new mexico cave projects

Some of the longest and best decorated caves in the world are located in New Mexico. Lechuguilla Cave, Carlsbad Cavern and Fort Stanton Cave are all spectacular in their own way.

Lechuguilla cave

Probably the best known cave in the world, by cavers. Widely considered the most beautiful and well-decorated. It’s also the 8th longest cave in the world at just over 150 miles in surveyed length. Access is controlled by Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

The 2020 Barton Voids expedition to Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This fourth and final part covers Day 8 underground and exiting from ...
The 2020 Barton Voids expedition to Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This third part covers Days 5-7 underground including survey near the...
The 2020 Barton Voids expedition to Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This second part covers Days 2-4 underground including survey in Lake...
The 2020 Barton Voids expedition to Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This first part covers the first couple of days including travel to t...
Video documentation of the 8-day expedition to the western branch of Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This expedition was co-led by Derek Bristol and Dan Austin with an emphasis on surveying leads in the recently discovered area of Zion, as well as Oasis, Keel Hall, Long Haul, Sanctuary and Oz.
2019 Lechuguilla Expedition Report (PDF)
8 day expedition in Lechuguilla Cave - the world's 7th longest cave, located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Some of this video was captured while volunteering for the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns. The opinions expressed are those of the video editor, and not of the National Park Service.
8 day expedition in Lechuguilla Cave - the world's 7th longest cave, located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Expedition led by Hazel Barton. Some of this video was captured while volunteering for the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns. The opinions expressed are those of the video editor, and not of the National Park Service.
8 day expedition in Lechuguilla Cave - the world's 7th longest cave, located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Some of this video was captured while volunteering for the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns. The opinions expressed are those of the video editor, and not of the National Park Service.
2017 Lechuguilla Expedition Report (PDF)
Six person, eight day expedition into Lechuguilla Cave , the world's 7th longest cave, located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Some of this video was captured while volunteering for the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns. The opinions expressed are those of the video editor, and not of the National Park Service.
2016 Lechuguilla Expedition Report (PDF)
2013 Lechuguilla Expedition Report (PDF)
2012 Lechuguilla Expedition Report (PDF)
2011 Lechuguilla Expedition Report (PDF)

Carlsbad Cavern

The centerpiece of Carlsbad Caverns National Park is the spectacular Carlsbad Cavern. Roughly 37 miles in length, it is the 3rd longest cave in New Mexico and 13th longest cave in the US. The cavern sees approximately 300,000 visitors each year. There continues to be active exploration and survey in many areas of the cave. I have been working on three sections: the Guadalupe Room Complex, New Mexico Room, and Chocolate High. There have also been climbing and survey efforts in areas like the Big Room, Main Corridor, and Left Hand Tunnel.

For information on tours of Carlsbad Caverns, please visit: https://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm For more information on how to get involved in the survey and exploration of some of the world's greatest caves through the Cave Research Foundation, please visit: http://www.cave-research.org For more detailed information on caving techniques, caving gear, and cave projects, visit my website at: https://www.derekbristol.com Caves are delicate and potentially dangerous places.
2019-November Carlsbad Cavern Expedition Report (PDF)
Tom Rohrer and Ronal Kerbo did the pioneering first ascent of Liberty Dome in 1976 by hand-drilling up the steeply overhanging wall at the southern end of Carlsbad Cavern's Big Room. This climb was repeated using modern climbing aids to check for leads and produce a new survey.
Some of this video was captured while volunteering for the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns. The opinions expressed are those of the editor, and not of the National Park Service. For more information on Carlsbad Cavern visit: https://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm Caves are delicate and potentially dangerous places.
2019-July Carlsbad Cavern Expedition Report (PDF)
For the New Year's holiday we returned to work in the Guadalupe Room and New Mexico Room sections of Carlsbad Cavern. During the 4-day expedition we completed 3 new technical climbs and left one amazingly well decorated lead. We also added 0.35 miles to the length of the 14th longest cave in the US.
2017-December Carlsbad Cavern Expedition Report (PDF)
A team from Colorado and New Mexico are working on resurvey and pushing of new cave passage in the New Mexico Room and Chocolate High sections of Carlsbad Cavern. More than half a mile of length was added to the cave over this four day expedition.
A survey trip to the Guadalupe Room Complex (formerly the New Section) of Carlsbad Cavern. Some of this video was captured while volunteering for the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns. The opinions expressed are those of the video editor, and not of the National Park Service.
2017-November Carlsbad Cavern Expedition Report (PDF)

Fort Stanton Cave

Fort Stanton Cave contains the world-famous Snowy River passage, which is the longest cave passage in the world, and contains the longest and largest cave formation (the Snowy River formation). It also has, by far, the most remote cave passages of any cave in the world - in terms of distance that must be traveled from its sole entrance. The most remote areas are roughly 11.8 miles from the entrance, so getting there and back requires traveling nearly 24 miles underground! The Snowy River passage floods frequently, which prohibits exploration, but small windows of opportunity have allowed significant progress in 2018 and 2019. The cave is now just over 40 miles in length and is expected to soon become one of the 10 longest in the US.

For more information about the BLM Conservation Area: https://www.blm.gov/visit/fort-stanton-snowy-river-cave-nca For information about the exploration and survey of Fort Stanton Cave and the Snowy River Passage: https://fscsp.org For more detailed information on caving techniques, caving gear, and cave projects, visit my website at: https://www.derekbristol.com Caves are delicate and potentially dangerous places.
Fort Stanton Cave has by-far the most remote explored places on Earth. Some areas are as much as 12 miles from the only entrance and are not yet fully explored. Follow a team that stays underground for 33 hours and surveys 1.4 miles of virgin passage that averages 70 feet in width.
This is the first survey trip in Snowy River since it began flooding four long years ago. The Snowy River passage is the longest known passage in any cave in the world at a length of roughly 10 miles.