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AMCS ACTIVITIES LETTEREdited by Bill RussellLETTE R No.6 MAY 1977Issue Staff:PAT BITTnGERTERRI T~.EACYJAZmT !iO~mADAVID !!O:'lEAllILL STmmBILL STEELEPETER SPROUSEHUAUTLA ISSUEThis sixth Activities Letter features accounts of the exploration ofcaves in the Huautla,Oaxaca, area in southern Mexico. This area has someof the most challenging caves in North America. Here the natural hazardsof the underground are accentuated by the clash of cultures on the surface.The Huautla area was first located through a search of the 1:100,000topographic maps of Mexico when they were received by The University ofTexas Geography Department. vfuile no individual caves could be located,the area was obViously a karst area of high cave potential.- A reconnaissance trip by Bill RUssell, Tom McGarri'gle, and JohnKreidler indieated the area was promising and on a return trip with moreAustin avers they drove through Huautla to San }t1guel and asked a: localif the large closed valley below town had a cave at the bottom. He said,"Yes, all of the water goes into a sotano." Hearing this. four of usraced down the side of the dolius. It must have been a strange sight -four gringos in rain coats running full tilt down through the corn fields.Upon seeing anyone we would yell "Sotano?" and point downhill. The answerwas always yes. Within the next four hours we located the entrances ofthree of the deepest caves in North America -- but to realize this depthtook years of effort by cavers from around the world.FRO!IT COVERPool above Fool's Falls in Sumadero Yochib. Photo by Blake Harrison.BACK COVERDrawing by Dino Lowery entitled "Caver Eeware."This lair belongs to theIndian gods. Indians dressed in this manner should be approached withcaution.The cover photo on Letter Number 5 -- looking out of Hoya de La Luzwas taken by Roy Jameson. Photo credits were unfortunately omitted.Apologies to Roy and thanks for the fine photo?raph.ASSOCIATII"l~ FOR m:XIC~~ CAVE STUDIESCopyright ~!CS ~~mbership Committee 1977
2April 1, 1977, marks the 10th anniversary of the first descent intothe Sotano de las Golondrinas, Aquismon, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. OnApril 1, 1967, T.R. Evans was the first person to rappel into Sotano delas Golondrinas and set foot on the bottom of the world's most spectacularfree fall pit. The ~e~bers of the Association for '1exican Cave Studieswould like to take this o~portunity to both recogni~e the many hours ofeffort that T.~. Evans has done in Mexican caving and to express our·gratitude to ~.:'.• for his instrUI:1ental part in ~aking Uexican caving whatit is today.The discovery and descent of Sotano de las Golondrinas meant muchmore than breaking the depth record for a free fall pit at that time. It .marked the emergence into the world scene of the Austin caving commlmity.Golondrinas still has the longest known free drop; but, more importantly,its overwhelming impact makes it. the focal point for deep pit caving inMexico.Now, looking back. ten years, it seelllS clear that the strides made incaving in the last decade have been due in large part to the quality andstrength of the foundations laid down by T.R. Evans and the many otherswho created the AMCS. The, integrity of their speleology and publications,the exuberence of their caving, and their constant vigilance for safetyshould be a guiding force and inspiration for the future.On the eve of another promising decade, it is hoped that all caverswill strengthen their mutual bonds and realize their common goals. Muchof the world looks to the A!1CS for the standard by which to measure itsprogress in caving. We must reflect that trust in the quality ann integrityof the work that is done.David Honea.Janet HoneaPeter SprouseTerri TreacyTHE FIRST DESCENT OFSOTANO DE LAS OOLONDRINASby Bill DeaneIn December, 1966, T.R. Evans, Randy Sterns, and Charles Borlandhiked up into the mountains west of the small town of Aquismon in Mexicoto investigate the area for its caving potential. They followed a welltraveledmule trail leading to the town of Tamapatz. While on the way,Indians told them of a deep pit with many birds living in it. It wascalled the Sotano de las Golondrinas.Arriving at the awesome entrance, the three cavers were stunnedwhen they found that a rock dropped into the pit took more than tenseconds to reach bottom. This indicated a depth of over 800 feet. Thepit was not entered at this time due to the lack of a long enough rope.The morning of lurch 31, 1967, found twelve 'of us arriving inAquismon. Squire Lewis and Nancy Walters had come down from Pennsylvaniaand had given me a ride from Austin. T.R. Evans, Jon !oI.orse, Sid West, andBob Hugill had come from Maryland; Bill Cuddington, John and Sandy Cole,and Dan Hale had come from Alabama. Sandino Techo, a friend of the Coles thad come up from Xilitla, Mexico.
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ASSCCIATION FOR MEXICAN CAVE STUDIE
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3So the large-entranced sotano whic
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5MINA OTATES, T&~.: DSC. 25, 1974,
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MERIDA, YUC.: OCT. 1974, David McKe
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AMCSMEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES LETTEREdi
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3Michael Schulte has been working o
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5To the right of the partition in t
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7Diamond Cave RevisitedAndy Grubbs,
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9CHE~-VEN-SIL-MUTSYSTEM\+--1000 ft.
