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.

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.

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.

On Hermeneutics In Alabaster Cave

Like poems, caves take a lot of time to interpret. And even when you do arrive at a coherent interpretation, there’s no guarantee it won’t be usurped by a competing theory.

Caves: The Truly Unexplored Places

Want to make a real discovery? Maybe you should head underground.

Farther Still

A map of one hominid's journey through Deep Time

speleology