u/Affectionate-Ad-5255

This is an article written for Rocky Mountain Caving Volume 44, Issue 1 regarding the single greatest mystery in Colorado caving: The hunt for Tortuga Caverns. Supposedly discovered by Gene Dover in the early 80s, he mapped it, published multiple articles about it, and then never returned leaving a puzzle to find its entrance. Colorado cavers have argued over the ensuing 4 decades about whether the cave exists at all!

ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE ARTICLE

Let's see if any of y'all have what it takes to solve it! (I have a theory and am going there next week!)

Hey guys! Just an individual article excerpt from Rocky Mountain Caving 44, 2 that I wrote regarding the possibility of limestone karst appearing in Antarctica. Give it a read, let me know what y'all think.

Article

Hey guys!

I was recently elected to be treasurer of the long-in-decline NSS Cave Photography Section. One of the things I wanted to do while in office this year is put out a digital issue of the defunct FLASH magazine. I've just started laying it out but most of the photos I have are from Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming (I.E.; My neck of the woods and my connections from running Rocky Mountain Caving)

If anyone's interested in submitting photos please email me at rockymountaincaving@gmail.com. I'd be forever in your debt!

I'm also working on a way to sign up for the email distribution with the other leaders of the section for this term. More on that in a different post.

Water levels across Colorado are apocalyptically bad due to the consequences of climate change. Low snow pack means low snow melt means low water level. There’s almost nothing good about it - Almost. The only upshot is that ground water levels, and those in wet caves, are especially low. Micah and I were able to go to places in Spring Cave that no one has been to since the last Spring Cave Diving Expedition took place over twenty years ago. We were able to bypass at least one of the sumps.

Sorry about the poor footage but there’s really nothing you can do to get better footage out of this cave. It’s 140F, 100% humidity, and filled with sulfurous gas. We prepared by taping our cave suits to our boots and our gloves and piling ice in. It truly didn’t help at all.

I think I posted the longer format version here a while back but here’s it chopped down to the best parts.

Hey guys! See the upcoming cover for Rocky Mountain Caving 44, 2. Photo from Lech by the imminently talented Norman Thompson of the Colorado Grotto.

Please consider getting a physical subscription - There aren’t many state level cave science magazines left. Colorado is one of them! Subscribe on substack @rockymountaincaving or email me directly at fullerbraxton@gmail.com for a $5 discount

Shot on film as usual - Big ol' dishpile formations all through the cave

Huccies is one of my very favorite caves in Colorado. At first glance its not the most stunning in the state but with careful attention to detail there is beauty everywhere.

Shot on film as usual.

Shot on film as usual.

Last time I posted these I got blasted for not having the black point correct. How's it looking now?

Hey guys!

Something I thought you guys might find interesting. I'm a film photographer and the editor of Colorado's cave science magazine, Rocky Mountain Caving. Me and my best buddy have been learning to shoot film underground for the past 2-3 years with some interesting, good, and very bad results. See attached some of our work and see below an article we wrote together detailing our underground journey for Rocky Mountain Caving

https://rockymountaincaving.substack.com/p/caving-and-shooting-film?r=2ktudu

A recent article me and my best buddy, Micah Bean wrote, detailing our three year long journey in the caves near Colorado Springs to document the hidden treasures of our city and our state lying in the darkness deep underground.

https://substack.com/@rockymountaincaving/note/p-203437521?r=2ktudu&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

Me and my best buddy Micah Bean have been working to bring back 35mm film photography in caves for the last 2 or 3 years with some pretty cool results. We're not good photographers by any measure but we've made some really cool stuff. Here's an article I wrote for an issue of last year's Rocky Mountain Caving describing our process if anyone's interested.

https://substack.com/@rockymountaincaving/note/p-203437521?r=2ktudu&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

An article I recently wrote for Colorado cave sciences magazine, Rocky Mountain Caving, detailing my and my best friends journey through learning how to shoot 35 film underground. See below the article if you're interested!

https://open.substack.com/pub/rockymountaincaving/p/caving-and-shooting-film?r=2ktudu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true