Lechuguilla Cave 2020 Voids Expedition Part 1 - Travel to Camp

The 2020 Barton Voids expedition to Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This first part covers the first couple of days including travel to the park, orientation, hiking to the cave entrance and traveling over 1,000 feet below the entrance to reach Big Sky camp in the southwest branch.
For more detailed information on caving techniques, caving gear, and cave projects, visit my website at: www.derekbristol.com
Caves are delicate and potentially dangerous places. For more information on wild caving, vertical caving techniques, and cave survey, visit the National Speleological Society website:
caves.org
To find a local grotto (caving club) visit:
caves.org/committee/i-o/grott...
White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a disease that is devastating to bats. To learn more about what you can do to help, along with information on how to properly decontaminate caving gear, visit:
caves.org/WNS/index.shtml
Cave Videography Gear I Use: (Note that these are affiliate links)
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[@TheLawDawg]

Wow that brought back some serious memories. I was a part of three expeditions back in the late 1980's when things were not nearly as thoughtful and orderly as they are now. I did surveys off of the route between the Chandelier ballroom and Castrovalva ( we were probably some of the very last to swim that lake), a lot of work in the Western Borehole in and near the Chandelier Graveyard, and I was on the team that found and first mapped the sulfur deposits off of Ghost Town. While in college, one of my buddies basically dropped out to go back, and ended up getting paid to help rescue Emily Davis. I have spent more time than I care to remember sitting at the bottom of boulder falls waiting for teams to pass each other and will never forget the first time I saw the old culvert entrance open up unleashing Lech's famous winds. By the looks of it they now have a very stout entry system preventing that. We were also limited to about 48 hours in the cave, mostly due to the number of teams competing for entry, often we were so fixated on doing as much as possible that were barely slept. To spend eight days in the cave was beyond our wildest dreams.

[@typoViz]

I could watch a full stream of the journey in and out of the cave

[@lhaviland8602]

The Chandelier Ballroom is unbelievable. Hard to even imagine that it exists on this earth.

[@Hipno70]

Thanls for this amazing footage

[@wildmouse5888]

Wow! Chandelier Ballroom is so beautiful and looks so delicate I would be afraid to breathe there. Glad access to this cave is tightly controlled!

[@zoidberg444]

When I was a boy I remember watching a 1 hour documentary on the BBC of an expedition to this cavern. The people who went on it were underground for at least a week or two, looked very hard going. The memory of it has stuck with me for well over 20 years.

[@AL3Dsvids]

Thanks for the quick peek into Lech. Nicely done!

[@DerekBristol]

Thanks Andy!

[@brandonhuff9919]

Stunning cave, really nice video, well done. Thanks for sharing a glimpse into the passages of a cave I will likely never see.

[@davidelliott7746]

So few people have the privilege to see this... The videography and editing is fantastic... The weight of the gear alone to capture this...

[@DerekBristol]

Technology has really made this much easier to capture. My video kit weighs only a couple of pounds. This expedition, and most of the cave trips I capture, have a primary focus on survey. I have to be able to capture video without holding up the team.

[@wtxrailfan]

@@DerekBristol Seems to me that video documentation of the cave would be as important as surveys. I don't know why NPS doesn't approve some expeditions for this primary purpose. But, then again, I know some people are more interested in pushing mileage so they can say my cave's bigger than your cave. I think NPS overall has done a pretty lousy job in conveying information to the public about Lech and tends to be myopic in its management of the resource. Just my two cents.

[@leechjim8023]

​@@wtxrailfanLechuguilla has released quite a lot of data - more than most caves. Indeed if data is not published - measurements, maps, pictures, etc. then all that effort is a total waste of time. It would be similar to sending a spacecraft to Mars, or Saturn, then locking all the data in a cabinet somewhere. Many cave expeditions are guilty of just that!☹️

[@brandonflo1411]

Thank you!

[@havelegswillhike]

Awesome footage! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the videos. Thank you for sharing!

[@phoenix448]

Another spectacular video! Waiting on the edge of my seat for part two! And More!

[@cyt4638]

Couldn't believe there is such a beautiful cave in the world.

[@Sajidali-hg1vo]

So beautiful so beautiful cave

[@andrehafizhwachyudi8113]

Thankyou, you make me believe one day i could be travel to cave like you.

[@CDGMR1]

I saw it on the Discovery channel show, Planet Earth - Caves.

