Spiderbate Cave, Nevada

Caving in Nevada is more than just visiting a cave for a day underground. You really have to love caves to continue visiting them here, mainly because you are going to have to earn it. The amount of effort to visit some of Nevada's caves is substantially more than visiting caves out east — the hiking alone can be thousands of feet of elevation gain in a high elevation environment. You might be spending more time hiking than caving. The caves are, in general, warm, decorated, and short.

Spiderbate Cave had a steep approach and a couple small mis-orientations before we found it. Once there you will find a 700 ft cave full of geology and interesting formations. This hypogenic cave seems to follow a fault and provides interesting perspective on the mountain range's geologic past — created a very long time ago with a composition telling a story of underwater activity. We were surprised to find bolts at the entrance — two at the top and one mid-pit for a re-direct. The entrance is around 40 ft; bring 70–100 ft of rope to reach the bottom. If you are willing to put in the effort you will see a beautifully decorated cave. Reach out to your local grotto or caving organization for more information.