UAYCEF's News Archives

[Last updated 10/13/09]*

NEWS BULLETIN 07/17/09

UAYCEF starts up The Priest's Grotto Heritage Project ; which calls for the creation of a permanent museum exhibit in order to honor those that lived in the cave during the Holocaust.

NEWS BULLETIN 07/22/08

UAYCEF starts up New York Caving Meetup Group and deactivates old UAYCEF YahooGroup.

UAYCEF awards Luis Espinasa its new Scientific Achievement Award for all the contributions he has made over the years in the field of biospeleology through his research. The award covered the cost of a one year membership in the Explorers Club as a Fellow

Kar-Ben Publishing releases new book about UAYCEF Director Chris Nicola's work in uncovering the story of how 38 Jews survived the Holocaust by living in a Ukrainian cave for close to one year. The book, entitled "The Secret of Priest's Grotto; A Holocaust Survival story", is being offered in both hard and paperback versions.

UAYCEF subsidized the trip of the following Friends and Relatives of the Priest Grotto Survivors to Western Ukraine from August 18th thru August 25th, 2006: Bruce Rubin, Norman, Cathy and Natalie Kittner, Rachel Kittner and Sean Rheuben, Zvi Spindel and Leonard Karpf. The following cavers graciously donated their time, and in some cases own moneys, to ensure that this group of novices had what was probably one of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences of their lives: Eric Hurdel, Sean Ryan, Cliff Stermer, Bernie Choudhury and Chris Nicola, the expedition leader.

Recently, the below listed Ukrainian caving clubs submitted an official application to establish the Western Ukrainian Union of Horizontal Speleology (WUUHS). WUUHS, whose president is Vitaliy Korquk of the Chernovtsi Club, will be made up of five elected representatives from each of its eight member caving clubs (see below). Currently, the WUUHS committee is drawing up its constitution, and awaiting official government approval of its status.

WUUHS MEMBER CLUBS: Ternopil Club "Podoliye",Lvov Club "Cyclopse", Borchev Club, Chernovtsi Club "Troglidite", Odessa caving Club, Kharkiv Caving Club, Uzhgorod Caving Club, Cherkov Caving Club

As one of its first goals, WUUHS will begin a massive resurvey of known caves, and the search and exploration of new ones. Another of its projects, being carried out under the direction of the Chernovtsi Caving Club, is a project to discover an entrance in Ukraine to Zoluska cave (currently the only entrance is in Moldavia). Its major project at the moment is to find connecting passage between Optimisticheskaya (146 plus miles) and Ozernaya (77 plus miles) caves, the 2nd and 10th longest caves in the world. The principal participants of this project, which is being subsidized in part by UAYCEF, an NSS Project, and has Sergey Yepifanov (NSS # 50001) as its Project Coordinator, are the following clubs and independent cavers:

- Ternopil Club "Podoliye", Lvov Club "Cyclopse" (head Yudina N.), Borchev Club Chernovtsi Club "Troglodite", Kiev independent cavers: Vitaliy Prokhorenko (NSS # 56344), Igor Stefanyshyn (NSS # 56345), Volodia Ivashchuk

Volodia (NSS membership application pending) and Vitaliy are the caver/engineers, both of whom are on UAYCEF's Advisory Board, who recently invented a new type of lightweight, compact ground penetrating radar generator which allowed them, as part of WUUHS's efforts to connect Optimisticheskaya and Ozernaya caves (the Ozernaya Optimisticheskaya Connection Project- OOCP), to find voids (passages) between these two caves.

Over the course of the last five months, with recent assistance from Chris Nicola and other UAYCEF/NSS members on a Explorers Club sponsored trip (Flag #84 Expedition, 8/10/05-8/18/05), over 78 feet of promising new passage has been unearthed using this new GPR equipment.

For years soil/clay layers, similar to those over Optimisticheskaya and Ozernaya caves, have proved to be a problem with conventional ground penetrating radar systems due to the large energy absorption which takes place. Unlike limestone and gypsum, a soil/clay layer has a high energy absorption rate. Thus, came the novel idea to Volodia and Vitaliy to physically bypass the high energy absorption soil/clay layer by designing a lightweight, compact GPR unit which could be taken into a cave - and used to scan HORIZONTALY through the walls of these two "Giant Gypsum" caves. And because they no longer needed the sort of high energy output of large, bulky conventional units, they were able to build the sort of lightweight, compact unit which could easily be taken, and used in a cave.

