Although Peter Jones has no formal training as a scientist (he
makes his living as a potter), his forays into the deepest cave
in the United States, Lechuguilla,
have contributed valuable information to the scientific community
seeking to understand this unique cave system. He counts himself
among a very privileged few who have been able to explore this
deep, complex and sometimes treacherous labyrinth.
Cavers have a serious obligation
to protect the cave systems that they are privileged to enter.
Caves are extremely fragile and even the best of cavers can cause
damage by careless behavior. Lechuguilla Cave is a protected resource
that is part of the Carlsbad Cavern National Park system. Only
about 6 or 7 permits per year are issued by the National Park
Service to experienced cavers who have a good reason to go into
the cave. Inside this fabulous cave system are some of the most
spectacular, unique and extremely fragile crystal formations that
would be damaged by inexperienced explorers who just want to "take
a peek." Although accidents in the cave are extremely rare,
a rescue operation can be costly and potentially damaging to the
cave itself.
Peter's passion for caving started
at a very young age, when he was just a kid exploring the maze
of rooms and bunkers in Fort
Knox, a granite fortress, in Maine. He was fascinated with
the concept of exploring an underground labyrinth of rooms. He
'got the bug' that separates the non-claustrophobic cave seekers
from the rest of us when he visited his first cave in California,
called "Crystal
Cave" in Sequoia National Park.
Then when Peter was a freshman
attending the University of Denver in 1967, he found out about
a really fascinating group on campus called the 'Alpine Club'
and they offered caving experiences to their members, so he naturally
had to join. Later that spring he went on his first 'wild' (undeveloped)
cave trip and was hooked for life. He later joined the National
Speleological Society (NSS) in 1968 to network with other
cavers who shared his passion and get more opportunities to go
exploring in other 'wild' caves. The NSS is an important organization
that works to preserve caves and properly trains people in the
best and safest of caving techniques.
Lechuguilla Caver
In 1971 Peter had an opportunity
with the National Park Service to visit Lechuguilla Cave. At the
time, there was nothing more to the cave than the entry room at
the bottom of the pit and a side alcove. Looking back with amusement
Peter recalls the Assistant Supervisor of Carlsbad Cavern National
Park saying it was a "small & disappointing cave".
It wasn't until 1986 that the opening to the rest of the cave
was dug open. It turned out, of course, later on that Lechuguilla
was a phenomenal cave, destined to be the deepest cave system
in the United States. New sections of cave are continually being
discovered and Lechuguilla officially logs in at over 110 miles
in length and 1632ft/497m deep.
After his first uneventful trip
into Lechuguilla in 1971 Peter began to hear more about the cave
system, which had been dug
open in 1986, through his network of fellow cavers and some published
stories. It wasn't until 18 years after his first descent into
the cave that he went back into Lechuguilla to explore it in depth.
Along with hundreds of other well-qualified cavers, Peter joined
in the effort to explore, map and study this unique and beautiful
cave system (in March of 1989). He's logged a number of trips
into the cave since then, with his most recent trip in January
of 2004.
For Peter, exploring caves allows
him to engage in his passion for cave photography - to preserve
and to artistically present the incredibly beautiful and unique
crystal formations found only underground. You will see several
of his photographs on Extreme Science in the Lechuguilla
Cave Tour. He also participates in cave mapping, a requirement
by the National Park Service of cavers who enter Lechuguilla and
find new territory. It is explorers like Peter Jones who have
carefully measured and mapped Lechuguilla that have yielded the
picture of this amazing cave system and how it was formed.
Peter's photographs have been
exhibited in numerous museums around the world and appeared in
various publications including: numerous covers of the NSS News,
monthly publication of the NSS; Deep Secrets, the exploration
of Lechuguilla Cave; On Rope II; Lechuguilla, Jewel of the Underground;
Cigar Aficionado Magazine; numerous cards and posters for the
Carlsbad Cavern/Guadalupe Mountain Association, a private fundraising
organization.
Peter is the owner of Shot
in the Dark Cave Photography, offering his
professional-quality photographs of astounding cave crystals and
formations. You may contact him at:
E-mail: pjcaver@gwi.net
Phone:(207) 236-6112
Website: www.pjcaver.com
Mail:
Peter Jones
Shot in the Dark Cave Photography
80 Mountain St.
Camden, Maine
04843 USA
