Caving is the accepted term for safe, well-equipped underground
exploration. "Cavers rescue spelunkers," as the saying goes! The
Pitt Outdoors Club has been caving on and off since the early 1960s and still
drag as many people as are willing through the mud and muck to visit the totally
alien world that exists beneath the earth. We are proud to have cave
leaders who are members of the
The National Speleological Society's local chapters, known as grottoes.
The Pittsburgh Grotto and The Loyalhanna Grotto
are both highly active organizations in the area and are great groups to become involved with if you are interested in caving.
Caving is an all-year sport, since the ambient temperature inside a cave runs about 54 degrees regardless of outside air temperature. When it is too cold to climb rocks, we head underground in force! It is tough to get bored caving in Pittsburgh, as there are a wide variety of caves in the area. Within a day's drive of Pittsburgh lie some of the largest, most interesting caves on the East Coast. Underground you are likely to see blind insects, bats, underground streams, lots of mud, bats, speleothems (a fancy word for cave formations), and a host of really dirty caver-friends. We cave mostly in horizontal caves, so all that is required is good clothing and protective equipment (see below), and a sense of adventure!