All in all, the work accomplished in Hua<strong>ut</strong>la was verv successful. Anew Western Hemisphere Depth Record was set at -760m. For the first timethe ~oal of a kilometer deep <strong>cave</strong> in Mexico is within reach. The r.aximumdepth potential <strong>for</strong> San A~ustin is reckoned to be abo<strong>ut</strong> 1,200m with another250m more possible from connections· with higher <strong>cave</strong>s. Un<strong>for</strong>tunately the firstand second ef<strong>for</strong>ts in San Agustin were not able to join <strong>for</strong>ces in a sin~lepush as was hoped <strong>for</strong> - a combined team could have bottomed the <strong>cave</strong>.Public rela~ions in the Hua<strong>ut</strong>la re~ion as a whole have not changed as muchas was hoped. Although the officials in Hua<strong>ut</strong>la itself were receptiveto <strong>cave</strong>rs and there is no lon~er a military roadblock at Teotitlan delCamino, ~the local inhabitants still have little tolerance <strong>for</strong> o<strong>ut</strong>siders andespecially consider Grin~os fair game <strong>for</strong> extortion and harrassment. Onlywith impeccable ·credentials. a strong public relations drive, and lots ofpatience can a continuing ef<strong>for</strong>t succeed. An &~CS expedition is planned<strong>for</strong> this Spring.+900 m in Canada ?!!Rumors have reached our ears of a verv deep <strong>cave</strong> on Vancouver Island,Canada. "D.C.G. Cave" has reportedly been explored upwards from the entranceto +900 meter~. we are attemptin~ to verify this and will hopefullvhave accurate details in the next Activities Letter.Source: Paul CourbonFirst report from local <strong>cave</strong>rs .is that this <strong>cave</strong> mi~ht be 0-6 or QMS Cave(<strong>for</strong> Quatsino Master System), b<strong>ut</strong> that they have not heard of any explorationto depths (or hights) of anywhere near 900m.Cueva de BrincoOver the Thanks~ivln~ holidays a large group of Austin <strong>cave</strong>rs went toCueva del Brinco, 8 hours by 4wd roads ~.w. of Cd. Victoria, Tamps. On Saturday,~ovember 27. Sheila BaIsden, Bon Broussard, Andy Grubbs, David Honea,Janet Honea, Peter Sprouae and Terri Treacy <strong>for</strong>med two survey teams to mapup the waterfall passage at the end of the .main trunk and into the new areadiscovered on the May 1976 trip, while others took photos in the helict1tepassage. At a major junction beyond the waterfall Sp~ouse's team went left,and beyond where the passage supposedlY ended discovered a major streampassage which was explored <strong>for</strong> 80m and continues as a 4m diameter, streampa.8a~e goIng down the dip-(2 cfs). Wetsuits are needed <strong>for</strong> fUrther progress.Dan's team surveyed the right hand passage b<strong>ut</strong> stopped ma?ping be<strong>for</strong>e reachingthe point where ~eal Morris had reported a large passage sloping downdip.The next day (Nov. 28), Sheila, David and Peter started a "short" surveyoff the bottom of the Traverse Pit. This led through a ~uano area to a lowervadose passage which steadily dropped until intersecting an unusual phreatictube 60m long (dubbed "Silvertip Boulevard"). One end of the tube pinched toa reasonable digging lead while the other end intersected another stream passage- the fourth stream. The <strong>cave</strong>rs surveyed down a long, steeply slopin~canyon passage to a point where the stream (trickle) was lost through a smallhole. Poking around <strong>for</strong> a while produced a passage which rejoined the streamat what was named Eternity Junction, the end of the survey. This point is533 feet below the entrance and is currently the deepest point in the <strong>cave</strong>.All in all, Brinco is now well over a mile long and has several passages ~oin~well.19Peter Sprouse
