How to Get into Caving

 One of the best and safest ways to get into caving is to find a local Grotto!! Check out the National Speleological Society's website, caves.org, with the list of grottos in every state in the US, including traveling grottos! A Grotto is a group of new and old cavers who get together to explore caves and rappels. Cavers know what they are doing and can help anyone get out of the cave in case of an emergency. Look up a local grotto on Facebook or just email the grotto directly. I am a part of 3 Grottoes currently and I get many chances to get into caves I've never been in before. There are also cave events that happen all over the states. The NSS (National Speleological Society) Convention happens every summer in a different state. In 2019, convention happened in Cookeville, Tennessee, the state of 10,000 caves. That year I drove down a week early for pre-convention and camped out with fellow cavers. I had 2 weeks full of caving.  NSS Convention this year in 2023 is happening at another caving events campsite in Elkins, West Virginia. Most caving events happening in the Eastern US are during spring and fall seasons, like Spring/Fall MAR (Mid appalachian Region), Spring/Fall VAR, or Spring/Fall NRO (Northeastern Regional Organization).  Most events are run by a different grotto in the area every year so they happen at different campsites and are only a weekend long. There's usually a Saturday dinner and party, so we all can get together after caving all day and telling stories around a campfire. Many Colleges have adventurer groups or work with local grottos to get beginners underground. Looking at the list of local grottos on the NSS website and emailing them directly and becoming a member is a great way to jump right into it, but just talking to them about a beginner cave trip and getting as much information as possible, or going to a local Commercial cave is a way to dip your toes in the water. Commercial caves are not fully natural and made accessible so people who aren't comfortable crawling around in the mud and dark can still get into a cave to see its beauty. Examples of commercial caves are Carlsbad Caverns, Mammoth Cave, Laurel Caverns, and many more! Caves are everywhere and completely different due to water carving into rock, making every cave unique in its own way. Caving is a very unique activity and caves also give us information about Earth's past! Exploring underground is a completely different kind of experience and I try to introduce it to more and more people, but keeping in mind that not everyone is as comfortable crawling in muddy small spaces as I am so bigger caves are better for beginners!