El Yoyo, Part 3: Going Up

I’ve gotten my fill of the pit’s bottom, and now I begin one of the most strenuous, terrifying and sublime climbs of my life.

El Yoyo, Part 1: Going Down

Yoyo-ing is a subdiscipline of caving where the vertical dimension dominates the horizontal. Being a climber, I’d expected Mexican sótanos to be a piece of cake. Boy was I wrong.

Caving In El Malpais, Part 2: Making Measurements

We’d like to think that scientific measurement is a fairly straightforward undertaking. It’s really not. Just spend a day surveying underground.

Caving In The Guadalupes, Part 2: Hallowed Ground

There’s a radical transformation that takes place for those who descend into the caves of southeast New Mexico’s Guadalupe Mountains — as if the world were changing before your very eyes.

Caving In The Guadalupes, Part 1: Wen, Christmas Tree And Lake Caves

A first cave-centered pilgrimage to “The Guads” induces awe and reveals cosmic mysteries.

Piles Of Dead Bodies

The Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas are a vast playground for climbers, hikers and cavers. Crazy thing is that they’re composed almost entirely of defunct sea creatures.

Deep Life

There’s a lot of life living underneath us in the deep and dark of the Earth’s crust — probably more than we’ll ever know.

Caving The Grand Canyon, Part 1: Cave Of The Domes

A trip to Cave of the Domes, the only cavern in Grand Canyon National Park that’s open to recreational caving.

Exploring The Grand Canyon’s Fractal Dimensions

After a caving trip to one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, the universe feels more infinite than ever.

Climbers, Please Help Protect Caves

Fun as it may look to scramble around on the walls of your local cave, the risk of causing irreparable damage is just too high.

Farther Still

A map of one hominid's journey through Deep Time

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