Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 26 UNTOUCHED BY HUMANS FOR MILLENNIA Over the course of millions of years the Bighorn Cave formed, evolved, and eroded. While it is almost certain that Native peoples passing through centuries ago knew about the cave, it wasn't brought into the public's eye until 1961. For the next decade, much of the cave was explored, surveyed, and mapped—a process that still isn't complete to this day. The extent of the underground caverns is so massive that new passages are contin- uously being discovered. MY JOURNEY INTO THE DARKNESS About a mile from The Armpit is the entrance to the Bighorn Cave. If you're imagining a gaping hole in the side of a cliff, forget everything you know about caves. Years ago, the entrance pit was covered with a grate and a cage. As a protected cave system, the only way in is to register with an experienced trip leader, obtain the key, and sign in on the cave log upon entry and exit. The cage covering the entrance pit is set up with large metal bars where you can rig your ropes. When set, and everyone is tied in, the grate is opened and you're left staring down seventy feet into the blackness below. For the first timer, it's a daunting view that inspires emotions of terror, wonder, and intrigue. What lies below? Rappelling in, you arrive in a large room named the Cloak Room. It is here that you shed your climbing gear; it won't be needed until you ascend back up the rope to your above-ground home. From here you have fourteen miles of known passages that twist, turn, split, dead-end, and squeeze under rocks to explore. Without a light and a map, you couldn't make it more than a few dozen yards into the pure and utter blackness. Our guides, experienced cavers who had spent many hours in this particular system, had a few destinations in mind. Each passage is EVENTUALLY, YOU GET LOST IN THE CRAMPED YET VAST SPACE. MARVEL AFTER MARVEL PASSES YOU AS YOU GO WHERE FEW HAVE TROD BEFORE. WITHOUT LOOKING AT WATCHES, WE HAD NO IDEA THE TIME; WAS IT STILL DAYLIGHT ABOVE? Discover the Bighorn Caverns www.distinctlymontana.com/bighorn202 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL The entrance to the Bighorn Cavern is protected by a steel cage. The Armpit – Our humble abode for the evening. Dropping into the 70+ foot entrance pit. SCOTT SERY (3)

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