We linked up with @Abandoned Underground and @Zia Mountain Adventures to tackle the main inclined shaft at this hundred-year-old New Mexico lead/zinc mine. Though navigating the failed shaft timbering was not for the faint of heart, I'm glad that I finally got to see this one through! This shaft is very hazardous and I cannot recommend that anyone attempt it without extensive underground experience. A lifeline and harness may also be appropriate.

The shaft continued down to Level 6, but was lagged off at the Level 5 station. Level 5 is at roughly the 90-foot level relative to the portal. Some work on Level 5, the "Level 4.5" drift, and limited stoping on Level 4 were most likely the last commercial mining done here. This district had a history of lessee mining undertaken by small operators when companies allowed the mines to sit idle. More recently, one stope breast on Level 4 was shot in the last few years for specimen material, and two stopes on Level 5 are intermittently hand-mined, also for specimens. This mine is not entirely idle and I'm not complaining!

After consulting published maps, I believe we did in fact reach the area marked "HORSE" on the map, which we believe to have been a stable for mine mules. The stable itself was mined out at a later date. If we'd had another couple of hours, we could have explored the rest of the level but we stretched our timeline a bit even though we cut things short.