final sketching details. Frank pushed it to where his ears were in the water. Since data processing was not performed this month (not enough new data), the location of this passage is not known. However, it is felt that it is somehow related to the HOG and SOW surveys off of Pedigo Avenue.
For those of you who like to keep statistics, FRCS stands at 28.80 miles total taped distance with 5580 stations.
Keith Ortiz informs me that the line map of Midway Dome published in the SCOOPS is apparently in error. Keith believes that the most recent survey was improperly connected. Hopefully the problem will be corrected and a new map will appear next month. Keith was the only one who noticed the problem.
Fisher Ridge Summary June 1984 V2 N8 By Dan Crowl
In early May an intense rainstorm swept across central Kentucky, dumping a huge amount of rainfall on the area. Widespread flooding of the area resulted, with large lakes and ponds forming where they had never been seen before. While the damage is still being accessed, it appears that this flooding had a profound affect on the local caves. Areas in FRCS that had been considered "bone dry" in the past were now found to contain goopy mud and pooled water.
The initial assessment indicates that backflooding, rather that torrents, was the main problem. Evidence indicates that all of Fisher Avenue, Pedigo Avenue and Toothless were flooded. This implies that the backflooding reached the -170 foot mark below the Historic Entrance and means that such thoroughfares as the MoFo Tube (traditionally very bone dry) now contains goopy mud and probably pooled water. Passages that occur below the Chris Cross can now be expected to be damaged.
The impact of this sudden change in cave character is uncertain. Already a trip, planned for the New Years area on Memorial Day, was cancelled when goopy mud and pooled water was found at the entrance to the long New Years crawl. Many members of the survey crew are discourged. The familiar rest places (Basecamp, end of MoFo Tube) cannot be expected to be very friendly now. Survey stations in traditional places will be difficult to find.
Some people are describing these events as the "Fifty year floods." However, remember this term being used to describe last years floods now a mere trickle compared to this years. Locals seem to believe that the flood of 1937 was worse. Personally, in light of the fact that our 2000+ year old Indian footprint artifacts just missed being inundated, I am inclined to believe that this recent flood was perhaps the 100 or 200 year flood.
We can expect drying of the mud and water to occur in well ventilated areas. How long it will take is uncertain and it is unknown how long, if ever, will be required to return the system to its former character.
Only one trip obtained survey footage in May. This trip was composed of Peter Quick and Dave LeClerc. The footage (several hundred feet) was obtained at the end of Double Cross. Surprisingly, a connection was made between Double Cross and a meander very close to the rest area in Chris Cross. This reinforces my belief that more passage and discoveries, in traditional areas, remain. Also on this trip, several hundred feet of survey was done in upstream Forcaster, apparently to the bitter end.
Data processing has not been performed for several months now, due mostly to a lack of substantial data.
Fisher Ridge Summary July 1984 V2 N9 By Dan Crowl
On the weekend of June 16th, the FRCS cavers finally paydirt and made significant new discoveries in the eastern sections of the cave. For the first time, FRCS is in contiguous ridge with Crump's Spring cave, with about 2000 feet still separating the two systems. These new discoveries bring the total mileage to 29.7 miles, providing the opportunity to break the thirty mile mark in mid- summer.
The first exploration crew consisted of Keith Ortiz and Bob Anderson (The Dynamic Duo). Their initial objective was to drop the pit at the end of an as yet unnamed crawlway/dig going east from Bob's Borehole. Much to their chagrin (and Keith's expectation) this drop connected to existing known passage, resulting in two leads being destroyed. However, they apparently retreated to explore a small lead back down the crawlway and managed to break into a good east trending set of passageways. This survey (totalling 1798 feet in 60 stations) extended the known cave several hundred more feet to the east. Expectations of an eventual connection to Crump's are still positive.
The trip by Ortiz and Anderson may have also set a new time record. Since these two refuse to wear watches, they time their trips by carbide charges. Well, they apparently were considerably off on this trip. Keith attributes the descrepancy to a change over to large carbide pieces. Anyway, the trip lasted 30 hours even though they estimated a less than 20 hour trip. This pairs history of long trips might explain their inability to attract others to their explorations.
Peter Quick and Larry Bean also headed to eastern cave sections on this weekend. They decided to finally explore upstream Detroit River, even though thunderstorms were threatening (I requested expense reimbursement before their trip but they refused). They dropped the Connection Drop from Century tube, surveyed the downstream section to connect to the existing survey, and then continued exploration and survey into the unknown upstream sections. They placed 57 stations with 1570 feet to a sump just above a chert layer. A few leads were found and noted. This new passage continues the old trend of the Detroit River southeast.
The survey connection from Century tube to Detroit River completes the largest loop within FRCS. This loop consists of 147 stations and 3609 feet. Amazingly, only 10 feet of loop closure error was found!
