The history of the cave changed forever on November 24, 2009, when 26-year-old medical student John Edward Jones became stuck in an unmapped, narrow fissure. While attempting to find a passage known as the "Birth Canal," Jones mistakenly entered a vertical, downward-sloping crevice that was only 10 by 18 inches wide. He became trapped upside down at a 70-degree angle.
The most chilling label on early maps was a small, dead-end passage known originally as "Bob’s Push" and later renamed "The Birth Canal." It was a narrow, S-shaped crevice that dropped down and then turned upward. On a 2D map, it looked like a tiny appendix; in reality, it was a geological snare. nutty putty cave map
When rescue crews arrived, they used the official 2009 survey map—the most detailed Nutty Putty Cave map ever produced—to plan their extraction. The map revealed a grim truth: the rock above The Birth Canal was solid quartzite. Drilling from above was impossible. The only way out was the way he came in, but physics and anatomy prevented that. The history of the cave changed forever on
Because Nutty Putty is now permanently sealed (more on that later), the map is the only way to tour the cave. Let’s break down the major features as depicted on the most accurate 2009 survey map. The most chilling label on early maps was
Once inside the fissure, he descended head-first into a narrow, L-shaped turn. The map could not convey the true three-dimensional constraint: a 10x18 inch cross-section that narrowed with each movement. He became wedged 400 feet from the entrance, inverted.
The cave serves as a final resting place for John Jones, and a memorial plaque was placed at the site to honor his memory.
Before examining the , one must understand the cave’s shifting identity. Discovered in 1960 by Dale Green, the cave was initially a free-spirited adventure. For decades, it was managed by the Timpanogos Grotto of the National Speleological Society (NSS).