the Texas Caver Vol.26, No.3, 1981 CONTENTS Three Fingers Cave Mapping Report ....... 35 Three Fingers Cave Map ................ 37 Glacier Caves in Mex ico . ..... ........... 38 Robber Baron Clean-up ............... .. 39 Caving in the Global Village ............ 40 Bits & Pieces ........... .. .............. 41 Emergency Communication Invitation ...... 41 Coon Crap Cave Map ...................... 42 Trip Reports ...................... ..... 43 The Clay Choke Cave Map ................. 44 Texas Caver Word Hunt No . 3 ........... 48 Cover Photo: George Veni crawls through a narrow passage in Inner Space. Photo by James Jasek. Contents Page Photo: Steve Boehm crosses a deep crevasse on the way to the Volcano in Inner Space. James Jasek photo. Th e TEXAS CAVER is a bimonthly publication of the Texas Speleological Association (TSA}, an internal organization of the National Speleological Society (NSS) and is published by James Jas ek in Waco, Texas. (817) 776-172 7 SUBSCRIPTIONS are $5.00 per year. Persons subscribing after the first of the y ear will receive all back issues for that y ear. Single copies are available at $1.00 each, postpaid. Th e TEXAS CAVER openly invites contributors to submit: articles, reports, news, cartoons, cave maps, caving articles, and photographs (any size print black and white or color print) for publication in the TEXAS CAVER. Address all SUBSCRIPTIONS and EDITORIAL material to the editor: James Jasek, 1019 Melrose Dr., Waco , Texas 76710. (817) 776 -1 727 Wh en sending in a change of address, please include y our old address. Persons interested in EXCHANGES or FOREIGN subscriptions should direct correspondence to the editor. THREE FINGERS CAVE Mapping Report Duwain Whitis Near the bottom of a rugged canyon in During the course of the summer, Duwain he Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico lies worked on the data reduction only to find hree Finger Cave. Since August of 1979 the that much of the survey needed to be ggie Speleological Society of Texas A&M re-done. The errors common to most surveys niversity has been involved in the survey had become so intwined that they were f this complex cave. Discovered in 1967 impossible to isolate. In August of 1979, y Bob Sarabia and Jim Peck of Carlsbad, the first week long expedition to the cave he cave has not yet been fully explored. was mounted. This trip concentrated on lthough much has been rumored about the resurveying the area between the Bell xtent of the cave, very little work was Room and the Temple of the Fiery Cave God. one previous to 1976. It was mentioned as This trip 'rediscovered' the Z survey area n addendum to several United States deep which appeared to be almost untravelled. ave lists as being about 500 feet deep. A large portion of the 'Mid Maze' was also o survey documented the depth, however. explored. This is a portion of the cave survey was began in 1968 by several where it is possible to get lost after emb ers of the Southwestern Region, but traveling fifty feet. Stories abound of ery little of the cave was surveyed and people who have been lost in the cave for o ma p was published. The survey extended hours. One pair of Aggies got lost in the . r om the bottom of the entrance drop, maze for an hour . hrough the Meador Pincher, and down the In November of 1979, the Aggies returned resent day Z survey. to the cave at Thanksgiving. Staying in I n 1976, the Cave Research Foundation the cave for 66 hours, they concentrated :.gan a new exploration of the cave. on adding much detail to the Bell Room 'n:ough 1979, they mapped the Bell Room, Map. The Bell Room is about 400 feet long h~ Temp le of the Fiery Cave God, and Three and 100 feet wide at the widest point. It .• ng er Hall. Some surveying was done in slopes sharply from south to north and has 1:e maze below the seventy foot chimney an elevation change of almost 200 feet. ·''· i.c h drops out of the Temple. Unknowingly, The Room is filled with cemented breakdown . :te CRF teams tied some of the old SWR which forms a ridge down the length of the ~~a t ion s thinking that the tie stations chamber. Tall columns are numerous, the •2re new ones set by the CRF. During this most notable being the 'Bell Canopy' after 2riod, very little data reduction was which the room is named. Numerous holes .. ·::.