2010
January
Cover: Dred and Kidd watch during an in-cave practice of the Balincaguin Conservancy Grotto, Philippines. Photo: Jerry Rendon. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 710th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; Rope Practice with the Balincaguin Conservancy Grotto; One Last SW Caving Trip (William R. Halliday); Grotto Dues Renewal Form.
February
Cover: Jerry Nickelsburg�s enormous enthusiasm physically manifests itself when caving. Photo: Kyle Baker. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 711th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News and Announcements; Mountain Springs Cave map and report (Dell Quick); 2009 Mojave National Preserve (MOJA) Report (Bern Szukalski); Grotto Dues Renewal Form.
March
Cover: James Rice becomes entagled within a web of his own weaving (Jaime Lintemoot looks on from behind, obscured yet amused). Photo: Kyle Baker. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 712th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News and Announcements; Pisgah, January, 2010 (Rusell Harter); A Visit to the Sand Cave of Garrett County in Western Maryland (Dell Quick); Sand Cave Map; Grotto Dues Renewal Form.
April
Cover: Fearing a long winter, Pelirrojosaurus looks to eat a ground hog before it can see its shadow. Photo: Jerry Nickelsburg. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 713th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; Tough Times Bring Tough Measures (Scott Schmitz); Caveside at Narrowford.
May
Cover: Russ, Betty, Nancy, and Daniel peeking out one of the entrances to Cueva de Tequila. Photo: Matt Oliphant. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 714th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; Pinacate, Mexico, January 6-11, 2010 (Russell Harter); Cholla Cave map; 3-Hole Cave map; Cueva de Tequila map; Pozo del Tecolote Blanco map; Cueva de Calaveras map.
June
Cover: Kevin Westervoorde contemplates the juxtaposition of form and negative space in Hidden Pools Cave. Photo: Kyle Baker. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 715th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Peter M. Neely, PhD., NSS #1130 Obituary (William Halliday); Hummingbird Trail Cave (Dell Quick).
July
Cover: Daniel Veelik and Rawen Balma�a releasing dye tracer in a virgin pool of Sto. Rosario Cave, Brgy. San Pedro, Mabini, Pangasinan on 14 Feb 2010. Photo: Jerry Rendon. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 716th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; Are your digital cave pictures rotten when you project them? Hike O The Month (Russell Harter); Indian Cave #9 map; Crystal Cave Restoration 2009 (Kevin Westvoorde).
August
Cover: Kevin Westervoorde contemplates the juxtaposition of form and negative space in Hidden Pools Cave. Photo: Kyle Baker. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 717th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; My Grandpa Took Me Caving! (Destiny Barrios); A Little Conversation with Yaman Ozakin (Dell Quick).
September
Cover: Never before has a motlier crew been so enamored of mud. Photo: John Woods. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 718th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; 2010 Grotto Membership List.
October
Cover: Vance Nelson is all smiles whenever he gets on rope. Here he is seen participating in the ergonomic study for the Mitchell system in June 2010. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 719th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Mitchell System Ergonomic Study and Grotto BBQ (Beatriz Farfan and Daniel Veelik); The Cave of Long Blades (Scott Schmitz).
November
Cover: ‘This is not the cave you�re looking for.’ The crew stops for a rest before heading on to Cave of the Winding Stairs. Photo: Kyle Baker. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 720th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; NSS Honorary Member for 2010 – SoCal Grotto’s Own Jim Martin (William R. Halliday)); Cave of the Winding Stair, December 2009 (Jerry Nickelsburg).
December
Cover: Ever the social butterfly Jerry Nickelsburg takes a call in Pinnacles Cave. Photo: Kyle Baker. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 721st Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; A Message of Thanks from the B.C. Grotto; Holiday Poem of Dubious Quality; James Rice’s Belize Photo Extravaganza.
2011
January
Cover: Karl Domangue wills himself small while trying to pass through a hole in Lost Soldiers. Photo: Kyle Baker. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 722nd Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Practical Rope Coiling and You: The Art and Meditation of Packing Rope; Making the Loops of a Coil; Grotto Dues Renewal Form.
February
Cover: Ryan Baker does his best impression of an animatronic Pirate of the Caribbean while marveling at just how Daniel Veelik does that thing he do. Photo: John Woods. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 723rd Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Pisgah Trip Reports; SoCal Speleo; Grotto Dues Renewal Form.
March
Cover: Daniel shooting Betty at the end of a 25-meter drop in Pit #5 of Pit Hill, Brgy. Linmansangan, Alaminos City. Photo: Jerry Rendon. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 724th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; 2011 Grotto Information Sheet; Leftovers for Breakfast: Biscuit Cave and Pancake Cave; Biscuit Cave map; Pancake Cave map; Grotto Dues Renewal Form.
April
Cover: Statuesque wafer-thin mint supermodel Ryan Baker in Milan showing off the latest in haute couture caving fashion. Photo: Karl Domangue. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 725th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Night Caving; Tag Grabber; Grotto Dues Renewal Form.
May
Cover: Daniel dropping Pit #2 of Pit Hill, Linmansangan, Alaminos City. At the bottom and on-camera are Betty (red) and Jerry (blue). Photo: Rawen Balma�a. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 726th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Lassie,Timmie’s Still In The Mine Cave; Sometimes You Just Get Lucky; Crystal Discovery Cave map; Snow Caving at Lost Soldiers.
