Book Release: Cave Pearls of Meghalaya, Volume 1

The Book Cave Pearls of Meghalaya, Volume 1, Pala Range and Kopili Valley is now available - at least for British and Irish cavers, who can get it via Fraser or the GSG or via [email protected]

Cavers on the Continent will have to wait for another two weeks - the books are still on a ship bound for Hamburg.

Short description:

It is an A4 sized hardback of 265 pages in full colour and covers the exploration of caves in the Pala Range and Kopili Valley. There are chapters on Meghalaya, on the 2010, 2011 and 2012 expeditions in that area, and also on the geology, subterranean ecology, spiders and bats. The second half of the book is devoted to cave descriptions each with survey and photographs plus a list of minor caves and other sites of speleological interest. An unexpected (to me) bonus is hidden inside the back cover - a CD with surveys of the six longest systems, a satellite view of the area with cave surveys superimposed, and an article describing the identification of two new species of bat.

You can buy one for £26 in Edinburgh - or. if you live further afield cost is £32.30 to include postage and packing within the UK. We will be using 'caver mail' as much as possible to reduce postal costs and keep cash back to fund the printing costs, and help towards production of volume two. Volume One is well worth the price and buyers are encouraged to contribute more as Gift Aid to help fund the next volume.

In Memoriam: Urs Widmer

I am very sad to report that Urs Widmer died this morning in Switzerland. He developed pancreatic cancer last year.

Urs was an excellent caver, an incredible cave photographer, and a great friend to caving in general and to many cavers around the world. To those who didn’t know him, you may recognize him as the founder and co-owner of Speleo Projects, which for many years has produced gorgeous calendars with large format cave photos from around the world by the world’s best cave photographers.

Speleo Projects is arguably the first truly international caving company by not just widely selling its books and goods internationally, but also because Urs collaborated closely with many people globally to exchange and especially create new books and materials. In the U.S., the book that Urs and Speleo Projects are best known for is Lechuguilla—Jewel of the Underground.

Through his publishing business and talents, he supported the production of many excellent books, newsletters, and journals, giving of himself, his creativity, and experience whenever possible. In 2006 he received the Spelean Arts and Letters Award from the NSS for his great achievements and contributions as a cave photographer and publisher.

Urs served as a member of Bureau (governing board) of the International Union of Speleology (UIS) from 1993 to 2001. He co-organized the wonderful 12th International Congress of Speleology in 1997 in Switzerland, published its beautiful 6-volume set of proceedings, and gave vital assistance to many other congresses and conventions.

Urs is survived by his wife and business partner Sue Widmer, and a worldwide caving family who will miss him.

Source: George Veni email & http://www.speleoprojects.com/pics/downloads/UrsMail_en-3.pdf

The Memorial Celebration of the life of Urs Widmer will be held on Sunday, 22nd April, from 16:00 - 24:00 at the Fahrbar-Depot in Walzwerk, Tramstrasse 66, 4142 Muenchenstein, www.fahrbar.li

Dear Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances and Others,

We will meet on Sunday, 22nd April 2012, on the grounds of Walzwerk at Muenchenstein, in the Fahrbar-Depot, to remember Urs and say farewell.

The ceremony starts at 16:00. The site is urban-industrial and suits Urs' character perfectly.

Following the ceremony there will be snacks for body and soul, risotto from the large pan, sitting and talking in comfort, in the evening around a fire, until midnight.

With a large circle of friends, we will celebrate that which Urs could no longer celebrate: the fruits of his rich life and his 60th birthday.

We will be happy if you could share in this celebration for Urs.

His family and friends

If you would like to offer a musical or other contribution, please contact [email protected]

2012 Speleo Projects Caving Calendar

The 2012 Speleo Projects Caving Calendars have just arrived.

Speleo Projects features a selection of wild and touristic caves from around the world.

The monthly pages provide a glimpse into the caves of China, France, Germany, Morocco, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela.

Bonus: 24 Postcards inside!

Available from the NSS bookstore for $15.95

Ebook: A Guide to Responsible Caving

This booklet discusses caves and the many elements of the sport of caving. Exploring caves is becoming increasingly popular in all areas of the world, and caving responsibly is more important now than ever. Discussions include safety, training, and learning to reduce the detrimental effect cavers can have on caves and cave owner relations.

