Building upon the exploits of legendary explorers is akin to standing on the shoulders of giants, it bestows upon those that follow a true appreciation for what came before. In 1984 Bill Stone and a team of divers from the US Deep Caving Team pushed over 5km into Cuerva de la Pena Colorada, halted only by logistical and technological limitations. Still, for the time it was and remains an incredible achievement.

Sump 7 held the potential for a connection with the iconic Huautla system, proposed by Dr Bill Stone’s team in 1984. A team of two divers managed a 150m long and 55m deep penetration of sump 7 in 1984, working at the full limit of logistical and technical capabilities at the time. Pushing this exploration further in 2018 required a team of 24 push and support divers, equipped with rebreather and dpv technologies simply not available in 1984.

In 2018, 34 years later, a team of 24 cave explorers equipped with rebreather and dpv technologies simply not available in 1984, set out to extend the exploration beyond sump VII and perhaps establish the connection to Sistema Huautla - one of the worlds most iconic cave systems. Surviving a dramatic rise in water levels with team members isolated for 69 hours in a flooded chamber, the team managed to place push divers into position 5km into the cave to drive on with exploring any possible connections. While the links proved to remain elusive, the team identified the more likely conclusion that Cuerva de la Pena Colorada is fed from the canyon some 100m above and in reality is unlikely to connect to Sistema Huautla.