News

Howdy!
Ah, the Spring Equinox, another winter is gone and now spring is in the air. And with it come big plans for caves and caving and thoughts of all those new passages still waiting to be explored.
So please join us for the first vertical practice of the spring, but just for this month, instead of the first Tuesday, we will hold it the second Tuesday of the month, 9 April, a week from today.
Our kind hosts will be Peri and Bill Frantz. You can arrive anytime after 6:30 pm, we will have some dinner and immediately after we will have some fun on rope.
Dinner is “modified potluck style,” where you bring your own main dish and also bring a small appetizer, side dish or dessert to share. We will have a grill for your food, in case you need one.
Please bring a helmet and a headlamp, and a jacket, since we will be practicing outdoors if weather permits. If you don’t have yet a helmet or headlamp, we will have a couple of extras. Bring your vertical gear if you have it, and if not, we will also have a couple of extras for you.
The address of the Frantz Spring Equinox Rope Gym is:
16345 Englewood Ave Los Gatos, CA 95032 goo.gl/maps/rKNoy
See y’all a week from today!
– Fofo

Hi All, I had a vertical practice on the calendar for this weekend, but I will need to cancel to take care of some family matters. Will post when rescheduled. Apologies, Ryan

Howdy!
Spring is almost here, warmer months are coming soon, and hiking up to beautiful caves in the mountains will be part of plenty of fun weekends. So, time to hone your vertical skills so that you can explore the beautiful depths of this blue planet! To help you with this, please join us tomorrow, Tuesday, 5 March, for our monthly vertical practice.
Our kind hosts will be Peri and Bill Frantz. You can arrive anytime after 6:30 pm, we will have some dinner and immediately after we will have some fun on rope. Yeah, even if it’s raining! In that case we’ll practice indoors, we are not _that_ cruel to put you on rope outside in the rain.
Dinner is “modified potluck style,” where you bring your own main dish and also bring a small appetizer, side dish or dessert to share. We will have a grill for your food, in case you need one (or a stove, if the weather forecast is accurate and it’s raining).
Please bring a helmet and a headlamp, and a jacket, since we will be practicing outdoors if weather permits. If you don’t have yet a helmet or headlamp, we will have a couple of extras. Bring your vertical gear if you have it, and if not, we will also have a couple of extras for you.
The address for the Frantz Palais du Spéléologie is:
16345 Englewood Ave Los Gatos, CA 95032 goo.gl/maps/rKNoy
See y’all soon!
– Fofo

Vertical skills practice this Sunday, March 3rd for those that are interested.
Practice course will be set up with some combination of rebelays, deviations, traverses, j-hangs, tyroleans, and other rope problems.
Prerequisites for this level: You should be able at a minimum and without assistance to: put on your gear, manipulate all the pieces of gear, ascend, do a change over, descend and lock off your descender. You will be out of reach for assistance for many of the techniques you will be practicing so please consider this when judging your skill level. This practice is not appropriate for those just beginning — please attend a couple of the Grotto’s Tuesday night practices first if you are just starting out.
Gear and what to bring: Bring your vertical gear, helmet, a pair of tight fitting gloves (the gloves you cave with), food and water. A very limited amount of loaner gear and helmets will be available for those that do not have their own. If you are borrowing gear you will most likely need to share. If you have just a few pieces of vertical gear or at least a helmet, bring it. If you have a cave bag with a tether cord, bring it to practice with. Location is on the ridge so it can be cold, plus there is a chance of rain so plan accordingly for your own comfort.
Time: I will be there as early as 8:00 a.m. to set up and we will go until around 3:00ish depending on the weather and how everyone is feeling — you can split at any time and arrive at any time so long as you take the the insanely difficult parking into account.
Parking: On most weekends parking is notoriously limited and gets worse as the day progresses. If the weather is crappy, there will probably be less of an issue, but generally speaking, the later you arrive in the morning the more luck you will need to find a spot. There are three main parking spots: The first is free parking by our trailhead, the second is on designated spaces along the road just north of our trail head, the third is the official paid parking lot for Castle Rock State Park — if these are full, the next closest lot is about a 1.5 mile walk north of Castle Rock. Carpooling is encouraged. Do not park in non designated parking areas along the road as they do ticket.
Location: Set your driving directions for Castle Rock State Park at 15000 Skyline Blvd, Los Gatos. However, this is not the location we be practicing. Once you see the entrance of Castle Rock Park, stay on Skyline Blvd and drive south about 30 seconds more. Look for the obvious parking log on the east (left if you are facing south) side of the road. This is the back entrance to Sanborn County Park and our trailhead (if you put Sanborn Park in google maps, it will direct you to the front entrance which is miles away — not the right place). Park in this free lot if you can, or backtrack slightly to find parking.
Hiking to practice spot: From the Sanborn parking lot, go through the wooden trailhead gate and turn right (south) at the very first trail crossing which is almost immediately after a big bulletin board. This is skyline trail, follow for about 10-15 minutes as it meanders around 4 or 5 bends and you will find at the practice area which is on the trail. You will see gear and ropes. That is it! There is no cell reception (that I get at least).
Ryan

