CAVES DISCOVERED IN GLACIER BAY

by Wayne Howell,

Cultural Resource Program Manager

During the week of August 5-12, a team of cave explorers from Carlsbad, New Mexico and Haines, Alaska, assisted the Park in exploring a large area of karst topography (limestone sink holes) on White Cap Mountain in Dundas Bay. The Park team included myself, who directed and organized the project, as well as provided logistical support and Wayne McCray, Historian/Collections Manager, who helped document and photograph the trip.  Also in attendance was Seth Mackovjak, a Gustavus 11-year-old volunteer, enthusiastic climber and explorer. 

In all we found and mapped 21 caves, the deepest of which is 250 feet and the longest 281 feet.  Almost all of the caves are vertical pits requiring serious climbing skills and a near fanatical explorer's desire in order to descend through ice water showers and tight jagged openings.  Our three cavers, Stan and Gosia Allison from Carlsbad and Kevin Allred from Haines did an amazing job in exploring and mapping over 1000 feet of caves in 6 days. The cavers, wearing helmets, lights, and knee pads,  set climbing anchors in some areas, including bolts to provide secure fastening attachments for the climbing gear.  All bolts were of low impact, and were removed at the end of the climb, so that no climbing gear, anchors, or markers were left in the cave system. Wayne McCray and Seth Mackovjak and I provided surface support while the cavers were underground.  Radio check-ins were conducted at noon each day with the Visitor Contact Station in Bartlett Cove.   

Although we didn't find anything to rival the grand caves that parks are created around, we found some intriguing things, including beautifully sculpted marble passages, a bear's den with polished sides where generations of bears had passed, and a small scattering of bones in the bottom of one deep pit. 

All cave entrances were located using GPS, and have since been plotted on color infrared photographs of the area.  The cavers did find some incipient secondary formations such as flowstone and stalactites, but for the most part our caves are cold barren water sculpted vertical shafts.  The exploration will result in a report and management plan for Glacier Bay's caves.  Also, look for a slide show sometime this fall.