Of the deepest known caves in world, southern Mexico’s Sistema Huautla is perhaps the most storied of all. A vast network of interconnected underground rivers, these seemingly endless caverns stand out as a test-piece, not only for adventurers but for technology, both of which are pushed to their limits with each subsequent expedition. The exploratory history of Sistema Huautla goes back some 40-odd years with each expedition connecting a different section of cave to the next, only adding to its depth and complexity. Modern exploration, however, ultimately came to a dead end at a flooded canyon nearly 3,000 feet from the nearest cave entrance. To get beyond the underwater impasse, called a “sump,” a serious dive would be required, but at such remote lengths, modern SCUBA equipment was far from sufficient.

 

To the rescue came American caver and engineer Bill Stone, who spent the better half of a decade developing a closed system breathing apparatus called a rebreather. As the name implies, one essentially recycles one’s own oxygen, while excess CO2 is scrubbed away. Armed with this newly developed technology, Stone led a famous expedition into Sistema Huautla in 1994. Unfortunately, lead diver Ian Rolland perished within the first submerged passageway, but Stone pushed on, connecting eight more dives beyond the first sump. Save for the moon, Stone reached one of most remote places a human being has ever set foot. Books were written, movies were made, and the story of Huautla stopped there … until this spring.

 

Picking up where Stone left off, an international team set out to push even deeper into the earth 19 years after Stone’s historic expedition. As a result, Sistema Huautla is now the deepest explored cave in the Western Hemisphere and eighth deepest in the world, checking in at a whopping 5,069 feet below the surface. Here’s a first hand look at one of the world’s final frontiers:
 

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