Source: NSS

Book review: 'The Land of Painted Caves' by Jean M. Auel

The wrap-up of this series about a prehistoric superwoman can be slow going at times, but there's much to leave fans wanting still more.

It's been 31 years since readers were introduced to Ayla, a 5-year-old orphaned Cro-Magnon girl adopted by Neanderthals in "The Clan of the Cave Bear," the first book in Jean Auel's Earth's Children series. "The Land of Painted Caves," her sixth and final installment, picks up where "The Shelters of Stone" left off. Ayla is now mated to Jondalar and mother to a baby girl, Jonayla. She's come a long way from the outcast of the first book.

Over the years, her journey has engrossed fans and turned the series into a bestselling phenomenon — more than 45 million books sold. No small feat considering that the books average about 700 pages. But readers have loved the uncertainty of Ayla's hazardous future as well as the detail Auel brings to Ayla's world. (The only thing more detailed than one of Auel's descriptive passages is probably an entry in an encyclopedia.)

Ebook: Jules Verne's "A journey to the center of the earth"

For his 138th birthday I present you the ebook of the Jules Verne classic "A journey to the center of the earth". You can download it for free here (multiple formats available, including audiobook).

A Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne.
The story involves a German professor (Otto Lidenbrock in the original French, Professor Von Hardwigg in the most common English translation) who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth.
He, his nephew Axel (Harry), and their guide Hans encounter many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy.   

The book has been filmed in 2008 by Eric Brevig and is starring Brendan Fraser as leading actor.

Free Cave Rescue Manual: Life on a Line

This book describes itself as "A manual of modern cave rescue ropework techniques" and provides a lot of useful information on rigging techniques in general, with an emphasis on rescue rigging. Written by D. F. Merchant (UK).

The first edition (2002) can be download for free from here:

• Life on a line: Part 1
• Life on a line: Part 2
• Life on a line: Part 3

Please note that there is a new, updated edition available for purchase from Lifeonaline.com ($14.95 for the ebook) or a hard copy at Amazon ($31.50).

The Second Edition is a completely new book, containing 210 pages full of expanded information and updated techniques for all aspects of ropework, from equipment selection and basic rigging to the complex mathematics of friction and traverses. New in this edition are the chapters covering casualty care, stretcher selection and rigging, large animal and expedition rescue, plus in-depth explanations of the standards and legal frameworks affecting today's teams. It remains an international textbook, with techniques and explanations aimed at both European EN/CE, American ASTM/NFPA and international ISO/UIAA standards.

International Journal of Speleology - Volume 40 (1) 2011

Content:

Comparison of 14C and U-Th ages of two Holocene phreatic overgrowths on speleothems from Mallorca (Western Mediterranean): Environmental implications
Paola Tuccimei - Mark Van Strydonck - Angel Ginés - Joaquìn Ginés - Michele Soligo - Igor M. Villa - Joan J. Fornós.

A comparative integrated geophysical study of Horseshoe Chimney Cave, Colorado Bend State Park, Texas
Wesley A. Brown - Kevin Stafford - Mindy Shaw-Faulkner - Andy Grubbs.

In situ acetylene reduction activity of Scytonema julianum in Vapor cave (Spain)
Antonia Dolores Asencio - Marina Aboal.

The subterranean fauna of a biodiversity hotspot region - Portugal: an overview and its conservation
Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira - Paulo A.V. Borges - Fernando Gonçalves - Artur R.M. Serrano - Pedro Oromí.

A note on the occurrence of a crayback stalagmite at Niah Caves, Borneo
Joyce Lundberg - Donald A. McFarlane.

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International Journal of Speleology: Archive

Huge free caving and cave science repository

Paolo Forti and the Italian Institute of Speleology, supported by the European Speleological  Federation,  developed presentations covering almost all topics of caving and cave science in order to educate people. (see below for the list)

These presentations range in difficulty from beginner to more advanced level and are free for use (licensed under a Creative Commens license). They are available in following languages: French, Italian, English, Spanish.

They were distributed at the International Congress of Speleology in Kerrville (2009), but are now available for everyone through the SSI Documents website. Just click on your desired language above to create a log-in and subscribe to the desired course.

Free caving ebook: Vertical by Al Warild

You can download the 2007 edition of Vertical by Al Warild for free on Mark Passerby's website.

This book handles most caving techniques, from basic to advanced. It is clearly written and nicely illustrated (190p.).

