Youth Opportunities Underground

Since Geocities is closing down, I have to move all my trip reports. They are in a sort of blog form, so I'll be moving them over here, one at a time.
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Kim’s Venturing Crew had caved with Philly Grotto before. While talking with her she told me she would like to talk to and set up a caving trip for the Venturers Officers Association. She spent considerable time and effort talking to the VOA and setting up this trip for them to Frustration Pit and Corker Hill. Their plan was to meet Philly Grotto at the Morgantown McDonald’s on Saturday morning.
I’d like to say the usual were there, but we were missing a few. Steve, Hanna, Paul, and I were there. I was able to borrow an extended cab truck from a friend so we could all ride together in relative comfort. The VOA was ready to go when I got there. They had a couple people drop out at the last minute, but we still had a good group. We loaded all the …

It’s been over a year and a half since I’ve been underground. We have some new blood in the Crew and they are ready to go,op6 too. We met up at the McDonald’s at Morgantown. Pete, Katie, Steve, and Andy were there before me. Marcy, Matt, and Andrew showed up just after I got there.
Pete’s been on two caving trips with us. Katie caved with another group once. This is the first for Matt and Andrew. Along to help out was Mindy, Steve, Andy, Ed, and Marcy, so we were well covered.

We arrived at the cave around 11 and were underground by 11:30. Took a moment to get our eyes adjusted then went to the first room. From here on in we pushed all the tight squeezes we could find. Did a little bloudering and scrambling, too. I think we covered almost every part of that cave. Over all it was over four hours and everyone was whipped by the end.
There was lots of mud on this trip. With all the rain we’ve been having and all the snow over the winter, the water table is a little high. Normally things…

Big V Day was an event, held by Chester County Council, BSA, that was open to the public and FREE. At this event there were several different activities that people could try. These activities were focused for the interest of High School and College aged young men and women.
I was there to promote caving, and in particular Dragon Breath Grotto, which has recently been chartered. Amos brought the Philly Grotto Squeeze box and I had set up a “dark” obstacle course. Terry was over at the C.O.P.E. Course demonstrating vertical caving skills.


In the begining a few people just walked by looking at the squeeze box kind of puzzled. I was able to talk a couple people into try it set up high at 12 inches. Once they got the knack of it, there was a continuous line to try it one more notch lower.


By the middle of the afternoon I had to take off, but we did have a three way tie for six inches. Here's a video of one of the those.


Most people did seem to enjoy it and most who tried were challenge…

The purpose of an NSS Youth Regional Coordinator is to provide informational assistance to cavers, grottos, and youth group leaders so they may conduct safe and appropriate cave-related experiences. In addition to caving trips, these experiences may include presentations on ethics, geology, biology, techniques, and safety, as well as other topics of speleology.


Regional Coordinators:
adhere to all guidelines, policies, and requirements of the National Speleological Society (NSS). adhere to all guidelines, policies, and requirements of the appropriate youth group organization. treat all youth groups with equal consideration. make themselves available to grottos within their region, to assist them in working with youth groups. make themselves available to youth groups within their region, to assist them in conducting safe caving trips and learning about caves. promote responsible caving practices for youth groups. promote responsible caving practices by grottos and cavers when working wi…