Candlelight Cave

[Mike]

Candlelight Cave has a long but interesting history. In short, it was discovered around 1925 by a group of miners who were digging a verticle shaft in hopes of finding ore. While digging down, two caves were discovered, one at the 40' level and another at the 95' level. These caves have proved to be very interesting and have been the topic of much intense research for quite some time. Some controversial issues forced the cave to begin closing. A Mine Reclamation group, under the direction of the BLM, filled in most of the mine up to the 95' level. Later, under the direction of the Timp Grotto, a gate was placed over the cave to protect the cave.

There is apperantly a project of digging through a side passage in attempt to gain access to this cave. Many have expressed thier interest to me in digging. Perhaps we can discuss this a bit on the forum and decide if we should plan a trip to the cave/mine and see what we could do.

[Crystal]

I'm up for a new expedition! This one sounds really interesting to go and explore.
Ready when you are!

[hondadrift]

Count me in! I'll spend two to three days in the cave digging. Just tell me when and i'll be there. If we do organize an event everyone is welcome to come and help, even if its just for a couple of hours. I hear its an amazing cave but havent seen any pictures yet.
Chris

[ryan]

I cn't believe I just found this site. I love weekend adventures.

[mymania]

Another one top on my to do list. I've done some of the surrounding ungated caves there. I keep asking about grotto trips when I attend the grotto meetings. Next meeting is next Tues.

[MA-Caver]

Hello, I just joined this group and think I should introduce myself. I'm Ralph and I'm a caver. I've caved extensively in Utah for over 16 years and done a fair amount of mine exploration in/around Utah as well. Photos of my exploits in (Utah) mines throughout those years can be found here http://ralph.rigidtech.com/view_albu...lbumName=Mines. I always enjoyed the heightened sense of danger when exploring the abandoned mines that are scattered throughout the state. Old caches of dynamite with beads of sweat on them that you have to crawl past, false floors, deep shafts of unknown depth, bad-air, and rotting overhead timbers... cool stuff to be sure, keeps you on your toes.
Currently I am residing in Tennessee in the heart of TAG country, and enjoying the great underground world this area has to offer.

I saw this discussion of Candlelight cave and as one who has led well over two-three dozen trips to the mine/cave I feel I should speak up and provide some "inside information.
First off the mine/cave is owned by the BLM, it is managed by the Utah Grottos of the NSS (National Speleological Society) via a MOU to protect the cave, cavers and would be explorers. The mine shaft has a heavy gate on it with radio alarm systems attached to detect tampering, meaning anyone attempting (and/or successfully) to break into the gate will be met by Utah County Sheriffs' deputies soon after or by the time they exit the shaft.
Access is opened to anyone as long as they have a "qualified" trip leader as approved by the MOU. These leaders can be found with any of the three active Utah Grottos http://www.nssio.org/find_grotto_overview.cfm?state=UT. Participants must be vertically qualified to enter/exit the mineshaft which leads into the cave. This is for SAFETY reasons and to follow the MOU so to keep access available to anyone wishing to visit. Any deviation could lead to a permanent shut off to the cave so I recommend going the route given above.
It may sound like a lot of hassle but trust me it isn't and it'll be well worth it.
To get an idea of what's inside and what makes it all worth "jumping through hoops" for... go to http://ralph.rigidtech.com/view_albu...IGHT-CAVE-TOUR Of all the trips I've lead I've managed to compile enough photos to basically give a tour through this cave.
It's mazy, it has 7 different levels and it is VERY VERY fragile. The walls are the dry crumbly stuff that can be permanently damaged by inexperienced or careless hands. Cavers have striven to keep this cave as pristine as the day they found it. We wish to keep it that way for future generations.
As I said, this is open to anyone who meets the prerequisites to enter, which again are for your safety, the safety of the trip-leader and mostly for the continuing preservation of the cave.
Any questions please feel free to post back here so to keep everyone else in the loop.
Below is a sample photo of what fragile formations are to be found in the cave.

