Caving Club Sinks to New Depths

SOCORRO, June 18, 1998 -- The New Mexico Tech Caving Club is sinking to new depths.

At a little over a year old and as one of the newest student organizations at the university, the Tech Caving Club is also rising fast as one of the most popular student clubs on campus . . . by going underground. Way underground.

"The opportunities available through organized caving are tremendous," says Bob Treacy, an avid member of the Tech Caving Club who also serves as the club's faculty/staff advisor. "Caving truly represents one of the final frontiers which virtually is available to anyone at a minimal cost."

For some members of the Tech Caving Club, exploring subterranean passages and chambers is a sport which offers a full spectrum of physical and mental challenges, while for others, it is a multi-disciplinary science which incorporates anthropology, biology, environmental engineering, geology, paleontology, physics, and a host of other science and engineering disciplines.

"When an individual initially is attracted to caving, the attraction usually is accompanied by a surge of adrenaline. However, that initial feeling eventually matures and evolves toward pursuits more related to scientific and exploration endeavors," Treacy maintains.

Socorro's central location in New Mexico proves to be a great added benefit to Tech's "PsychoCavers," as club members are prone to affectionately call themselves. Being almost smack-dab in the middle of the state puts the spelunkers within a day's drive from some truly world-class caves, Treacy says.

"The thrill of exploring, surveying, and mapping territory where no one has set foot before--unreachable even through satellite imaging--is literally within reach of this campus," Treacy adds.

In addition, the thrill of scientific discovery often plays a large role in caving adventures.

"Each cave is a totally enclosed ecosystem and supports the possibility of cataloging new organisms," Treacy says. "This sort of scholarly contribution happens all the time."

The National Speological Society (NSS), for instance, publishes a professional journal which includes research papers on original work related to cave sciences. In many instances, discoveries first published on the pages of the NSS Journal later have significant impact on other fields.

The Tech Caving Club also engages in voluntary conservation and education efforts involving caves.

On any given weekend, members can be found doing such things as cleaning trash out of sinkholes in the Valley of Fires State Park, near Carrizozo, trash which could very well be blocking an entrance into a previously unknown cave which the cavers can survey, map, and publish.

Or, on another weekend, the PsychoCavers might be pinpointing cave positions on federal lands with a Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation unit, locations which the U.S. Bureau of Land Management can later survey, catalog, and register for its own records.

And, on yet another weekend, the Tech Caving Club could be teaching a troop of boy scouts how to safely explore a cave in the Black Range, lessons which could one day save a life.

"In addition to all that has already been mentioned, there is a moderate level of risk associated with this kind of activity," Treacy cautions. "In response to this risk, the Caving Club is committed to maintaining the highest level of rescue readiness and training."

In fact, safety and rescue training has always been the highest priority of the New Mexico Tech Caving Club, he says.

"We are officially registered with the state as a resource for underground rescue involving mines and caves," Treacy notes, "and this registration with the state has earned us the privilege of taking the Incident Command System, Rope Rescue, and Confined Space Rescue classes offered at the New Mexico State Fire Academy here in Socorro."

Prior to being allowed to participate in any caving activities, Caving Club members must receive training in first aid and caving etiquette, techniques, and gear.

"Only those who have received appropriate training are permitted to participate in confined spaces or cave environments that possess a relative level of danger," Treacy says.

In addition, the club strives to hold regular safety and rescue seminars after most of its regular meetings.

"Caving is an activity that involves a high degree of attention to not only what you are doing, but also to what everyone else in the party is doing," Treacy relates.

"We strive for excellence with regard to safety and rescue readiness," he says.

-NMT-

George Zamora