·r:f ormed. Errors which would have been exist in the breakdown in the northern a.s y to detect became immersed· in other half of the room. These lead to lower areas e :: rors . of the cave, but most visitors only see I n 19 79, Jim Goodbar, who then worked as the Bell Room. Another trip in March of o cave specialist for the Bureau of Land 1980 produced the survey of the North Room :anagement in Carlsbad, was sent a copy of and the Lower Complex. The North Room is , ie data. He was asked by the project a lower extension of the Bell Room, but is Clo r dinators, Alan and Carol Hill, to see separated by breakdown. Further down is ·na t he could do with the survey. In May, the Lower Complex, a series of three large two cavers from Texas A&M University drop­ rooms which exceed the Temple of the Fiery ped in on Jim to visit. Duwain Whitis and Cave God in size. This area contains much Ba rb Vinson had just come from the moun­ virgin passage. The Caca Rojo Room only tains after doing some tourista caving, had one set of footprints on a red clay and Barb wanted to see Jim, who she knew floor. f rom caving in Mexico and who had also In May, the CRF held their annual received his degree at A&M. As a result expedition to the cave. Unfortunately , of that visit and Duwain's inquiries about only seven persons appeared, two of whom the cave, Jim agreed to send the Aggies a were Aggies. Since Carol Pill's mineralogy copy of the survey notes. work in Cottonwood Cave took precedence, 35 very little was accompl ished except for a Tom Bemis CRF surface survey to the high end of the Bell Steve Boehm ASS Room where surface organic debris has John Brooks ASS washed into the cave . A small fissure lead­ Bob Buecher CRF ing to the surface probably exists but will Debbie Buecher CRF likely be too small to make digging worth- Steve Cole ASS while (another entrance is of question- Rod Crowder CRF able desirability). The surface points Bill Davies CRF are about 25 feet above the corresponding Heather Fannin ASS point in the cave. Richard Flukerson ASS The last surveying trip to the cave was Jim Goodbar CRF made in August, 1980. The Aggies returned Scott Harden ASS once again, but this trip was less Alan Hill CRF productive than others. Another route down Carol Hill CRF to the Lower Complex was mapped, and the Larry Hill CRF Bell Room was carefully checked for other Del Holman ASS possible leads, a few of which exist. The Tracy Johnson CRF remainder of that trip was spent beginning Ann Lawson ASS a new survey of Hell Below where 2000 feet Pete Lindsley CRF was surveyed. John McLean CRF Three Fingers is a very complex cave. The Denis McQuillar CRF survey now encompasses 8340 feet of Hendrick Stokvis ASS traverse with 16 loops, 14 of which are Kevin Sullivan ASS interconnected. Because of this, and Barb Vinson ASS/CRF because of the certain continuation of the Cal Welborn CRF maze nature of the cave, the data is now Duwain Whitis ASS/CRF being processed with the aid of the computer program 'Ellipse' . This has made the Three Fingers is located on public land, silhouette profile which accompanies this is gated, and requires a permit for leg2l article possible. The profile only represents access. If you should visit the cave, the surveyed portion of the r;we. Much more exercise care to leave the cave as you cave exists and literally hundreds of found it. Also, help to prevent the suney leads are waiting to be checked. The cave markers from being destroyed. These are certainly goes deeper. The Z survey smoke dotes labelled with orange surveyors extends under a large ridge to the south flagging which will be removed when they which may be permeated with passage. Air are no longer needed. flow is detectable in many areas of the cave indicating that other entrances may exist. The next planned trip to the cave will be the annual CRF trip in May. This expedition will concentrate on exploring the maze area below the Temple of the Fiery Cave God and above the Three Fingers Ha ll . Leads in the Lower Complex and the Z survey will also be pushed. Three Fingers is only one of many pote ntia lly large caves in the Guadalupe Mountains. Many of these caves are not surveyed or completely explored, although they have been visited for many years. Most of these caves are going to require a gr eat amo unt of work and patience to explore. Three Fingers is a prime example. The following persons have participated in the present survey of Three Fingers. An £ :.;o9L-40N .1><n1; a»oM ~'"~";) SYX"'!!_L O_J_ NOI..Ln"'loS indication of the sponsoring organizations is give n for the trips attended. Elbert Bassham CRF Dave Belski CRF 36 a. a. SURFACE SURVEY a. THREE FINGERS CAVE Profile: 285° view Eddy Co.