Post by L Roebuck on Jul 30, 2006 9:05:19 GMT -5
The Cave Dwellers
Southeast Alaska cavers take on challenging conditions to 'scoop' unknown caves
By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK
JUNEAU EMPIRE
It comes as little surprise, then, that Love has a pretty good bear story.
About a dozen years ago, traveling through a "tiny little cave" on Prince of Wales Island, Love and a few buddies discovered at least a dozen bears.
Their bones, that is.
In the back of the so-called Bumper Cave, they discovered a fully articulated bear skeleton. They also found a set of cubs, and a sow.
Archaeologists later aged the cave's bears at roughly 7,000 to 11,000 years old.
The discovery of ancient bear bones is just one of many stories that cavers share from their decades of exploring Southeast Alaska's hundreds of caves.
In the annals of Panhandle caving history, one moment stands out.
In the mid-1990s, cavers brought archeologists to On Your Knees Cave, where they discovered the oldest human remains ever found in Alaska or Canada. The discovery spurred new scientific ideas about human migration into North America.
Despite these major discoveries, the cavers of Southeast Alaska are getting a little anxious about the future of their unique sport within the region.
They'd like to bring more Southeast Alaskans into caving.
"New blood has become a problem for us. We are getting creaky," said Steve Lewis, a co-director of the Tongass Cave Project, a joint Glacier Grotto-National Forest Service effort to inventories caves throughout the Panhandle.
About 60 people participate in the grotto, now. Lewis said he's not sure why there aren't more participants, but he has a few good guesses.
Caving - much like mountaineering - is a sport for people who like to have their fun the hard way.
Cavers might need to rappel down a 90-foot drop, splash through an icy waterfall, and crawl through a mudhole, all on one trip.
Unlike a mountaineer, a caver must be adept and well-trained in traveling on stationary, single-line rope. One trip may require using 1,000 feet of rope.
That takes training and familiarization with gear. It also takes a person who doesn't mind getting sprayed with cold water and covered in mud.
It's bad caving etiquette to explore new caves without mapping them first. "I think up here, maybe it takes wanting to map and explore," Lewis said.
Another impediment to would-be cavers: Southeast Alaska's caves are typically in remote locations.
Even getting to the one cave in Southeast Alaska where public tours are available - El Capitan Cave, on Prince of Wales Island - takes some gumption. Visitors must climb 370 stairs for the free, two-hour guided tour of the cave, the largest in Alaska.
It's worth the trip, visitors say.
Among El Cap's highlights: intricately formed soda straws, which leak water and can form into stalactites.
Full Article and Cave Photos: www.juneauempire.com/
Southeast Alaska cavers take on challenging conditions to 'scoop' unknown caves
By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK
JUNEAU EMPIRE
It comes as little surprise, then, that Love has a pretty good bear story.
About a dozen years ago, traveling through a "tiny little cave" on Prince of Wales Island, Love and a few buddies discovered at least a dozen bears.
Their bones, that is.
In the back of the so-called Bumper Cave, they discovered a fully articulated bear skeleton. They also found a set of cubs, and a sow.
Archaeologists later aged the cave's bears at roughly 7,000 to 11,000 years old.
The discovery of ancient bear bones is just one of many stories that cavers share from their decades of exploring Southeast Alaska's hundreds of caves.
In the annals of Panhandle caving history, one moment stands out.
In the mid-1990s, cavers brought archeologists to On Your Knees Cave, where they discovered the oldest human remains ever found in Alaska or Canada. The discovery spurred new scientific ideas about human migration into North America.
Despite these major discoveries, the cavers of Southeast Alaska are getting a little anxious about the future of their unique sport within the region.
They'd like to bring more Southeast Alaskans into caving.
"New blood has become a problem for us. We are getting creaky," said Steve Lewis, a co-director of the Tongass Cave Project, a joint Glacier Grotto-National Forest Service effort to inventories caves throughout the Panhandle.
About 60 people participate in the grotto, now. Lewis said he's not sure why there aren't more participants, but he has a few good guesses.
Caving - much like mountaineering - is a sport for people who like to have their fun the hard way.
Cavers might need to rappel down a 90-foot drop, splash through an icy waterfall, and crawl through a mudhole, all on one trip.
Unlike a mountaineer, a caver must be adept and well-trained in traveling on stationary, single-line rope. One trip may require using 1,000 feet of rope.
That takes training and familiarization with gear. It also takes a person who doesn't mind getting sprayed with cold water and covered in mud.
It's bad caving etiquette to explore new caves without mapping them first. "I think up here, maybe it takes wanting to map and explore," Lewis said.
Another impediment to would-be cavers: Southeast Alaska's caves are typically in remote locations.
Even getting to the one cave in Southeast Alaska where public tours are available - El Capitan Cave, on Prince of Wales Island - takes some gumption. Visitors must climb 370 stairs for the free, two-hour guided tour of the cave, the largest in Alaska.
It's worth the trip, visitors say.
Among El Cap's highlights: intricately formed soda straws, which leak water and can form into stalactites.
Full Article and Cave Photos: www.juneauempire.com/