GO Club Caving – Winter 2016/17

Caving (sometimes referred to as spelunking) combines a variety of activities — hiking, rock scrambling, free climbing, exploration, geology, conservation, advanced rope climbing, and even wading and swimming — into a single unique underground adventure! Caves have formed in every region of the world, and the mid-atlantic region is home to more than 2000 explored caves. The caves in this region can be 500+ million years old, and are formed by the continuous growth of structures in ancient limestone that is generally older than the Appalachians themselves! Caving participants may see beautiful cave formations, fossils, bats, and more. And with caves maintaining a constant average of 55 degrees F year-round, caving becomes the perfect winter adventure!

Trip Options:

Introduction to Caving

1) WV Introduction to Caving:
This cave is located in the West Virginia panhandle on the WV-MD border, about 1.5 hrs from DC. There are two entrances to the cave, lots of small side passages, nice formations, and has a 40+ foot drop about 2/3 of the way in that requires ropes to get down (this second part of the cave is the intermediate trip, since it has the rappel, some crawling sections, then climbing back up the rappel). There is one small beginner level cave right next to it that we can also visit if time permits.
Price is $125 per person.

 

2) PA Introduction to Caving:
This Pennsylvania caving adventure starts out with a tunnel that goes under Interstate 81, and opens up into a wet and muddy cave with some great passages for adventurous exploration. For those who have completed the Introduction to Caving in WV, and want another short day trip, Caving in Pennsylvania provides a good challenge for beginners, without too much climbing. About 2 hours from DC.
Price is $125 per person.

 

Intermediate Level Caving:

3)  Canyons, Mazes, and Underground River:
This cave is located near Blacksburg, VA, and is nearly 5 miles long! With sections of canyons, big rooms that have multiple levels, a flowing stream in the back, and some big beautiful formations, Canyons, Mazes and Underground River caving is a trip you won’t want to miss! As the cave has nearly 5 miles of passages, participants can elect to try an overnight trip where we set up camp inside the cave. About 3.5 hours from DC
Price is $140 per person, or $220 per person for an overnight trip. (camping inside the cave.)

 

4) Fossil Hunting and Maze:
This West Virginia cave, over 4 miles long, offers lots of crawling and small passages, as well as some very nice formations and bigger rooms located in the back of the cave. But most importantly, his cave is full of FOSSILS of marine life that is 400-500 Million Years Old! This cave has the added benefit of easy access to several small beginner level caves nearby (we could do 3 caves in one trip!), plus 2 advanced level caves if you decide you love caving and want to do more in the future. The cave also has a famous “squeeze challenge” that is 20 feet long, and leads to a second half of the cave. The squeeze challenge is optional, and definitely not for anyone who considers themselves claustrophobic. About 3 hours from DC
Price is $140 per person, or $220 per person for an overnight trip. (camping inside the cave and doing the other 2 or more caves in the area. There is also good hiking nearby.)

 

5) Massive Caves of Blacksburg:
Although the Blacksburg Caves are the farthest from DC (about 4-4.5 hours), these caves are well worth the drive. There are 2 beginner level caves that can be done together, then 2 vertical caves that are strictly advanced level.
This cave, and others nearby, have some of the biggest and most elaborate formations of any cave in the region — a 60 foot waterfall inside the cave — and is a great cave to camp in. A cave like this definitely can’t be done all in one day (One trip of highly experienced cavers took 12 hours to get to the end and back) so plan for a weekend adventure!
Price is $200 per person, with a 6 person minimum, for a 2 day-1 night trip. Located outside Blacksburg VA, over 4.5 hours from DC

Advanced Level Caving:

6) Introduction to Vertical Caving:
If you’ve done our other programs, or are an experienced climber looking for a challenge, this is the trip for you! Vertical Caving is an amazing adventure requiring unique technical equipment (provided by your guides) and offering massive rappels into beautiful caves. You’ll train first using a rope hanging from a tree, then descend the rope into a true vertical cave! If done as a 2 day trip, we will head to an area where there are 2 vertical caves, one with a 60 foot drop, another with a 120 foot drop!
Price is $200 per person or $300 per person for a 2 day course (highly recommended).

GO Club Rock Climbing – Spring 2017

Whether you are new to the sport, or are looking for a course to get you to the next level, GO-Adventures has a rock climbing program for you!

Trip Options:

Introduction to Top-Roping

1)  Introduction to Rock Climbing
Join us for a day of guided rock climbing at a local crag in Maryland or Virginia. We’ll cover the basics of top-rope rock climbing, including:

• belaying
• tying-in
• basic movement
• rappelling

This 4 to 6 hour program will give you the skills you need for both indoor gym climbing and guided outdoor top-rope climbing.

2) Top-rope Anchors Level 1
Take the next step in learning to climb with our introduction to anchors clinic! This 8 hour course will teach the basics of static anchors for independent outdoor single-pitch climbing, including:

• site and natural anchor selection
• knots for anchors
• top-belay systems
• climber safety
• and more…

3) Sport Climb Lead and Belay
Join us in Franklin, WV for a crash course in Sport Climbing, before you head out to one of the close sport climbing destination such as New River Gorge, WV or Red River, KY.

Learn the basics of:

• leading the route
• belaying the leader
• cleaning the route (gear retrieval)
• equipment considerations
• climber safety and self-rescue

4) Climber’s Self-Rescue
Learn fundamentals of staying safe in an outdoor climbing setting with this 8 hour practical skills intensive. Course will cover:

• belay escapes
• rappel backups
• belay backups
• ascending a rope
• passing a knot
• injured climber retrieval
• and more…

This clinic is a must for anyone venturing into a wilderness climbing adventure!

 

How would you survive a night outdoors? Do you have the necessary skills to keep warm, dry and hydrated?

In this one-day or overnight program, learn the basics of the fundamentals of primitive living, such as:

• fire
• water
• shelter
• navigation
• knife skills

This course will start you on your journey toward self-sufficiency in a wilderness survival situation.

Recreational Tree Climbing is one of the best ways to adventure without having to go too far from home – trees are easy to find in your own back yard! In this 6-8 hour course you will learn the basics of climbing safely into the canopy.

• tree climbing equipment
• knots for climbing
• moving from branch to branch
• ‘skywalking’ between two trees
• lowering out of the tree

Once you have mastered these basic skills, join us for a weekend ‘tree-versing’ adventure – we’ll traverse between 6 trees in Seneca Creek State Park, spending the night swinging from the branches in a hammock!