July 2006 Lechuguilla Cave Dome Climbing Expedition

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6 days underground with the goal to climb the Trepidation Dome (155ft) and other unexplored high leads in the Southwest Branch of the cave

Strategy: Use a small team of 4 cavers to climb and survey unexplored high leads while minimizing impact to the fragile cave environment

Difficulty: Technical climbing on walls covered in popcorn and aragonite crystals (Must balance the hazard of climbing 900ft underground with need to minimize impact to cave)

Team Members: Stan Allison, Patrick Cicero, Dave Levy, and Aaron Stockton

For Trip Summary Click Here

	Aaron preparing for the descent down Boulder Falls (150ft)
	Aaron rigged in to drop Boulder Falls
	Stan taking a break on Packs Peak in the Colorado Room
	Snack time for Aaron and Stan at E/F Junction
	Dave a.k.a. Major Tom enjoying an artificial cool breeze at E/F Junction
	Dave proving that cave camps don't have to be spartan (All he needs now is a T.V. remote)
	Aaron with a more typical cave camp setup
	Pat starting on the first climb, "HammerTime", on the Prickly Ice Cube Room Overlook. 25ft A2+ climb on popcorn coated bedrock
	Pat trying to get that 1st bolt hole started while thinking about that poor hook he's hanging on
	Dave showing one reason why the route was called "HammerTime"
	Dave getting serious with his drilling action
	Stan getting one last removable bolt placed before free climbing into the passage that leads to "Crazy Tasty Town"
	Stan getting ready to "busta move" on the "HammerTime" climb.
	Surveying in the main room of "Crazy Tasty Town" approx. 1100ft of new passage
	Overview of "Crazy Tasty Town". This room had lots of breccia and gypsum
	A not so common type of speleothem, the popcorn stalagmite
	Dave surveying down in the lower part of the main room
	A well preserved bat skeleton found in "Crazy Tasty Town". The main part of Lechuguilla Cave was dug open by cavers in 1986, so bats are not commonly found beyond the stainless steel airlock.
	Close up of the bat skeleton
	Endellite clay found in "Crazy Tasty Town"
	Brown corrosion residue was found in many of the crawlways in "Crazy Tasty Town". We had to be very careful to minimize spreading this onto the gypsum that covered most of the floors.
	Stan ascending into "Crazy Tasty Town" via a hole in the floor that allows better access than the original climb
	Aaron enjoying the comfort of his typical cave camp setup
	Guess what's in the bag?
	Pat starting on the Prickly Pear Wall below the 155ft high Trepidation Dome in the Prickly Ice Cube Room Prickly Pear Wall: 80ft to first ledge system inside the Trepidation Dome; 5.4 A2+ delicate technical climbing on popcorn and aragonite. Only 4 non-removable stainless steel bolts were placed during the ascent of this wall
	Dave continuing the climb on the Prickly Pear wall via mixed (free/aid) climbing while Aaron belays out of the fall zone
	Dave drilling a 5/16" removable bolt to advance up the wall
	Dave trying to use slings to lasso popcorn and distribute his weight across several points of contact
	Dave had several seamingly solid pieces of popcorn break off while trying to mantel on to a sloping ledge.
	Stan leading on hooks and removable bolts about halfway up the Prickly Pear Wall
	Pat higher up the wall, advancing via hooks on popcorn and tricams wedged between popcorn. These methods helped minimze impact to the cave and reduced the number of bolt holes that needed to be drilled.
	Pat lowering off his highest bolt placement and back cleaning protection for use by the next climber
	Stan high up on the Prickly Pear Wall, getting ready to leave the aiders and free climb up to the first ledge system
	Getting ready to survey on the first ledge system in the Trepidation Dome
	Dave hanging out in a pothole at the edge of the ledge system
	Dave and Aaron surveying across the dome to Stan while Pat drills a rebelay at the lip of the climb. This rebelay was needed to avoid dangerous rope movement over the sharp edge.
	A view of the next challenge in the Trepidation Dome, "A Bridge Too Far". This approximately 6ft diameter bedrock bridge is about 30ft above the first ledge system. The trick will be to get a static rope over the bridge so that some lucky climber gets to ascend it to access the passage that continues above.
	Dave viewing the most spectacular display of gypsum chandeliers presently known on the planet
	Very delicate gypsum helictites along the main trail in the Chandelier Ballroom
	A fine example of a gypsum flower
	More filamentary gypsum helictites in the Chandelier Ballroom
	Admiring a gypsum chandelier closeup in the Chandelier Ballroom

Accomplishments of 2006 Lechuguilla Cave Dome Climbing Expedition:

Total New Survey: 1200.75ft

New Area: Crazy Tasty Town (a few small leads left)

Two Climbs Completed: HammerTime, Prickly Pear Wall (Lower half of Trepidation Dome)

Four technical climbing leads eliminated from the NPS Lechuguilla Cave lead list

Climbs were completed with minimal impact on the cave (Only 4 non-removable protection bolts were used on the 80ft Prickly Pear Wall)