Trogs in the Dust: deep in Airmen's, August 1995. (The "garage sale" sign was actually used to give some support to an otherwise flabby bag, but it also made a good prop.)
"I'm not trying to impress you. We're going to Airmens'. We're stupid."  - Colin Eby, Austin caver.Airmen's cave was discovered in March 1971 by two airmen from Bergstrom AFB in Austin. Other airmen, including Michael Wescott Loder and Chuck Carpenter found out about the cave and along with other Austin cavers, including Bill Russell, began to explore the cave. Because it was discovered and explored intially by airmen, it was called Airmen's cave. However, the difficulty of correctly creating the possessive plural of "man" has caused the cave to be spelled "Airman's" (388 hits on google), "Airmans" (110 hits), etc. A page has been posted by one of the airmen describing the Early History of Airmen's Cave. The cave is a long and narrow passage within a few thin layers of the Austin formation starting from Barton Creek and going under the Brodie Oaks shopping center. It is notorious for being mostly crawling without much reward other than a sense of accomplishment, though the full 3800 foot journey to the farthest explored reach of the cave is rewarded with a nice formation room. Considerable surveying was done in the 1970's along with digging and blasting done to open up narrow passages. The cave was explored by famously skinny cavers, however, who were satisfied with narrow passages, and these squeezes remain as several challenges along the length of the cave. Several of them, the "Keyhole" (or "Birth Canal"), the "One Legged Man Passage", and the "Wire Wiggle", are (in)famous in the Austin caving community. Nevertheless, this cave is ungated and many non-cavers enter it. Those who are not put off by the Keyhole passage (the "Birth Canal", which starts about 50 feet from the entrance) generally do not go much farther. One popular target is the Aggy Art Gallerie (misspelling intentional) about 900 feet from the entrance, where a red clay floor has supplied material for bizarre sculptures. A map based on the 1974 state of the survey data has been published in Elliot and Veni's Caves and Karst of Texas. Here is an image of this map. During the 1980's and early 1990's, the cave was vandalized by spray-painters leaving their names or arrows pointing in various directions (that did not always include in or out) and much trash and string was left in the cave. Several clean up and restoration trips were organized by Justin Shaw and others in the 1990's, and cavers removed most of the current graffiti and trash on the near side of the Art Gallerie, and in the "Walking Passage" just inward from there. Here are some images from one of the restoration trips Some interest has been generated in continuing the surveys, but the existing data has never been completely compiled and the existing map (which is several yards long on paper) has never been released as a completed document so that continuing leads can be identified. Leads are hours from the entrance for most cavers and this also does much to discourage further exploration. Visiting the Cave Though the cave is open to the public, caution is advised to prevent a miserable experience. Follow the rules for safe caving. An adult must go 1000 feet into the cave before reaching a place where standing is possible. About 300 feet of the 900 foot distance to the Aggy Art Gallerie is belly crawling or other difficult maneuvering. Know what you're getting into. One benefit of the low vertical relief is that head injuries are unlikely. Many people go without helmets - then complain vociferously about how many times they hit their head on low-hanging ledges. Beg, borrow, or buy a construction hard hat if you don't want to invest in a climbing or caving helmet for this one trip. Knee and elbow pads are a must for most people. Most use the kind made for sports such as skating, but low quality pads are easily destroyed. The only knee pads that Airmen's does not drag off of me were made by Gonzo Guano Gear, a caving outfitter. Getting Lost, Getting Stuck, Vandalism, and Related Issues. As far as I know, no one has been rescued from this cave because they were lost. Only one of the passages within the first 2000 feet of the entrance (the main one) goes for very long without becoming verry narrow or rejoining the main passage. The only way to get seriously lost is to get confused about which way is in or out on the main passage. If you want to mark a direction, please make an arrow of stones or leave an object you will carry out with you when you leave. If you lay a string line, take it back out. I once hauled a ten pound ball of string out of the cave, collected from many overlapping and confused string lines. Do not spray paint arrows or signs for yourselves.
History, Trip Reports and Photos Airmen's Cave, an Early History. This is the same link as above. There are two pages telling the story of the discovery and early exploration of the cave. Trogs in the Dust, my trip report for the Texas Caver of our August 1995 camping trip in Airmen's. Emphasis on angst! The title refers to the dust that stuck to us in the back parts of the cave. You can see in in the image at the top of this page. The plan to go back never materialized. Alas, the fickleness of human nature! Christophe's Airman's Page, detailing six trips by other cavers from 2002 to 2004. The trip three account has lots of pictures. The Slax0rs' Airman's Cave Pictures. Two of these guys knew me from 1999, but did not know I was a caver until after they did this trip in November, 2003. Quintessential Man's account of our December 2003 trip to the back. After the folks above found out I was a caver, I went with them on their more daring trip to the back of the cave. Four of five new cavers made it all the way to the formation room, though it was sheer hell. These are top-class gutsy kids. The story is incredibly funny. Xenopus Electronix Airman's Photos Justin's Airman's Cave Home Page
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