Jump to content

Nutty Putty Cave: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 40°05′51″N 112°02′13″W / 40.09750°N 112.03694°W / 40.09750; -112.03694
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Tag: Reverted
Undid revision 1206396539 by 203.37.238.81 (talk)
Line 30: Line 30:


==Fatal accident and closure==
==Fatal accident and closure==
On November 24, 2009, a man named John Edward Jones (January 21, 1983 – November 25, 2009) became stuck and subsequently died in the cave after being trapped inside for 35 hours.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Man trapped in cave dies during rescue attempt - CNN.com |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/11/26/utah.cave.man/index.html |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=edition.cnn.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=How Long Can a Person Safely Hang Upside Down? |url=https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/hang-upside-down-how-long-safe-deadly.htm |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=HowStuffWorks |language=en-us}}</ref>
On November 24, 2009, a man named John Edward Jones (January 21, 1983 – November 25, 2009) became stuck and subsequently died in the cave after being trapped inside for 27–28 hours.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Man trapped in cave dies during rescue attempt - CNN.com |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/11/26/utah.cave.man/index.html |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=edition.cnn.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=How Long Can a Person Safely Hang Upside Down? |url=https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/hang-upside-down-how-long-safe-deadly.htm |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=HowStuffWorks |language=en-us}}</ref>


Jones and three others had left their party in search of "The Birth Canal", a tight but navigable passageway with a turnaround at the end. Jones entered an unmapped passageway which he wrongly believed to be the Canal and found himself at a dead end, with nowhere to go besides a narrow vertical fissure. Believing this to be the turnaround, he entered head-first and became wedged upside-down.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nutty Putty: 'I really, really want to get out' |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/07/09/nutty-putty-i-really/|access-date=2022-02-22|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref> The fissure measured 10 by 18 inches (25 by 46 cm) and was located 400 feet (120 m) from the entrance of the cave.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-11-28 |title=Body of John Jones, medical student trapped in Utah cave, won't be recovered; Nutty Putty to close |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/body-john-jones-medical-student-trapped-utah-cave-won-recovered-nutty-putty-close-article-1.419559 |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=New York Daily News}}</ref> A large team of rescue workers came to his assistance. The workers set up a sophisticated rope-and-pulley system in an attempt to extricate him, but the system failed when put under strain, plunging Jones back into the hole.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nutty Putty: 'We're going to get you out'|url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/07/10/nutty-putty-were-going|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|access-date=2023-11-17}}</ref> Jones ultimately suffered [[cardiac arrest]] due to the strain placed upon his body over several hours by his inverted, compressed position.{{cn|date=November 2023}} Rescuers concluded that it would be too dangerous to attempt to retrieve his body; the landowner and Jones' family came to an agreement that the cave would be permanently closed, with the body sealed inside, as a memorial to Jones. Explosives were used to collapse the ceiling close to Jones' body, and the entrance hole was filled with concrete to prevent further access.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A213536439/ITOF?u=albu78484&sid=ebsco&xid=516b23e1|title=Nutty Putty Cave sealed off in Utah|publisher=United Press International|date=December 4, 2009|via=Gale}}</ref>
Jones and three others had left their party in search of "The Birth Canal", a tight but navigable passageway with a turnaround at the end. Jones entered an unmapped passageway which he wrongly believed to be the Canal and found himself at a dead end, with nowhere to go besides a narrow vertical fissure. Believing this to be the turnaround, he entered head-first and became wedged upside-down.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nutty Putty: 'I really, really want to get out' |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/07/09/nutty-putty-i-really/|access-date=2022-02-22|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref> The fissure measured 10 by 18 inches (25 by 46 cm) and was located 400 feet (120 m) from the entrance of the cave.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-11-28 |title=Body of John Jones, medical student trapped in Utah cave, won't be recovered; Nutty Putty to close |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/body-john-jones-medical-student-trapped-utah-cave-won-recovered-nutty-putty-close-article-1.419559 |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=New York Daily News}}</ref> A large team of rescue workers came to his assistance. The workers set up a sophisticated rope-and-pulley system in an attempt to extricate him, but the system failed when put under strain, plunging Jones back into the hole.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nutty Putty: 'We're going to get you out'|url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/07/10/nutty-putty-were-going|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|access-date=2023-11-17}}</ref> Jones ultimately suffered [[cardiac arrest]] due to the strain placed upon his body over several hours by his inverted, compressed position.{{cn|date=November 2023}} Rescuers concluded that it would be too dangerous to attempt to retrieve his body; the landowner and Jones' family came to an agreement that the cave would be permanently closed, with the body sealed inside, as a memorial to Jones. Explosives were used to collapse the ceiling close to Jones' body, and the entrance hole was filled with concrete to prevent further access.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A213536439/ITOF?u=albu78484&sid=ebsco&xid=516b23e1|title=Nutty Putty Cave sealed off in Utah|publisher=United Press International|date=December 4, 2009|via=Gale}}</ref>

Revision as of 01:47, 12 February 2024

Nutty Putty Cave
Map showing the location of Nutty Putty Cave
Map showing the location of Nutty Putty Cave
Coordinates40°05′51″N 112°02′13″W / 40.09750°N 112.03694°W / 40.09750; -112.03694
Discovery1960 (by Dale Green)
GeologyChert
Entrances1
DifficultySlippery
HazardsSlippery and Tight
AccessClosed (since 2009)