This weekend practice CANCELED New practice date Sunday, March 3rd.
Practice location will be in the Santa Cruz mountains just outside of Castle Rock State Park. Email me directly if you are interested in attending and I will send you directions to the practice spot. This practice is open to Grotto members with a base understanding of vertical gear and how to manipulate the equipment. At a minimum you should be able to ascend and do a change over without needing assistance if you plan to attend. Limited quantity of loaner gear will be available.

Dear Members,
Happy Chinese New Year!
The February SFBC Members’ Meeting will take place in the San Carlos Public Library on Tuesday February 26 at 7:30 PM. There is a parking lot in front of the library and plenty of street parking in the area.
*THIS MONTH’S MEMBERS’ MEETING PRESENTATION:*
This month’s presentation, beginning at 7:45, will be:
*Gouffre Berger: Classic deep cave of the French Alps*
Ryan Baker will present on his trip to Gouffre Berger. For those who have not yet seen a presentation by Ryan, please know that you’re missing out. His presentations have been consistently entertaining. Feel free to learn more about Gouffre Berger, 28th Deepest Cave in the world, before joining us:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouffre_Berger

*LOCATION/DIRECTIONS:*
This is the address for the February meeting:
San Carlos Library,
610 Elm St, San Carlos, CA 94070
This link will help you find it on google maps:
*Google Maps <goo.gl/maps/Rryvp1ERZkL2>*
*Google Maps*

This month’s pre-member’s meeting dinner and executive committee meeting will be held at Broiler Express, which is located at 895 Laurel St, San Carlos, CA 94070. This is the link for it on google maps: goo.gl/maps/bxHypZeiDsQ2.
For those who are interested in attending, the after-meeting caver happy hour will be held at St. James Gate, 1410 Old County Road, Belmont, CA 94002.
I hope you can all make it!

> Dear Members, > > Happy New Year! > > The January SFBC Members’ Meeting will take place in the San Carlos > Public Library on Tuesday January 22 at 7:30 PM. There is a parking lot in > front of the library and plenty of street parking in the area. > > Separately, the start-of-the-year trip planning meeting will be held at > 7:30 PM on January 29 at 304 Elm St, San Carlos, CA 94070. There will be a > subsequent announcement, but please save the date. > > *THIS MONTH’S MEMBERS’ MEETING PRESENTATION:* > > This month’s presentation, beginning at 7:45, will be: > > *Small Party Assisted Rescue* > > Sonia Meyer, our recently elected Treasurer, will present on her > experience at the September 19-23 Small Party Assisted Rescue training > provided by the National Cave Rescue Commission. You can expect to learn > both about the training and some of the techniques essential to rescuing an > individual should something go wrong in a small group caving trip. > > *LOCATION/DIRECTIONS:* > > This is the address for the June meeting: > > San Carlos Library, > > 610 Elm St, San Carlos, CA 94070 > > This link will help you find it on google maps: > > *Google Maps <goo.gl/maps/Rryvp1ERZkL2>* > > > *Google Maps* > > > > This month’s pre-member’s meeting dinner and executive committee meeting > will be held at Broiler Express, which is located at 895 Laurel St, San > Carlos, CA 94070. This is the link for it on google maps: > goo.gl/maps/bxHypZeiDsQ2. > > For those who are interested in attending, the after-meeting caver happy > hour will be held at St. James Gate, 1410 Old County Road, Belmont, CA > 94002. > > I hope you can all make it next week! > > Rafael >