Thank you.

[mymania]

Hey Ralph, good to see you here. Looks like we joined about the same time. How's TAG?


Jeff

[Mike]

Sounds like some good information on the cave. Its been a couple years since I've done any vertical climbing. I think thats the biggest thing thats held us back from going through the hoops to get in. Candlelight and Antelope Springs both hold pretty high interest for us.

Again, thanks for the good info.

[mymania]

A lot of the caves out that way are vertical. If anyone would like to brush up on (or learn) some vertical ropes stuff, I'm building a wall/tower for climbing and vertical rope work. I have the frame up now and it's ready for some froggin

[Mike]

Hey not too shabby there mymania! Looks like you've built yourself a decent little climbing frame. We used to practice in potato cellars in idaho when I first learned. Perhaps we'll have to get everybody together to brush up and learn some climbing techniques.

[MA-Caver]

Hey not too shabby there mymania! Looks like you've built yourself a decent little climbing frame. We used to practice in potato cellars in idaho when I first learned. Perhaps we'll have to get everybody together to brush up and learn some climbing techniques.

That is a nifty little deal there I agree. I've rigged tall trees with a pulley system that allowed for continuous climbing up to the length of the rope.
I would like to make a suggestion that contacting the grottos and/or the Utah Cave Search and Rescue (UCSR) and finding someone who knows SRT (Single Rope Techniques) to show you the little things that are VERY important when it comes to climbing on rope. Little things that are hard to describe here but critical to make climbing more effortlessly. The members of UCSR are all highly trained vertical experts and would love to teach anyone interested to learn... for the reason that logically those who are well trained... don't need to be rescued.
Here in TAG I've already have had to rescue two "non-cavers" aka spelunkers (on separate occasions) that didn't want to go through the grotto route and they had difficulty on rope.
Better to learn from the folks that do it all the time and have practiced and refined the techniques down to an science.
Candlelight is NOT the place to find out if you got it down pat or not. It is a 220' deep mine shaft with the cave located some 95 feet down the shaft. At the bottom of the shaft are long steel pipes with broken jagged ends that stick up at different angles like punji sticks in Vietnam. This was from the miners and other people dumping their junk down the shaft.
The mine closure people were going to fill the shaft completely and this treasure of a cave would've been lost (as there is NO natural entrance) but cavers worked to keep it open and designed the gate. Incidentally the mine closure asked if the (cavers) wanted the shaft filled up to where the mine drift/cave is... after a thoughtful discussion... they decided to keep it as is... more fun
The entire cave by the way resides some 100 feet under the ground at it's "highest point" and as I've said no natural entrances have ever been found and it's been completely surveyed/mapped and compared with surface topography. Digging one's way in would be a monumental effort that wouldnt' be worth it.

[Mike]

Thanks for the good tips. I agree that it is very important to know what your doing. Its been a good 6 years since I've done any SRT. We used to drop into ice caves and lava tubes in the lava fields of Craters of the Moon. Most were around a 50-100' drop. But like I said, its been a while. The Timp Grotto meets right next to my Condo... I think its time we went and participated in one of their meetings...

[mymania]

Good advice ralph

[rhartill]

could someone pm me with the lat long of the candlelight cave? I have found someone with time and money to do research on the history of the mine

[MACaver]

could someone pm me with the lat long of the candlelight cave? I have found someone with time and money to do research on the history of the mine

The history of the cave has already been done in-as-much as it can be. It should be found on the Timpanogos Grotto website http://www.caves.org/grotto/timpgrot...t_history.html as well as some other information. It would be good relations if you contacted one of the Grotto officers to find out where the cave is located.
If vertically qualified a trip can be arranged via the same people. Like I've always maintained we're not snobs or elitists. If you can safely do the cave then you're welcome to go on a trip as long as everything meets with the MOU set up by the BLM who owns the cave.