Venture Deep Inside a Unique Ice Cave to find this Cache!
This geocache is hidden within the deep dark reaches of the Moose Mountain Ice Cave. Exploring the cave itself is not technically challenging, and it requires little more than a flashlight and a sense of adventure! Apart from the hot summer months, this cave hosts fantastic ice features such as stalactites, stalagmites and pillars made of pure ice. In the summer the ice melts away, but it still makes for a fantastic place to cool down and explore. The most difficult and dangerous part is simply getting to the cave itself, but prepared explorers will find that the adventure is well worth it!
Inside the Cave, Looking Out:
Getting to the Cave
The Giant Opening of the Ice Cave (left of centre in the cliff)
Alberta Parks has made access to the cave difficult on purpose - a series of past accidents and rescues pushed the parking lot from the road near the base of the cave all the way back to the Ing's Mine Parking Area. Access now begins with a mandatory 5.5 km hike or bike along an old gravel road. Bikes are recommended as the road is easy to ride. From the road a well-defined trail starts up towards the cave, covering about 1.2 km to the cave entrance at 1740 m elevation. As the trail exits the forest onto the scree slope, it deteriorates into a scramble route. Some hands-on scrambling is required on loose, gravelly rock. The cave itself is impossible to miss - scramble up to the mouth to begin! Total distance one-way from Ing's Mine Parking is about 7 km with 300 m of elevation gain.
Exploring the Cave & Finding the Cache
What awaits you if you go in search of this cache:
Once at the mouth of the cave, it's time to let the adventure begin! Fire up your flashlight and carefully enter the cave. The temperature of the cave hovers around 0C year-round, which means that in the summer you will almost immediately feel the temperature difference as you enter the cave. Watch your footing as the floor is often either wet or icy, causing very slippery steps. The rocks and boulders also make for tricky scrambling towards the back of the cave. If you're lucky, you will get to enjoy some awesome ice features as you explore the cave!
As for the cache itself, the posted coordinates will lead you to only to the entrance of the cave. After that, your GPS will be of little use - you will have to head to the far end of the cave near the ice plug to begin your search! A flashlight is mandatory to be able to find this cache! Also note that without the hint or spoiler photos, this cache will be extremely difficult to find - hence the 5* difficulty rating. Read the hint or bring the spoiler photo if you want to enjoy a quick find!
History of the Cave & the Ice Plug
The surveyed map of the Moose Mountain Ice Cave:
Source: "Caves of the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains" by Jon Rollins (2004).
The cave itself was discovered in 1905 by Stan Fullerton. Since then, the cave has drawn spelunkers of all ages and experience to explore its magnificent ice formations! Although the main "tourist section" of the cave is only about 150 m long which ends today at the ice plug, the full length of the cave is a staggering 727 m, with an internal elevation gain of nearly 90 m. The ice plug at the back of the cave was dug out in 1968 to access the deeper caverns, but the ice always reforms and has remained in place blocking the back sections of the cave since 1980.
The cave was formed primarily by water enlarging fractures within the slightly soluble limestone, with its entrance considerably enlarged by large-scale frost wedging during freeze-thaw cycles, similar to the phreatic or vadose caves often found in Canada.
Safety Blurb
Please note that accessing and exploring the cave is not simple and there are many objective hazards you will encounter during this adventure. Note that the long approach can take a significant amount of time, which can be troublesome during cold or hot months. The scramble up to the cave is loose and slightly exposed - some basic level of scrambling experience is recommended. There are plenty of places where a slip on the loose rock could injure you badly. Also note that the rocky slopes and the cave itself host very loose rock - I highly recommend bringing and wearing a helmet for your personal protection. Be wary of others who may also kick rocks down onto you. The loose rock slopes on the way to the cave have resulted in at least one fatality, and rescues of injured or stranded scramblers are fairly common - do not become a statistic! Make sure you are prepared for this adventure!
The adventure to the Moose Mountain Ice Cave is fantastic - it's such a unique feature that's well worth exploring. Please tread lightly on the cave - don't vandalize the cave or leave any garbage behind. Please leave the cave as you found it so others can enjoy it too! Come prepared and have fun!