NEW? Come Caving With Us

If you have not seen this already, please take a look at the National Speleological Society’s (http://caves.org/) web pages in the Youth Group Liaison Committee’s (http://caves.org/youth/index.shtml ) section about The Boy Scouts of America and Caving (http://caves.org/youth/bsa_caving.shtml). There is information on that page you will need to know and may find useful when planning your cave exploring activity.

·         National BSA Youth Caving Presentation is a must see. This will give you a lot of insight and preparation before you even start planning. All adult leaders should view this training slide show.

·         The Guide to Safe Scouting section on caving can be found here.  This must be read and understood before filling out the Trip Plan.

If you have any questions about any of these, please feel free to let me know. I know my way though them. Some of the important points to keep in mind while planning your trip are;

·         The Crew’s/Troop’s party should not exceed 16 members including “Two Deep Leadership”.

·         All members of the party are expected to practice Leave No Trace ethics and good Land Owner Relationships.

·         All members of the party must follow the instructions of the cave guide.

·         The Unit’s adult leaders are responsible for the discipline and behavior of all the Unit’s members.

I will be providing a helmet and headlamp for each participant to use for the caving activity. In addition, each participant must provide for themselves;

·         4 – fresh “AA” batteries

·         Rugged clothes in layers (i.e. jeans, t-shirt, hoodie) that will get muddy

·         Lug sole boot

·         Gloves

·         Knee pads

·         Small pack (i.e. string bag) with

o   Water bottle

o   Snack (crush proof)

o   Small Personal First aid kit with any personal medications (i.e. epi pen, inhaler, etc.)

·         Large plastic bag

·         Complete change of clothes, including shoes, down to the skin

If you have any questions about this list, please feel free to let me know.

All participants should be in good physical condition.

Caving is a physically as well as mentally demanding activity. All participants should be within the “Maximum Allowable Height Weight Ratio” chart.

Maximum Allowable Height Weight Ratio
Height (inches),	Maximum Acceptance
60	166
61	172
62	178
63	183
64	189
65	195
66	201
67	207
68	214
69	220
70	226
71	233
72	239
73	246
74	252
75	260
76	267
77	274
78	281
79 & over	295

Cost:

We ask for a $20 per person donation to Youth Opportunities Underground (www.youcave.org) for the trip and the use of a helmet and headlamp. This helps us with gear maintenance, cleaning, replacement, and continues to provide this program to all youth groups and youth organizations. All our guides are volunteers.	$20.00
Additional Cost Options:
battery management – provide batteries and manage installment throughout the trip	$2.00
Knee pads and Gloves rental per trip	$3.00
Coveralls rental per trip	$10.00

Options for sale on site:

·         16oz bottled water $1

·         16oz bottled Propel $2

·         Cliff Bar $1.50

Dragon Breath Grotto is a cave exploring (spelunking) program for all Boy Scout Troops and Venturing Crews in the BSA Northeast Region Areas 4, 5, and 6. We are experienced cavers who are also BSA adult volunteers. BSA Units or individual Scouts can join us in our adventures. Come caving with us.