Northern Rocky Mountain Grotto Newsletter Issue 5 Tina Oliphant in Greenhouse Cave - photo by M. Pedersen In This Issue Page Grotto information 2 Caving Calendar 3 Trip Reports Silvertip 4 Yakinikak #6 and Sluice Cave 8 Whittaker Sink (Satan’s Pit) Report 1 10 Report 2 10 Limestone Cave 12 Volcano Reef Cave 13 Split Top Cave 15 Wire Woman Pit 16 Vertical Techniques (Use of the Petzl Shunt) 17 Grotto Business 20 Issue 5 - September 2001 1 Northern Rocky Mountain Grotto NRMG is a recognized chapter of the National Speleological Society Who are we? The Northern Rocky Mountain Grotto (NRMG) is a caving club chartered by the National Speleological Society (NSS). It is our mission to provide a forum where people can learn about and participate in caving. Meetings: Meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the Missoula Fire Dept. Classroom at 625 E. Pine St. Meetings feature a video or slide show on caving. Trips: Cave trips are sponsored approximately once each month. Any member of NRMG may sponsor a trip. Training: Two times a year the grotto sponsors single rope techniques/small party rescue training. These events allow participation from beginner levels to more advanced training. Project Caving: The grotto encourages its members participate in caving projects. Caving projects involve the exploration, survey, and documentation of new caves. Interested in becoming a member? Dues are currently $10/year/household, payable to the Northern Rocky Mountain Grotto. Checks should be made payable to NRMG and be sent to: Judith Chapman NRMG Membership 2420 Gilbert Ave. Missoula, MT 59802 Newsletter: Newsletters will be published quarterly. To reduce costs, we are publishing an electronic newsletter. This allows us to produce a high quality newsletter with color photos and maps at rock-bottom prices. If you would like to submit an article for publication in the newsletter, send your trip report via email to: [email protected] or [email protected]. If you would like to include a photo of your adventure, include a digital copy in jpeg or bitmap format. If you do not have scanning equipment, bring your photo to a meeting and we will scan it for you. The deadline for submission to the Fall 2001 newsletter is November 1st. Issue 5 - September 2001 2 Caving Calendar NRMG events October 6-9, Grotto Trip to Lost Creek Siphon and West Boulder River Cave. Map, explore, and photograph some of Montana’s legendary caves. Lost Creek Siphon is over 700 feet deep and is a dangerous and technical cave. West Boulder River Cave is a non- technical horizontal cave. Both caves need to be mapped. It is a 5 mile hike to the entrance where we will be camping. Joe Oliphant will lead trips into Lost Creek Siphon, which will be rigged European Style (i.e., lots of rebelays/redirectionals). Jim Chester and David Baker will be doing Overland Survey and also be mapping West Boulder Cave. They welcome other grotto members to help. Contact Joe Oliphant for more information: [email protected]. October 27-28, Grotto Trip to Limestone Cave. This will be a Halloween caving camp out. Limestone is a horizontal cave near the head of Hungry Horse Resivour. Wet cave gear is recommended, but not necessary to enter the cave. Expect a 3-4 mile hike. Mountain bikes might be useful. Contact Mark Rabin for more information: [email protected]. November 22-25, Grotto Trip to Bighorn/Horsethief Caverns. Come join the Part- Time Grotto of Wyoming. We will leave on Friday afternoon/evening and return Sunday night. Bighorn/Horsethief have over 30 miles of passage. Both are dry and warm. Bighorn requires vertical gear, but Horsethief is completely horizontal. A 4WD is required. Contact John Citta for more information: [email protected]. October – December, Yakinikak Cave Restoration. Mark Rabin is coordinating a clean up of the Yakinikak area caves. Trips may occur with short notice; contact Mark Rabin for more information: [email protected]. December 21, 2001 – January 20, 2002, Proyecto Espeleologico Cerro Ocote This is our 6th Caving Expedition to Southern Mexico. The caving area has many deep pits and has the potential for a 1,200+ meter deep cave system. Contact Joe and Tina Oliphant for more information: [email protected] If you have a trip to advertise, contact: [email protected] or call 406-543-4563. Issue 5 - September 2001 3 Trip Reports Moonray Cave By John Citta; August 2001 Hans Bodenhamer, Jason Ballenski, Liz Yuhas, Joe and