Howdy!
Welcome! To the world of tomorrow! It’s finally 2019, and I know what you are thinking: “my rebelay crossings could be a little bit smoother, and I wish I could see my caving friends to catch up and talk about caves and caving.” Well, you are in luck!
Join us this coming week, on Tuesday, 15 January, for our monthly vertical practice.
Our kind hosts will be Peri and Bill Frantz. You can arrive anytime after 6:30 pm, we will have some dinner and immediately after we will have some fun on rope.
Dinner is “modified potluck style,” where you bring your own main dish and also bring a small appetizer, side dish or dessert to share. We will have a grill for your food, in case you need one.
Please bring a helmet and a headlamp, and a jacket, since we will be practicing outdoors if weather permits (if weather doesn’t permit, we will move the practice indoors). If you don’t have yet a helmet or headlamp, we will have a couple of extras. Bring your vertical gear if you have it, and if not, we will also have a couple of extras for you.
The address is for the Frantz Vertical Practice Palace is:
16345 Englewood Ave Los Gatos, CA 95032 goo.gl/maps/rKNoy
– Fofo

Howdy, cavers!
The prime caving season is upon us. How’s your vertical technique? Are you ready for the challenge? If you are and you just want to keep your technique nimble or if you want to learn the finer points of a rebelay crossing, join us tomorrow, Tuesday, 4 December, for our monthly vertical practice!
Our kind hosts will be Peri and Bill Frantz. You can arrive anytime after 6:30 pm, we will have some dinner and immediately after we will have some fun on rope.
Dinner is “modified potluck style,” where you bring your own main dish and also bring a small appetizer, side dish or dessert to share. We will have a grill for your food, in case you need one.
Please bring a helmet and a headlamp, and a jacket, since we will be practicing outdoors if weather permits. If you don’t have yet a helmet or headlamp, we will have a couple of extras. Bring your vertical gear if you have it, and if not, we will also have a couple of extras for you. Ugly sweaters, goofy hats and antlers are accepted (goofy hats and antlers must be worn over the helmet if on rope, though).
The address of the Frantz’s Vertical Wonderland is:
16345 Englewood Ave Los Gatos, CA 95032 goo.gl/maps/rKNoy
See y’all tomorrow!
– Fofo

Dear Fellow Cavers,

As was finalized at last night’s meeting, Bill and I are pleased to be hosting the 2018 SFBC Holiday Party on Saturday Dec. 8, 2018.

Location: Frantz residence
16345 Englewood Ave.
Los Gatos CA.
Directions: Google is right on – Call if you need more.
There are numerous ways to get here. All eventually put you southbound on Los Gatos Blvd. Turn left on Shannon Rd. 2nd Right is Englewood. We are the 4th on the right after you turn off of Shannon, last before the speed bump. Oleander hedge in front.

880 south from East Bay, becomes 17 towards SantaCruz. Exit at Lark. Left onto Lark. Right onto LGBlvd.
280 south from SF then 85 south towards Gilroy, exit at LG Blvd.
101 south, then 85 south towards Gilroy, exit at LG Blvd.

RSVP or directions: Peri’s cell 408 464 7141 (Leave a message if no answer, I will return your call)

Time (approx): 6:00 Gather
7:00 PotLuck Supper
8:30 Auction
9:30 GIft Exchange
11:30 End

Activities:
Mostly socializing:
Pot Luck Supper – Bill and Peri will provide a Turkey, gravy & cranberry sauce.
– Call if you want to arrange a side dish, salad or dessert. Things usually work out fine without prior arrangement.
Auction: SFBC’s annual fundraiser. Bring a donation – old caving gear, or whatever.
Gift Exchange – Bring a wrapped gift (approx. value $20) – we will explain rules for this ”Thieving Exchange” before it starts. I’s lots of fun. Make sure it is wrapped.

Bill & I will be out most of the morning & afternoon, so if you need to talk to us, do so in advance.

See everyone on the 8th.

Peri