This is the American equivalent of the well known "Alpine caving techniques" from Marbach.


Despite the fact that it is primarily aimed towards an American audience, this 2007 revision also contains most European alpine caving techniques.

Book contents:

• Chapter 1: Personal equipment
• Chapter 2: Rigging equipment
• Chapter 3: Knots
• Chapter 4: Rigging basics
• Chapter 5: Advanced rigging
• Chapter 6: Descent
• Chapter 7: Ascent
• Chapter 8: Organisation
• Chapter 9: Disaster
• Chapter 10: Surveying

Archaeologist and leading cave painting expert explores the origin of human creativity and belief

New book discusses the connections between shamanism, artistic creativity, myth and religion

The magnificent prehistoric art discovered in caves throughout France and Spain raises many questions about early human culture. What do these superbly rendered paintings of horses, bison, and enigmatic human figures and symbols mean? How can we explain the sudden flourishing of artistic creativity at such a high level? And in what ways does this artwork reflect the underlying belief system, worldview, and life of the people who created it?

In Cave Paintings and the Human Spirit: The Origin of Creativity and Belief (Prometheus Books, $25.98) Dr. David S. Whitley—one of the world's leading experts on cave paintings—guides the reader in an exploration of these intriguing questions, while sharing his firsthand experiences in visiting these exquisite, breath-taking sites.

Jean M. Auel, bestselling author of The Clan of the Cave Bear and The Shelters of Stone , says, "The cave paintings of France and Spain, which date from 35,000 to 10,000 years ago, have posed an intriguing enigma since they were first recognized. Experts have debated, and ordinary people have wondered, why they were painted and what they might mean. David Whitley's take is one of the more original interpretations, and certainly an interesting one. And the man can write. His descriptions of the sites and the art in the caves are captivating and poetic."

Two new books

Please find below details of two new speleological books.

• Essential sources in Cave Science
• Subterranean fishes of the world

Essential sources in Cave Science.

British Cave Research Association Cave Studies series no. 16. (2006). Edited by Graham S. Proudlove. This book contains 15 chapters covering all of the disciplines within cave science. Each chapter (see below) contains an introduction to the discipline and then a list of literature sources which provide up to date information on the breadth and depth of the subject. A third section contains links to internet based (web
and listserv) resources. The book is aimed at three audiences, the novice who needs to read up on a discipline, the researcher who wants to expand out of their normal field (e.g. for interdisciplinary research), and the ordinary caver who is curious to learn more. 

Each chapter is written by a recognised authority and all chapters were peer-reviewed by at least two world class reviewers. This is the first colection of its type to reach publication.

Chapters
1. Introduction
2. Geology - Dave Lowe
3. Geomorphology - Tony Waltham
4. Hydrology + Hydrogeology - Chris Groves
5. Chemistry - Simon Bottrell
6. Physics - David Gibson, Clark Friend, Phil Murphy
7. Speleogenesis - Dave Lowe
8. Minerals and Speleothems - Charlie Self
9. Palaeoenvironments - Andy Baker
10. Biology - Graham Proudlove
11. Bats - John Altringham
12. Archaeology and Palaeontology - Andrew Chamberlain
13. Conservation and Management - Graham Price
14. Speleology - Ric halliwell
15. Periodicals - Graham Proudlove

See bcra.org.uk/pub/cs/index.html for details. Price 4.50 GB pounds (8 US dollars, 6.5 Euro). Available from BCRA sales and from Speleobooks.com

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Subterranean fishes of the world. A monograph of the subterranean (hypogean) fishes described 1842 - 2003 with a bibliography 1541 - 2005.
Graham S. Proudlove (2006). 304 pages, 87 black and white Figures and 20 colour plates.

Currently in press and due in July 2006.

The first comprehensive account of the subterranean fishes of the world since 1969. Provides accounts for 104 species and with a bibliography covering all publications on subterranean fishes (more than 2000 entries). With an extensive "Note added in proof" which adds 21 further species and 50 further references (including 2006 publications).

Published by the International Society for Subterranean Biology.

Available from Speleobooks.com and other outlets.

