High drama as cavers brave heavy water to penetrate into virgin territory in Culverson Creek Cave, WV. Fictional story by Dave Socky includes an original score for the theme music. From the dust jacket:

"This video is about caves, caving, and cavers. It is about challenges, exploration and discovery in a unique fragile environment. It illustrates the variety and types of cave passages that a caver may encounter… grottos with delicate formations, wet stream crawls with rushing water, scalloped walking canyons, and much more. Travel along with fellow cavers as they embark on a journey into the cold, muddy, and wet world of the underground. Follow along as they discover a maze of new passages beyond the lost waterfall."

This special remake of the Steppenwolf classic captures Speleo-Americanus, its development and habitat, in original video and song. A good laugh and great visuals. Earlier version was the preview for the Elkins NSS Convention. From the dust cover:

Even if you are an anthropologist, biologist, archeologist or some other kind of -ologist, I’ll bet you have never heard about the Familarius Americanus caveat SpeleoAmericanus Pan Troglodytes. This video portrays the first ever recorded sighting of this strange and exotic troglobyte. This rare footage not only shows the creature in its natural environment, but by using the latest in stop action video technology, the SpeleoAmericanus’ birth and developement is captured on tape for all to see. There are legends about the SpeleoAmericanus, for he is a shy and elusive creature. Only a few cavers have been fortunate enough to observe his kind, and lived to tell about it.

Produced by:
Gary A. O'Dell
Jim Kiffmeyer
Jeffrey Hill

This video was created as a class project by a group of students at Morehead State University in History, Geography, and Communications.

This West Virginia cave is only accessible during periods of extreme drought, and even then it's a wetsuit challenge. Once inside, however, it's large, dry borehole. A chance to see some very pristine cave. From the dust cover:

Burns Cave #2, in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, presents an especially challenging trip. Normally the cave is siphoned shut within 500 feet of the entrance. However, under drought conditions, the full siphon turns into a near siphon with only about three inches of air space at one location. This is just enough space to let cavers through. This video is from footage shot on a caving trip which took place on October 11, 1997. The primary purpose of the trip was to document on film and video some of the wonders of this cave, which is usually not open because of the siphons. The program shows the need for full wetsuits, but after the wet entrance series is traversed, cavers can change into dry clothes and enjoy some excellent caving. Big booming trunk passages, challenging side leads with virgin cave, and beautiful white formations are some of the features that draw cavers to Burns Cave #2.

Amateur

This video is a short fictional account of a caving accident and the ensuing rescue effort in a difficult and vertical cave. The purpose of this video is to show a realistic portrayal of the organization and techniques of cave rescue, something every caver should be familiar with. This is an excellent educational video which can be used as an introduction to the topic of cave rescues. In this video you will see what the initial medical team does at the beginning of a rescue, how a patient is secured in a stokes litter and how the patient is extracted through cave passage of various difficulties. Finally, you will see how difficult and technically challenging it can be to get the patient out of a vertical cave.

Amateur

This classic early caving film follows an expedition attempting to find the end of this unusual and difficult Canadian cave.

Professional

An early spring expedition to this challenging Canadian cave attempts to prove the usefulness of a cave radio.

Professional

Follow a group of cavers as they tour Berome Moore Cave, one of Missouri's longest, and the focus of decades of project caving. A highlight is the tracks of a large cat which roamed the cave via an entrance which has never been found (the present one is man-made).

Amateur

First program: A tour of this very nicely decorated Missouri cave by Greg Small and Jim Padgett.

Second program: The efforts of Missouri cavers to remediate and conserve this spectacular cave are highlighted.

Amateur

First program: Video of a good introductory slide program by Horton Hobbs III on cave biology presented during the Second Annual Biology Field Camp.

Second program: Video of a slide program by Horton Hobbs III on how cave animals adapt and evolve. Presented during the Second Annual Biology Field Camp.

Third program: Dave Culver and Horton Hobbs III leading cavers during the Second Annual Biology Field Camp through various West Virginia caves to observe biota in situ.

Amateur

This 12 minute video is designed to foster a greater understanding of the world underground, to encourage safe enjoyment and to promote efforts for the conservation of these unique resources. It is not intended as a "How to" video of caving techniques.

