May/June 1998
During May and June of 1998, 752.65 feet or 0.14 miles of cave was surveyed and inventoried during 3 trips in Wind Cave, raising the cave from 81.69 miles to 81.83 miles. A total of 86 stations of previously surveyed cave was also inventoried.
05/02/1998
John Sheltens, Andy Flurkey, Ed LaRock & Mike Behn
John led a 7½ hour trip to the Back Room area, where they surveyed 450.65 feet in 18 stations (Avg. shot 25 feet). They found numerous surveyed passages with no survey stations and multiple surveys in other passages.
05/09/1998
Jamie & Ron Sherer, Cheryl Yearwood & Hank VanBeck
Jamie led a 9 hour trip to the Historic Section, where they inventoried 30 stations of the AK and AKA surveys. They located several areas where zebra rock was present on the VH survey.
Rich Wolfert, Mike Goar, Carl Troemner & Tim Morris
Rich led a 6 hour trip to the Historic Section, where they inventoried 4 stations on the IA survey. They located some unusual tube features.
Myk Coughlin, Marc Ohms, Shane Fryer & Dennis Laird
Myk led a 9 hour trip to the ZZ survey in the Half Mile Hall area, where they surveyed 91 feet in 8 stations (Avg. shot 11.3 feet). They also found a going lead on the KK survey, but abandoned it. On the way out, Myk found a pit in the Right On Room, and scooped 400+ feet of lower middle canyon passage. It was left for a later trip.
06/13/1998
Jim Wilson, Skip Withrow, Dan Sadler & Howard Bartlett
Jim led a 12½ hour trip to the Half Mile Hall area, where they surveyed 211 feet in 15 stations (Avg. shot 14 feet). They left going leads.
Mike Wiles, Steve & Sami Langendorf
Mike led a 10½ hour trip to the southern Half Mile Hall area, where they inventoried 52 stations along the KI, EA and EB surveys. They found a lead on the KI survey and scooped 200 feet of cave.
July/August 1998
During March and April of 1998, 207 feet or 0.03 miles of cave was surveyed and inventoried during one trip in Wind Cave, raising the cave from 81.83 miles to 81.86 miles.
07/05/1998
Hazel Barton, Evan Anderson & Noah Daniels
Hazel led a 12 hour trip to the Navidad area, where they surveyed 207 feet in 17 stations (Avg. shot 12.1 feet). This included a lead that went 100 feet and connected with Flat Iron Hall. A second, smaller lead connected with the pit above Navidad and a third kept going, but the group ran out of time.
September/October 1998
During September and October of 1998, 510 feet or 0.09 miles of cave was surveyed and inventoried during 3 trips in Wind Cave, raising the cave from 81.86 miles to 81.95 miles. A total of 55 stations of previously surveyed cave was also inventoried.
09/12/1998
Sandy Kramer & Kathy Petty
Sandy led a 8 hour trip to the Historic Section, where they inventoried 32 stations along the SK survey. They located an actively dripping decorated area and lots of zebra rock.
10/01/1998
Bruce Albright & Dennis Laid
Bruce led a 9 hour trip to the Historic Section, where they inventoried 23 stations along the VE survey. They located only the second hydromagnesite balloon to be discovered in Wind Cave.
10/10/1998
James Wilson, Dan Sadler & Eric Dutton
Jim led a 12½ hour trip to the Half Mile Hall area where he surveyed 270 feet in 15 stations (Avg. shot 18 feet). They were attempting to fill in the blank area adjacent to the AS survey, but didn’t find a way into the area.
10/31/1998
Marc Ohms, Rene Rogers & Scott Dankof
Marc led a 7½ hour trip to the XT3 survey near the Dog Pound in the Colorado Grotto area, which is noted for its mudcracks and happens to be directly below Marc’s apartment. They were able to survey 110 feet in 10 stations in small, nasty passage (Avg. shot 11 feet). The passage they surveyed had flagging in it, but no survey stations. They were unable to find any other going leads.
