Name: Christos Nicola

Date: 5/1/04

E Mail: chrisnicola@juno.com

My caving experience began in the wet caves of Florida in 1977. I have continued to dive in these same caves up until the present. The wet caves visited during the last 26 years have included Manatee Springs, Peacock and Orange Groves, Gennie Springs, and Devil’s Eye! Devil’s Ear. In addition, when not diving in caves, much of my time is spent diving in another type of enclosed underwater environment: that of the wrecks off the outer banks of North Carolina. It was the nature of both cave and wreck diving which prompted me to obtain the following PADI certifications: Advanced Open Water, Wreck Diver, and Rescue Diver.

In addition to the above referenced PADI certifications, I have also been certified in both CPR and First Aid at least three or four times over the last twenty years, with the most recent certifications being accomplished in April of 95. 1 also received an National Cave Rescue Commission Basic Orientation Course card upon completion of a course taken February of 94, recently completed a SOLO Wilderness First Aid Course.

As for my dry caving experience, it started around 1992 in the Albany/ Schoharie region of New York State when I completed both an Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Basic Orientation and Advanced Caving workshop. Since that time I have visited a variety of caves throughout the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the Former Soviet Union..

The types of caves visited have ranged from simple short horizontal ones to long elaborate maze like ones, and from short vertical drop ones to those on the order of Ukraine’s Horse Move cave, which has a drop of 160 meters and requires the rigging approximately a dozen rebelays. It was in Horse Move cave that I completed my three week long individualized training at the hands of Valeriy Rogozhnizkov, the Ukrainian Speleological Association’s vertical instructor, in 1993.

I am vertically proficient primarily in the use of frog systems (i.e. Eastern European, Australian, and Russian/Ukrainian versions), as well as knot systems, and have also used ropewalkers and Texas systems. Experience has been gained in a multitude of pits/drops, to include Golondrinas (333 m) and West Virginia's New River Bridge (250 m). In addition, when I am not actively caving, my vertical skills are maintained by acting as an instructor during the conduction of UAYCEF and Met Grotto (Caving Club) regularly scheduled vertical training sessions. I also conduct a National Speleological Society Basic Vertical Orientation Course annually.

I am currently on the Executive Board of UAYCEF as Chairman, of the Proyecto Espeleologico Sierra Oxmolon as Secretary, and serve as the US representative of Antonio Núñez Jiménez Fundación de la Naturaleza y El Hombre of Cuba, and have served on the boards of the following, in the indicated positions:

· Metropolitan Grotto: Chairman, Editor, Publisher, Activities Chair

· Northeast Regional Organization: Chairman

· Northeast Cave Conservancy: Secretary

I currently maintain membership in the following:

· The National Speleological Society

· Metropolitan Grotto

· Northeast Regional Organization

· West Virginia Association of Cave Studies

· Virginia Regional Organization

· Helderberg-Hudson Grotto

· Northern New Jersey Grotto

· Bald Eagle Grotto

· SEENI (Puerto Rico)

· Central Arizona Grotto

· US Cave Conservancy

· Central Connecticut Grotto

· The Ukrainian Speleological Association

· The Ternopil-Podolski Spelological Association

· The Robinson Association

· Antonio Núñez Jiménez Fundación de la Naturaleza y El Hombre of Cuba,

· The Cuban Speleological Society

In 1994, I co-founded UAYCEF, a non-profit organization in order to “promote interest in and advance the study and science of speleology, the protection of caves and their natural contents, and to promote fellowship among those interested therein” through the operation of a student exchange program and expeditions to Ukraine. I have served as chairman ever since, and with UAYCEF' subsequent attainment of NSS project status I assumed the position of Project Director.

Since 1994 I have been leading regularly scheduled basic beginner trips for various New York Tri-State area grottos and UAYCEF on an almost monthly basis. These trips have included participants of all sorts: men and women, children and adults, and athletic and non-athletic types. The caves of choice for these trips have consisted primarily of Gages, Caboose, Wards-Gregory, Surprise and Schoharie caves in New York, and Leigh cave in New Jersey. In addition, trips, for all skill and experience levels, are routinely lead to West Virginia on three-day holiday weekends.

Much of my current time is being spent organizing a second rappel team for the annual New River West Virginia Bridge Day Festival, an eleventh expedition to the Ukraine, an ninth expedition to Puerto Rico, a fifth expedition to Mexico, and second expeditions to England and Brazil, Rumania, Slovania, and Cuba. I am also busy preparing presentations on the Priest Grotto story, and the History of Exploration in the Former Soviet Union, which I will be giving at the International Exploration session of the 2004 NSS Convention in Michigan (similar presentations were given at both the 98 and 2002 conventions).

On-going projects with which I am involved are the following:

· Surveying of Mott Hole in Monroe County, WV as part of WVSS's project to update Bulletin # 4.

· Surveying Ceppilo Cave in Mexico's Aquismon region.

· Surveying of Carpenter-Swago Cave in Pocohontas County, WV.

· Digging/Diving project at Caboose cave in Shoharie County, NY.

· The Proyecto Espeleologico Sierra Oxmolon- Survey and exploration of caves in the La Brecha region of Mexico.

· The translation and publication of a book on Ukrainian Caving, Vertical and Exploration Techniques.

· Preparing for attendance at a conference on Karstology in Perm, Russia in May of 2004

· Webmaster of UAYCEF's Homepage at www.uaycef.org

· Establishing a summer camp caving program in Ukraine in cooperation with representatives of the Peace Corps and several American non-for-profit youth organizations.

· Establishing annual caving expeditions to Brazil.

· Working with a film studio in the production of feature film about the “Priest Grotto” story.