The Discovery and Survey of Tooth Fairy Cave

Hanging from a cliff, I looked down and noticed what I had seen from below — a grassy landing with a sloping lip that led to a vertical fall of hundreds of feet. I knew I was in the right place. As I bent around the corner and got off rope, my anticipation skyrocketed. It was everything any cave explorer would want to see: new passage, walking passage, no sign of previous visitation, and a gaping hole as far as I could see.

Running down the sloping walking passage, my light at full capacity disappeared into the darkness. Then I looked up and saw the floor going up and a room opening in size. It ended as quickly as it began — slightly disappointing at first — but then I noticed unusual shapes on the walls.

Dogtooth spar crystals — and a lot of them! They covered the walls and ceiling. Some higher up appeared almost a foot in length. Others had grown over mammillary and popcorn formations. The walls had tiny triangular shapes extending to the ceiling along with large triangular forms and circular formations — the entire room was coated. I could not believe how this cave looked. We had literally walked into a geode. This is quite possibly one of the shortest, most decorated caves I have ever found. Grateful for the tireless efforts of the team that made this discovery possible.

🎒 Gear for this: Petzl Tikka Headlamp · Petzl Vertex Helmet