Tina Oliphant, and myself went to the South Cirque of Silvertip on a caving expedition. The technical details of this karst area, including cave maps, will be published by Hans Bodenhamer in Alpine Karst. The tale I relate here is about my experiences in one of Silvertip’s many deep caves. Due to a combination of the cave’s beauty and a series of mishaps, this became a trip to remember. On August 9, 2001, I entered Moonray Cave with Joe and Tina Oliphant. We were going to push leads at the bottom of the cave. Moonray’s entrance was an unimposing 3 x 3 foot hole. I could see my breath in the cold air and watch the moss toss about in the cave wind. The entrance section was narrow and snagged our vertical gear. Approximately 50 feet in, we came to the first drop. There was a small ledge to situate yourself on, before descending. Typical of this cave, the pit was round and well-like. We proceed down the first pit. At the bottom, the passageway went around a corner and we came to the second pit. At the bottom of this, we followed a narrow crawl. The passage opened into a long horizontal fissure. By chimneying along the fissure, you could reach the top of the third pit. At the bottom of the third pit, we came to the “Neoprene Shredder”. This narrow crawl was originally pushed by Hans Bodenhamer and Doug Powell in 1983. The two were wearing wetsuit tops, which were shredded by this short but tight vertical squeeze. We negotiated the Neoprene Shredder without incident. From here the passage led to the fourth pit. At the bottom of the 4th pit, our trip became much more interesting. Here all must pass though the “Owl’s Bowels”. The Owl’s Bowels is a sinuous vertical passage that is approximately 10-15 feet in height. The only place a caver can pass is in the upper section. The walls are slick and if you slide down, you wedge yourself. The Owl’s Bowels was originally pushed by Doug Powell in 1983. I was the first in the group to enter the Owl’s Bowels. Hans Bodenhamer warned me that none of us might fit and that our knees would have to bend backwards. However, I was not worried. I have been warned about squeezes by many people in many caves. Generally, they are not as bad as they are portrayed. I have found that if I keep calm and relax, my body will usually fit. After all, I had already fit through the Neoprene Shredder and Hans Bodenhamer entering the Neoprene the Owl’s Bowels is only 20 feet long…. Shredder – photo by M. Pedersen About 8 feet into the Owl’s Bowels, my light began to blink. I use a light designed by Willie Hunt that blinks when battery power is low. I wondered if I should change the batteries or blow though the passage to change them on the other side. I decided to be conservative and tried to change batteries. Despite the passage being approx. 15 feet high, I couldn’t get my hand in my pack to reach spare batteries. I had one hand behind me and Tina passed spare batteries passed up to Issue 5 - September 2001 4 me. My difficulty in changing batteries was only a precursor of the difficulty I would experience in this 20 foot long section. I proceeded another 4 feet and my pack got wedged. I slid forward to try to pull on it from a different angle, but I couldn’t budge it. Neither could I back up. I twisted around and tried to keep pulling on it. I then slipped down and wedged myself. There was nothing to push up on with my hands and my feet were stuck around one of those sinuous curves in the passage. I finally managed to get one foot around the curve of the passage and promptly got it stuck near my ass. Of course, Joe asked how I was doing. I replied that I was pretty well wedged. Unbeknownst to me, Tina is the master of helping people in tight places. She slid in and asked how she could help out. I asked her to push on my stuck foot. When she got there, she saw my contorted body and said, “Your leg does not look good. Is it broke?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “No,” I replied, “just stuck!”. She gave me a push and I moved another 2 feet. However the Owl’s Bowels was not finished with me. On the last turn, I wedged my chest tightly. Somehow, I had to back up. There was nothing to push off of and using my arms only made my chest larger. The passage slopes downward and my feet were higher than my head. For the first time in my life, I was really stuck! Hans Bodenhamer in the bottom of Moonray – photo Many things go through your mind in a situation by M.