The Caving Podcast

Georgia Schneider’s caving life has grown quickly since she started caving; taking her to places like New Zealand, France, Mexico, and countless US caves. She talks to Matt about working with the National Parks Service to inventory caves on federal land, and shares the special feeling of returning to places she helped discover.

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Fall MVOR: September 19-22

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Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Bill Torode has volunteered at the NSS library for over 50 years, and has mapped hundreds of caves. We talk about being the first person to peer down what came to be known as Surprise Pit in Fern Cave, as well as several other anecdotes from the long-time TAG legend.

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Fall MVOR: September 19-22

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Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Pete shares his varied caving life starting in West Virginia's Germany Valley all the way through Grand Canyon exploration, Lechuguilla, Tears of The Turtle (the deepest cave in the US), and shares his experience rewiring the electricity for Carlsbad Caverns National Park. He also shares some big NSS news as a member of the board.

Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress!

https://www.sophireaptress.com/

Pre-register for Indiana Cave Capers:

https://cigcaves.com/cave-capers

Fall MVOR: September 19-22

https://fb.me/e/5n6OMEmx4

Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Colin Magee is a Canadian caver originally from New Zealand who has been on high-profile Mexico expeditions like Cheve where he participated in the National Geographic Explorer episode “The Deepest Cave.” He discusses the importance of proper SRT and rescue training, as well as his initiative to gather data from the world’s caving clubs.

Colin’s website, mentioned in the podcast:

https://www.caver.ca/

Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress!

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Cave Week 2024!

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/cave-week.htm

Register for the 2024 NSS Convention in Sewanee, TN:
https://caves.org/convention/2024-registration/

Pre-register for Indiana Cave Capers:

https://cigcaves.com/cave-capers

Fall MVOR: September 19-22

https://fb.me/e/5n6OMEmx4

Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Katarina Kosič Ficco is a cave and karst field scientist with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage focusing on subterranean biodiversity. She shares her genesis in the world of caves and karst, having grown up in the classical Karst in Slovenia where the term originated. She also talks about discovering Petra, an exquisitely preserved Pleistocene feline skeleton found in Virginia less than a decade ago, as well as several expeditions that resulted in finding miles and miles of new cave.

Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress!

https://www.sophireaptress.com/

Cave Week 2024

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/cave-week.htm

Register for the 2024 NSS Convention in Sewanee, TN:
https://caves.org/convention/2024-registration/

Find your local grotto:

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Mike Drake heads up exploration of the Studebaker/Wayne Cave system in Indiana’s Garrison Chapel Valley just west of Bloomington. He talks about the genesis and ongoing effort to survey the area’s longest cave. Plus, a bonus talk on Cave Week 2024 in June!

Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress!

https://www.sophireaptress.com/

Cave Week 2024!

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/cave-week.htm

Pre-register for the 2024 NSS Convention in Sewanee, TN:
https://caves.org/convention/2024-registration/

Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Dave Brumbaugh has been a cave guide in several show caves, including back home in Pennsylvania. He has also worked at Carlsbad Caverns and indeed still works for the National Park Service in Yosemite National Park. We talked about his extensive caving career, which included helping the FBI locate and dispose of unexploded ordinances in a Carlsbad backcountry cave.

Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress!

https://www.sophireaptress.com/

Cave Week 2024!

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/cave-week.htm

Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Rand Heazlitt is currently leading the continued exploration of Indiana's longest cave, the Binkley Cave system. He shares his perspective as the leader of the group that endured a 2016 flood that threatened the lives of him and his survey group in Binkley Cave. He also talks about current and future exploration of Alabama's Fern Cave, as well as dramatic expeditions in Mexico. 

Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress!

https://www.sophireaptress.com/

Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Rand Heazlitt is currently leading the continued exploration of Indiana's longest cave, the Binkley Cave system. He shares his caving genesis, key moments in his caving history, and the story of the loss of a dear caving friend in part 1 of a two-part conversation.

Donate to the NSS!

https://members.caves.org/general/custom.asp?page=donate&_gl=1*5ppa8h*_ga*MTIwMTYxNDk3Mi4xNjg2MDYzMzYy*_ga_F1RQ2X41B0*MTcwMTE5NjcyOC4yLjEuMTcwMTE5NzgyNi4wLjAuMA..

Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress!

https://www.sophireaptress.com/

Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml

Jessica Jernigan is a TAG caver who has been at it for just over a couple of years, but has accomplished a lot in that time. We had a great talk about what caving does to fulfill not only our sense of adventure–indeed defining adventure as we looked at it through the lens of caving, but also how that fulfillment applies to other aspects of life.

Donate to the NSS!

https://members.caves.org/general/custom.asp?page=donate&_gl=1*5ppa8h*_ga*MTIwMTYxNDk3Mi4xNjg2MDYzMzYy*_ga_F1RQ2X41B0*MTcwMTE5NjcyOC4yLjEuMTcwMTE5NzgyNi4wLjAuMA..

Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress!

https://www.sophireaptress.com/

Find your local grotto!

https://caves.org/committee/i-o/grottos/new_grotto_page-v2.shtml