Professional

An almost surreal presentation of a visit to this beautiful Virginia cave. Excellent narration and stunning formation shots. From the dust jacket:

Come journey into the netherworld of Clifton Cave. See the delicate rimstone dams. Marvel at the majesty of large flowstone formations. Admire the delicate white soda straws and rippled travertine, frozen in time. Enjoy the sight of angel wings, illuminated in an ethereal glow. Clifton Cave is a special place - a place of fragile beauty. Although made of rock, these speleothems took thousands of years to form and could easily be broken, never to be seen again. More of the cave remains. A low wet stream passage awaits further exploration. Who knows what may be found? I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Stuart for allowing us to explore, map, and video in their cave.

Two cavers visit Culverson Creek Cave WV to explore Dread Pool and the Death Canyon Siphon. From the dust jacket:

This video is about our attempts to reach the end of Death Canyon and explore the virgin cave on the other side of the Death Siphon Lake. Death Canyon is a long stream passage in the bowels of 17 mile Culverson Creek Cave System in West Virginia. It is fairly easy caving except for the two long stretches of breakdown collapses, plus the fact that Death Canyon is extremely flood-prone (thus its name!).
Death Canyon illustrates our initial attempt to reach the end of the canyon. We only made it to the First Breakdown before running out of time.

Comment: 1994 NSS Video Salon "Best of Show" award.
Also on this tape "The Caves of Delaware" V740

Cavers' attempts to penetrate "Death Canyon" and the second siphon in Culverson Creek Cave, WV, are documented. Unlike the original video, which was fictional, this sequel follows real-life attempts to extend this already large cave system.. From the dust jacket:

Death Canyon II documents four more trips and culminates in reaching the end of Death Canyon. Did we make it across Death Siphon Lake? I will leave it up to the viewer to find out!
There is a little bit of caving for everyone in this series: Long echoing stream canyons with rushing water. Life jackets and inflatable turtles, with an underground lake of unknown depth. Breakdown mazes, impassable siphons and scenes of exploration as it happens. Caving at its best, to be enjoyed by everyone.

Episode #103 of the PBS series Anyplace Wild follows hostess Annie Getchell as she joins Arkansas cavers for trips to Copperhead and Fitton caves. Well done, and with all the right messages.

Documentary on biological work in the submerged caves of the Bahamas. Features Dr. John "Capt. Karst" Holsinger and Jill Yager, discoverer of a new family of crustaceans called "Remipedia" in 1981.

Two young men decide to explore this famous Texas pit-cave by going hand-over-hand down a hemp rope with only flashlights; everything that can go wrong - does. This classic, theatrical film was made in 1950 by Fred Foster.

An amusing response to the question "Why do we cave?" Presented as a multi-media slide show copied to video.

Scenes of Fred Luiszer pursuing several promising digs near Cave of the Winds, CO. After 9 months of digging, Big Alcove Cave was connected to the NE Passage of Cave of the Winds. Also shown is an impressive find of a Pleistocene bone in the cave.

This segment of the Made In Texas series gives an overview of caving in the Texas hill country. Includes a strong groundwater conservation message.

An odyssey across Australia as a Swiss film team attempts to follow the path of a drop of water; includes an underground city, climbing, hard-core caving and cave diving.

This short, British-produced program is intended as a guide to one of the routes through the challenging Eastwater Cavern. It contains a narrated introduction and then subtitles which describe the different sections of the cave the guide is going through. This is definitely a "Caver's Cave"!

An entertaining narrative filmed in Endless Caverns, VA, as cavers pursue the limits of exploration. Great video of pushing the tight wet leads that make caving so memorable.

Video of a slide program by Bill Walter and Hal Love on the discovery and exploration of over 20 miles of new passage in Blue Springs Cave, TN.

Eighth in the Expeditions to the Edge series (NG Channel), the Cave Flood episode presents a reenactment of the 1997 McBrides Cave rescue near Stevenson, AL. Trouble strikes soon after eleven of TAG's finest take on this classic wet pulldown trip after days of rain. The highly realistic portrayal, shot in McBrides with most characters playing themselves, serves as a cautionary tale for anyone challenging the weather gods. An honest depiction of cavers saving cavers, Cave Flood aired on the National Geographic Channel in December 2004.

Entertaining video of a slide program by Matt Oliphant on one of the most exciting areas of Mexico caving using slides by Bill Stone and other participants.

The story of Villa Luz cave - home of the Snottites - in Tabasco, Mexico, follows cavers Louise Hose, Dave Lester, Doug Soroka, and Lynn Kleina, as they investigate this very unusual cave filled with sulfur-eating bacteria and teeming with cave life - and peril.