Finally, Chip Hopper and myself explored leads around Chris Cross and Forcaster Stream. We found a nifty connection to Forcaster from Chris Cross a few feet away from the rest area. We also connected a previously suspected loop from Forcaster to the G survey off of Fossil Dome. Extensive explorations were also made in eastern Chris Cross. No significant leads were noted.
Fisher Ridge Summary August 1984 V2 N10 By Dan Crowl
As readers of this column are probably aware, I am a proponent of the belief that lots of virgin cave passage is yet to be discovered in classically accessible and well travelled sections of FRCS. I present two trip summaries that both support and refute this claim.
This first trip occurred during the weekend of July 14th and involved myself , Peter Quick and Steve Miller. Our initial objective was to explore and survey a lead off of the Happy Cat Crawl, less than an hour from the entrance. This passage led to a narrow canyon that downcut rapidly and almost spiralled in upon itself (the Almost Spiral Passage?). It terminated in a small dome with observable, but not reachable, canyon passage 25 feet above (the Unreachable Canyon Dome?).
The undauntable survey crew then travelled to the dome area at the end of Double Cross. A small crawlway that was apparently considered "no - go" was rechecked to find a much larger canyon (2x6) about 100 feet down the crawlway. This narrow and sinuous canyon proved to be a challenge for survey. After 40 stations, the canyon diminished in size and became lined with gypsum, resulting in an abandoned survey. Exploration was continued about 100 feet further to a column obstruction.
Total statistics for this crew: 932 feet in 69 stations.
During the weekend of July 27th , a four man team composed of Keith 0rtiz , Chip Hopper, Bob Anderson and Ed Devine participated in a another famous Ed Devine orchestrated scaling pole trip. First, the heavily loaded team travelled to a dome in the Crazy Sand passage. Their goal was to use the scaling pole to explore a passage reported earlier to continue on the other side of the Twice Unentered Dome. As Keith Ortiz reports, the scaling pole was not required, much to the chagrin of the well equipped crew. The passage was surveyed for 200 feet to a choke.
On the way back to Fisher Avenue, the crew noticed a small canyon near the webbing climb. They followed this 60 feet to a dig. Blowing air was reported and 'Keith thinks another look is in order.
The crew then travelled to ' Lovely Larry's Lower Level Lead and Leapoff to use the scaling pole to check the waterfall lead in the West Room. This author is near incredulous about the ensuing events. As Keith relates, the scaling pole was used as a bridge, with a cable ladder attached at both ends. The intrepid explorer merely climbs down the ladder on one side and then continues up the other side to the objective. I guess it's sort of like a ladder Tyrolian! To add to the adventure, most of this occurred within the waterfall! To make a long story short, the target lead led to a flowstone plug within twenty feet with the water issuing from a small crack below the flowstone. The now discouraged group retreated to the surface after 23 hours (a "short" trip for Ortiz and Anderson).
Also during the weekend of July 14, Joe Saunders and Larry Bean used chemistry to open up the Dragon's Mouth in Sabbath Passage. After engorging the cavers, several hundred feet of passage was apparently surveyed. Details are sketchy since the survey data has not been obtained yet.
The question that everyone is asking is: Is FRCS past 30 miles yet? It appears that, without all of the data , the result is too close to call.
In other matters, Keith Ortiz reports that Fisher Avanue is drying out nicely after the deluge in May. This is conjectured to be due to the large airflow in Fisher Avenue and the nearby Remington Entrance. Keith reports that the sand at Base Camp is still too damp to sleep on, but the pools of water have vanished.
Steve Miller has made arrangements to provide copies of FRCS data updates to active members of the exploration team. These updates will be provided for $1 per installment with the proceeds to go to the Grotto. These installments will be issued at irregular intervals, depending on activity, and usually represent several hundred stations. For those of you without any of the initial data, special arrangements can be made through me.
Fisher Ridge Summary September 1984 V2 N11 By Dan Crowl
It's official now: FRCS stands at 30.25 miles in total taped distance. Of course, excluded footage would drop the total probably by several thousand feet, but this number is representative of the total effort.
Only two trips were led into FRCS since my last report. On August 4th, Dave LeClerc and myself ventured to the Forecaster Stream and Eastern Chris Cross areas. Several leads were checked (nothing big found) and several meander loops were surveyed. Total footage: 715 feet in 44 stations. An additional "last trip" is required in this area to check a few more leads and to survey a few more loops of increasing difficulty.
On August 11th, Keith Ortiz and Chip Hopper motivated themselves to the MoFo Dome / Crumbly Canyon / Century Tube area for mop up work. They apparently found a maze of intersecting canyons and passages that were apparently just as complicated as Midway Canyon. Total footage for the trip: 746 feet in 41 stations.