Myk Couglin & Mike Lace
Myk led a 7½ hour trip to the Dog Pound in the Colorado Grotto area, where they surveyed 130 feet in 5 stations (Avg. shot 26 feet). Myk pushed through a small hole and scooped 200 feet of "nice" walking cave with additional leads that will take some very small cavers to enter. They also scooped a 60-foot long crawl that they didn't survey.
November/December 1998
During November and December of 1998, 2,464 feet or 0.46 miles of cave was surveyed and inventoried during 6 trips in Wind Cave, raising the cave from 81.95 miles to 82.41 miles. A total of 63 stations of previously surveyed cave was also inventoried.
11/11/1998
Marc Ohms, Rene Rogers & Scott Sievertsen
Marc led a 7 hour lead-checking trip to the Forty Mile Hall area of the Colorado Grotto section. The purpose of the trip was to push leads heading east, past the known edge of the cave. As time ran out, Rene squeezed into a tight lead found by Scott that opened into walking passage and a series of crawlways with lots of airflow. They surveyed 172 feet in three passages.
11/13/1998
Sandy Kramer, Kathy Petty, Phil Partington & Mike Hanson
Sandy led a 6 hour trip to the Historic Section, where they inventoried 32 stations along the SKC, SKB and SA survey. They found lots of deep sand and heavily dripping water.
11/14/1998
Ed LaRock, John Scheltens, Andy Flurkey & Mike Behn
Ed led a 7 hour trip into the UK survey in the Historic Section, where they surveyed 301.1 feet in 17 stations (Avg. shot 17.7 feet). They were unable to survey a dome lead Ed remembered from the area. They also inventoried 4 stations along the UK survey found a small disarticulated rodent skeleton.
Dennis Laird, Pat Malone & Bruce Albright
Dennis led a 14 hour trip to the Santa’s Frosted Forest near the Snake Pit Entrance, where they surveyed 185.55 feet in 18 stations (Avg. shot 10.3 feet).
Clarence Williams, Eric Dutton, Dan Wray & Dale Keller
Clarence led a 8 hour trip to the Spillway and the UK survey, where they inventoried 16 stations.
11/15/1998
Myk Coughlin, Marc Ohms, Dennis Laird & Rene Rogers
Myk led a 9 hour trip to the Half Mile Hall area to survey the Right-On Room pit lead he discovered in May. They were able to survey 788 feet in 31 stations (Avg. shot 25.4 feet). They noticed some significant wind in this passage. They scooped an additional 300 feet of cave that they didn't survey.
11/21/1998
Marc Ohms, Noah Daniels & Evan Anderson
Marc led a 10½ hour trip to the Colorado Grotto area, where they surveyed 312 feet in 20 stations (Avg. shot 15.6 feet) between the Xerox Room and Independence Hall. They found lots of unsurveyed passage, but were unable to determine what was surveyed and what wasn’t without lineplots.
12/05/1998
Marc Ohms, Myk Coughlin, Rene Rogers & Mike Wiles
Marc led a 8½ hour trip to Forty Mile Hall area of the Colorado Grotto section to push a lead they had found on 11/3/98. They were able to survey 565.35 feet in 29 stations (Avg. shot 19.5 feet) and discovered a large virgin room that extended the cave farther to the east, past the previous "fault" barrier. They named the 100 x 60-foot room, Pizza Hut and noticed lots of airflow and four unchecked leads. They had high hopes that this lead would lead to the theorized eastern half of the cave.
12/12/1998
Clarence Williams & Eric Dutton
Clarence led a 7½ hour trip into the UU survey area, where they inventoried 11 stations. They located numerous unsurveyed leads in the area.
1998 Summary
During 1998, 6,480.2 feet or 1.22 miles of cave was surveyed and inventoried during 22 trips into Wind Cave, raising the cave from 81.21 miles to 82.41 miles. A total of 402 stations of previously surveyed cave was also inventoried.
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