20SCHOOL BUS SCOOPSZOaUITLAN AREA~)eoT'lle : Ji~ {ode~aker, Loretta ?oer, Freddie Poer,?ete Strickland, ?restonrorsythe, Shad L'1rason. Bill Hayne, Gilbert Pena, Barbara MacLeod,Lis.;. ~Hl k, Grah'am Jordan. ;1axine '1iller.The iZirk'-mod 4;.lD '<strong>cave</strong>r school bus Ieft Austin ,dth 12 people and drovevia Cd. V'lUes to .\catlan in extreme :-lorthern Oaxaca. ~lernbers of the ?rouprr.a~e a detaile~ ~a? of the ~urial Cham~er in Cueva de Culebra, anrl thenjoined 'd th .>'1. "1)run and the Lord' s to map almost a mile in Cueva de laFincn :,. ..-.;~!" La~una 'Jerde. They checked Cueva de Caballo - (this <strong>cave</strong> r,;[SIndian h':1'l,..:-, .Ii.. .....'::'.:1 reportedly also a painted horse - hence the n!'l!"~)..,);1 the hill .1."JOVC ti1is <strong>cave</strong> was a pit tentively named Sotano 30nito :.liththe lar?est room vet found in the area. esti~ated at 30)x500 feet. After~e~ Years they dr~e to 7.oquitlan, Puebla a~o<strong>ut</strong> 30km north of Hua<strong>ut</strong>la,')axaca. T~is town is situated on the ed!'e of a karst area .1ust east ofthe crest of the high ran~e that borders the coastal plain north of Hua<strong>ut</strong>la.0n the fjrst day in the area the school bus crew (now reduced to seven)walked co the west and found a pro~isin~ area of closed vallevs. Theyca~ped here the next day and ·...ere barelv able to enter two lar~e st'=!eplvdrnpp1n~ river <strong>cave</strong>s. The fir~t <strong>cave</strong>, Cueva del Rio Texococla, had anentrance 50 feet wide a~d 20 feet hin.h, and they were able to follow this<strong>cave</strong> dm.rn two drops be<strong>for</strong>e t!lev ','ould have to ~et very wet to continue.I~ the next dol1na was Sotano ~el ~io COYO ~ealpa with a 175 foot entrancedrop. They r~~?elled down to a ledge where the drop narrowed and sprayfilled the shaft. It ·...as dec frled to return wi tl~ ....et: suits. The nextpromising <strong>cave</strong>. Cueva de Covomeapan wa~ located upstre;t°T\ ~10"?, t'l'! ~i.oCoyomealpa. The entrance to the <strong>cave</strong> '.Ins only four feet above the riverlevel and was scoured clean by floodwaters that freouently enter the <strong>cave</strong>.Thev were a'::le to follo\o.' this <strong>cave</strong> down 5 drops of 10 to 5'"1 feet co wherethe <strong>cave</strong> picked up some ....3t~r at an R~ foot dro~ and it was decided to ~ostponeexploration.The Zoquitlan area appears to be a promisin~ karst area as the riverssink in the pine trees and could, if conditions are ri~ht, ~o almost to sealevel.editorialBill RussellSotano de San Agustin has been pushed to -2500 feet, and several new<strong>cave</strong>s have been discovered to the north of Hua<strong>ut</strong>la that may RO even deeper.Mexican cavin~ has reached the point where the resources and orginazationrequired to fully explore these <strong>cave</strong>s exceeds the present capabilities ofthe AMeS. To 8ucessfully enga~e in World Class cav1n~ the organizationallevel of the AMCS will have to be considerably augmented.
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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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- Page 73 and 74: 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
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- Page 81 and 82: 13Date: January, 1975Destination: A
- Page 83 and 84: 15Trip Report, Christmas-New Years
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- Page 87: large storms, this arroyo sends flo
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- Page 92 and 93: 22Diamante received its name from t
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- Page 102 and 103: 3View across the botto~ of Hoya de
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- Page 111 and 112: \I0YA DE LA LUZProfile B-B'Located
- Page 113 and 114: 12hotic DiseasesThe August 1976 iss
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- Page 119: RETURN TO HUAUTLA~Jith t~e 1976-77
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- 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
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- Page 139 and 140: 14This idea was thwarted given an u
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- Page 143 and 144: 1'1later Jim and I began the long c
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- Page 149 and 150: 24and myself about trash and abando
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- 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.
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International Newsin the entrance a
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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