The Middle Mississippi Valley Grotto (MMV) is a chapter of the
National
Speleological Society, dedicated to the exploration, study and
conservation
of caves. MMV has been a fixture in St. Louis since 1958, with over 600
monthly meetings to its credit.
MMV cavers have a special interest in the caves and karst of Perry
County,
the most cave rich county in the state, and of the Meramec Valley,
where
they have had a long and cooperative relationship with both private and
public land owners and managers. Our emphasis is on productive
caving--discovery,
research and survey with fellowship along the way. Many grotto members
have over 20 years experience in active caving. We are locally
affiliated
with the Missouri Speleological Survey, Inc., and are an active
participant
in cartography and speleological research.
Some Examples of MMV Activities. (Photos by Pam
Saberton)
MMV Meetings are generally held on the 4th Tuesday of the month,
7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at the Kirkwood Lbrary 140 E. Jefferson. Meetings are free and open to the public.
Meetings customarily are followed by a "meeting after the
meeting"--details available upon attendance.
MMV 2018 OFFICERS
President: Jason Hanewinkel
Vice-President and Membership Contact: Laura Belarbi
Secretary: Mike Leer
Treasurer: Dane Driskil
MSS Representative: Doug Leer
Articles for the MMV Underground may be emailed to: MMV Editorial Staff.
Grotto Caving Equipment List (wet/temperate region caves) Gear
List.
"We invite you to come cave with us. Because we value good
landowner relations, we will not furnish cave lists or specific
locations via email to people we don't know. Come get to know us!
AS A GROTTO, WE NO LONGER LEAD RECREATIONAL YOUTH GROUP TRIPS.
If you are a cave researcher, a cave landowner, a fellow NSS member coming to the St. Louis area,
or someone with an interest in a specific eastern Missouri cave or specific reason to access Berome Moore Cave, please tell us who you are and what your interest is. We
will help if we can, but as a small, all-volunteer organization, our
time is very limited, and often all we can provide is a recommendation
of other resources.
Currently most public land caves in Missouri are CLOSED without special permission.
We are working with the agencies and have up to date information.
Contact Jo Schaper via email .
Requests to enter Berome Moore Cave go through the MMV-BB cave board. Send trip request to Berome Cave Requests.
We have a permit and rules you will need to follow.
(You can download trip request, permit or rules, open in Word and set to page view to fill out or format.)
Want a good read?
Try The Last Illusion, by long-time grotto member Don
Dunham.
$14 plus shipping.
Click on book to order!
Need Some Cave Related Information?
Questions about this Webpage should be directed to: joschaper@socket.net
