Lost River - Karst Information Portal

The Survey Begins
On Saturday, January 10, 1998, we had
enough people for two survey teams. Ted Bice,
Trae Spires, Bill Stuller, and I began to survey
downstream, and from the previous weekend’s
exploration thought that it went only 200 feet
before ending in breakdown. When we were
about finished, however, Ted discovered a lead
around the breakdown which would eventually
lead to Whitewater Way, a major water passage
in the cave. The other survey team was composed
of Dave and Karen Schang, Tony Cunningham,
Kriste Lindberg, and Steve Lockwood. They
began to survey the upstream river passage,
later to be named the Found River Passage, and
started the first side lead, the Hanging Madonna
Passage. Billy Pea arrived later and entered the
cave on his own, bringing a video camera to
record some virgin cave.
The following day Ted Bice, Don Bice,
Mark Krause in typical passage. Photo by Elliot Stahl.
The Lost River Cave System
Kriste Lindberg, Steve Lockwood, Trae Spires,
Bill Stuller, and I surveyed Dark Side of the
Moon, the large side passage that we had spotted
from the river the weekend before. The passage,
named after the numerous potholes formed in
the dolomite floor along its length, turned out
to be 1,200 feet long. After reaching the end,
everyone except for Bill and Steve continued
surveying down a side passage to the left. Bill
and Steve checked out a small passage to the
right, later to be named Bills Hole, and they
were surprised when it led to a nice formation
room. After exploring past the formation room,
however, they found themselves perched on a
balcony overlooking a river flowing through a
very large room. They backtracked and were
able to find a way to climb down to the river
and explore the room, which would come to
be known as Western Avenue. It would turn
out to be the largest room in the cave, with a
31