As to be explained in a more detailed trip report at a later date, not only were Volodia and Vitaliy able to detect additional passage beyond one of the walls of Ozernaya, but they were also able to demonstrate the detection of movement, such as that of Tetyana Yermakova (NSS # 54891)and another caver who participated in a test of the unit.

In carrying out their goal to share their new technology and approach with as many cavers as possible, Volodia and Vitaliy have supplied me with quite a bit of material (in PDF format). Please contact me if you are interested in being supplied with copies of this material. Or, you can contact Vitaliy and/or Volodia via the following email addresses:

In the interest of assisting in the above project, UAYCEF recently awarded a $1000 grant to be directed towards the efforts of the above in their endeavor to connect two of the World's longest caves; i.e. the "Gypsum Giants".

UAYCEF's First Brazil Trip a Success - UAYCEF members Chris Nicola, Kevin O'Brien and Jay Jorden visited Brazil as guests of the União Paulista de Espeleologia (UPE), based in Sao Paulo. During their trip from November 11th thru the 19th, they spent a majority of their time exploring the caves of PETAR, Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (High Ribeira River Turistic State Park). PETAR was created in 1958 and is situated in São Paulo State, Brazil, near the border with Paraná State in the cities of Iporanga and Apiaí. (see photos)

Plans are already in the works for another trip to Brazil for November of 2005. Details will eventually be posted to the UAYCEF Activities Schedule (click here).

Special thanks to Bob Simmons of the Central Connecticut Grotto who helped our group establish the necessary contacts to make this trip happen. Also special thanks to Fabio Kok "Coringa" Geribello, Gabriela Slavec, Elvira Maria Branco, and the other members of UPE who made the trip such an enjoyable, exciting and memorable experience.

Over the weekend of November 20 and 21st, Chris Nicola and Jay Jorden visited Valeriy Rogoznikov and his family in Sarasota, Florida. Part of their time was spent working on an archeological project of Valeriy's, studying the origin of several ancient earthen mounds and defense walls in the area.

UAYCEF's Annual Columbus Day Weekend trip took place October 9th, 10th and 11th in the Hillboro, West Virginia area.

On Oct. 30th Chris Nicola conducted a Vertical (i.e. rope climbing) workshop at the Bronxville Boy Scout Cabin in Westchester, NY. In attendance were several scouts, Professor Richard Borrowsky with one of his students, and UAYCEF members Peter Lenahan and Kevin O'Brien. Special thanks to Peter Lenahan for his assitance in setting/rigging the ropes for the course. Additional workshops are being planned for the future. In addition, the NSS Vertical Orientation Course will be given by Chris (Date TBA).

The depth of Voronja cave in the Western Caucasuses has been taken to - 2080 meters. Click here for the latest details, and an article about the early exploration of the region by such notable cavers as Valeriy Rogozhnikov, current Vice-President and co-founder of UAYCEF.

The Eleventh Annual UKRAINE Caving Trip took place between August 1st and August 22nd. Look for a trip report from trip participant Peter Lenahan sometime in the future.

Chris gave "Priest Grotto" presentations at the New York Academy of Science and the NSS Convention in Michigan, on the shores of Lake Superior. However, in the case of the Convention, Chris' presentation was done via means of a CD which he sent to Mike Warner at the last minute when he had to cancel his plans to attend. Special thanks to Mike for handling the presentation in Chris' absence.

UAYCEF ran its eight annual 4th of July trip to the Hillsboro region of West Virginia.

UAYCEF member Chris Nicola gave a special presentation on the "Priest Grotto" story at The Half King Restaurant in Manhattan on June 14th, 2004. This is the story that has received coverage by the Daily News, the NBC Today Show, National Public Radio, the BCC, and reported as a major feature in the June/July edition of National Geographic's Adventure Magazine. Special thanks to UAYCEF member Peter Lenahan for his assistance in preparing and presenting the slide show.

Series of Vertical Workshops Announced - UAYCEF will be running a series of vertical workshops over the course of this year, to include the following dates: April 25, May 1, June 5-6, July 24-25, Aug. 28 & Sept. 18. Details can be found at the UAYCEF Activities Schedule by clicking here.

