Cave Conservation

Leave No Trace: Preserve cave environments by avoiding littering, minimizing physical impact, and not disturbing wildlife. Always pack out everything you bring into the cave. Help keep the cave in its exact form for yourself and others to enjoy on return trips. Never write on or graffiti any part of the cave, even if you are the first person inside; unfortunately, you will likely encounter this in many caves. 

Protecting Formations: Avoid touching or damaging delicate cave features like stalactites and stalagmites. In tight passages, it can be difficult to know where your head is, even with a helmet on. Once a formation becomes broken or dirty, it often stays that way forever. Even the oils from human skin can impede their growth, which is one reason gloves are important while caving.

Move Carefully: Some caves have marked trails, and this is because delicate formations can grow on and under any surface, including the floor, walls, and ceiling. Paths protect delicate formations, sometimes hard to see, from being broken or damaged. Stay on all marked or obvious paths. If no trail exists, then use common sense and be mindful of your foot placement, hand placement on walls, and your head.  Watch for small bugs and other cave life as well to make sure they are staying undisturbed. Many bugs in caves are so small they are hard to see, but they are important to the ecosystem. Bats can often rest on or near rappel lines, and it's important not to touch or accidentally crush them when coming down or going up. 

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS): WNS is a fungal disease that has devastated bat populations across North America. Cavers can help prevent its spread by decontaminating gear before and after visiting caves, avoiding caves with hibernating bats, and complying with all cave closures and advisories. Visit WhiteNoseSyndrome.org for more information. 

Safety Measures

Never Cave Alone: It is recommended to cave with a minimum of 4 and no more than 8 people. This ensures that if an accident happens, there are enough people to help, one to stay with the injured person and two to go for help. Why not more than 8? Larger groups increase the risk of accidents and put more wear on the cave environment. 

Inform Others of Your Plans: Always have a call-out time. Designate a surface contact; someone who will call 911 if you are not back by your expected return time. Leave them the time you expect to be back, coordinates to the cave entrance, the route you plan to take to get there, and your plan inside the cave. If they have not heard from you by your call-out time, they will call emergency services. No exceptions. 

Check Weather Conditions: Always check the weather before caving. Not all caves flood, but some do, and flooding can happen fast. Rain in the area, or even in the extended drainage miles away, can flood a cave even when the sky above the entrance looks clear. If the forecast shows rain anywhere in the region, it is a good idea to cancel or postpone the trip. 

Proper Equipment: Cave environments are harsh and unforgiving. Being well prepared is one of the best ways to avoid an emergency in the first place. See our Gear pages for specific recommendations on what to bring.  

Training and Preparation: Understand your own experience level and cave with seasoned cavers before attempting to lead a trip of your own. Take time to learn the environment, the hazards, and the equipment before taking on more technical caves or bigger objectives. 

Emergency Preparedness: At a minimum, every group should carry a first aid kit and a hypothermia kit on every cave trip. These will not cover every emergency. If someone is seriously injured underground, do not hesitate to call 911 and ask for Search and Rescue. Cave rescues are complex and can take days; getting help started early is always the right call. 

Surveying

Surveying is the process of measuring, mapping, and documenting cave passages. Cavers collect data such as distance, direction, slope, passage shape, and key features so accurate cave maps can be created. Surveying helps future cavers navigate safely and helps researchers, land managers, and caving groups better understand the cave. Traditionally, caves are surveyed to produce 2D maps, but new technology such as LiDAR is making 3D mapping increasingly possible. 3D maps won't replace 2D maps, but they greatly enhance understanding of the cave's shape and size 

Rigging

Rigging involves setting up ropes, anchors, and other technical systems needed to safely travel through vertical or difficult sections of a cave. This can include drops, climbs, traverses, or exposed areas. Rigging is often done using bolts or natural anchors such as boulders or robust cave formations, though rigging off formations is generally discouraged for conservation reasons. Proper rigging requires training, good judgment, and careful attention to safety. 

Aid Climbing

Aid climbing is the process of ascending a vertical wall using aid climbing gear and bolts. Bolts are placed incrementally up the wall to help the climber advance. Aid climbs take time and are typically used to reach high leads that would otherwise be inaccessible. Caving aid climbs require proficiency in both vertical caving and surface aid climbing techniques, and are considered an advanced project skill. 

Ridgewalking

Ridgewalking is the term cavers use to describe finding new caves. It includes walking areas that may be home to new caves yet to be discovered. Deciding where to search can be difficult, but between geology, the presence of other caves, and the terrain, cavers can narrow down higher probability areas for potential new caves. Many times, ridgewalking includes long hikes with significant elevation gain, all off-trail. Many caves, especially newly discovered ones, are not found in easy terrain. 

Pushing Leads

Pushing leads means exploring possible new passages, climbs, crawls, pits, or openings that may continue farther into the cave. These leads may be obvious or very small and uncertain. Pushing leads is an important part of cave exploration and often helps discover new sections of a cave. Not all leads should be pushed if they pose significant danger or if cave formations have to be broken in order to push further. Some leads are left unexplored, and that's okay. 

Documentation & Scientific Study

Documentation includes recording important information about a cave, trip, or project. This may involve taking photos, writing trip reports, marking survey notes, documenting hazards, recording biological or geological observations, or tracking project progress. Good documentation helps preserve knowledge and supports future exploration, conservation, and safety.