It will be helpful if anyone interested in purchasing this book could contact me in advanvce so that we can determine demand. Please mail me at [email protected]

Book Review: Wind Cave by John Eric Ellison

WIND CAVE
(2003) by John Eric Ellison
PublishAmerica, Baltimore
Paperback, 211 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 format.
ISBN: 1-4137-0407-7
$19.95 retail
$16.95 direct from PublishAmerica.com

On Saturday, June 14, 1969, John Ellison, age 13, and his stepfather were exploring Wind Cave, a segment of the Arnold Lava Tube System in Bend, Oregon. Shortly after entering the cave, John had a sudden, overwhelming feeling of dread and a premonition that something was terribly wrong.

John convinced his stepfather to leave the cave as quickly as possible. About a half hour later, two other men in the cave discovered the badly decomposed body of Mrs. Beverly Gayley. The body was wrapped in bedding and hastily buried under rocks near the entrance. She had an electrical cord around her neck and severe head trauma. Gayley, age 54, had been reported missing from her home since mid-April. An autopsy reported her death was due to "combined acts of violence." For young John Ellison, the memories of that trip and the ensuing murder investigation would have a profound effect on him for years to come. So profound in fact that as an adult, "the need to purge his soul of disturbing memories" would inspire him to write Wind Cave.

In Wind Cave, Ellison (NSS# 50750) has relived the events of his youth through the eyes of Ronny Hazelwood and his young companions. When a woman's body is found in Wind Cave, the kids begin their own murder investigation and unintentionally get caught between supernatural forces of good and evil, culminating deep underground where the known laws of nature seem to have disappeared. It is the perfect book to read aloud the next time you find yourself trapped underground with a bunch of scouts.

Anyone wishing to explore Wind Cave after reading this book should be reminded that the murderer of Beverly Gayley was never found. And you know what they say: the guilty always return to the scene of the crime.

Book: A Wonderful Underground. By Kyung Sik Woo

Caves: A Wonderful Underground. Kyung Sik Woo
(English translation by Kyeong Park and Eunmi Chang).
Hollym, Elizabeth, New Jersey; 2005.
ISBN 1-56591-221-7. 6 by 9 inches, 230 pages, softbound. $29.50.

This is a fairly nice little introduction to caves from Korea.

The majority of the book is an elementary description of cave geology and biology at about, I'd say, a ninth-grade level. There is more about lava tubes than is usual in such a book, perhaps because they are relatively prominent among the caves of Korea. Except in a forty-page section devoted specifically to the caves of Korea, the coverage is international.

There are color photographs on most pages; a number of the photos of lava tubes are by Dave Bunnell. There is a good conservation message at the end, where the author bemoans vandalism in Korea's caves.

Unfortunately, there are some of things that are not quite right. The Clansman is not in Carlsbad Cavern. The town and cave in Kentucky are not named Horseshoe Cave. Mammoth Cave was not mined for saltpeter during the Revolutionary War.

The book can be bought on Amazon.

Book review: Cumberland Caverns

Cumberland Caverns. Larry E. Matthews. Greyhound Press, Cloverdale, Indiana; 2005. ISBN 978-0-9663547-2-0. 8.5 by 11 inches, 188 pages, softbound. $18.

Cumberland Caverns was known as Higgenbotham and Henshaw caves during most of its history, before it was turned into a Tennessee show cave by Roy Davis and Tank Gorin in 1955 and 1956. Similar in style and content to Matthews's recent book on Dunbar Cave, this book is a nice account of the history of Cumberland Caverns, which began in the pioneer days and continued, as far as significant events go, up to the completion of the current map in 1978, at 27.6 miles. Among the appendixes are a nice gazateer and a chronological summary. Roughly half the entries in the chronology, if one ignores trivial things like forty-four entries for the annual Cumberland Caverns christmas parties, are from the nineteenth century. There is also a poem that was apparently inspired by Higgenbotham Cave in 1880. It has over four hundred lines of the good old-fashioned sort that actually rhyme and scan.

This is a slightly revised and updated second edition of a book that was originally published by the NSS in 1988. It has been reformatted to a larger page size, and the photographs, many of which are new to this edition, are much better reproduced. (A number of photographs in the first edition could not be reprinted, though, so that edition may still be of interest to serious historians.) There are many nicely drafted maps, in the style of the 1970s, of parts of the cave, but the small scale required for even parts of such a long cave would not have permitted much floor detail anyway.

Cumberland Caverns was one of the most exciting cave exploration stories during the 1950s and 1960s, and cavers as well as speleo-historians will enjoy this book.