Cass Cave


Cass Cave is a cave located in Cass, West Virginia,[1] on Cheat Mountain. On March 16, 1968, 8 people were trapped and later rescued in the cave.[2][3] In 1976, an amateur caver was trapped in the cave for more than 15 hours, falling 40 feet to the cave floor after an equipment malfunction.[4] In 1977, a climber was trapped in the waterfall and died of hypothermia due to being drenched by falling water.[5]

Cass Cave
LocationPocahontas County, West Virginia, United States
LightingNone
VisitorsClosed to the public

Cass Cave has the highest subterranean waterfall in West Virginia and Virginia, Lacy Suicide Falls, with a height of 139 ft. This high waterfall was misnamed; a suicide did occur but it was at a small drop very near the entrance. The cave is not open to the general public.[6]

One of the rooms in the cave (the "Big Room") is 800 ft long, 180 ft high and 75 ft wide.[7]

The June 1964 Issue of National Geographic featured a two-page fold-out color photograph by Huntley Ingalls of a caver climbing a wire ladder adjacent to the waterfall.[8] The photo was illuminated by a series of #2 Press photo flashbulbs laid over an aluminum foil reflector spread on the slope below..

References
  1. Bulletin of the National Speleological Society. National Speleological Society. 1966.
  2. "ER-NCRC - Cave Rescue, March 16, 1968, Cass Cave, WV". Caves.org. 1968. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  3. "Spelunker Rescued". The Raleigh Register. Beckley, West Virginia. 18 Mar 1968. p. 2. Retrieved 24 November 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Man rescued from cave". The News. Frederick, Maryland. 1 Sep 1976. p. 16. Retrieved 24 November 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Climbing Accident Is Fatal". The Times Recorder. Zanesville, Ohio. 31 Aug 1977. p. 2. Retrieved 24 November 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Kevin Adams (1 June 2002). Waterfalls of Virginia and West Virginia: A Hiking and Photography Guide. Menasha Ridge Press. pp. 32–. ISBN 978-0-89732-414-4.
  7. John Hodel (30 Jun 1963). "Features of Cass Cave". Beckley Post-Herald. Beckley, West Virginia. p. 17. Retrieved 24 November 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "WV Tourist Interest Is On Increase". Cumberland Evening Times. Cumberland, Maryland. 17 August 1964. p. 7. Retrieved 24 November 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

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