About Us
We are the Puget Sound region’s only caving and spelunking club! We are the Cascade Grotto, a recognized internal chapter of the National Speleological Society (caves.org)
Cave Trips
Grotto-sponsored cave trips are usually scheduled at least monthly between April and ~ November (depending on yearly snow pack levels), as most of the caves in the Pacific Northwest are snow-bound in winter. Look for our Annual Beginner’s Trip in April, when we kick off our season at Mt. St. Helens-area caves, including our Annual Ape Cave Clean-up. Many cave trips are scheduled at the last minute and announced via social media and/or the Cascade Cavers email group. All members are encouraged to sponsor grotto caving trips.
Training
Our club provides basic-through-advanced level caving education and training, thanks to our volunteer instructors. We usually start the year with events at the Ravenna Park Bridge and Mountaineers Program Center in Seattle, and have had events in Mt. Vernon as well as Tacoma. Classroom instruction and field events are offered. Check the Events page for current listings.
Social Media
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/CascadeGrotto – you’ll need to request to join here
Facebook Page: facebook.com/CascadeGrotto – Please Like our Page!
Instagram: @cascadegrotto – please follow and tag us on your adventures!
Discord: Available to members! Contact the Vice-Chair for a link once you have paid your membership dues.
Often, last-minute events are announced on Facebook, so it’s a great venue to meet others in the Grotto and see what’s happening. We encourage you to post about your adventures!
Cascade Cavers email (Google) Group
groups.google.com/g/cascadecavers/
Subscribers can send an email to: cascadecavers@googlegroups.com to reach all other members. This group is provided as a way for members to contact each other and schedule events outside of social media. You will be subscribed to this list upon becoming a member. To unsubscribe at any time, follow directions in the group email. You may also elect to receive no emails but still access the conversations at the link above. You do not need to have a Google email to use this group; for more information go here
Website
Events – all of our events, meetings, training, and trips are posted on this page
Library – grotto newsletters, exchange publications with other grottos nationwide, caving videos
Blog – grotto news and information on caving, bats, and more
Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity (DEI)
Cascade Grotto welcomes members of all backgrounds and walks of life, regardless of sex, race, creed, color, national origin, religion, physical appearance or handicaps, sexual preferences, or gender identity and expression.
The Grotto is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Members or participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from grotto activities and/or membership at the discretion of the leadership.
The Cascade Grotto was among the first of the NSS-recognized organizations to formally adopt the NSS anti-harassment policy. We are currently drafting a formal Code of Conduct in alignment with the national organization as of March 2021.
Read the policy here: Anti-Harassment Policy.
Newsletter
The grotto produces a newsletter in PDF format which are emailed to current members. Archived newsletters can be found here: Cascade Caver newsletters
Meetings, Meet-Ups, and Pub Nights:
We typically hold our business meetings via Zoom and at locations around Seattle. Meeting minutes are posted to the website Blog. Meet-Ups and Pub Nights are sponsored by individual members around the region. All members are encouraged to sponsor these get-togethers.
Community Outreach
Many of our members volunteer for school science nights, scouting, and other community outreach. The Grotto is invested in educating youth about the wonderful world of caves. Reach out to learn how you can get involved!
Volunteer
Our club is a 100% volunteer-run organization, and we depend on our members to keep our club functioning. As cavers come from every corner of society, we believe everyone has something to contribute, and unlike crusty old clubs with stagnant membership, we believe in empowering our members to step up and take charge, whether you have never been caving or are a “career caver.” We value your contribution!
There are also opportunities for web development, fund-raising, education, presentations, and so forth – if you have something to offer, or have an idea we haven’t thought of, bring it to the table! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at any time!
Recreational Caving
Let’s be honest. Not everyone wants to be training, surveying, guiding, or otherwise doing “work” in a cave. Wanting to be a recreational caver is a natural step in the progression of becoming a “professional” caver. Most cavers are recreational cavers, and Cascade Grotto embraces that. We are explorers at heart, after all. Multiple recreational caving trips occur every year, most being scheduled in the hot summer months. By becoming a member of the Cascade Grotto, you will be able to enjoy informally “guided” recreational caving and learn safe and clean caving techniques in the process.
