The Alaskan Caver
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THE ALASKAN CAVER NSS Convention '82 BEND, OREGON ~AnnoJ~~ntumorLlrN.tr~l-~ CONWMToW CHAIlWUH mCuAmMM4 UNY. Dm 8106 5 E Cdlllrn S'.M 52' Wm Sn*ll b~anoOr-m 97706 -- Mnn ¶m8yli- NSS rrt (XU! 114 773 Canma vw u 6nva~ron [6%1352-'Wx htw: June 27th to July 3r4. 1982 lh 1982 Oonwntion staff is putting out a call for mrsfur th sasaions to k hald In Bend, 0-n Qlrlw 1982. Pleaom sham yew Info*mation and -rim- at one of the 808810~t8. Papers on all typas of cadw subjects are an-&. If you am willing to qiw a mr, plsaao cantad eitbr your section chiman or the Prqr- Chima for the Convention. Wstracto of 300 worda or laan are nuby &ah l6t. 'Ybsr are to k pmtdin the FTiOXAH of the Convention and in a spscial M BULGgTII. You will, am the nm an$ nddrssa of the psraon to sand your abstract to in the W m. Wa will hold all of thm earsessions, m.g. Biow, Wloqg, Vertical, Social Sclenca, Wmmn'~, ere. as Wll as s- mmcial wssions such an: A Safety & TwWquen maimwith mrnim asmaion of pwra and an aft*mn seasfon in n cave. Wrman, Joe Facklsr, 2404 bntend St., hiss, fD 85702. 10s and his Idaho Rescum Group bw - mt im! Vnlcanosp.lwlomr -8iwn. Bill fhllldhg ia ergani~~this one1 Bill's address ix 1117 36th Avo. E, Seattle, 'dA 98112. kdhPrsst Dfrsrsfe @mpoaium. In cue ym Wnk d1 caves in tb Wad ars formed af basalt (i.s., lava), Phil Ntfbald 3a pmto ahou you th wide diversity of caves! Rfchard Hall has already wluntwrd to tell as about mCavas & Cave Potmttial In Alaska." You will hear abut other qrwt caving areau that you may n& know adst in the West! Special Progrm on Ht. St. Helms, Rid Pope, 3539 S.W. Rffada Court, Portlsnd, OR 244-G908. Phone 503 244-0908. Rick is pttinp this one tmthsr. Zf yw have pra k~dpost St. HhLsns pictulan admlfder, please let hlm know! The Canvention won't be all talk ht will includa aDm, FIELD TRIPS, CAW. SeEHERy, CRm. 1- ~ARH,WZER P-, A "DLERT W,BAHQUFT, CAVES, mAIW.'3HE -EOX, M AUTTOB and =re, and more2 cmmOF ElENE October 15 Glacier Grotto beting, Meetings are held on tk third floor of Grant Hall, Alaska Pacific University at 7: 30 pn. The progran will be an ES multimedia stow based on John Denver's tune 'Country Roadshd titled 'Caving Roads'. kmnbr 19 Glacier Grotto Meeting. Wetings are kld on tk third floor of Grant Hall, Alaska Pacific hiv, at 7:30 pm. December 27 Glacier Grotto keting. ketings are kld on the third floor of Grant Hall, Alaska Pacific University at 7:30 pm, 7% program will be an SS slide show on tk C-3 l3pedition into Floyd Collins Crystal Cave, Kentucky. January 21 Glacier Grotta Meeting. ketings are held on the third floor of Grant Hall, Alaska Pacific Univ. at 7: 30 pm. February 18 Glacier Grotta Weting. Meetings are held on the third floor of Grant Hall, Alaska Pacific University at 7: 30 pn. The progran will be an SS slide show. June 27-July 3 NSS Convention in Bend Qregon. Don' t miss tk Convention that is ad will be tk closest one to Alaska in years, Plans are in the making for an expedition to tk mitistom Valley right after tk Comntion. The AEASKAN CAVER is a periodic publication of the Glacier Grotto of the National Speleolcgical Society. Subscriptions are fr~eto members. Membership dues are $3 per annun. hes can be sent to Elizakth Rockwell at 2944 Enory St, Anchorage, M 99504. Copyright 1981 by Glacier Grotto. Material not copyrighted by individuals or other groups may be copied by other bES publications provided credit is given to the ALASKAN CAVER and a copy of such publication is sent to the editor. Mitor: QlOTlD OFFICES Richard Hall President Julius Rockwell Ptlbli sher : V. President Dvid Street David Moll Secretary Richard Hall Fcting Treasurer Liz Rocktfell At Large David k11 Publicity Barbara Jan-n EIWINTERNATIONAL C13NQIES OF SPELED1lXY Lis, Matt, and I attended the InternationaI Congress and tk rJSS Convention in Botrling Green, KY this smer as representatives to the ES Congress of Grottas fran Glacier Grotto. mere were four days of talkslslide shows on various topics given by people frm all over the caving world running four at a time ad changing every tenty minutes so you had to constantly cbse one of thor one of the other activities such as vertical techniques, diving, mapping, equipment sales etc, There were also trips to Marmoth Cave ad Cunberlacd Caverns ad tours available for other caves. In addition each evening there were feature slide sbs, cave movies or parties. It was a chance for Lis and I to meet old friends £run