Extraordinary Women Leaders in Speleology (EWLS)

The southern slopes of Mt. Adams in June are a bicyclist’s paradise with good roads, exceptional weather, cool temps, easy to challenging rides and unequaled vistas against the glorious snow clad backdrop of magnificent Mt Adams. In fact, the Mt. Adams Country Bicycle Tour holds an annual event every year here. If you plan on bringing your bike to AGCT this year, make sure to visit their site to get some great routes: http://troutlakewashington.com/mt-adams-bicycle-tour. Sign up now: http://www.ewls.org/register-to-attend.html #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Anges Milowka was a world class diver and underwater photographer. An article about her recounts that she “continues to go where no man has gone before, exploring and pushing new cave systems and bringing back images from her adventures.” After reading about all her awesome adventures from her web site (below), I found out she had recently passed away in a cave diving accident. But I wanted to honor her and her amazing accomplishments on our photography blog page. She had passion for both photography and video with vigor. As part of a National Geographic Team on a project with the Blue Holes of the Bahamas, she worked as a stunt diver on  the 3d James Cameron and on a cave diving feature film called ‘Sanctum.’  She has spent several years living and diving in Florida’ cave country where she got her first taste of laying line after that she started wanting to reach places no other human has ever seen before and she was hooked. #ewls #womencavers #speleology References www.agnesmilowk

Ursula Southeil, better known as Mother Shipton (c. 1488–1561), is said to have been an English soothsayer and prophetess. Mother Shipton was said to be a hideously ugly witch and an oracle, predicting doomsday horrors and disasters that were to befall the Tudor reign, with each morbid forecast recited in prose. Allegedly born as Ursula Southhell in a cave in the forests of Knaresborough, now known as Mother Shipton's Cave, she was associated with all kinds of tragic events and dark doings in the area, including the bewitchment of a nearby well, now called the Petrifying Well, that turned objects into stone. Who Mother Shipton was or what exactly she said is not definitively known. What is certain is that her name became linked with many tragic events and strange goings on recorded all over the UK, Australia and North America throughout the 17/18/19th centuries. Many pubs were named after her. Only two survive, one near her birthplace in Knaresborough (now renamed the Dropping

While spending some time at our annual event, why not visit some beautiful waterfalls? The Upper Falls of the Lewis are found between the Quartz Creek and Middle Falls trailheads along Forest Road 90 near Mount Adams. The falls can be accessed by hiking a little over 3/4 mile upstream from Middle Lewis River Falls (about 1 1/4 miles total from the Middle Falls trailhead - see Middle Lewis River Falls for directions) or by starting at the Quartz Creek Trailhead and following the Lewis River Trail downstream for 3/4 of a mile, passing Taitnapum Falls at the halfway mark. Best access to the pool below the falls is from the north side of Alec Creek where it enters the Lewis River. While technically not the real upper waterfall of the Lewis River, Upper Lewis River Falls is the tallest of the four major falls on this section of the river. Here the Lewis encounters a strangely squared sheet of basalt, sheets out over the flat rock allowing a small portion of the river to plunge a sheer 5

Low –Impact Strategies for Cave Photographers 1.      Minimize photo gear – Smaller, lighter and more compact 2.      Use padded camera cases rather than hard edged boxes where feasible 3.      Don’t lean on walls, ceilings, or formations. Don’t sit on formations. Touch as little as possible and use small points of contact for balance rather than dirty palms. 4.      Move carefully though the entire cave. Move gently though delicate areas and slow enough to avoid kicking up dust 5.      Don’t disturb bats or other cave dwelling creatures 6.      Photographers are not exempt follow the rules. Stay on trails Stay away from sensitive or off limits areas 7.      Always ask to be spotted when photographing fragile areas. Spot the feet, too. 8.      Overall look carefully, move gently, and avoid any thing you don’t have to touch. #ewls #womancavers #speleology SOURCES Bosted, P., Bosted, A., Hildreth-Werker, V., Earlandson, R., Dooley, W., Day, K., . . . V

In 1979, Susan Bangasser and Jeanne Bear Sleeper published the first book to specifically reach women divers. In 1992, Ella Jean Morgan and Erin O’Neill published When Women Dive. They were way ahead of their time, and all are inaugural inductees into the Women Divers Hall of Fame. In the late 1990s, Patty Mortara and Jill Heinerth were lamenting the lack of resources and connections between the very few female technical divers around the world. With Velora Peacock, they started an organization called Cardea 2000, in the hopes that they could better connect women tec divers around the world by the turn of the century. Patty and Jill started a magazine called Women Underwater in order to further that cause. Edited and printed in small numbers, they mailed out the quarterly around the world until they ran out of money to do it. They shared stories about expeditions, gear and resources with the growing community of women technical divers. Women Underwater (and its accompanying websi

In 2002 OPB explored an ancient mystery of hand and foot prints embedded in a lava flow near Trout Lake, WA that’s at least 8,000 years old. The prints are now under the water of a lake near Mount Adams. See the video here . Sign up now: http://www.ewls.org/register-to-attend.html Photo Credit: curiousgorgeblog.wordpress.com #ewls #womencavers #speleology

From what I have read, your going to want flashes that photographers call “slave flashes.” When one flash goes off, it will set off the other flash at the same time. A few brands that I have found after doing some research has been YONGNUO OEM YN-560 III and RF-603 radio triggers. They have a smaller, lighter flash that will hopefully be reliable are radio triggers. They are powered by AAA cell rather than a 12V battery.   That way its easier to change the batteries underground if they run down. However, finding the right flash is also trial and error. Another brand of flash that I keep reading about is the Firefly slave. It seems to be the most popular. Granted I am still having a hard time finding them myself but I know you need up to four slave flashes. I have heard of people making their own LED flash. I’ll post later with how some were made for those of you wanting to learn but on a budget. Maybe I’ll try this for now. Who knows? I might end up with some really cool res

