Overview

What we’re doing

The Bighorn–Horsethief cave system is one of the most significant caves in the region. Past surveys put it at 14.615 miles on the NSS U.S. Long Caves list. That work was done across the 1970s and 80s by a handful of different grottos, with analog instruments — and a significant amount of the original data has since been lost. The maps that have survived are generalized in places and missing passages in others.

Our goal is to remap the entire system with modern tools — DistoX2 laser rangefinders, and a planned run with LIDAR — and produce one complete, clean map from end to end.

The project is open to cavers at every experience level. If you’ve never surveyed before, we’ll train you on your first couple of trips out; if you’re experienced, it’s a good way to keep your skills sharp. Training sessions cover vertical technique, survey instrumentation, sketching, and cave conservation.

Schedule

2026 project weekends

The schedule below was announced by Katey Bender (Communications/Cartography) in March. Sign-ups typically open about a month ahead of each trip; watch the bhhtsurvey Google Group and the NRMG events calendar.

No July weekend — that slot is folded into the August week. New to surveying? Show up anyway; your first couple of trips are also training trips.