What is the Bynums Project?

The Bynums Project is a coordinated effort to thoroughly and systematically document and explore Bynum's Cave in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Bynum's was discovered over a decade ago by Kent Ballew. Kent and the other early explorers, Bruce Smith, Buddy Lane, Trick Howard, Neeld Messler, Marion O. Smith, to name a few, quickly realized that Bynum's is a physically and mentally demanding cave.

The vast majority of the early exploration involved pushing endless chert crawlways and digging through cobble-choked ear-dippers. The occasional dome and strong wind was enough to keep cavers pushing onward. Nevertheless, push trips took their toll on explorers, with few cavers becoming repeat visitors to the cave.

More recent exploration has pushed the cave back into areas vastly different than what was found early on. Explorers have pushed through the long and difficult crawls and discovered entirely different passage. Tall canyon passage leading to a series of large domepits was discovered in the autumn of 2006 (trip report). The explorers on this trip turned around in going passage with countless unchecked leads and strong air movement. What lies beyond is still unknown.

Why participate in the Bynums Project?

If you are interested in seriously contributing to the science of caves and caving, the Bynums Project is an excellent opportunity. To reiterate, the main goal of the Bynums Project is to thoroughly and systematically document and explore Bynum's Cave. Documentation efforts are being directed towards surveying the cave. To date, there have been no sustained survey attempts. Recent exploration has shown that the lack of a map is a serious detriment towards the understanding of the cave.

The systematic nature of the project will be manifested in a survey-as-you-go policy. This is the only way we can be certain that the cave will be thoroughly documented. The cave isn't going anywhere, so why rush?

How will the Bynums Project be run?

The Bynums Project is open to all and is not intended to be a closed or exclusive endeavour. The difficult nature of the cave may very well preclude some cavers from participating in the physical exploration of the cave. There are other ways to participate and we encourage you to join in!

One way we encourage you to participate is by playing with our data. All data collected under the auspices of the Bynums Project will be made freely available to project participants. If you don't like the official map that is coalescing and think you can do better, feel free. If you are a budding cartographer but don't have enough data to test your skills on a bigger cave, join in the project!

Cave cartography has undergone a paradigm shift in the last ten years. Computers have allowed many more people to participate in drafting maps than previously would have been able to. The data management model employed by the Bynums Project will hopefully push the envelope that much further. We expect our collaborative, open source approach towards mapping to change the way caves are mapped.

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Questions about this website?

Questions or comments regarding this website, bynumsproject.org, should be directed towards Jonny Prouty. This website is very much in a state of flux and will be changing frequently in the near future. Any and all comments, positive and negative, are appreciated.