In the 1880s, a Leadville newspaper man named Orth Stein filed dispatches that sounded like pure frontier hallucination: a vast cave system beneath the mountains, “thousands upon thousands” of formations, underground water, and chambers grand enough to baptize with names like “River Styx,” “hushed Niagara,” and a moonlit gallery fit for the Vatican. Later historians dunked on it as a tall tale—filed away under “Hoax, Humbug and Orth Stein.”
But a modern crew of Colorado cavers and geologist-types aren’t treating it like a campfire story. They’ve tracked the real people named in Stein’s articles, matched the described entrance to an abandoned mineshaft on private land, and spent years hauling buckets of black shale and mud out of a timbered 1800s hole that’s already ~45 feet deep—creeping toward the ~52-foot depth Stein described when miners allegedly “broke through” into the cavern. They swear they’re feeling airflow now. Either they’re about to punch into a lost cathedral under the forest… or they’re about to find the world’s most stubborn bucket of mud.
Resolution criteria: This resolves YES if, on or before 2026-12-31, there is a public write-up (e.g., a reputable caving org publication like the NSS / Journal of Spelean History, Rocky Mountain caving outlets, or a major news outlet) explicitly confirming they have reached a natural cavern from the suspected entrance shaft and documenting that the reopened cave is the Cyclopean Cave (or the same feature described in the Stein accounts), with supporting evidence such as photos/video, survey notes, or a cave map. It resolves NO if that date passes without such a public confirmation.
1,000Current pricing ~17% YES.
Background and status:
In the 1880s, Leadville journalist Orth Stein published vivid accounts of a vast underground cave system he called the Cyclopean Cave, with large chambers, formations, and an underground river. Later caving literature (including the 1973 book Caves of Colorado) largely dismissed it as a hoax. A modern group of Colorado cavers, including historian/editor Richard Rhinehart, matched Stein’s descriptions and named individuals to an abandoned mineshaft on private land near Leadville. They have been digging it out for several years.
As of the most recent substantial public reporting (Colorado Sun, October 2024), the team had cleared the shaft to roughly 45 feet and reported airflow. Stein’s accounts placed the breakthrough into the natural cavern around 52 feet.
https://coloradosun.com/2024/10/20/leadville-cyclopean-cave-spelunking/
Update as of mid-August 2026:
No subsequent public confirmation has appeared in major news outlets, the Rocky Mountain Caving Journal, NSS publications, or other reputable speleological sources that the dig has reached a natural cavern and that it matches the historical Cyclopean Cave. Searches turn up no breakthrough announcement, survey, photos of the “cathedral,” or formal write-up meeting the resolution criteria. One associated digger, Mike Frazier (pictured in the 2024 coverage), has since died—a minor continuity negative but not evidence about the cave itself.
Resolution criteria reminder:
YES requires a public write-up by December 31, 2026 (reputable caving publication or major news outlet) explicitly confirming they have reached a natural cavern from the shaft and documenting that it is the Cyclopean Cave (or the feature described by Stein), with supporting evidence such as photos/video, survey notes, or a map. Public silence so far keeps the market low. The dig continues on private land with landowner permission, so a breakthrough remains possible, but the clock and the requirement for formal public documentation make YES a long shot at this stage.
I did a deeper public-web pass and still do not see a clear public YES signal. The best reporting is still the Colorado Sun coverage from October 2024, when the team had reached about 45 feet and reported airflow. I found no later public confirmation from a major outlet or caving publication that they reached a natural cavern and documented it as Cyclopean Cave. There is still a plausible YES case, but the public silence matters given the resolution criteria. One weakly relevant newer breadcrumb is the death of Mike Frazier, who was associated with the dig effort, which is a small continuity negative but not evidence against the cave itself.