Beyond C-3: Volume I
Beyond C-3
Historic Documents from the 1954 Collins Crystal Cave Expedition
Volume I
ISBN 979-8-218-74790-9
306 pages, 8.5″ x 11″ format, hardbound
by David W. Hughes and Jennifer Pinkley
© 2026
Foreword by Thomas A. Brucker, son of expedition member and The Caves Beyond co-author Roger Brucker
- Meticulously researched
- Includes many large format photographs
- Printed on glossy, heavy-weight, archival paper
- Book is individually shrink-wrapped
- Limited edition printing … when they are gone, they’re gone
Available from the National Speleological Society (NSS) bookstore. Visit www.caves.org then select Our Work > Shop to access the online bookstore. Search for “Beyond C-3” to find the book.
Also available on eBay.
Description
The National Speleological Society’s 1954 Collins Crystal Cave Expedition helped to establish parameters for serious project caving in the United States. Lingering in storage for seven decades, a treasure trove of the expedition’s correspondence, reports, and transcripts has been uncovered and curated. Most of the associated documents are being published in this series for the very first time. These irreplaceable artifacts afford a “behind the scenes” glimpse into the inner workings of an adventure that unfolded, struggled, and triumphed under rural Kentucky.
Volume I of this six-volume series provides commentary and reproduces documents germane to the genesis of the pioneering expedition, correspondence that occurred before the cave explorers took to the field, standardized forms for applicants wishing to be selected for the adventure, and medical information required of the participants. Included herein are some not-so-complimentary opinions of the National Park Service, and of certain officers in the National Speleological Society.
A few documents from Volume I
A few photographs from Volume I
Captions identifying the people and photographs are included in the book.
