Covid-19 Rule Changes and Caving

Covid-19 Rule Changes and Caving

The new guidelines introduced this week make it clear that the roads and fells are open and so are most caves, but the suggestion is fairly clear – “you can cave – but please don’t, just yet”. Cave and mountain rescue teams across the country, many caught by surprise after the Prime Minister’s announcement on…

Why mines are secured against entry and why you should help keep it that way.

Why mines are secured against entry and why you should help keep it that way.

Earlier this year, Pete Knight, Derbyshire Caving Association’s projects officer published an open letter detailing damage to gates and the consequences including the risk to long term access. Despite this damage has continued, and most recently all the locks on Homebank Chert mine have again been removed. In an attempt to highlight the problem and…

Cave rescue teams celebrate £30,000 donation

Cave rescue teams celebrate £30,000 donation

Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation are this week celebrating after receiving more than £30,000-worth of life-saving gas detection equipment donated by Honeywell Analytics. The equipment, including four and five gas personal monitors and calibration equipment, was donated when DCRO’s equipment officer, Pete Dell, contacted them trying to source replacement sensors for their old equipment and the…

Latest Eurospeleo newsletter now available

Latest Eurospeleo newsletter now available

The European Speleological Federation have just released their December 2018 newsletter including news of Hirlatzhohle extensions in Austria, new board appointsments,  the 2018 Italian cavers meet which attracted 2490 cavers, next year’s 13th Eurospeleo Forum in Bulgaria and much more. You can download the English version from their website or simply read it below: Hint:…

The BCA is missing you – here’s how to get the newsletter!

The BCA is missing you – here’s how to get the newsletter!

Last night the latest BCA newsletter should have popped into your inbox, but the chances are it didn’t. Despite earlier appeals here and elsewhere only 8% of the BCA membership are currently signed up to receive the newsletter by email – some 520 members. The good news is caving clubs are doing rather better, with 170 so far signed up. If you didn’t receive it and would like to in future read on.

Hang Son Doong- the cave that built a village

Hang Son Doong- the cave that built a village

Veteran caving film maker Sid Perou has teamed up with photographer Ryan Deboodt to produce a compelling thirty nine minute film about the discovery of the world’s largest cave passage in Han Son Doong cave in Vietnam, the resulting development of tourism in the area and the beneficial affects not just for the local population but also for conservation.

Shot on location earlier this year the film follows the impact of the area of the Vietnam war, early discoveries by British and Vietnamese cavers and includes stunning footage of the cave.

Watching the film it’s hard to believe Sid’s contribution to the film, comprising over 50% of the footage, was shot using just a £400 handy-cam and a zero budget!

Breaking News: British cave divers also rescued four trapped Thai rescuers in Tham Luang Cave

Breaking News: British cave divers also rescued four trapped Thai rescuers in Tham Luang Cave

When Rick Stanton and John Volanthen surfaced in Chamber 3 of Tham Luang Cave on day 6 of the rescue to find four people waiting for them they first thought they’d somehow found the boys of the trapped Wild Boar team. In fact they’d discovered four lost Thai rescuers who had been trapped by the rising floodwaters. In the chaos of the early days of the rescue the absence of the men had been unreported and so had not been noticed by the Thai authorities and or the outside world. What followed was a dramatic and unparalleled “snatch” rescue mission perfectly conceived and executed as they dived the four men through three sumps to safety.

Training: Cave Surveying Group Therion Training Course

Training: Cave Surveying Group Therion Training Course

The BCA Cave Surveying Group have just announced an Intermediate Therion training course. The scope of this training course is to improve the skills of people who ideally as a minimum have attended a CSG Paperless Surveying training course or are currently using Therion for their mapping projects. The course is not aimed at people…

Thai rescue update – two more British cave divers en route to Tham Luang cave as part of larger team

Thai rescue update – two more British cave divers en route to Tham Luang cave as part of larger team

Photo courtesy of Chris Jewell   Two more British cave divers, Chris Jewell and Jason Mallinson are joining the ongoing rescue effort in Thailand, along with around 500kg of additional equipment including rebreather sets, drysuits, cylinders, Sofnolime and A clamp adaptors to allow the UK divers to use Thai Navy cyclinders. The two reportedly left…

News: British Cave Divers join Thailand cave rescue

News: British Cave Divers join Thailand cave rescue

In a race against the clock three British cave rescue divers and their equipment left Heathrow just after 9pm last night on a flight to Thailand to join the search for thirteen people trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province. The British contribution includes four Heyphones supplied by Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation (DCRO), a…

News: Cambrian Mines Trust To Host NAMHO 2019

News: Cambrian Mines Trust To Host NAMHO 2019

Cambrian Mines Trust will be hosting the NAMHO 2019 event in association with Dr Peter Claughton as lecture programme organiser. Peter has extensive experience in organising events and the trust is extremely grateful for his expertise. Cave Access Ltd will be providing access to mines on land owned by the Welsh Government. The theme of…

Earby Pothole Club on bikes for charity!

Earby Pothole Club on bikes for charity!

September 30th will see members of the Earby Pothole Club joining friends to raise money for the Preston based Specialist Mobility Rehabilation Centre (SMRC) in a ride that starts in Preston, stopping overnight in Clapham in Yorkshire before returning the following day. SMRC is part of Lancashire NHS and donations will go to a trust…

Do BCA have your email address?

Do BCA have your email address?

Since last year the BCA newsletter has only been distributed by email and BCA online are again appealing to cavers via Club Secretaries to help with building their database of members email addresses and getting permission to email members. BCA is a separate organisation to your club so even if your club has passed on your email address…

Notice: 27th British Cave Research Association Cave Science Symposium

Notice: 27th British Cave Research Association Cave Science Symposium

27th British Cave Research Association Cave Science Symposium, Saturday 22nd October, 2016 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford Call for Abstracts The response to the first call for abstracts has been very positive and it already looks like we will have a fascinating collection of talks on archaeology, biospeleology and hydrology. We still welcome…

News: Tratman Award 2015

News: Tratman Award 2015

The Tratman Award, 2015 The Tratman Award has been awarded annually since 1979 to a caving-related paper-based publication in memory of E.K. Tratman, who died in 1978. It covers books, journals and articles published in a calendar year and is administered by the Ghar Parau Foundation, but judged by independent cavers; for 2015 these were…