Most people associate Yellowstone National Park with geysers and so did RMEC chapter member Jim Pisarowicz until he was dispatched by the National Park Service to help document the massive 1988 Yellowstone wildfire. It was during that time that he came to the realization that these geysers were essentially a system of caves that were connected to the underground plumbing that results in geyser activity in Yellowstone.
This realization set in motion a plan to enter, explore and map some of the caves that he had first seen in 1988. Little did he realize that it would take over a decade to secure permission to explore these caves. Some of the hurdles to overcome once he and his team received a research permit included toxic gases and, understandably, extreme heat under conditions of 100% humidity.
This presentation will discuss how Jim and three fellow cave explorers tackled these issues to explore and map several caves in the Mammoth Hot Springs area of Yellowstone National Park. The talk will also explain the state of those geysers today.