Project Caving
Many of our members are involved in long-term, expedition caving, in such areas as the Scapegoat Wilderness of Montana and cave diving the Cueva Huatala system in Chiapas, Mexico. Project caving provides the opportunity to be part of surveying and mapping a new cave system or area, find virgin cave or passage, be out in the wilderness, and be at the cutting edge of what caving has to offer, true exploration. Many caving projects are supported by the scientific community in various disciplines such as geology, hydrology, paleontology, archaeology, and of course, speleology itself.
Experience in alpine caving, outdoor emergency care, search and rescue, mountaineering, and rock climbing are desirable prerequisites for participation in expedition activities, however, opportunities exist for beginners with appropriate gear, desire, and of course, time off from work!
Conservation and Cave Clean-ups
Our Grotto is a steward of the underground and supports responsible cave conservation and management practices, including Leave No Trace. The Grotto has a new partnership with the Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument to do an annual spring Clean-Up trip to Ape Cave (currently closed), the most popular cave in the northwest. Clean-Up trips are listed on our Events Page.
Due to the fact that many caves around the United States and world have fallen victim to vandalism and overuse, the USGS removed cave locations from topographical maps years ago, and the grotto and the NSS have a policy of not publishing or disseminating cave locations.
Bats in trouble: White-Nose Syndrome
Go here: whitenosesyndrome.org for decontamination protocols and the latest news on WNS.
White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is currently devastating bat populations in North America. First discovered in Schoharie County, New York in February 2006, the disease has caused the death of an estimated six million bats since then, and bats found to have the Pd fungus have been found in five counties in Washington state.
Cascade grotto members are encouraged to:
- Use safe caving practices
- Utilize the current decontamination protocols found at whitenosesyndrome.org
- Report bat observations
Caving Clean, Softly, and Safely
It is critically important that we maintain caves in pristine condition, protect the bats, and cave safely. Here are basic tenets that all grotto members must follow:
– Cavers must cave in clean gear in order to prevent the spread of White-Nose Syndrome by utilizing the current national decontamination protocol, found at: whitenosesyndrome.org
-Under no circumstances should caving gear used in WNS-affected areas be used in non-affected areas such as southwest Washington.
-Bat observations, or lack thereof, should be reported within 30 days. Members are encouraged to write a full trip report including bat observations, photos and maps.
-Let someone know where you are going and when you will return.
-Minimum caving gear includes a helmet with a chin strap and three sources of light. Candles, lighters, and cell phonesdo not count!!
Caving Ethics
As stewards of the underground environment, Cascade Grotto members adhere to a strong “moral” code of caving ethics:
The NSS and Cascade Grotto believe:
- Caves have unique scientific, recreational, and scenic values;
- These values are endangered by both carelessness and intentional vandalism.
- These values, once gone, cannot be recovered.
- The responsibility for protecting caves must be formed by those who study and enjoy them.
All contents of a cave — formations, life, and loose deposits — are significant for their enjoyment and interpretation. Therefore, caving parties should leave a cave as they find it. They should provide means for the removal of liquid and solid waste; exercise extreme care not to accidentally break or soil formations, disturb life forms or unnecessarily increase the number of disfiguring paths through an area.
Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photos, kill nothing but time.
Membership
We invite you to become a member of Cascade Grotto! Our members enjoy caving trips of all skill levels, from introductory or family-friendly trips to lengthy ambitious remote expeditions. Privileges of membership include access to exclusive email lists, membership forums, access to caving trip announcements, trip reports, training, our annual meeting, digital library, the latest newsletter, and more!
Full membership in the grotto only costs $20 USD per year plus only $5 per household member. You can pay with any credit card via our secure PayPal interface. Go to http://cascadegrotto.org/join-the-grotto/ for instructions on how to join.
Contact Us
Send us an email at casacade_grotto@caves.org to reach the officers. Please be patient as we are a 100% all-volunteer organization. (But if you don’t hear back, please bug us! 🙂 )