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National Speleological Society

YOUR ALABAMA REGIONAL COORDINATOR

My name is Van "Cave Rat" Cain. I am your State of Alabama Regional Coordinator for The National Speleological Society Youth Group's Liaison Committee. My volunteer job is to help grottos, cavers, and youth groups learn how to conduct safe youth group caving activities.

My Caving History:

Why did I get into caving? I have always wanted to explore caves, when I was a kid, but did not know how to start. In 1998, a friend of mine called me up and wanted to know if I wanted to go with him to a local wild cave near my home. I went with him and got bit by the caving bug- that's what cavers call it when they get hooked on caving. I live in Alabama which is in a region in the Southeastern United States that is known as T.A.G.

T.A.G stands for Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and is home to over 12,000 caves. I do two types of caving in the state of Alabama, throughout T.A.G., and other places- horizontal and vertical. For horizontal caving, you need just basic caving gear and training. With vertical caving, you need all the basic caving gear and training, plus special gear and even more training to get in and out of the cave safely. Vertical caves are also known as "pits". I prefer to do more vertical caving than horizontal caving. I like the challenge of climbing out a very, deep vertical cave.

Vertical caves are not for the beginner and can be 1400 feet in depth and deeper. Vertical caves can contain single or multiple vertical pits. The type of vertical cave that has multiple drops is called a multi-drop cave. If you want to attempt a vertical cave, seek out a grotto to help you understand what is involved in order to enter and exit vertical caves safely.

I lead all types of trips for youth groups, mainly for the Boy Scouts of America. At this time I serve as the Caving Director for a local BSA Council in Alabama- Black Warrior Council. I also lead Girl Scout trips from time to time. I guess to date I have lead over 60 youth caving trips since 1999, which include grotto trips.