Trevor Moelaert’s caving resume is as long as some of the underground caves on the island. Beginning in 1991 he and his wife Nancy spend over ten weeks a year crawling, wriggling, squirming, swimming and rappelling into the bowels of the earth. He has visited more than 300 caves on Vancouver Island and discovered about 100 that were not known to the caving community. His particular interest is in remote areas, not previously visited or known to other cavers, and his ability to find cave entrances baffles many of his comrades.
In the caving community he is known as the Mad Mapper, having surveyed, mapped, photographed and GPS’d nearly 60 caves, including some of Canada’s longest and deepest, several of which are on Vancouver Island. His maps have gained a reputation for being some of the finest produced in the country.
Trevor will demonstrate how to identify a cave
entrance and then take you on a journey underground and talk you through some
of the ‘squeezes’ that he negotiates with just a headlamp. He will talk
about cave ethics, equipment, safety precautions and rescue procedures, all
liberally interspersed with amazing photographs. By the end of the evening you
will no longer be in the dark about caving.
The presentation is on Feb. 18 at the North Island College theatre at the top of Ryan Road in Courtenay. Doors will open at
6 p.m. with the show running from 7 – 9, followed by a question period. There
is a cover charge of $10 per person at the door. Proceeds support the work of the Strathcona Wilderness Institute.
