olyclimber Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 There are some mines that are worth exploring. I haven't heard of any caves... Quote
snoboy Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 Horne Lake... Â I think there are some rather large systems up near Prince George too. Quote
layton Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 There is an extensive network of caves up in snoqualamie pass around the like of mt thompson or thereabouts on a ridge. Getting beta for caves is almost impossible, unless you are in the circle. Quote
snugtop Posted March 1, 2004 Author Posted March 1, 2004 so I've heard...a long drive from Seattle though Quote
AlienSoul Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 Where are the mines? Is there anything in SE WA? Â Josh Gesler Quote
Farrgo Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 There are tons of caves in southwest washington both by Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams (and I'm not talking about ape caves). Almost all of them are unmarked and you'll be lucky if there is even a faint trail so you pretty much need prior knowledge. Quote
catbirdseat Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 Where are the mines? Is there anything in SE WA? Â Josh Gesler Index, Monte Cristo, Silverton, Granite Falls. They're all over the place. If you are interested, get a copy of Discovering Washington's Historic Mines, Volume 1, published by Oso Publishing. Quote
Dru Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 there's a couple fun caves in the chilliwack valley, super secret. adam palmer has some info i think. Quote
Alasdair Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't exploring old mines exceptionally dangerous? Quote
catbirdseat Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 It can be very dangerous or relatively safe. The book tells what to expect. Some have bad air in them and it will say not to enter under any circumstances. Some have good air, but winzes that you can fall into if you aren't careful. Some are quite safe. The Justice Mine, for example is pretty safe. The Bornite Mine near Green Giant Buttress is pretty safe too, provided you leave the dynamite alone. Quote
Alasdair Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 It can be very dangerous or relatively safe. The book tells what to expect. Some have bad air in them and it will say not to enter under any circumstances. Some have good air, but winzes that you can fall into if you aren't careful. Some are quite safe. The Justice Mine, for example is pretty safe. The Bornite Mine near Green Giant Buttress is pretty safe too, provided you leave the dynamite alone. Â Thanks, I am going to assume that they are all really dangerous and stay the fuck away. As far as the dynamite goes; it is not the only thing that is likely to explode if you touch it. I have done a couple of mine cleanups, and there are all sorts of chemicals common in mining that are very unstable after sitting around for a while. So I guess I would like to add dont touch anything in bottles, or tins if you go in to a mine. Quote
Dru Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 and dont wear your good shoes in a mine with acid rock drainage. Â that "bad air" thing is mostly bunk - an urban legend. but you can carry a canary just in case. Quote
forrest_m Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 dru wrote: there's a couple fun caves in the chilliwack valley, super secret. adam palmer has some info i think. Â too bad one of the coolest ones recently had the sinkhole entrance "accidentally" filled in with debris by a logging company road building crew. like we have so many caves around here that we can afford to lose any... Quote
Dru Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 which one? if it hasnt been reported it should be. thats a 10K fine on the crew foreman right there! Quote
scrambled_legs Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 It can be very dangerous or relatively safe. The book tells what to expect. Some have bad air in them and it will say not to enter under any circumstances. Â Sounds like a route guide for sleeping bags. Quote
catbirdseat Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 and dont wear your good shoes in a mine with acid rock drainage. Â that "bad air" thing is mostly bunk - an urban legend. but you can carry a canary just in case. Sometimes the bad air is hydrogen sulfide, rare in this area. Sometimes it is air that is depleted in oxygen when ore is exposed. It consumes oxygen as it oxidizes. Â For example, according to the book I mentioned, in the 1970's the Bren Mac company dug 7,000 feet of crosscut and drifts into Vesper Peak from the Sultan Basin side. "We visited this tunnel in about 1986 and 1990 and discovered, among other things, that the mine has reduced oxygen in the tunnel. At that time, the adit was in a state of collapse and very nearly caved. We determined that the tunnel was completely exploratory in nature, because there is no evidence of stoping or any other effort to remove ore other than for assay purposes." Quote
pindude Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 that "bad air" thing is mostly bunk - an urban legend. but you can carry a canary just in case. Â I wouldn't want to tell that to family and friends of a couple kids (or was it one?) who died while exploring an abandoned mine in north Idaho not more than about 5 years ago. Can't remember the whole story. I'd find it on the web if I had the skills of you, Dru... Quote
Dru Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 maybe the bogeyman got them - ever think of that? Quote
pindude Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 Â Still can't find the story. But looking through the MSHA list of fatal accidents over the past 5 years, most deaths in abandoned mines were the result of drowning. Next were "falls." Poisonous gases or lack of O2 is not nearly as common. That Idaho accident I remember must be more than 5 years old... Â Serious thread drift: original poster wanted to go caving, not "mining!" Olyclimber, there's lots of caves in WA state. Not nearly as many classic limestone caves as are in BC including Vancouver Island, but WA state sure has great examples of all 3 types... As Layton said, you gotta be in the know, and no caver is gonna give away their good caves to somebody who isn't one of them. Quote
snugtop Posted March 2, 2004 Author Posted March 2, 2004 yes, I'm finding that cavers are more secretive than the Masons. Quote
Greg_W Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 yes, I'm finding that cavers are more secretive than the Masons. Â 2b1ask1 Quote
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