[@primaryendo]

Thank you so much for this, Derek. I can only dream of going to this beautiful cave one day. This is by far the best footage of Lechuguilla out there, and i have hunted down footage of it before. Excellent job!! By the way, what was the experience like to see the chandelier ballroom in person?! All the best! Ken.

[@DerekBristol]

Thanks very much Ken. Hard to describe the Ballroom. Hardly seems real.I'm glad to be able to share a little of what it's like.

[@typoViz]

Ken I 100% echo your sentiment

[@primaryendo]

@@DerekBristol Awesome. Maybe one day i'll have the privilege to go there. Your channel has inspired me to begin caving. I'll be looking for a grotto in the near future. Cheers!

[@Titan52berg]

Lechuguilla should be used for filming a new version of "Journey to the Center of the Earth!" They could also do a film version of John Christopher's "Caves of Night."

[@i_unfriend_u]

Bad idea. It's such a uniquely beautiful cave with so many fragile features, having massive film crews inside would do a lot of irreversible damage.

[@snoywntr2]

Beautiful. I love that cave! Is there going to be more footage from this trip?

[@DerekBristol]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZbGc5Kjh5ykf5I

[@MA-vw1pl]

I remember going down the "manhole" into spider cave and one of my friend got claustrophobic in the squeeze through. Poor dude. He had to back out. He still doesn't know what he missed. But at least his wife dragged him through the regular public cavern... He still can't believe how large the whole system is...

[@josephcharbine3662]

wowwwwwww

[@garybeasley4885]

Snow whites passage is looking pretty dirty, I guess that what years of traffic does to a cave. Was a lot prettier when I went, only got as far as the borehole and turned back before the ballroom.

[@aaronlsilber]

At 7:52 in the top right quadrant, there's a yellow glowing emanating from the ground. What is that?

[@klittlet]

Looks like christimas lights

[@fineyoungknives]

do these caves still fill with water seasonally?

[@jordanburgess38]

Is that Dr. Barton? Also what was the expedition for? Just curious

[@termivan]

isn't it dangerous to use that propane burner at 7:58 , i know almost nothing about caving but i dont belive there is an inflow of fresh air that deep underground, would appreciate an answer. very nice video and a beautiful cave.

[@DerekBristol]

Isobutane stoves are quite safe, and natural caves typically have excellent ventilation. Water creates the caves and it typically flows in and back out again, which creates a path for good air circulation. There are rare exceptions, and man-made mines are not typically well ventilated.

[@espeleopr8683]

Awesome video Derek! Question, how many pounds do you guys carry on you backpacks for this trip?

[@espeleopr8683]

No worries, I heard 35-40 pounds mentioned on the video. 👍

[@DerekBristol]

@@espeleopr8683 Yeah. It typically varies from 30-45 lbs. With smaller teams group gear is spread amongst fewer people, and whenever there are climbing objectives then the extra gear pushes packs towards the heavier end of that range. I have a theoretical lower pack weight of 25 lbs - based on a spreadsheet and the lightest and minimalist possible gear, but I've never been able to realize this.

[@daniels8625]

My grotto had permits to do some vertical caves on BLM land in the Guads in May, but we got cancelled because of COVID-19. Currently planning to reapply for permits in the fall. Do you have a favorite cave in the Guads? We might have different choices to pick from depending on the dates we get.

[@DerekBristol]

To be honest I haven't done a lot of high Guads caves. Cottonwood is pretty spectacular. Hidden and Hell Below are worth a visit. I hope things open up soon.

[@leechjim8023]

You pay taxes for this. Don't let them treat you like this!!!😬

[@user-rx6uh2rv7v]

Is this cave connected to the main Carlsbad Cavern?

[@lhaviland8602]

No

[@travelwithsamir916]

This video is so beautiful. I want to make a video for my youtube channel.I want to use some footage from this video. I will mention your channel name and credit .please allow me to use this footage as per youtube fair use policy

[@benleydon]

6m16s Does anyone else see a silhouette of a man’s face pointing to the left on the leftmost stal? Bearded, pointy nose and hair like Shaggy from Scooby Doo?

[@phoenixham3166]

They be playing Minecraft irl

[@rubbertire6608]

I will find this cave permission or not I will go inside I don't care if it kills me this is my life goal

[@rubbertire6608]

I found ittt

[@heatherjones8184]

Tried to like the video it won't let me. Idk. All the other. Icons work ,,,🤔

[@DerekBristol]

I’m sorry you didn’t like it. I’ll try to do better next time.

[@heatherjones8184]

@@DerekBristol no I tried to hit the like button KZbin wouldn't let me. Respect for what you do. Not what I was saying at all