Adriana is being featured as an Extraordinary Woman Caver (EWC) in this year's annual publication. She is a dedicated archeologist and works as the President/Founding Member of Xanvil Culture and Ecology, the Co-Director of Mensabak Archaeology Project, and our own EWLS Regional Coordinator for Mexico and Canada. In 2006 she was recognized with the Sol Award for Professional Merit and Women of the Year award by the National Chamber of Business Women of Mexico and the National Journalists Organization. We are glad to have you Adriana. You deserve it! To keep updated on the annual event and publication distribution visit our Facebook AGCT 2015 Event Page . #ewls #speleology #womencavers Photo credit: Ian Hollingshead

These interesting stories were compiled from the EWLS Pinterest page. Find us on Pinterest for more interesting content. A new study has revealed that most prehistoric art was probably done by women, because the majority (75%) of handprints found in caves (like this one at Pech Merle, France) have proven to be made by females by digitally measuring the difference in length of the fingers. The ring & index fingers of women are about the same length, whereas the ring fingers of men tend to be longer. #ewls #womencavers #speleology 1. Crystal Maiden n Actun Tunichil Muknal, or "Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre," the remains of a 20-year-old woman known as the "Crystal Maiden" have laid for more than 1,000 years. Archaeologists believe she was sacrificed by a priest as part of a religious ritual. 2. Denisovan Girl's Molar In 2012, scientists sequenced the genome of a species of extinct humans called Denisovans. The fossils were discovere

In all cultures women have been depicted as a symbol of love in cave art. Here you see an image of a mother breastfeeding in a cave sculpture in the Dazu Cave of Chongqing. The Dazu Caves show life nearly 1,000 years ago. They were carved and painted during the Song Dynasty (960-1280), they were funded by a powerful patron. Jill Hamburg Coplan, a journalism professor at NYU’s Carter Journalism Institute explains that "To win ordinary people over to Buddhism, the cave sculptures explain Buddha’s compassion with illustrations of motherhood: breastfeeding, a midwife beside a woman ready for birth, and even a carving of a mother moving out of the way where her baby peed in their shared bed." SOURCE coplansinchina.com #ewls #womencavers #speleology

While you are in the area at our annual event, why not visit Forlorn Lake, Steamboat Lake, Goose Lake, Indian Heaven Wilderness Lakes, Soda Peaks Lake, or Mt. Margaret Backcountry Lakes for some great fishing? August is one of the best times of the year for Trout Lake for Black Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Rainbow Trout. #ewls #womencavers #speleology Sign up now: http://www.ewls.org/register-to-attend.html SOURCES wdfw.wa.gov www.fs.usda.gov Photo Credit: curiousgorgeblog.wordpress.com

Laura is an Extraordinary Woman Caver (EWC) featured in this years annual publication that will release in April. Since 2010 she has been a major contributor the Bloomington Indiana Grotto, Indiana Speleological Survey, and the Binkley Cave project. Congrats Laura. You Deserve it! Right now the annual EWLS magazine is in process of being created. While you are waiting for the publication, stay up to date on our annual event and publication distribution dates at the 2015 ACGT Facebook Event Page . Photo Credit: Greg & Val McNamara #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Kateryna Medvedeva is from Kyiv. She is a Speleologist and a caver. She was one of the first women in the world to descend to a depth of more than 2,000 meters in a cave. Kateryna has also won medals at championships. This includes the world championship in cave exploration techniques.   On top of all of that, she is an accomplished photographer and traveler. #ewls #womancavers #speleology SOURCES Budoko, Y. (2014, January 1). wumag.kiev.ua Submitted by Tabitha Rossman

Karla is being featured this year as an Extraordinary Woman Caver (EWC) in our annual publication that distributed this April. She has been caving for three years and in that time she has participated in numerous cave survey and conservation trips. She also won the Southwestern Region J. Tom Meador Award for Exceptional New Cave. Congrats Karla. We are glad to have you! #ewls #womencavers #speleology PS Don't forget to join the Facebook AGCT event to stay up to date with magazine distribution and event news here: 2015 AGCT Facebook Event Page Photo Credit: John Bowling 

Hellie is being featured as an Extraordinary Woman Caver (EWC) in this year's annual magazine. In 2009 she was the only woman on the team that first explored Hang Son Doong Cave, the largest cave in the world. Besides this, she has contributed to thousands of feet of survey each year in India and China. Great work Hellie. We are so glad to have you! The magazine comes out in April. Until then, you can rsvp for the annual event here: 2015 AGCT Facebook Event . Photo Credit: Stuart Gardiner #ewls #womencavers #speleology

One of the World's foremost women underwater explorers, Stephanie Jutta Schwabe, has teamed up with the NSS to publish her book "Living in Darkness". Read about how the author battled ear problems, fear, frustrations and the tragic loss of her husband, Rob Palmer, during a deep dive in the Red Sea off Egypt. She goes into great detail about her life and her exploration of one of the most dangerous cave diving sites in the world, the "Blue Holes" in the islands of The Bahamas. This publication also weaves a tale of corrupt developers and Bahamian officials that are destroying underwater cave systems and polluting the environment. SOURCE http://bookstore.caves.org #ewls #womencavers #speleology              

One bigfoot hunter claims to have found a bigfoot track in 2010. Read all about it at his blog . Check out other bigfoot sightings here . Visit our Facebook events page to stay up-to-date on event info here . #ewls #womencavers #speleology