Italian scientist Giovanni Badino specializes in studying glacier caves, a unique world that holds promise of revealing the secrets of glaciers and of new organisms that may help fight disease. Follow Giovanni through icy crevasses that can kill the unprepared.

A tour of this 46+ mile cave system from its historic entrance to the watery base level passage, The Grand Junction.

Flying Fox: The story of the world's largest bats, narrated by William Conrad.

Flying Foxes:More great photography of these giant bats

Allen Padgett gives a tour of Anderson Spring Cave for this local series.

Series host Michael Skinner is taken to several GA caves by TAG cavers Brent Aulenbach and Alan Cressler, Allen Padgett, and Diane Cousineau.

Floyd Collins is touted as being the greatest caver in the world. But this reputation was obtained only after his tragic death, in 1925, due to being trapped in a small and unstable crawlway in Sand Cave, Ky. Because the rescue was widely publicized, it captured the hearts, minds, and hopes of millions of Americans. Not only did the rescue attempt make for a dramatic story, but the fact that thousands of Americans from all over the country showed up to watch, wait, and hope, made Floyd into a great American folk hero.
Because of the drama, the tragedy, and the excitement of the event, people from all walks of life began collecting memorabilia about Floyd Collins. As time went on, the photographs, letters, banners, and other items increased in value, making a these collections quit valuable.
This program is about some of the Floyd Collins collectors, and their collections. In describing their old photographs, postcards, newsreels, and other items, the story of Floyd Collins, and his untimely death, is told.

"Les Grottes du Han" is the most famous and extensive cave system in Belgium, and has fascinated man for centuries. Of its 14 km of passages, only 2.5 km are open to commercial tourists. How you can see the rest, including excellent period reenactments and talks with the original explorers. A true caver's video and a delight to watch.

Beautiful visuals highlight this visit by Florida cave divers to the crystal waters of Hawaii, including an underwater lava cave.

The episode from the PBS series "Anyplace Wild" follows host Annie Getchell and several well-known NSS cavers on trips to New Mexico's Hell Below and Cottonwood Caves in the Guadalupe Mountains.

Mandy comes home from college to tell her Dad that she's discovered caving, and a new caver boyfriend. She knows that Dad can have some peculiar ideas about things he doesn't know much about, but she hopes her explanations will help him understand. This is the story of Mandy's mission, and what can happen when true understanding really takes place. From the dust cover:

Mandy finally comes home from college to visit with Dad, but she's bringing along a new boyfriend, Jeff, and a new hobby, caving. But before Dad meets Jeff, Mandy decides she better have a one-on-one conversation about the last year of her life, and about caving. It should help before she and Jeff break the news.
Mandy knows that Dad can have some peculiar ideas about things he doesn't know much about, but she hopes with her descriptions, she can get Dad to understand.
This is the story of Mandy's mission, and what can happen when true understanding really takes place.

This video demonstrates qualitative dye-tracing methods used to delineate groundwater basins as part of a long-term investigation of cavern development in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Included is a segment shot in the groundwater lab of the Kentucky Division of Water showing use of a spectrofluorophotometer to analyze dye traps.

Produced and narrated by Gary A. O'Dell
Assistant Professor of Geography
Morehead State University, Kentucky

Featuring:
Mary Gratsch
James C. Currens (Kentucky Geological Survey)
Joseph A. Ray (Kentucky Division of Water)
Robert Blair (Kentucky Division of Water)

Follow a group of cave divers to the premier underwater caves of Mexico's Yucatan. Includes the logistics of getting gear to the often remote sites, and some spectacular underwater footage.

Cole, Cuddington, Handley, and others describe the evolution of vertical caving in the USA. From the dust cover:

The "History of Vertical Caving" is about the history, the techniques, and the cavers who were involved in the development of vertical caving in the United States. This program features such cavers as Bill Cuddington who has been running the vertical sessions at NSS Conventions for many many years; John Cole, inventor of the Rack; Charlie Gibbs and the Gibbs Ascender, and Jim Gossett who developed the Gossett Box.

Also included are cuts from the Pittsburgh Grotto's 16 mm movies made in 1955, which feature School House Cave. And thanks go to the NSS for the many old slides which contain so much history.

The narration for this program is by Bob Handley.

This is a conservation video which covers the problems of water pollution in caves and karst areas. The program starts with a short discussion on the formation of caves. It then presents the many sources of water pollution involving caves and karst areas, and includes a number of solutions. This is an excellent educational resource on the subject of conservation and water pollution.