Nutty Putty Cave is a hydrothermal cave located west of Utah Lake in Utah County, Utah in the United States. The cave was formerly popular with amateur and professional cavers alike despite being known for its narrow passageways. It was closed to the public in 2009 following a fatal accident that year.[1] Before that, it was popular among Boy Scout troops and college students.[2]

Discovery and exploration

The cave, first explored in 1960 by Dale Green and friends, is currently owned by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration,[3] and managed by the Utah Timpanogos Grotto. The cave system was named after the putty-like texture of the soft, brown clay found in many of its passages. Green originally thought of calling it "Silly Putty" but later decided "Nutty Putty" sounded better.[4] The clay-like texture is composed of silicon dioxide commonly found in sand. Because the cave was formed upward with superheated water forming limestone, many additional minerals make up the complex structure.[5] It contains 1,400 feet (430m) of chutes and tunnels and, prior to closure, had been accessible via a narrow surface hole.[citation needed]

Before 2009, this cave had four separate rescues of cavers and Boy Scouts, who got stuck inside the cave's tight twists, turns, and crawls.[6] In 2006, an effort was put forth to study and severely limit the number of visitors allowed inside the cave. It was estimated the cave was receiving over 5,000 visitors per year, with many visitors often entering the cave late at night and failing to take proper safety precautions. The cave's popularity had caused excessive smoothing of the rock inside the cave to the point it was predicted a fatality would occur in one of the cave's more prominent features, a 45-degree room called "The Big Slide". A gate was installed on May 24, 2006, and the cave was temporarily closed. In early 2009, proper management was established and an application process was developed to ensure safety precautions were being met. On May 18, 2009, the cave was reopened to the public.[7]

Fatal accident and closure

On November 24, 2009, a man named John Edward Jones (January 21, 1983 – November 25, 2009) became stuck and subsequently died in the cave after being trapped inside for 27–28 hours.[8][9]

Jones and three others had left their party in search of "The Birth Canal", a tight but navigable passageway with a turnaround at the end. Jones entered an unmapped passageway which he wrongly believed to be the Canal and found himself at a dead end, with nowhere to go besides a narrow vertical fissure. Believing this to be the turnaround, he entered head-first and became wedged upside-down.[10] The fissure measured 10 by 18 inches (25 by 46 cm) and was located 400 feet (120 m) from the entrance of the cave.[11] A large team of rescue workers came to his assistance. The workers set up a sophisticated rope-and-pulley system in an attempt to extricate him, but the system failed when put under strain, plunging Jones back into the hole.[12] Jones ultimately suffered cardiac arrest due to the strain placed upon his body over several hours by his inverted, compressed position.[citation needed] Rescuers concluded that it would be too dangerous to attempt to retrieve his body; the landowner and Jones' family came to an agreement that the cave would be permanently closed, with the body sealed inside, as a memorial to Jones. Explosives were used to collapse the ceiling close to Jones' body, and the entrance hole was filled with concrete to prevent further access.[13]

Some members of the spelunking community opposed the cave's closure. Facebook community groups petitioned to save the cave but failed.[14] Although cavers had cut their way through a gated entrance prior, the explosives used to close the passage and the cemented entry made this difficult if not impossible to do again.[15]

A film about the tragedy titled The Last Descent was released on September 16, 2016.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Why Utah's Nutty Putty Cave Is Sealed Up With One Spelunker Inside. John James became stuck upside down in this cave and waited 27 hours until his death which he knew was coming". June 19, 2018. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "Nutty Putty Cave Before and After the 2009 Tragedy". HowStuffWorks. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Morgan, Emiley (November 26, 2009). "Man trapped in Utah County's Nutty Putty cave dies". Deseret News. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "Nutty Putty Cave discoverer doesn't want it to be closed".
  5. ^ "Nutty Putty Cave Before and After the 2009 Tragedy". HowStuffWorks. October 21, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  6. ^ "History". The Nutty Putty Cave Official Website. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009.
  7. ^ "SITLA Owned Cave Access". The Nutty Putty Cave Official Website. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009.
  8. ^ "Man trapped in cave dies during rescue attempt - CNN.com". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  9. ^ "How Long Can a Person Safely Hang Upside Down?". HowStuffWorks. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  10. ^ "Nutty Putty: 'I really, really want to get out'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  11. ^ "Body of John Jones, medical student trapped in Utah cave, won't be recovered; Nutty Putty to close". New York Daily News. November 28, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  12. ^ "Nutty Putty: 'We're going to get you out'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  13. ^ "Nutty Putty Cave sealed off in Utah". United Press International. December 4, 2009 – via Gale.
  14. ^ Peterson, Janice (December 3, 2009). "Nutty Putty Cave will be sealed by week's end". Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  15. ^ Cabrero, Alex (December 3, 2009). "Utah cavers angry over closure of Nutty Putty cave". Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  16. ^ "Domo CEO and founder excited to introduce filmmaker, tell story of Nutty Putty Cave incident". Deseret News. September 13, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nutty_Putty_Cave&oldid=1206398205"