In last months Summary, I reported that Bob Anderson accompanied Keith Ortiz's group on their July 28th trip. In reality the group was composed of only Keith, Chip Hopper and Ed Divine. Sorry about that folks!
It appears that the FRCS databases maintained by Chip Hopper and myself are finally in agreement. Due to data coming in from a variety of sources, Chip and myself have been experiencing difficulty maintaining similiar databases.
Minor improvements are continuing in the cave data program. Most recently, the algorithm was modified to remove extraneous zeros from the output. The old algorithm added zeros to the right of the decimal point to fill out the decimal places to a fixed number. These zeros were added independent of the data actually entered. The new modification prints only the actual numbers entered. The unique feature is that all numbers in a particular column of data have their decimal points aligned. This new feature significantly improves readablility on an already c luttered data output. Furthermore, the data output now reflects exactly the data as taken from the survey notes.
Keith has recently sent me an updated listing of all surveys, as tabulated by Chip Hopper from his FRCS database. Chip assigns each survey a number based, more or less, on chronological order. I like this approach since it simplifies filing of the original survey notes and improves communication. Assuming that Chip continues this practice, I would like to see this survey numbering approach (as performed by Chip) being a standard for the Cave.
Lately, people are beginning to believe that activity within FRCS is dropping off. Rather than just guess what was occurring, I decided to prepare a table showing the last years activity:
| Month | Trips | Stations | Footage | Stations/Trip | Feet/Station |
| 8/84 | 2 | 85 | 1462 | 42.5 | 17.2 |
| 7/84 | 3 | 97 | 1246 | 32.3 | 12.8 |
| 6/84 | 3 | 137 | 3851 | 45.7 | 28.1 |
| 5/84 | 1 | 40 | 482 | 40.0 | 12.0 |
| 4/84 | 1 | 28 | 481 | 28.0 | 17.2 |
| 3/84 | 1 | 91 | 1284 | 91.0 | 14.1 |
| 2/84 | 4 | 169 | 2987 | 42.5 | 17.7 |
| 1/84 | 5 | 245 | 5628 | 49.0 | 22.9 |
| 12/83 | 1 | 31 | 802 | 31.0 | 25.9 |
| 11/83 | 4 | 175 | 3413 | 43.7 | 19.5 |
| 10/83 | 4 | 171 | 3395 | 42.7 | 19.8 |
| 9/83 | 6 | 215 | 5925 | 35.8 | 27.5 |
| 8/83 | 4 | 132 | 2938 | 33.0 | 22.3 |
| TOTALS: | 39 | 1616 | 33894 | 42.8 | Ave 19.8 |
This data tells me a few things. First, it appears that indeed, the footage per month and the stations per month average has fallen. However, the survey parties are working as hard as ever since the station / trip average is about the same over the past year. The average number of trips per month has also fallen, perhaps due to the realization that most of the good stuff is gone or that the good stuff is harder to get. The feet per station average has dropped as well, meaning that the passages that are being surveyed are smaller. If anyone else has any comments about this data, or other feelings about current explorations, please drop me a letter and I will publish it in forthcoming SCOOPS.
Fisher Ridge Summary October 1984 V2 N12 By Dan Crowl
Only one crew ventured into FRCS during the month of September. This was a group composed of Keith Ortiz, Chip Hopper and newcomer Steve Truswell. Their goal was a short scaling pole trip to check the lead at the top of the Unclimbable Dome at the end of the Almost Spiralled Passage. This passage, as you might remember, is a side lead off of the Happy Cat Crawl near Eastern Chris Cross. It was originally discovered by myself, Steve Miller and Peter Quick in July. A well defined passage was observed at the top of this 20 foot dome. Data processing and plotting indicated that the Dome was above and slightly to the east of the Forecaster Overlook Canyon. Anyway, the scaling pole attempt was successful, with leads being found in both directions at the top of the dome. The first lead was apparently a nice hands and knees crawl that became progressively lower and ultimately connected with another dome. Smaller leads were found at the bottom of this Climbable Dome. The other lead connected with Double Cross under an inconspicuous ledge. About 200 feet of passage was surveyed in 20+ stations.
A new feature of this column will be what I call "Inspired Lead's". These are leads that, on first glance, look poor, but seem to become more important in one's mind as days or weeks pass. A good example is the lead I found in Chris Cross at the connection to Double Cross. Dave LeClerc and I were climbing down from Double Cross on our way out of the cave. At the end of the connection, one jumps down from a 5 foot ledge into Chris Cross. At this point I looked up and noticed a tight but 5' high canyon lead at the top of an incline. Being curious I checked it out. My explorations were stopped after just a few feet when the canyon made a twist and the lower part became too small for my legs to through. I tried to wedge in and raise myself to the wider upper part of the canyon but, being at the end of a trip, my already scrapped elbows would not allow it. After failing several times at this effort, I merely dismissed the lead as unimportant. However, several days later, images of this lead began to appear in my mind. Where was it going? Afterall, it was headed straight across Chris Cross into an area that had no known passage!
