Campus spelunking group climbs over obstacles

Editor's note: This is the second story in a five-part series profiling little-known clubs at the University. This story focuses on the Nittany Grotto.

They had crawled through pipes, hopped over gaping holes and squeezed through tiny crevices to get there.

The group of seven, clad in flashlight helmets, heavy boots and mud-caked clothes, sat deep underground in a cave, having just crossed over its infamous "highway." To cross it, the explorers wedged themselves between two rock faces, squeezing over a chasm with few footholds below.

Now, it was time for the members of the Nittany Grotto to rest. As they sat in an open area, another group came up from behind, having just crossed the highway themselves.

"Which way is the exit?" asked one of the newcomers, none of whom had helmets and few had boots. Apparently, they also had no maps.

"Then what's that way?" asked another, pointing to a darkened section of the room.

"That's deeper into the cave," came the reply. The group muttered a nervous "thank you" and wandered back, to pass back over the highway and up through the winding cave.

If only they had joined the Nittany Grotto.

The frustration of Grotto members with visitors such as these is easy to understand. J-4, perhaps the most frequently traveled cave in central Pennsylvania, has been subjected to the abuse of unprepared spelunkers for years.

The sheer volume of uneducated visitors has caused irreparable harm to the large cave, said member Glenn Clouser of State College.

As members of the Grotto, a University organization that both students and alumni can join, traveled through the cave one recent weekend, they were greeted by mineral formations such as drooping "draperies" curling over the rocks, rock forms shaped like a birthday cake and a few bats. They were also greeted by occasional cigarette butts and potato chip bags.

Members of the 50-year-old Nittany Grotto, like most serious cave explorers, or spelunkers, have a strong respect for the caves they travel in, Hofler said.

Everyone has a different reason for caving, she said. While some do it for the adventure, others take a more academic approach, working for cave preservation and studying cave dwellers such as bats.

Part of the thrill, Wheeland said, is entering places that have never been seen by people before.

"There aren't too many places you can go these days where you're in a leading frontier," he added.

The common love of caving bonds the more than 40 students and even more alumni, who joined the club with a one-time $10 fee. After each biweekly meeting, the group has an after-meeting meeting in which they socialize in a member's home, a Grotto tradition for as long as Wheeland can remember.

For some, that love is transformed to a research interest. Keith Christenson (graduate-wildlife and fisheries science), a member since 1984, said he began spelunking for the thrill but began studying the biology of caves in 1991.

For most of them, caving is more than just a subject of research or a fun hobby -- it's a way of life.

As Hofler clawed her way through J-4, she recalled a recent conversation with a fellow spelunker. Tired, sore and mud-stained, they had fantasized about the perfect husband as they approached the exit.

"He has to have a hot tub, and he has be a good masseuse," Hofler said. Then she added, "And he has to be a good caver."