The June/July edition of National Geographic’s “Adventure” magazine will feature an article by photojournalist Peter Lane Taylor about a ten-year old project of UAYCEF’s in Ukraine. Click Here to view National Geographic "Adventure" Magazine's press release.

Manufacturer's Recall of Human Rabies Vaccine - The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been notified that a recent quality-assurance test of IMOVAX® Rabies Vaccine (Aventis Pasteur, Swiftwater, Pennsylvania) identified the presence of noninactivated Pitman-Moore virus (the attenuated vaccine strain) in a single product lot. IMOVAX® is an inactivated viral vaccine and should not contain live virus. Click here for more information, or go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm53d402a1.htm

UAYCEF members attend Explorer’s Club Dinner - On March 20^th Bernie Chowdhury, Kevin O’Brien and Chris Nicola attended the 100^th Anniversary Dinner of the Explorer’s Club where, in addition to having the opportunity to eat such “Exotics” as spiced glazed termite, roasted scorpions, mealworms, and roasted tempura Tarantula, they got the chance to hear the following list of distinguished speakers:

And on top of all this, Chris got to sit next to Teddy Roosevelt. Well not really, he was actually a professional impersonator named Jim Foote; a relative of legendary northeast caver Sarah Foote, of Leatherman fame.

Eight Annual Puerto Rico Trip – From March 4^th to the 8th, UAYCEF once again ran it’s annual trip to Puerto Rico. In addition, it arranged for Peter Lenahan, who was not able to make the this trip and had to visit the island on his own, to go caving with Martin Hernandez and Orlando Garcia, two long time local caving friends of UAYCEF.

Peter’s trip report can be seen by clicking here. To see Peter’s pictures click here and here.

The following went on the annual trip: Chris Nicola, Bob Cohen, Sally Dewes (stayed till 3/10^th), Lidiya & Anatoliy Kantor, Alex Argiro, Ellie Hanson, Keith Gronwald (stayed till 3/10^th), Luis Espinasa (stayed till 3/9^th), Ellie Hanlon, and David Stuebner (see group photo).

Ukrainian Caver’s US Tour comes to a successful end – As part of it’s student/caver exchange program, UAYCEF sponsored Tetyana “Tanya” Yermakova’s six-week, seven state U.S. tour from October 5 to November 16, 2003. There are many cavers whose tireless effort and dedication served to make Tanya’s trip such a successful one. At the risk of leaving someone out, for which we apologize ahead of time, the following deserve special recognition for all that they did to make Tanya’s trip one of the most memorable, exciting and enjoyable experiences of her life:

Emily Davis & Mike Warner of Speleobooks, Bob Cohen, Larry Davis, Ben Gunther, Peter Haberland, Chuck Porter & Connie LaPorta, John Sagendorf and the Howe Caverns crew, Jay Jorden & Sheila Knight, Craig & Olga Taub, Mark & Cathy Skove, Peter & Noreen Lenahan, Vera Lyudmirskaya, Anatoliy & Lydia Knator, Christine & Tony Voudy, Mike Walsh, Gordon Birkhimer, Kurt R Waldron, Bob Hadley, Julie Schenck, Julie Jenkins, Becky & Les Lorenz, Craig and Tiki Hall, Valeriy and Luda Rogozhnikov, Sally Dewes, Dave Mc Clung, Alexander Barton, Bernie McBurnett … and the list goes on J

While Jay Jorden’s full report of Tanya’s experiences can be found here, a condensed version of it will appear in the April edition of the NSS News, along with a very nice photograph of Tanya, taken by Peter Lenahan.

Tenth Longest Cave in the World Now Secured ! – Earlier this month UAYCEF funded a complete overall of the exiting gate system at Ozernaya Cave in Ukraine. Additional gates were also installed, now making this one of the most secure caves in Eastern Europe. This 77 plus mile cave is not only the 10th longest cave in the world, but also the second largest of the World’s Giant Gypsums, with the nearby 130 plus mile Optimisticheskaya taking the lead. These are just two of the caves that participants of UAYCEF’s annual expeditions visit on a regular basis.