the. East Coast and find out how their projects are going. It was also a chance to push caving in Alaska which I did whenever possible. The main result of this was to make plans for a trip to Chitistone Valley after the I6S Convention in Bend next year; Doug Eviedville of tk DC Grotto and I are oqanizing it. Rich Hall 2 Fran the President's Corner, Fran time to time X am asked, 'That do 1 need to go caving?" Like all other ban endeavors, ttre proper equipnent and skills required vary fran trip to trip. Even for tk sane trip, opinions will vary fran person to person. However, it is well to think abut what will be required before departing. It is also imperative to ensure tbt all is in good working order. In Alaska, tk trip to tk caw can wll be more arduous than the trip in it. We generally take the minimun mount of speciali~dgear until we hww will bve need for it. king over-quipped also has its hazards, In the Minutes of the 'Board of Governors of the National Spleological Society far July 28, 1980, there appeared a List of minimun standards for safe caving, Although it has not been adopted otiicially, it is so ~eneraLthat it camt be Eaulted as a ~eneral~uideline in 1.1 . , Alaska. $ey are as follows : LIST OF MINMM STANDPIRDS FOR SAFE CAVING 1. (310UP SIZE: Normally 3 or more persons with groups Iaqer than discouraged. 2. REQUIRED EQUIEM€NT.: (for: each incividual) b. Protective headgear. B. One primary and two backup light sources. C. Litter depository (for spent carbide let: al) . D. Suitable clothirg and study footwear. E. Suitable technical edqu ipnent as required. NOTES: =1 protective headgear shall: A. Give full protection to the head above the ears. B. Have secure connections between suspension, webbing, bead band, ad the hard portion, C. If light brackets are present, they shall be secure and servicable . D. Have a properly functioning chin strap. 2. Each primary light source shall: A. Be properly functionirg. B. Be accanpanied by a reserve energy source (carbide, battery(s) et a13 capable of producing eight burs of light kyond the projected length of the trip or accmpanied by a second source which serves the sane futxtion. My ccmnents are tm: (1) In this country, 1 prefer a minimun of four persons rather than three for extended trips sime rescues do not cane as easily as '"outside". (2) Where the backup light sources are battery powered, be wll aware of the expected life of tk batteries used. I have had just-bought "disposable" flashlights fail in half an hour. The kst plan is to zgmemkr that when your primary light source fails, your backup light source becanes your primary one. Also rmkr that battery life is longer when the batteries are warn, so keep thin your pocket wkn weather is below OoC. Jay RmkrJell 3 CAVES IN THE IFlURUK LAKE AREA Bendelebcn Quadrangle on the Ward Penjnsula In Northestera Alaska probably has a unlque grouping of karst and psuedo-karst in Alaska. Fw! different types of karst and pseudo-karst features are mntioned <n VSGS BuTIctIn I lbl-C. Geology of the Inuruk Lake Area, Seward Peninsula. Alaska" IHopkfnr, 79631. Theve are 50l~ti0ncaves. deep thaw ~lnk~,lava tubes. snd sublava fluvial caves. Host of the infomation fn this article is taken frm Hopkinskport . The Inuruk Lake area, TIM) square rnles, 103 ntles northeast af Home, i5 a hfghly varled. peelers, and inaccesslblc area. As of 1963 It had no pemanent residents or roads. To the west of Ir~utuCLake by 25 nlles lies a dirt road to Uome and 15 nlles to the north of Inuruk Lake (el. 1021 ) 1 ies a dirt road to knng (35 ailes away 1 ; the two mads are not connected to each other except by a tractor trafl ana neither Is connected to the ruad system which connects Fairbanks and Anchorage to Canada and the rest of tlle Unl ted States. These two reads serve 01 d placer nini ng reg1 onr mstly nm abandoned. The terrain conslsts of rolling hflls of schist. Tinstone. and mrble (rtfered ta by Hopktns a5 r.~tal-instone) sonetfms overlain by relatively flat lava flows wlth s$lt deposits over top of then. The Dendelcben Mountains, to the souttl of Imruk Late and the Immk Lake srer tava flows, rise to ever JOOO feet and consfst nosily of gneiss but include sane llnertone and other rocks. To the north of Imruk take as well as In scattered locations throughout the Sewrrd Peninsula beds of lfmstonc. marble. ana schist are exposed. Mpklnr, whlle caut4onlng that current research conwadicted this previously bellewed age of the mtallmertnme north of Inuruk Lake (Hopkins, 1963.