Caving – New River (Beginner Friendly)

OVERVIEW

For all of you early birds back to Charlottesville already, here’s a treat for you! We’ll be heading out to the New River cave down near Blacksburg. The New River cave has an in-cave waterfall (if we can find it), as well as some more wet features. It’s about a mile deep and has some really beautiful open spaces.

Beginners are welcome on this trip – I’ll teach you what you need to know. As always, come prepared with all your gear. All the info you need is in this trip description and in the caving checklist. Note that nothing on the equipment list is optional.

Logistics:
– Leave from Echols at 0800
– Drive two and a half hours to the cave
– Gear up, talk safety, and adventure through the cave for a few hours (1030 – 1430)
– Hike back, clean up/change clothes, and drive home
– Arrive back in Charlottesville around 1700

Equipment list:
– 3 headlamps
– backup batteries for your headlamps
– helmet
– 2 trash bags (one for hypothermia kit; the other for dirty clothes/gear)
– gloves
– water
– snacks/emergency food supply
– sturdy closed toed shoes
– backpack that can get dirty
– change of clothes
– container for human waste (pack it in, pack it out)

Important notes:
– You MUST read the Caving Checklist provided by the club. It can be found under the Member Resources tab (policies > officer policies > caving checklist).
– You are responsible for gathering all of your own equipment. Most of the gear is available at the club’s gear room.
– You should be comfortable crawling around in tight spaces and being in the dark.
– Because caving is such a dangerous sport, I will be very strict in ensuring you have the proper equipment (i.e., if you are not properly equipped with EVERYTHING mentioned above (even trash bags and spare clothing), you are not entering the cave).
– It is a good idea to not have anything important scheduled for the evening of the trip just in case we are delayed.