A narrative of the discovery and development of the nation's oldest show cave and other regional attractions near the site of the 1991 NSS convention.

Video of a slide presentation by Bill Stone of the exciting story of a ten-year project that explored this Mexican cave, finding over 33 miles of passage and pushing it to a depth of over 4,400 feet.

See original exploration as it happens, as American cavers push Sistéma Huautla to a world depth record. Includes scenes of Anthodite Hall, heavy water in the Gorge, Camp III and beyond.

Video of a slide program by Jim Nieland on the inventory, evaluation, and management of publicly owned lava tubes in the western United States, and the impact of the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988.

Shot by Russell Neville in 1927 using magnesium flares, this historic film includes scenes in Mammoth, Carlsbad, Salts Cave and others. B&W, musical background added.

The dangers posed by groundwater pollution resulting from sinkhole dumping are discussed by cavers and local experts.

Beautiful photography of cave diving in Jackson County, Florida with scenes of Florida Caverns State Park. Strong conservation message.

Philippe Axell and a video team set out to document Europe's finest caves on high-definition video - particularly those caves and passages which are never accessible except on very special occasions. A unique opportunity to visit the best of the best. Exquisite photography!

DESCEND INTO WORLDS WITH NO LIGHT, NO AIR, AND NO ROOM FOR ERROR
Journey Into Amazing Caves is a visceral, suspenseful expedition with a new breed of scientists who boldly explore places once thought off-limits to human presence, let alone IMAX cameras. Join Dr. Hazel Barton and Nancy Aulenbach as they travel to unique and forbidding ice caves in Greenland, underwater caves in the Yucatan, terrestrial caves in the Grand Canyon and other spectacular locations. You will wriggle through tiny, twisting passages, swim through flooded underground vaults, drop into gleaming blue labyrinths of ice, and enter a world so extreme the microscopic creatures who live there are called extremophiles. For those compelled to push their limits in the world's most hostile environments, the risk of fatal danger and thrill of new discovery are the everyday factors that make cave exploration such an awe-inspiring experience.

Winner of Best of Show in the 1996 Video Salon, this German documentary by Bernhard Kliebhan chronicles the life of E. A. Martel, whose exploits in the late nineteenth century earned him the title of "Father of Modern Speleology." Rare old photos and film, reenactments, and modern caving scenes are seamlessly blended to create an impressive tribute.

This film presents the adventures of a team of speleologists who have set out to capture images that reveal to the general public the incredible forms and colors of the subterranean world. Exquisite scenes from the lava tubes of Lanzarote (Canary Islands), the caves of Postonja (Slovenia), the sunken depths of Fontaine de Vaucluse in France, and the crystal palaces of Cigalere in the Pyrenees.

Go on a restoration trip to Lone Hill Onyx Cave (MO) with Bill Elliott and some middle school kids; join a CRF survey trip to Powder Mill Creek Cave; go mist-netting for bats with DNR biologists; learn how to build a bat house; and see a virtual cave website. This is a great program for kids, with a strong, positive message.

Follow cavers in this entertaining and educational moving-image video as they explore a lava tube near Hilo. Bruce Rogers explains the features along the way. Includes scenes of active lava flows.

A professional documentary on caving in Korea. Although the narration is in Korean, the video is easy to follow and includes many spectacular scenes, including the birth of a baby bat. Well worth watching!

Video of a fascinating slide presentation by planetary geologist Ron Greeley from Arizona State University on the volcanism which recent spacecraft have observed on various planets and their satellites.

Video of a fast-paced slide program by Bruce Rogers on the lava tubes in El Malpais National Monument.

The true story of the discovery and exploration of Boischatel Cave, Quebec, reenacted by the explorers. Medal winner in the 1992 NSS Salon. Dialogue in French, but the story is quite easy to follow.

An extended version of V716 that includes in-depth interviews with the explorers.

Excellent photography of the impressive formations in this Nevada cave, produced by the Great Basin Natural History Assoc. and the National park Service.

A short made for TV magazine type program which shows how still cave photography is accomplished.

Living On Karst introduces the general public to the basics of karst, how it functions and what makes it so sensitive to land use. The history of Hidden River Cave is presented as the poster child of polluted caves, whose ultimate restoration in modern times points at a hopeful future for raising consciousness about the value of providing good stewardship. David Foster, founder and director of ACCA shares personal thoughts about the tangible and intangible value of caves to humans and to life itself.

Members of the Northeast Sump Divers (NEST) document their efforts in exploring Locust Creek Cave (WV) past three underwater sumps to discover over 3 miles of cave.

