Soda Straw Cave to stay closed for time being

Dan Kulin and Heather Rawlyk

Friday, Jan. 30, 2004 | 9:01 a.m.

The long-sealed Soda Straw Cave on Mount Charleston will remain closed despite efforts from some neighbors, officials said Thursday.

Steve Holdsambeck, district ranger for the Spring Mountains National Recreational Area, said safety concerns were the primary factor in his decision to leave the cave closed for now. But he said the matter could be revisited in the future.

Pictures from inside the cave in the early 1960s showed a large crack in the ceiling. Also, the cave has large drops in the floor that make for a very difficult climb. No one has been in the cave since it was sealed with a concrete plug in 1965, Holdsambeck said.

"There could be collapse problems and it's a highly technical climb with rappelling and crawling," he said.

Barbara Orcutt, owner of the Mount Charleston Lodge, said she won't stop trying to have the cave opened. Orcutt said her curiosity over what might be in the cave is driving her efforts.

"It's history, and geology, and maybe it's tourist worthy. We just want to see what's there," she said. "It could be nothing."

Orcutt said she understands Holdsambeck and the Forest Service might be too busy to want to open the cave at this time.

Holdsambeck said that while he believes the early 1960s explorations showed them what was in the cave, he is interested to see how much damage vandals did to the cave. The Soda Straw Cave got its name from crystal formations inside it that look like soda straws or icicles.

The exact location of the cave is a government secret because of the Federal Cave Resource Protection Act of 1988. Orcutt said the cave is along the Deer Creek Road linking Lee and Kyle canyons.

In addition to the safety concerns, Holdsambeck said there are other projects the Forest Service is working on that he considers more important at this time. He said the question of opening the cave to expert cavers could be considered again in the next few years.