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[d-jnana]

When not boating I like to go caving.
I'll just sit back and wait for some clever diick to come up with a smart comment about dressing in ruber suits and crawling into a tight muddy hole with a group of other blokes.
Seriously South Wales has the biggest and best caves in Britain if not Europe. Try it you guys, it gets you fit as well as giving you a huge adrenalin rush.

[HS93 (RIP)]

Years ago they paid people to go down them..







there called coal mines

he he

Peter

[d-jnana]

Now Peter, I have to take you to task over that, the Welsh are not all drunk sheep molesting unemployed miners.
No seiously though mines are too dangerous for me. Full of gas, and unstable geology. Now caves ARE different. They are inherently stable being that they are formed by nature, not man. Caves follow the natural geology, man when minning, tries to impose his geometric will upon it. Naturally nature fights back with colapses, and crushes. Mines are uninteresting, featureless, dirty poluted, and ready to kill you in any number of ways.
Caves on the other hand, are full of the most beautiful, fscinating, and awe inspiring natural formations. The rooves are stable, and safe. A recent rock fall in caving terms is within the last 1000 years. Some time ago we took a miner caving and scared the living C**P out of him. We took him into "Mud Chamber" in Little Neath River Cave. "Mud Chamber" is about the size of a large sports hall,, in terms of both height and area. What freaked him out was the lack of visible support for the roof. He refused to go beyond the chamber, being too scared to cross it incase it colappsed on him. Shame really as he missed out on seeing the subteranean deights further on.
If any one wants to give caving a go then give me a ring (01792 429235).
Cheers
Gary

[HS93 (RIP)]

Do they take wheelchairs

[Colin Bishop]

Do they take wheelchairs

The ones in the Dordogne, France have trains in them! Others you have to cross by boat on underground lakes. Incredible, some of them with the cave paintings too. They are geared up for tourists though. The ones d-jnana is talking about are serious stuff for experts I would imagine. I think you can get quite wet too.

[Doc]

Gary,
I promise, I won't say anything about rubber suits, tight places, etc.  I've learned never to insult crazy people, never know what 'those' people will do...  'Spelunking' just doesn't appeal to me.  If I need a 'rush' that bad there are too many light sockets I can stick a finger into.
 - 'Doc

[chromedome]

I will stick to hillwalking...cant stand being underground.

[d-jnana]

Do they take wheelchairs

I believe that there are parts of Dan-yr-Ogof show caves that are wheel chair accessable. It is only 25 mins up the Swansea valley from the M4. Hope that might be of some help. I think they have a web site. Dan-Yr-Ogof is a show cave, but only the first 3/4 mile or so is open to the general public, the other 9 3/4 miles is only accessible to serious cavers.
Now I don't mind show caves, but prefer mine a bit more on the "raw" side. There is even a chance that by moving a pile of stones or mud choke you are exploring "where no man has gone before." The thrill of doing just that is what got me into it, and within 3 trips of my first I, with a friend, had a "dig" going in a cave somewhere in South Wales. I won't say where because we never did finish getting all the mud out of that passage, but it had/has potential to open a whole new network in a cave which is little known by the caving fraternity round here. Its a bit like the "missing link" between Dan-yr-Ogof (10 miles), and Ogof Fynon Ddu (34 miles). If any body ever discovers that it will make the system one of the longest in europe. It could be one of the greatest discoveries of the century, or just another dead end.

Hi Doc, Spielunking!
That is not caving............its suicide.
When I started caving in 1991 the statistics were very scary:-
ONE IN FIVE CAVE DIVERS CAN EXPECT TO DIE CAVE DIVING.
ONE IN TWENTY CAVE DIVING EXPEDITIONS ENDS IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION (DEATH).
One fellow caver gave me this advice, "Don't cave dive with your friends. If you go missing they time you out of air before looking for you. Why? Becuse in some rescues the rescuee has emerged, but not the rescuer. The rescuee was carrying the rescuers tanks."
I'm not sure if I believe that, but the statistics alone are more than enough to put me right off that particular rush.

[OneBladeMissing]

I used to go underground for money, I wouldn't want to do it for nowt!
There was one seam where I worked where there were no roof supports, the strata was very solid rock.
Some people didn't like that part of the pit. It didn't bother me at all.
Why is it that some cavers/potholers feel the urge to go underground when there have been periods of heavy rain? Then some poor sods have to go down and hook them out.

[Colin Bishop]

Why is it that some cavers/potholers feel the urge to go underground when there have been periods of heavy rain? Then some poor sods have to go down and hook them out.

'cos they're hygroscopic.. 

[Roger in France]

Oh, Colin, "...hygroscopic..." ! They are just wet.

Roger in france.

[d-jnana]

Why is it that some cavers/potholers feel the urge to go underground when there have been periods of heavy rain? Then some poor sods have to go down and hook them out.

I know what you mean. I always check the prevailing weather, and the forcast. There is a cave on The Gower which floods if it rains on e Brecon beacons. Tooth cave its called, and it floods within 20 mins of rain falling on the Beacons.  If it does its game over. There are always risks, and I for one hope to avoid all accidents, but they do happen, despite all the precautions you take. If ever that evetuallity occurs I will be eternally greatfull to the volenteers who make up cave rescue.

[Andy M]

I always thought it was called Cave in!

[colin-stevens]

used to go caving when i was alot younger, never got much of a buzz from it though. took up climbing. any way, story time.
group of us were in a cave, south wales is about as close as i can remember. we had a newbie. came to a sump. newbie was told to take the deepest breath he could. duck down, then walk. as he walked to bump his head on ceiling. when he didnt feel bump, come up for air. me and my mate had gone in first, as safety for him. its a quick duck and up again. no more than 2ft long. as we saw him coming, we were hitting his helmet with a rock. let him go for about 10 ish feet before we let him up. he was not a happy bunny. he is still pot holing, i'm not. carry out the simiarly cruel intoductions to me chosen sports still. \one day might grow up. NAW.
colin