The Caving Podcast

The prolific Indiana-based caver shares the genesis of his caving story, including his first trips to TAG, discoveries at home in Indiana, and first-hand recollection of a famous Indiana rescue from 40+ years ago. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ Bib overalls for caving from Out Standing Stitches https://outstandingstitches.odoo.com/ REGIST...

The former National Coordinator for the National Cave Rescue Commission talks about his caving genesis, his longtime association with Buckner Cave and the Richard Blenz Nature Preserve, and of course his long career in cave rescue. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ Bib overalls for caving from Out Standing Stitches https://outstandingstitche...

Val McNamara --- Val shares her caving history going back to the early 90s, along with a few harrowing tales in TAG and Mexico, as well as her big return to caving after her kids grew up. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ Order custom cave survey notes from Custom Cave Pages: https://www.customcavepages.com/ REGISTER for the 2026 NSS Convent...

The Filipino caver shares about some of the discoveries, challenges, and philanthropic work that he and his international team have been involved with in his decades of caving. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ Order custom cave survey notes from Custom Cave Pages: https://www.customcavepages.com/ REGISTER for the 2026 NSS Convention https:/...

Sean shares more about caving in Fisher Ridge, including a major incident a few years ago that was expertly handled by cave rescue personnel. He also takes us underground in New Mexico and elsewhere, and shares his thoughts on the parallels between caving and philosophy in this second half of our time together. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.c...

Sean Lewis talks about his early caving in Indiana, including drawing up what’s become Matt’s favorite cave map. He also shares about the ongoing Fisher Ridge project with which he’s been involved for years, as well as expedition trips in Mexico in this first of a two-part interview that scratches the surface of his prolific caving life. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! h...

To kick off 2026, SCCi Board Director Amber Lehmann talks briefly about her personal caving journey before sharing a bit of history about the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, and several exciting new things happening this year. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ Register for SCCi's Homecoming Weekend! https://events.com/r/en_US/registration/scc...

In this final installment of the series of conversations Matt had with the legendary Mammoth Cave explorer and author, Roger Brucker talks about forming the CRF and establishing protocols for exploration and safety, as well as the bungled book deal that forced him into his first published work. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ REGISTER for...

Legendary caver Roger Brucker has authored several books on the exploration of Mammoth Cave and the surrounding area, including The Caves Beyond, The Longest Cave, Beyond Mammoth Cave, and more. Enjoy this second of a three-part series with Mr. Brucker to close out 2025 where he shares more about Mammoth Cave exploration, and talks about his historic novel Grand, Gloomy, and Peculiar: Stephen Bish...

Legendary caver Roger Brucker has authored several books on the exploration of Mammoth Cave and the surrounding area, including The Caves Beyond, The Longest Cave, Beyond Mammoth Cave, and more. Enjoy this first of a three-part series with Mr. Brucker to close out 2025 where he touches on the early days of the CRF, and exploring Crystal Cave and other caves that would eventually all be considered...

Jenna has been steeped in caving her entire life. Both parents were cavers, and she grew up frequenting Carlsbad Caverns National Park. In this talk, she shares how she found her own caving identity in the world of cave rescue, and talks about how cave rescue instruction and protocols are evolving. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ 2026 NSS...

Harry has led a rich caving life that is still going strong. From working in a wilderness education program to an official role at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, as well as opening and operating a caving outfitter for a number of years near the park; he shares many of the experiences that have led him to the current moment. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.so...

In a great talk, Ryan shares his photography experience, rescue trauma, as well as the book he recently published about the most significant cave in his vast caving life, and why now was the time to do it. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ Order “Caverns in The Clouds” by Ryan Maurer https://www.underarockphoto.com/ 2026 NSS Convention Promo...

A titan in the world of cave rescue passed away peacefully yesterday. RIP NSS 8545RL

In the conclusion of this in-person interview, Dave shares his history of cave photography, and explains some of his techniques. He also talks about caving in Montana, and shares a few harrowing stories of caving back home in Indiana where he reveals several leads he’s left unexplored.  Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ NSS Calendar of Event...

Dave has found so much cave in Indiana, and inspired a new generation of Indiana cavers that got busy discovering and mapping back in the 80s and 90s. Dave was on the crew that connected Roppel Cave to Mammoth Cave, and has seen his fair share of harrowing adventure underground. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ NSS Calendar of Events https:...

Jonathan wasn’t a caver until he became curious about a cave on a piece of property he purchased in rural Tennessee. Thanks to his openness to allow exploration of his cave, Helm’s Deep quickly became the longest cave in the state, and was a topic of much discussion at the 2024 NSS Convention in Sewanee, TN. In this talk he covers many of the discoveries made in the cave, including its surprising...

The Out of Bounds Grotto is a caving club that was created for the 21st century–a virtual grotto that brings together cavers from across the country for the love of exploration, conservation, and the sport of caving with no geographic constraints. Tally founded the grotto with these things in mind and, as you’ll hear, is a tireless volunteer for many of the causes cavers care about. She’s also wor...

Canadian super-caver Katie Graham talked about her caving genesis, and her love of the most remote, and tough caving for a variety of objectives from exploration to scientific research. She talks about caving in Canada and Mexico, as well as being a repeat winner of the infamous “Golden Garbage Can” award. Tickets to Floyd Collins: The Musical at SKyPAC in Bowling Green, KY 3/8/25 https://www.thes...

A once-in-a-lifetime historical panel with Roger Brucker, author of Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins, Mammoth Cave Guide Jackie Wheet, and John Benton, co-author of The Floyd Collins Tragedy at Sand Cave along with Bob Thompson and Bill Napper. Plus a short talk at the top with two of the people behind a production of Floyd Collins: The Musical put on by the Ramsey Theatre Company at SKyPAC in...

Former NSS President Bill Tozer passed away last weekend. In this 2018 episode, he shares that was one of the first to descend Ellison’s Fantastic Pit, as well as Sótano de las Golondrinas. Plus stories of his early caving days in Indiana.

Dr. Julian “Jerry” Lewis is a cave biologist with a long career consulting on everything from massive infrastructure projects to small-scale bio-inventory for various entities. He also served for many years as the president of the Indiana Karst Conservancy. In part 2 of our discussion, he touches on some harrowing moments in his career, including an incident that threatened the existence of one ca...

Dr. Julian “Jerry” Lewis is a cave biologist with a long career consulting on everything from massive infrastructure projects to small-scale bio-inventory for various entities. He also served for many years as the president of the Indiana Karst Conservancy. In part 1 of our discussion, he outlines the genesis of his career, and touches on various other highlights like building his bioconsulting bu...

Mike Ficco has found Virginia’s deepest cave, and has explored all over the world, including China, Montenegro, Slovenia, and elsewhere. He shared the highlights of his long caving career, which includes chairing the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias (link below). Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www.sophireaptress.com/ Cave Conservancy of the Virginias: https://c...

Georgia Schneider’s caving life has grown quickly since she started caving; taking her to places like New Zealand, France, Mexico, and countless US caves. She talks to Matt about working with the National Parks Service to inventory caves on federal land, and shares the special feeling of returning to places she helped discover. Order a custom cave suit from our sponsor, Sophireaptress! https://www...