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Cave Map Symbols11On the following
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13I NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL ISOCIETY
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ASSOCIATION FOR MEXIC&~ CAVE STUDIE
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17Discussion of Map Symbolsby Bill
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19in a 90 meter pit could collect d
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AMCSACTIVITIES LETTEREdited by Bill
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3After leaving Valladolid we went t
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CASI UlL 5By Bill Stone as told to
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June 97Dear AMCSRE:Diamond CaveAfte
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Anyways we speleo-boppedEstrella an
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The adrenelin still pumping through
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13Sotano Hondo de Pina1itoBy Steven
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CAVE MAP SYMBOLS(continued)15The AM
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mechanical shading -- the dots, con
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morphogenetic feature involving gra
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height variation, say. across the w
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23that list to include a broader se
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25be represented by rigidly p,eomet
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27..• D. 0. ȯGravelFEATURENOTESS
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ASSOCIATION FOR MEXICAN CAVEUAP Snm
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AlfCSACTIVITIES LETTEREdited by Bil
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35. I personally had the following
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volunteered to rescue the bag. They
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one large black hole near the top o
Page 75 and 76: The next day we left camp at dawn a
Page 77 and 78: 11First Exploration of NogalThursda
Page 79 and 80: '"entire passage has·solutional ro
Page 81 and 82: 13Date: January, 1975Destination: A
Page 83 and 84: 15Trip Report, Christmas-New Years
Page 85 and 86: THEOTATES MINE AREA17SIERRA DE EL A
Page 87: large storms, this arroyo sends flo
Page 90 and 91: 20but the handholds are unstable re
Page 92 and 93: 22Diamante received its name from t
Page 94: jer_I') CIRCLE ROOW•LA CUEVA DE J
Page 97 and 98: elev 1310mmeters 0Hoya de las Conch
Page 100 and 101: AMCS ACTIVITIES LETTEREdited by Bil
Page 102 and 103: 3View across the botto~ of Hoya de
Page 104: dubbed "The 170" quickly led to ano
Page 107 and 108: Roy dropped 3 pits an'i :l cave nea
Page 109 and 110: which would have been hazardous hol
Page 111 and 112: \I0YA DE LA LUZProfile B-B'Located
Page 113 and 114: 12hotic DiseasesThe August 1976 iss
Page 115 and 116: 14San Juan Area Nov 1976"eo?le: Tr~
Page 117 and 118: 16Caving in Puebla, Vera Cruz, and
Page 119 and 120: RETURN TO HUAUTLA~Jith t~e 1976-77
Page 121: 20SCHOOL BUS SCOOPSZOaUITLAN AREA~)
Page 124: enU~«
Page 129 and 130: TRIP REPORTSDestination: Cueva del
Page 131 and 132: 5uestination: Sierra las Alazanas a
Page 133 and 134: The Fissure t..as located by T.P.
Page 135 and 136: 11The next morning Francisco "Kissi
Page 137 and 138: 12could scamper up a wed~ed log and
Page 139 and 140: 14This idea was thwarted given an u
Page 141 and 142: 16NEW YEAR'S DAY IN SAN AGUSTINan t
Page 143 and 144: 1'1later Jim and I began the long c
Page 145 and 146: 20Our group of six intended on rapp
Page 147 and 148: 22here and poked around for leads.
Page 149 and 150: 24and myself about trash and abando
Page 151 and 152: line didn't cross; nylon against ny
Page 153 and 154: ...'"1IIc.21II .._1II~(,),-• c..'
Page 155 and 156: 30Medical Report On The April 1977
Page 157 and 158: '32One caver alInost lost her voice
Page 159 and 160: 34considered normal. The diabetic d
Page 161 and 162: 36Jim Smit~ Has followinp, Blake Ha
Page 163: 3~the spot would make a smaU slip.
Page 166: AMCSACTIVITIeSNewsLe TTe Rno. 7
Page 169 and 170: 'International NewsTHE SIERRA DE GU
Page 171 and 172: International Newsin the entrance a
Page 173: The Ten Deepest Caves in Mexicoby B
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to a drop. t returned and dropped a
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to the entrance. From San Andres we
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stove in a semi-catatonic state. He
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above the roaring cascades. At time
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With two leads 'beckoning we began
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Chaining a passage in Cueva de Infi
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the cave. We pulled our rope down b
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increased the cave's depth to -197
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series of parallel ascending (+30 0
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La Sistema Purificacidn: a theory a
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Between the Cold and the" GlorybyTe
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Back tothe Bird PitsbyBill StoneSum
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'Getting Down in Peiiaby Bill Stone
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CUEVADELAPENAPROFI LEmetersoRanc ho
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