******************* This email originates from outside Imperial. Do not click on links and attachments unless you recognise the sender. If you trust the sender, add them to your safe senders list https://spam.ic.ac.uk/SpamConsole/Senders.aspx to disable email stamping for this address. ******************* Welcome to the new year! Are you just like me and dreading the start of another term? Can't wait to put off work to go caving? Well, I have some great news for you, take a look at our plans for the term! *Weekend trips!* *Easter Tour!* *Summer Tour!* *Socials! * *Talks!* Hold up! If you haven't filled out this form for BCA membership, please do so now: https://forms.gle/abP12wpSnGG611NY7 This is for insurance with the British Caving Association (BCA), and this is *required* to cave with us from the new year! We pay the cost for you, so it's free! *Dates:* 10/01/2025 - *Weekend trip* - Derbyshire 1 14/01/2025 - Easter Tour & Summer Tour Talks 24/01/2025 - *Weekend trip* - Yorkshire 3 07/02/2025 - *Weekend trip* - Mendips 1 13/02/2025 - AGM 21/02/2025 - *Weekend Trip* - Yorkshire 4 (1st Aid) 07/03-2025 - *Weekend Trip* - North Wales 1 *22/03/2025 - Easter Tour !!!* *Weekend Trips* Run largely the same as the 1st term ones, but some have exciting twists (in order of date and increasing excitement): *Derbyshire 1* - Visit Peak caverns in an epic through-trip! Derbyshire is a muddy region, but it makes up for it by offering perhaps the UK's best through trip: JH->Peak, and also possibly the UK's worst through-trip: Peak->JH (Source: Jan Kozuszek). Come along to test your caving limits, and the patience of the Castleton residents! (sign up has already gone out! check your inbox!) *Yorkshire 3* - A classic IC Caving weekend! 2 days at the Northern Pennine Club exploring the UK's most classic caves. *Mendips 1* - Old lags weekend! Some older club members will be joining us at the hut and doing some caving too. Come along to hear tales of past trips, epic expedition discoveries, and meet your Hollow Mountain Heroes! The caves here are wet, fast, and fun! *Yorkshire 4* - 1st Aid training! Sean Whittle will be running a first aid course for those interested in the Easter Tour and Summer Expedition (+ anyone else if there's space). This will also be a normal caving weekend for those not on the course! *North Wales 1* - Visit the Mines! Come along to beautiful North Wales (my homeland ❤️) to explore some slate and copper mines! Involving some SRT, but mostly walking, these are predominantly scenic trips with great photography opportunities, and thrilling mineral deposits for all you geologists! (...there will also be a zipwire) *Easter Tour + Talks* During week 2 of term, we will have a talk on our Easter Tour, and Summer Expedition! At the talk, you will be amazed by beautiful pictures, incredible tales, and our epic plans for this year! Come along to find out more, and sign up to the best that ICCC has to offer! *Easter Tour! - *A week of delicious food, incredible weather, brilliant views, delightful beaches... and we might go caving too? Ben Richards is our glorious Tours secretary this year, and he will be taking us to *Sardinia! *We last visited in 2018, and have been dying to return ever since! The tour will start either the Friday or the Saturday that term ends (21st-22nd March), and last around a week. At the talk, you can sign up, ask questions, and look at some amazing pictures. Until then, these reports will have to do: Sardinia Easter Tour - 2018 <https://imperialcaving.com/article/sardinia-2018-03-24> Ardeche Easter Tour - 2024 <https://imperialcaving.com/article/france-2024-03-23> (or read up on all the other fantastic ETs over the years on the website as well!) *Summer Tour! *- Expeditionary caving in the heart of Triglav national park, Slovenia! If any of you got me talking about Slovenia before, you already know how EPIC it is! You should all come and learn more about it. We will discuss: What the expedition is, a brief history, how it's run, what you'll do, what you'll need, travel, transport, and cost (it's dirt cheap!). The expedition will be 4-5 weeks where we will live on a mountain and explore the Migovec System <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migovec_System>. You can join at any time (but we recommend at least 2 weeks) and it is budgeted with students in mind (can be less than £100 per week!). *Socials* I'm told there are several planned for this term, however: *Thurston will be releasing a dedicated socials email* - brace yourselves! *AGM* Bang in the middle of term is our Annual General Meeting! We will book out the Union bar, and discuss the club's success over the year, hand out awards, and plan a committee for the next! Awards to be Won: *For Evans Sake* - the most "creative use of bodily fluids" in the past year. (previous winners: Julien, Laura, Chris) *Herman Her*tz - for "near misses" whilst caving. (Previous winners: Julien, Perry, Julien) *Prose and Cons* - For the best trip report. (Previous winner: Julien) Committee positions to run for (and current holders): *President/Chair/Captain* - (Chris) *Treasurer* - (Julien) *Secretary* - (Erica) *Tackle Master* - (Laura) *Social Secretary* - (Thurston) *Health and Safety Officer* - (Valery) *Media Officer* - (Salwa) *Welfare Officer* - (Salwa) *Webmaster* - (Wojtek) *Expedition Leader * - (Ellie) *Tours Secretary* - (Ben) So come along, run for committee, and stop Julien from winning *Every Single Award* for the second time! A lot more info will follow in a separate email, but if you're interested in running for anything, it's good to start chatting with the committee. Congratulations if you made it to the end of the email! Term 2 is when the club really kicks off, and I can't wait! Now get these dates in your calendar, forget your course, and get caving! Until **stares blankly into the abyss,** Chris ICCC President -- Imperial College Caving Club <https://imperialcaving.com/>