Hosted by the Greater Cincinnati Grotto at the Great Salt Petre Cave Preserve in Rockcastle County, KY

A super fun weekend of camping, going caving (both guided and diy trips), social events, dancing, music, etc.!

https://karstorama.com/

The Indiana Karst Conservancy (IKC) will be hosting an Orientation to Cave Rescue (OCR) class in Fayetteville, IN on the weekend of May 18-19.

Orientation to Cave Rescue is a two-day course offered by the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). There are no prerequisites or skill check-offs for the class (i.e. all skills levels welcome). This one is highly recommended for those who lead caving trips or find themselves in/around caves often.

Link to registration

Hey fellas I'm relatively new in the hobby. I've descended down a few small caves using a grigri and pulley on the brake line. It feels pretty safe and all but I always wanted to know about longer descents, 170ft+ In particular, the rope I have now is exactly 170ft and I need something longer. Rope is expensive as can be so any guidance would be appreciated. Also what are thoughts on the grigri? Is it reliable and trustworthy and used for the correct application? I see alot of people use a ladder sort contraption that creates friction, but I enjoy using the grigri more so far. Thanks!

Hey guys, I got a Petzl Simple descender, meaning it doesn't have a brake, but now I'm kind of anxious about using it and was wondering how to make it safer, apart from adding a carabiner for extra friction. Specifically I'm getting anxious about not being able to actually brake my descent using the angle of the rope due to my weight (100kg). I really dislike the ones with brakes on them, so I would like to make myself comfortable with this one for now. Thanks in advance, any tips are appreciated. English is not my main language so if I said anything that sounds alien to you feel free to ask.

Right in front of this rock where I dug there was a depression in the ground so I started digging, just wondering if there could be a cave below or if it’s a waste of time

Im probably going to sound pretty inexperienced here, and that's because I am, but I was curious about this descender I tried yesterday that I liked a lot before I go and get one for myself. I wanted an autolocking descender but they are too pricey, so this one is a dream come true if its good.

I was wondering specifically about the concept of using the rope as a main source of friction though, it seems like most descenders just opt to make additional pathways around the descender itself rather than utilize rope friction, it seems like you risk putting a lot of additional stressors on the rope no? and since the coefficient of friction of rope on rope is so much greater than rope on aluminum, the speed setting on this descender is fairly touchy, but nothing that a bit of practice couldn't make perfect.

I'd love to hear some initial thoughts about this thing from the caving community specifically because thats what im going to be using it for. Ive heard you want your descenders to be anti-twist, from just looking at pictures it seems like that generally means that for every turn around the device, there is an anti-turn. this doesn't have that, but maybe my understanding of that concept is flawed.

Anyways, looking forward to hearing about this! thanks :)

https://preview.redd.it/7b7zs5hx7qwc1.jpg?width=679&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff85020e1d53eb0b6336d602e6433241259fa042

I'm genuinely curious based on the frequency of irrelevant-to-caving advice I see here on the regular such as preaching air monitors to do basic ridgewalking / surface lead checking...

View Poll

I need help on picking a caveing harness. i want a light and comfortable harness.

I am 70kg at 181cm. Was thinking of Petzl Aven and A.V. Muruck.

what do you guys think is the better option and do you maybe have a better suggestion?

Thanks a lot in advance.

I've done plenty of caving in Spain, because I leave here. It would be interesting to try other countries, but guided tours are usually very easy and don't go to the best cave (no staying 12h inside or using SRT gear either). For climbing, it's easy to check a Facebook group and go with some random guy. Caving is a bit more niche and I think I'd need to find people in a club. But I'm not sure how easy would be to join, especially if I don't know the local language. Also, clubs are like families, so bonding with people and then leaving sounds wrong.

Still, it'd be cool to cave in Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania... Anyone know if it could work? How the dynamics at clubs is? Maybe some are more open than others.

**TL;DR Looking for headlamp recommendations where battery is fitted to the rear of the helmet, ideally sporting 18650 or 21700 batteries and detachable. OR recommendations to improve helmet comfort or other helmets, as my Petzl Boreo creates too much forward pressure on even the 18650 Armytek lights or even Zebralight.**

Business has been good recently and even though I'm quite satisfied with my Zebralight and Armytek 18650 lights, and the occasional Acebeam H30 21700 light (shorter cave trips or use as hand held in addition to my 18650 for more light), I'm a sucker for great headlights and tech products to geek out about.

My 18650 lights are do-able but still push my Petzl Boreo helmet forward a bit, creating a bit of a painful pressure on the forehead. The Acebeam definitely does that and isn't suitable long-term. It is good enough, but I'm always looking for better.

Are there any lights that take 18650/21700 batteries (prefer 18650) that are MORE comfortable on the helmet than your typical 18650 Zebralight? Do battery packs on the back of the helmet truly stabilize the helmet and feel better?

I was looking at something like [this](https://www.fenixlighting.com/products/fenix-hp30r-v2-rechargeable-headlamp) for reference. I especially like that the battery pack doesn't have to be permanently mounted to the helmet, so the setup can easily be removed should be needed (ie. light breaks and I will use another headlight, or more likely I want to put it on my dirt bike helmet as we inevitably push the boundaries and end up out too late).

A bright red light option is a plus too. It's not entirely practical or a necessity, but I had fun walking around a cave with the Red & Green modes on my Acebeam H30. Practical? Not entirely, but fun and made me feel like I was in another planet. So why not?

All that being said... How much better ARE headlights with batteries on the rear side of the helmet? Or should I try yet another helmet? I have the Edelrid (it's alright, a bit bulky) and the Boreo, and I generally prefer the Boreo but neither size seems ideal for me and the Boreo in particular leans forward (the edelrid is heavier and stays more "even").

Any "better" helmet recommendations (comfort is the issue currently, leans too far forward creating excessive pressure) or other recommendations or headlight recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Hello, does anyone have this harness? Is it good? Is it comfort?

Is that a sponge on the legs and on the belt? Do they absorb water?

What’s a good caving overall for men?