UAYCEF Director Chris Nicola joined photojournalist Peter Lane Taylor on a 10-day trip to Ukraine in connection with an article about one of our organization’s long-standing projects in the area. A feature article will eventually appear in National Geographic’s “Adventure” magazine.

UAYCEF brokers establishment of “Sister Cave” for New York’s Howe Caverns – When advised by visiting Russian geologists Nickolay and Elena Maximovich, the children of the famous Karstologist Georgey Alekseevich Maximovich, that they were seeking the establishment of a sisterhood with Kungur Cave, an ice cave in Russia just outside of Perm, UAYCEF Director Chris Nicola arranged for them to meet with cave expert Emily Davis and Howe Caverns General Manager John D. Sagendorf. Subsequently an appropriate agreement was signed. For details please visit the Howe Caverns website by clicking here, and then clicking the link entitled “What’s New”.

The entire Executive Board and membership of UAYCEF offers condolences to the family and friends of Walter "The Pirate" Weglinski, who suffered a fatal boating accident the evening of September 19th, 2002 on New Jersey's Lake Hopatchong.

Walter, who was a long time member and friend of the Northern New Jersey Grotto, his second family, always had a way of brightening up the darkest moment, and cave, whenever you were in his company. He will be me missed.

"Neither Giants, nor Pirates, Go Gentle into that Good Night" (an adaptation of the words of "Go Gentle into that Good Night" by Dylan Thomas). Click here for Thomas' entire poem and a photo of Walter.

WORLD's DEEPEST CAVE! In the early 80's Valeriy Rogozhnikov, UAYCEF co-founder and vice-president, began leading a series of expeditions to Georgia's mountainous Arabika region in the hopes of someday finding one of the deepest caves in the world. Over the course of the next twenty years, many others, including numerous students of Valeriy's, explorered this region with the same dream as him of finding the World's deepest cave. The dream has now become reality!!! A New Deep Cave World Record was set on January 6, 2001 in Voronja cave, Arabika Massif, West Caucasus (Abkhazia region), by a Ukrainian Speleological Association expedition of Ukrainian and Russian cavers consisting of the following:

SPECIAL ARABIKA SYSTEM INFORMATION SITE: Click here to view expedition updates, maps, photos, and event chronologies. Historical accounts of explorations of the Arabika System, as well as information on Georgia and Abkhazia, can also be found here [updated 6/27/02].

NEWS BULLETIN 5/23/02 The Cave Conservancy of Virginia (CCV), through the Cave Conservancy Foundation, has awarded UAYCEF a $350 grant for use in the protection of caves in Ukraine.

The entire Executive Board of UAYCEF gives its thanks to the CCV for it generosity, and welcomes it as a new sponsor.

NEWS BULLETIN 5/23/01 Caving Trips to Siberia, Russia begin. . Click here for details.

NEWS BULLETIN 4/12/01! Acute Respiratory Illness Among U.S. Travelers to Mexico -- Experts suspect Histoplasmosis. Click here for details [updated 4/12/01]*

NEWS BULLETIN 2/21/01! Fatal Accident in Crimea, Ukraine. . Ukrainian caver Dan Filippovsky has reported that a caver by the nickname "Medved" (full name not supplied) fell to his death while working in Osenniaya Cave, Crimea. He fell 60 meters during the course of a rebeley as a result of there not being a knot on the end of the rope. He passed away shortly after other cavers arrived at his location in order to render first aid and begin the rescue. It was estimated that he died within 15 minutes of his fall. It happened at a depth of approximately 150 meters. The body recovery took approximately 13 hours due in part to a difficult meander on the route back to the surface. More information to follow.

NEWS BULLETIN! Fatal Accident in Texas,USA. Condolences to Becky Jones and the Family of Cave Explorer Joe Ivy, a long time friend of UAYCEF. Click here for updates and details, as well as an accident report. (Note: this link last updated 11/11/00).

NEWS BULLETIN ! UAYCEF's new primary e-mail address has been changed to UAYCEF@ICQmail.com [Go to "ContactUs" for alternate contact means]

NEWS BULLETIN 4/12/01! Acute Respiratory Illness Among U.S. Travelers to Mexico -- Experts suspect Histoplasmosis. Click here for details [updated 4/12/01]*

* NEWS BULLETIN ! 2/27/01 Fatal diving accident in Clarksville Cave, New York, USA