I call these types of leads "inspired" because they really aren't "hot" and probably don't deserve a trip devoted to them. However, by publishing this information, a survey crew returning from an unsuccessful survey might be inclined to take a look.
This is this months INSPIRED LEAD list:
1. The Mysterious Lead at the Chris Cross - Double Cross connection.
2. The west trending lead off of Deluxe Crawl.
3. Possible additional leads near the Happy Face Connection.
4. The small canyon lead and possible dig at the end of Helegmite.
5. Possible leads in Helegmite at different levels. Water is observed to come
and go in this passage.
6. The small lead in the Hilton Inn after the Giant Room climbdown.
Good luck and good caving!
Fisher Ridge Summary November 1984 V3 N1 By Dan Crowl
This Summary to be added soon.
Fisher Ridge Summary December 1984 V3 N2 By Dan Crowl
I sit here before my terminal as the clock ticks well into the AM hours. One question crosses my mind: How can these people expect me to assemble a reasonable summary of FRCS activity under these conditions and with the sketchy information I have? One might argue that these conditions are quite comparable to the conditions under which most of the cave exploration and survey is accomplished. And that seems to work quite well. Anyway, here goes . . . .
Two significant weekends occurred during the last month's reporting period. During the weekend of November 3rd, two groups of cavers from Michigan and the DC area met in Kentucky. The first group (Ortiz, Anderson and Hopper) were on a three day sabbatical and could afford to "pull the stops out." Indeed, this is exactly what they did in their record breaking 35 hour trip to the eastern sections of the cave. While they did not find anything ( i.e. new continuing trunk), they did manage to survey close to 1000 feet from a variety of side leads in the area.
The group from Michigan split up into a number of different trips. Unfortunately, due to several inches of rainfall the night before, these trips were affected by high water. Reid Beauchamp led a group back to New Years to push a number of leads. Reid recruited a very small, first time caver specifically for a particularly small downstream lead. Progress was retarded considerably by the high water, but several hundred feet of survey was obtained. Reid vows to return under more auspicious conditions.
The second group was composed of Peter Quick and Dave LeClerc (I hope!). They attacked the drop at the Tall Wall Dome. They reported the drop to be much deeper than previously reported (about 35 feet). Anyway, downstream passage was found, but again exploration was impeded by high water.
On the weekend of December 3, a large group of 8 people from Michigan travelled to Kentucky. They split into a number of trips.
Bruce Hilton, John Rosenfeld and Denny Kendrick travelled to Don's Biggest Dome at the end of Toothless in Ice Cave Ridge. Their objective was to find a way to climb into the upper lead observable from the floor of the Dome. They were able to lasso a projection and climb up, only to find that it was simply an alcove.
Reid Beauchamp and Peter Quick travelled to Detroit River to look at side leads. They observed a total of well over a thousand feet of passage in several very difficult leads but declined to survey. One particular lead, dubbed Angst Alley, was a muddy, vertical canyon with few handholds. Travelling was only possible in the upper parts of this canyon, raising the spector of a caver falling and finding himself in a pinch. Another choice lead called Bad Dreams Stream was an alternate canyon and belly whomp. Cavers with wetsuits only need apply,
The third group consisted of Dennis Kendrick, Tammie Heazlit and Mary (?). They opted for a photo trip to Frank's Fairland and apparently enjoyed exiting through Splash. This confirms that Splash is indeed open for winter use!
At present, I don't know where we stand in total footage since the data processing is in arrears. This should be rectified shortly and a new total reported next month.
I now have access to a multi - million dollar computer aided design facility. This raises the possibility of performing all final cave map drafting by computer. Floor detail, cross sections and lettering could conceivably be performed using this facility. I will keep you updated on work here.
Since I haven't been caving since October, I am scrapping the bottom of the barrel for inspired leads. Active caving seems essential for keeping this list. Anyway, I'm still inspired to return to the Choclate Pudding Passage to find a new way to base level in Ice Cave. I'm also inspired by Keith Ortiz's suggestion that we look for possible connections to the MoFo area via Eastern Criss Cross. Remember, Eastern Chris Cross terminates in a complicated dome series. Perhaps a lead remains?? Since this issue contains several articles on scaling poles, how about a few inspired scaling pole leads? How about several upper level waterfall leads in the domes around the Raisin Room? I can think of at least two leads that are within possible reach. How about using the poles to traverse the hole in the floor in the passage going off from the Giant Room? I'm sure that we all have upper level dome leads that we've discounted since we considered access not possible.