Before the coring and laboratory work can begin, however, Snowy River needs to be secured from contamination — even from too much air from the outside world. The new passage, which was made by more than 120 volunteers led by spelunkers Wayne Walker and Steve Peerman, follows an old natural passage which had collapsed, explained John Corcoran, who manages the volunteer activities.
"We inserted a temporary plywood sheet that’s stuck in a frame right in the middle of our passage," Corcoran explained. The sheet reduced the new airflow between caves to a level more like that before they opened things up.
"The next step is to put in place a fairly high-tech air lock system," said Boston. Even when that is competed, Snowy River will only be open for research.
"It’s so fragile. This will be strictly for scientific use," she said.
The original passage into Snowy River was closed by the Bureau of Land Management because it was extremely unstable, with loose rocks and very narrow passages that would have made it almost impossible to extract a researcher in the case of a medical emergency.
"It was an incredibly hazardous trip," Boston said of the first scientific expedition to Snowy River. She was pinned down by a boulder for a while in that difficult 12-hour traverse. So the new passage is a dream-come-true to the scientists.
"We’re ecstatic over that," Boston said.
