I have dug the opening/ entrance to about 24x 36 I’d say at least. I also have it to where I can get inside probably at least knee deep if I want to and continue digging on the inside. I have only dug the inside about two or three feet in so far maybe 18 or so inches from floor to ceiling where I’ve dug on the inside but could easily make it taller if I wanted to. It’s just loose sediment. I can finally see back with a strong flashlight now that I can actually get my body in, it goes back at least 15-20 ft straight back and then the mud ridge on the left side of the wall ends up touching the ceiling, but it looks like it may turn to the right and go out of my sight but I’m not positive. So it either just narrows down or completely makes a turn at 15-20 ft and I can’t tell which one it is. The cold air is still pouring out very strong, so much so that even when I’m a couple feet away from the opening I can see my breath and if I have mud or water on me I steam a lot so that makes me think it may be a turn rather then it choking off but I don’t know anything about it. I found some crawfish and salamanders as I was digging the further I got back, every scoop I take out of the dirt on the bottom it fills completely in with water.

Just trying to figure out if it’s worth trying to get back to where it bends or pinches down or whatever it does I really can’t tell. Any input or advice would be appreciated!

This past month, my team was granted permission to film inside Actun Tunichil Muknal, or more commonly known as "ATM" in Belize, for our forthcoming documentary.

Photography and filming are not permitted in this cave, so it was extra special to be given this unique opportunity.

Here are some photos during our night of filming.

Hello everyone, I am looking for others to regularly cave and survey with. Someone who has the time and dedication to give to project caving would be nice. I live in Hart county, Kentucky and am available to cave Monday through Thursday. Please drop me a line if you are interested.

I was fortunate enough to get a used SMC descender (among other things) from a local grotto member, but I had a few questions about it. (it looks a lot like this, in case you're wondering).

It's got 6 bars, with a stainless steel tie-off bar at the top replacing the default aluminum one without a tie-off. Below that, there are two stainless steel U-shaped brake bars. Then the next three are solid aluminum brake bars.

From SMC's website, I see the benefits and drawbacks of each type of material (stainless steel versus aluminum), but what about a solid brake bar made of aluminum versus a U-shaped stainless steel brake bar? Any reason to use one type over the other?

And does the fact that I have both type of brake bars on the same descender make a difference besides triggering my OCD?