20130523-27 uec-129

[troyboy162]

Not wheeling but a mine exploring/camping trip. We got into a very big system in Nevada and were able to cover the first two levels over 4 days of solid exploring.

The scale of this mine is ridiculous. Walking drifts can take nearly an hour. An interesting twist is that there was a existing mine here before the modern mine began blasting. Sometimes the two mines occupy the same space and sometimes a crawl through a hole leads you to a completely different mining era.

So as before, if you know the location do not post it. These places are remote and untouched just the way we want them to stay. Underground explorers hosts opens events about once a year so if mines interest you, look for the event on the facebook page.

huge mill building



core samples


miners locker room


they supported other mine products


impressive arched steel


Giant mechanized steel ore chute


6 foot bore holes


the new mine has stoped out a old manway


Lee inspects a partially exposed manway


the colors in this drift made it look like somthing out of doctor Seuss


green crystals formed in pools of blood red water


there was alot of flooding


Four full boxes of JJ walker. Too fresh to be inert and too old to be stable.


the point and poop camera takes some good ones sometimes


Air powered slusher


down


stoped out manway section suspended far overhead


fuel and oil point


this open stope is about 150 feet deep and intersects 4-5 drifts.

[4x4mike]

Great pictures. Mine exploring looks like a lot of fun.

By the looks of it some of the structure appears to be relatively new. When did operations stop at this mine? Some of these mines look like they were abandoned quickly. I'm always amazed at what's left behind. This one looks untraveled and parts of it pretty young.

Do you know what was mined out of it?

[Good Times]

As always Troy this is way cool! One day... I'll be down with ya on one of these events. Can't wait to get my hands wet on this new adventurous exploration!

[troyboy162]

Sorry to get back to this late. We wont post any specifics on this mine like materials removed or operation dates as that will narrow a internet search down considerably. The mill house is already being used as a cool down stash for some small stolen goods and the tweakers have begun taking the wiring.

We spent the 4th continuing the mine.

[Good Times]

troy when you're out and about on these explorations, are you guys in fear that the mine and/or the shaft may collapse on you guys? how about when you guys are going up and down the shafts on those wooden ladders. no fears of it falling apart?

i see your posts and admire em so much and would love to make it out. family gets in the way but hopefully i will find a weekend to go out and have fun with you guys. i have my own gear so i know all i gotta do is get my rear out there to join ya guys.. lol sad huh

[DHC6twinotter]

troy when you're out and about on these explorations, are you guys in fear that the mine and/or the shaft may collapse on you guys? how about when you guys are going up and down the shafts on those wooden ladders. no fears of it falling apart?

I've been wondering the same things. To be honest, it looks kinda scary to me.

[troyboy162]

troy when you're out and about on these explorations, are you guys in fear that the mine and/or the shaft may collapse on you guys? how about when you guys are going up and down the shafts on those wooden ladders. no fears of it falling apart?

i see your posts and admire em so much and would love to make it out. family gets in the way but hopefully i will find a weekend to go out and have fun with you guys. i have my own gear so i know all i gotta do is get my rear out there to join ya guys.. lol sad huh

I worry more then others lol. The good news is every tunnel we are in has seen multiple earthquakes, so you can figure they will take a bit of abuse before coming down. To minimize risk I try to learn where the exits are and how to transition levels through multiple routes. Very often we will stop advancing in a drift if the conditions seem ripe for collapse.

Ladders are another spot where I am more nervous then most. I would rather find the top and bottom of a ladder before I climb it. The lowest picture is an example of that. That ladder from below looked to go to a separate section. Turned out it strangely connected to an area that was easily walked into. Wooden ladders are fairly easy to read for there condition and without moisture they are sometimes very good.

[Good Times]

dumb question but are all of you guys wearing rappelling harnesses or is that "optional"? and if you guys are wearing rappelling harnesses, are you guys daisy chaining each other on the ladders going up and down or is it anchored to a fixed point?

some of the pix you've shared looks pretty darn hairy to me. and me being deathly afraid of heights that'd be one big serious concern for me. doesn't help that it goes into a dark abyss! that probably doesn't sit well with me either but the adventure in being able to explore really makes me want to just do it.

[troyboy162]

initial exploration did not require ropes and harnesses except for the 6100 level just above the water. full exploration will probably need some rope work. We will have to wait to see what Lee's maps teach us. We are defiantly aware of areas we can not get into safely with free climbing. Anything risky is done on ropes with full SRT gear.

[Good Times]

sweet! how kind of rigging gear ya got for these explorations? (or maybe this is a separate thread?)