June
Cover: Sandy Stephens Szukalski admires a coiled root on breakdown in a Maui cave. Photo: Bern Szukalski. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 727th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Pisgah April 1-3, 2011; Little By Little – The Maui Cave Project Again; Hana Gardenland Cave map; Nahiku Road Caves map.
July
Cover: Kyle Baker composes his shot for the best cover photo ever. Photo: Kyle Baker. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 728th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; More Caves in the Sequoia National Forest; Cat Leg Cave map; FIFA Cave map; Black Mushroom Cave map; Onyx Shelf Hole map; Speas View Shelter map.
August
Cover: The cavers crawl in, the cavers crawl out� Guess the person, guess the squeeze. Answers in next month�s thrilling issue of the Explorer (maybe). Photos by: K. Baker or R. Baker or B. Tohaskol. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 729th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Caving in the Lower Guads.
September
Cover: Image by Bruce Davis, from the May 1976 Explorer. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 730th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; 2011 Grotto Member List.
October
Cover: Frank McDonough coming out of Grindhole Cave. Photo: Diana Liu. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 731st Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Grindhole Cave; Grindhole Cave map; J.A.M. Goes Caving.
November
Cover: Allen Hager, Jaime Lintemoot, and Kyle Baker layer up to stay warm deep in Crystal-67. Photo: Rich Collier. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 732nd Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements.
December
Cover: Kevin Westervoorde uses the treadmill while John Woods runs the rope with David Armstead and Scott Schmitz watching at a Santa Susana climbing practice. Photo: Rich Collier. Back Cover: Russ Harter in the enterance of a Maui lava cave. Photo: Mandy Harter. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 732nd Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements.
2012
January
Cover: B Cave, Pisgah. Photos by Russell Harter. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 734th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; B Cave, Pisgah; B Cave map; Membership Renewal Form.
February
Cover: Betty Farfan and Daniel Veelik deep in Onyx Cave. Photo by Rich Collier. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 735th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; The GNIS Caves Database Revisited; 2012 Grotto Information Sheet; Membership Renewal Form.
March
Cover: Shelby Wong on the first drop (86′) of the Bentanilya vertical entrance of the Cacupangan Cave System, Mabini,Pangasinan, Philippines. Photo by Jerry Rendon. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 736th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Prickly City (cartoon); Karl Henize, PhD, Astronomer, Astronaut and Founding Member of Southern California Grotto.
April
Cover: Jerry Nickelsburg, Kyle Baker, and Ryan Baker approaching Lost Soldier�s Cave. Photo by Karl Domangue. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 737th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Bizarro (cartoon); Ramblings On the Definition of a Cave; Malibu Sea Cave (sketch map).
May
Cover: Doug Billings in Offering Cave. Photo by Larry Zimmer. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 738th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Summary of XMET 2012 Trip. Back cover: XMET team in Chapat. Photo by Don Smith.
June
Cover: Betty and Ivy Go (local guide) in the Air-con Room, Alab Cave, Brgy. Asinga-Via, Baggao, Cagayan, Philippines. Photo by Jerry Rendon.r. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 739th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Speleoeducational Seminar May 18�20, 2012, Bend, Oregon. Back cover: Beatriz Farfan in a chamber with some extremely large specimens in excellent condition. XMET expeditions to Belize have been led by Eleanor and David Larson for 12 years under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology in Belize. Photo by Daniel Veelik.
July
Cover: Diana Liu ascends the main passage. Photo by Beatriz Farfan. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 740th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Dragon’s Breath Cave; Dragon’s Breath Cave map. Back cover: Betty Veelik in Betty�s Ballroom, Dragon�s Breath Cave. Photo by Daniel Veelik.
August
Front and back cover: A limestone cave in the Canadian Rockies. Photos by Russ Harter. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 741st Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Update on Grotto Rescue Boards; Knot-tying Practice Report.
September
Cover: Kevin Westervoorde examines mine speleothems near Cerro Gordo. Photo by David Angel. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 742nd Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Remembrances of Kevin Westervoorde. Back cover: Kyle Baker, Sanjana Paul, Ryan Baker, Kevin Westervoorde, and Ben Tohsakul in a small ice cave formed by a snow shelf in Mineral King. Photo by Ben Tohsakul.
October
Cover: Kevin Westervoorde lights up a column in Onyx Cave. Photo by David Angel. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 743rd Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; 2012 Grotto Membership List. Back cover: Kevin Westervoorde and Michael Chestnut looking into the mouth of a Calico mine. Photo by David Angel.
November
Cover: Margie Nelson in Clough Cave, Sequoia National Park, April 28, 1973. Photo by Russell Harter. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 744th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; Marjorie Youngs Nelson (remembrance). Back cover: Margie Nelson in Paiute Cave, in the Grand Canyon area, during an Easter trip in 1979.
December
Cover: Carol Vesley in Toppled Table Talus Cave. Photo by Scott Schmitz. This Issue: Carbide Calendar; 745th Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; News & Announcements; The 2012 Western Regional. Back cover: Holiday Tech Tips (from Petzl).