The story of 40 years of exploration in a major Czechoslovakian cave system. B&W, narrated in Czech with German subtitles, but very "watchable."

A commercial video on Mammoth Cave National Park.

A Special Challenge. Caves are more popular for recreation than ever! And their ties to the surface world is increasingly more important. Because of this, proper cave management has become critical. This BLM video points out (very well) the importance of the cave resource and the need for good stewardship by federal agencies under the provisions of the Federal Cave Resource Protection Act.

In 1937, famed entomologist Dr. Charles Mohr did some scientific envestigations in this small but beautiful eastern Pennsylvania cave, and a striking photograph appeared in Life Magazine. But shortly thereafter, the cave entrance was bulldozed by the owner. This video documents the efforts of a group of PA cavers to locate, reopen and explore Merkle Cave.

Merlin Tuttle studying Mexican Freetail bats in Bracken Cave, Texas. Excellent bat-flight footage.

Dramatic adventures highlight early explorations in Papua New Guinea by a Swiss/French team, including 360- meter deep sinkholes and kayaking into a giant resurgence.

Cave divers attempt to follow the waters of the Nahoch Nah Chich Cave System, deep in the Yucatan peninsula, to their eventual outlet in the Gulf of Mexico. Unprecedented footage shot and produced by Wes Skiles for The New Explorers TV series, 1995. Received a Merit Award at the 1996 Video Salon.

NOVA's team descends through miles of twisting, plunging caverns, including some of the most exotic in the world that are off limits to all except researchers. NOVA was given special permission to film in these fragile, often perilous places, which have turned the science of speleology on its head.

For all its evident risks, speleology is a science in which women are especially prominent, including several featured in this program: microbiologist and Mars specialist Penny Boston, geologist Carol Hill, biologist Diana Northup, and geologist Louise Hose, among others.

"The first couple of times I went on trips [to Lechuguilla Cave], I kept thinking, all I have to do is live long enough to get out and then I never have to come back," admits Boston. "[But then] the beauties of the cave ...    really soaked into my soul." And so did the science. The film crew's first stop is Lechuguilla, along with Carlsbad Caverns, both in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Both are home to the most spectacular and puzzling gypsum formations ever found.

Traditional theories of cave formation could not explain how these vast subterranean caverns with massive gypsum deposits were formed. Most limestone caves are dissolved by flowing water that has absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and become slightly acidic. However, gypsum is soluble in water and should have been washed away at Carlsbad and Lechuguilla. Furthermore, there is no sign that flowing water ever entered or exited the caves.

Whatever process created Carlsbad and Lechuguilla is largely dormant now. So the team visits a more active and dangerous cavern: Cueva de Villa Luz in Mexico, which emits the toxic, rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulfide from its entrance. Inside, explorers must wear respirators and carry poison-gas monitors to protect themselves from the hydrogen sulfide that reacts with water in the cave to form caustic sulfuric acid. Deep within, they discover "snottites," mucous-like stalactites of sulfur-eating bacteria that also drip sulfuric acid. Oddly enough, the noxious environment teems with microbes, spiders, insects, crabs, and fish -- all thriving in complete darkness.

As strange as it may seem, sulfuric acid produced by microbial life is the cause of about five percent of all limestone caves, including Cueva de Villa Luz, Carlsbad, and Lechuguilla. Sulfuric acid not only dissolves limestone, it leaves a distinctive chemical residue: gypsum. This process, which is ongoing now in Cueva de Villa Luz, was completed millions of years ago in Carlsbad and Lechuguilla, where microbial activity continues today at a very slow pace.

Sulfuric acid is produced not just by snottites but also deep underground in oil deposits. Microbes consume oil and release hydrogen sulfide gas, which rises through rock fissures and combines with groundwater to produce sulfuric acid.

To scientists, the biggest surprise is that this Earth-transforming process is connected to life -- especially life where no one expected to find it, since caves were long considered virtually sterile environments. Dubbed "extremophiles," these newfound organisms, living beyond the margin of what was considered possible, are turning up in more and more environments, from hot springs at Yellowstone National Park to volcanic vents at the ocean bottom.

Some scientists believe these bacteria descend directly from the earliest life forms that emerged on Earth some 3.5 billion years ago. They may even be our best guess of what life is like on other planets -- buried beneath the surface of Mars, floating in the oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa, and otherwise thriving in extreme conditions throughout the cosmos.