Bear Canyon Bottomless Pit

After a MUU alpine start, which was meeting for mimosas at 10am, Lucas, Trace, Trevor, Travis and I cruised out to Stacy's Bar in Gallatin Gateway to re-group and get some more liquid courage. I think it was 2pm-ish by the time we got out of the truck and started walking! Lucas wanted to collect some more fungi too. All we knew was that the cave is on the southern aspect of Wheeler Mountain (plus a couple more details but those are not to be posted on the internet; you'll never find it without them). I peeled away from the group and found a cave, not the one we were looking for however. I crawled in there as far as I dare without somebody knowing where I was and it keeps going! I marked it on my GPS and will be back for further investigation. I got a call on the radio and the crew had found the pit so I followed their tracks to the Bottomless Pit. There was another sink hole encountered along the way which looked like a wonderful mountain lion home and was clearly being used due to the numerous tracks everywhere in the snow. The Bottomless Pit is about 25-30 meters deep with a massive ice plug in the middle that you can just barely wiggle by to get to the bottom. Im sure the true bottom is unattainable when there is winter snow. I didnt go down to the bottom proper because I left my helmet in the truck. It was atleast a 3 mile bushwhack there.

I would call this the trail head, but there is no trail, only a parking area.

The cave I found and crawled into and out of sight before turning around.

The Lion's Den (probably)

The Bottomless Pit. Notice the bridge. 

Trevor rapping down. The bridge is the top of the photo.

It seems bottomless cause you cant safely get close enough to the edge to see the bottom.

Here we are standing on top of the snow bridge/ice plug a little over half way down the cave.

I have been knuckle deep, ankle deep, elbow deep, and knee deep in things before but never shoulder deep! Runoff created a sweet little perfectly round hole in the ice which Im sure is there year-round.  

Lucas brought my camera down to the bottom where they actually found (and collected) fruiting body fungi!

When I ascended out, I got to see an incredible hot pink sunset. But by the time Trevor and Trace got out, it was black.

Im not sure we would have found the truck if it wasnt for our tracks in the snow.

A long exposure looking down into the valley.