Welcome to the JMU Caving Club! This sheet contains some important information for first-time cavers, as well as some information about the club and some of our other activities.

Equipment

The most important thing in caving is to have fun, but it is definitely not fun if you are poorly prepared. Here is a list of things every caver should have:

1. Clothing suitable for 55 degree temperatures. 55 degrees can feel very cold! Ideally, you should wear some kind of wicking material (polypropylene, capilene, wool) against your body, with some durable material over it, such as jeans and a sturdy cotton sweatshirt. However, for most shorter trips (up to 5 hours), cotton underwear is usually OK.
2. High-top boots with a lug sole are preferred. Look for some type of shoe that will give you support! Tennis shoes with flat soles will get you in trouble!
3. A helmet- Members are entitled to use one of the grottoes.
4. Three independent light sources. Typically, each caver will have a helmet- mounted light (electric or carbide), and two other light sources such as a flashlight and lighter.
5. Some easily-carried high energy food such as candy bars or Power Bars.
6. For the trip home: a complete set of clean clothes, and some plastic garbage bags to put your dirty clothes into. You'll appreciate this if it's your car we're riding in!

Safety

Caving is like all other outdoor sports- it's as safe as you make it. Here are a few simple rules and procedures that have been worked out over the years. If you follow them, you (and everyone else) will have more fun.

1. Absolutely the most important thing is to let someone know
a) which cave you are in
b) how many people are in your group
c) when you will be back
We have found it best to tell this information to an actual person (rather than leaving it on an answering machine or bulletin board.)
2. Be sure that you and all the members of your group are properly equipped
3. Once inside the cave, keep together. We have found that the best way to do this is for each person to make sure they are in contact with the person behind them.
4. Don't overdo it. If you feel uncomfortable doing something, say so. Everyone has been in this situation before, and besides, it's not a contest!
5. Remember the rules of 3. Caving groups should consist of at least 3 people, you should have 3 sources of light and use 3 points of contact when climbing around this means 2 hands and a foot or 2 feet and a hand, or a butt and 2 feet etc.
6. Always keep your helmet on, you never know when something might fall, or when you might accidently bang your head.

Etiquette

The caves we go into are owned by other people who are nice enough to let us use their property, and so we need to remember that we are their guests. It has happened that one screw-up has led to a cave being closed for good.

To keep everyone happy, here are a few rules that we always follow:
1. Always be sure you have the permission of the landowner before crossing any land or entering any cave.
2. Be careful where you park. A lot of caves are owned by farmers who hate finding cars parked in front of their gates.
3. Do nothing to harm the cave environment. Whatever we bring in to the cave, we take out again. For example, we never leave behind the spent carbide from our lamps.
4. Whatever natural formations we find in the cave, we leave in the cave, even ones that have broken off and are lying on the ground. In fact, it is illegal to remove formations from a cave in both VA and W.VA.

The JMU Caving Club

The JMU Caving Club (also called the "Madison University Student Grotto" or "MUSG" for short) was founded in 1979 by a group of people from the JMU Outing Club who wanted to concentrate on caving. We are affiliated with the National Speleological Society (NSS), a national organization which represents the interests of cavers and promotes caving. Many of our members and all of our officers are individual members of the NSS.

We usually have organized caving trips each week, especially in the early part of each semester (before people get too busy with schoolwork!). Most of the caves we visit are within a 1 ‡ hour drive from the JMU campus, and we usually spend about three to six hours underground. We do more than just caving, though. Our members are also interested in rock-climbing, mountain-biking, camping, backpacking, etc.

We also have a few annual events:
1. Pig Roast. You won't want to miss this one! It's held every year on the second weekend after Labor Day at Mike Artz's farm in Woodstock (about 40 miles north of Harrisonburg.)
It features caving, camping, swimming and boating in the Shenandoah River, a sauna, bike trips, and -of course- a roasted pig on Saturday night. The cost is about $14.00 for those who eat the meal on Saturday, and $2.00 for those who don't. (Yes, we even have vegetarians!)
This is a great opportunity to come out and meet the alumni.
2. Fall Ball. This is a weekend camping, sometime in October, somewhere within 1 hour of Harrisonburg, and features cave trips, swimming, hiking, whatever(and it's free!)
3. Halloween. The party is held the Saturday of Halloween weekend at Carl's house. Another great opportunity to meet the alumni.
4. Banquet: Held in February, we all get together, dress up, and have a wine and cheese party, followed by dinner at a restaurant, followed by (what else?) a party!
5. Spring Fling: A lot like Fall Ball, only in the Spring (usually mid-April.)

And finally, a note about expenses. Our dues are $10.00 per year, which we use to buy batteries, keep our equipment in working order, and purchase new equipment. Beyond that the only costs are gas money.