THIS EVENT OCCURRED IN 2016. FOR 2017 CAVE CAMP CLICK HERE.

The NRMG’s First Annual CAVE CAMP will take place from October 14th through October 16th, 2016. Whether you’re a veteran caver, or a first time explorer, we want you to join us! TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT for everyone except EXPERIENCED CAVERS and AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES willing to help teach.

COST
$35 per adult
$20 per youth aged 13-17
$15 per child 12 and under
This includes a single bed in a heated cabin (for families) or a heated group-use room (for everyone else), food and drink for the entire weekend, and a FREE poly-pro limited edition Cave Camp t-shirt!! Non NRMG members may receive a free, 6 month membership!!

WHERE THE HECK IS MONARCH? WHY MONARCH MONTANA?
Monarch is centrally located in our great state. But most importantly, it’s near many of the classic Montana caves! Want to visit our deepest cave that doesn’t require rope? No problem. How about a cave with 2 vertical drops, each over 150′ deep? That’s nearby! Want to push muddy squeezes, or see the largest underground room in the state? It’s all right here! And in Montana standards, it’s a “close” drive for everyone!
Billings – 3 hours, 13 minute
Bozeman – 2 hours, 23 minutes
Butte – 2 hours, 52 minutes
Helena – 2 hours, 13 minutes
Great Falls – 0 hours, 48 minutes
Missoula – 3 hours, 28 minutes
Whitefish – 4 hours, 15 minutes
Lovell, WY – 4 hours, 28 minutes
Calgary, AB – 5 hours, 38 minutes
Custer, SD – 8 hours, 15 minutes
Salt Lake City, UT – 8 hours, 11 minutes
Seattle, WA – 10 hours, 38 minutes
Denver, CO – 11 hours 25 minutes

WEEKEND ITINERARY (Subject to change)
Friday October 14th:
9:00 am to 1:00 pm – Lick Creek Cave Annual Cave Cleanup
1:00 pm to 8:00 pm – Setup, registration, and check-in at Rotary Camp
4:00 pm to 4:30 pm – Raising of the NRMG flag and lighting the Speleolympic torch
4:30 pm to 6:30 pm – Speleolympics qualifiers for vertical caving section
7:00 pm to 8:00 pm – Dinner (see menu here)

Saturday October 15th:
6:30 am to 7:30 am – Begin drinking coffee
7:30 am to 8:30 am – Breakfast (see menu here)
8:30 am to 12:00 pm – Morning Workshops (see list here)
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm – Lunch (see menu here)
1:00 pm to 5:30 pm – Afternoon Workshops (see list here)
5:30 pm to 10:00 pm – Silent Auction (bring gear you want to auction off!)
6:00 pm to 7:00 pm – Dinner (see menu here)
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm – Speleolympic Finals!
8:00 pm to bat:30 – Socializing

Sunday October 16th:
7:00 am to 7:45 am – Begin drinking coffee
7:45 am to 8:45 am – Breakfast (see menu here)
8:45 am to 9:30 am – Key Note Presentation by Johanna Kovarik, Cave and Karst Coordinator for the US Forest Service!
9:30 am to 10:00 am – Pack up, clean up the camp, and get ready for CAVING!!
10:00 am to late afternoon – Break into groups of 4-6 people, and head out for your alpine caving trip! There are dozens of caves nearby! There will be restoration trips, photography trips, surveying trips, and more! Sign up for the trip you want when you check-in.

ACCOMMODATIONS
We have the beautiful Rotary Camp in Monarch, MT. This facility has
-A main lodge capable of seating 100 people. The great room contains a fireplace and piano, and is over 2,500 square feet! At night, this will be a community sleeping area with quiet time from 10pm-6am
-Three cabins, each with 11 single beds (not bunked) with mattresses. No linens are provided. These will be set aside for families and those with children. First arrived, first served.
-A bathhouse with 9 showers (4 men, and 5 women), 5 toilets for women & 5 for men.
-A few acres of tent space, with some spots right next to Belt Creek
-A fire-pit complete with stadium seating and firewood provided
-A commercial kitchen fully equipped with including silverware, a walk-in freezer, large refrigerator, commercial dishwasher, etc
-A 20′ tall pavilion capable of seating over 80 people outdoors!
If you’re looking for more privacy or alone time, there’s always Cougar Canyon Lodge and Escape only 6 miles away! However, we’re hoping you can stay the whole weekend 🙂

FOOD & DRINK (Subject to change)
We are excited to announce that, through various brewery sponsors, we will have FREE BEER FOR ALL ATTENDEES of legal drinking age!! Our menu may evolve as we secure more sponsors and funding. If you eat the food of 3 people or have special dietary restrictions, you might consider bringing some of your own food to supplement what’s provided. With that in mind, check out the latest revision of the menu below:

WHAT TO BRING
-Overnight kit including blankets, pajamas, toiletry items, extra clothes, etc
-WINTER CLOTHES. We’ll be outside at times and it could be chilly out there!
-Vertical Gear, Gloves, and Helmet to compete in the contests
—–[If you plan to to camp outside] camp outside next to Belt Creek, or listen to someone snore. your call.
-tent or some other form of shelter
-winter sleeping bag.
—–[If you plan to go caving] bring clean and decontaminated caving gear including:
-helmet
-caving pack/backpack
-3 sources of light, preferably headlamps
-gloves and other in-cave clothing (caves are ~40 degrees F)
-change of clothes for after the cave
-vertical gear (if you don’t have it, there are still many horizontal caves)
-hiking shoes (A cave trip might be 0.5-6 miles round trip)
-water bottle
ONLY BRING CLEAN AND DECONTAMINATED GEAR. NO CAVE DIRT. PERIOD.

TRAVEL
There are no major facilities or shopping centers nearby, so bring what you need! The camp can be accessed by any vehicle, including most low-clearance passenger vehicles. The final one-mile-long gravel section has some serious potholes, so you’ll need to travel very slow and carefully. Some cave trips may require a high-clearance vehicle.

TICKETS
Tickets are presently SOLD OUT. There are still tickets available for experienced cavers who will be leading workshops. Please apply for a ticket and email XXX if you are able to lead a hands-on caving workshop.

MAP

Have questions, comments, or concerns? Email us direct at XXX

PARTNERS/SPONSORS

MORE CAMP PHOTOS

TICKETS
Please buy tickets before Cave Camp! We need to know how many cavers to plan for. And if Cave Camp sells out, then and we warned you!