It is pocked with craters, trenches and mounds of freshly deposited earth from the extensive excavations. This looks like a war zone,'' said Sherwood. Bump pointed out several holes that had been turned into tunnels, a very dangerous situation, she said. That's Curtis' job - to stop people from digging a cave and crawling into it and having it cave in on top of them,'' Bump said. People get excited, get digging and don't pay too much attention to what's going on.
Rules established for Crystal Park include a ban on tunneling.
The rules are listed on signs and in brochures available at the site. An area on the site that is covered with lodgepole pine is closed for safety reasons, Bump said. Digging around the trees has undermined their roots, causing them to topple over unexpectedly. Eventually, Bump said, the Forest Service might remove the trees and open the area to digging. Another hazard involved in digging crystals, said Foster, is altitude sickness.