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I understand that people take pleasure in doing this sport because it's physically challenging and they find the challenge exciting. > more than 11 hours after

I understand that people take pleasure in doing this sport because it's physically challenging and they find the challenge exciting. > more than 11 hours after setting off on a dive that was supposed to take five hours. I mean this is just insane. I can't even imagine trying to do something in which any mistake could instantly cause my death for 11 hours straight. > "There are lots of questions - the original questions - about where the cave goes, and where the water comes from, and they are still there," he says. "And I am not afraid of the cave." I appreciate this attitude, but I'm wondering if it would diminish the sport at all to have autonomous vehicles explore the cave before a dive. It doesn't remove the physical challenge of the sport itself, but it could help divers prepare for tough portions of the dive. e.g. at 110m depth, narrow passage. Single file proceeding with X minutes budgeted for issues.

grecy 10y ago
I'm an avid explorer, regularly setting off to do things that are not entirely "safe". (though nothing on this scale). The story of Chris McCandless[1] (Into The Wild) spoke to me so strongly, I made the trek[2] into the wilderness where he passed away, an old bus on the side of a trail in Alaska. Chris' is a very controversial story, with many people believing he was an idiot for wandering in there "unprepared" and many thinking he is inspirational. I wound up spending 4 years living in the North, exploring the far corners of Yukon and Alaska. I feel strongly there are some personality types that just need to get "off the map" and I love the part of Jon Krakauer's book Into The Wild where he suggests having a piece of wilderness on the earth that literally has no map. People can choose to go in there to explore. They'll (likely) find mountains, rivers, lakes, caves, etc. but nothing will be mapped, everything is to be discovered. When they return, they can't talk specifics, or show photos. Some of us want to go places that have been unexplored, and we accept that risk. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless [2] http://theroadchoseme.com/the-magic-bus http://theroadchoseme.com/the-magic-bus
- monk_e_boy 10y ago
  Your story sounds amazing. I'm from the UK where every square cm of ground has been mapped, examined and sold to someone. Some questions. 1) What did you eat and drink? 2) Where did you sleep? 3) What was an average day like? 4) How did you deal with days like christmas day, new years eve, your birthday, the solstice and any other special day to you. 5) Did you see or find anything curious? Something that made you pause and wonder? 6) Is that sort of adventure a man thing? Did you ever hear of a woman doing something similar by choice? Just some questions that I have, don't answer them if they are impertinent. Just a curious :)
  - gaius 10y ago
    Not true. I know people (men and women, not that it matters) who regularly discover and explore virgin cave in the UK, France, etc. Also in the UK is is very easy to have an adventurous experience if you want. The Brecons, the Highlands, etc are well beyond civilization.
    - lostlogin 10y ago
      The highlands have a pub every few miles! Which is excellent when cold wet and tired. You would have to try quite hard to get really remote.
  - keenerd 10y ago
    Every square CM of the US is mapped as well, and has been for a hundred years. The USGS is very thorough and all of their topo maps are freely available in the public domain.
    - Piskvorrr 10y ago
      If you'd say "every square mile on the surface," I'd believe you; "every square cm" sounds several orders of magnitude too precise.
    - kahirsch 10y ago
      http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8927720/ns/us_news-life/t/giant-waterfall-discovered-calif-park/ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8927720/ns/us_news-life/t/giant-wa...
gaius 10y ago
In caves there is the "rule of 6ths" which means of your available gas, you plan to complete the dive with 5/6ths left. Open water divers usually plan to surface with 1/3rd remaining. There is a lot of redundancy built into any dive plan, every piece of kit has a backup, etc. No-one who actively enjoys or seeks out risks or adrenaline lasts long in the cave diving scene, because no-one will dive with them.

grecy 10y ago

I'm an avid explorer, regularly setting off to do things that are not entirely "safe". (though nothing on this scale). The story of Chris McCandless[1] (Into The Wild) spoke to me so strongly, I made the trek[2] into the wilderness where he passed away, an old bus on the side of a trail in Alaska. Chris' is a very controversial story, with many people believing he was an idiot for wandering in there "unprepared" and many thinking he is inspirational. I wound up spending 4 years living in the North, exploring the far corners of Yukon and Alaska. I feel strongly there are some personality types that just need to get "off the map" and I love the part of Jon Krakauer's book Into The Wild where he suggests having a piece of wilderness on the earth that literally has no map. People can choose to go in there to explore. They'll (likely) find mountains, rivers, lakes, caves, etc. but nothing will be mapped, everything is to be discovered. When they return, they can't talk specifics, or show photos. Some of us want to go places that have been unexplored, and we accept that risk. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless [2] http://theroadchoseme.com/the-magic-bus http://theroadchoseme.com/the-magic-bus

monk_e_boy 10y ago
Your story sounds amazing. I'm from the UK where every square cm of ground has been mapped, examined and sold to someone. Some questions. 1) What did you eat and drink? 2) Where did you sleep? 3) What was an average day like? 4) How did you deal with days like christmas day, new years eve, your birthday, the solstice and any other special day to you. 5) Did you see or find anything curious? Something that made you pause and wonder? 6) Is that sort of adventure a man thing? Did you ever hear of a woman doing something similar by choice? Just some questions that I have, don't answer them if they are impertinent. Just a curious :)
- gaius 10y ago
  Not true. I know people (men and women, not that it matters) who regularly discover and explore virgin cave in the UK, France, etc. Also in the UK is is very easy to have an adventurous experience if you want. The Brecons, the Highlands, etc are well beyond civilization.
  - lostlogin 10y ago
    The highlands have a pub every few miles! Which is excellent when cold wet and tired. You would have to try quite hard to get really remote.
- keenerd 10y ago
  Every square CM of the US is mapped as well, and has been for a hundred years. The USGS is very thorough and all of their topo maps are freely available in the public domain.
  - Piskvorrr 10y ago
    If you'd say "every square mile on the surface," I'd believe you; "every square cm" sounds several orders of magnitude too precise.
  - kahirsch 10y ago
    http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8927720/ns/us_news-life/t/giant-waterfall-discovered-calif-park/ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8927720/ns/us_news-life/t/giant-wa...

gaius 10y ago

In caves there is the "rule of 6ths" which means of your available gas, you plan to complete the dive with 5/6ths left. Open water divers usually plan to surface with 1/3rd remaining. There is a lot of redundancy built into any dive plan, every piece of kit has a backup, etc. No-one who actively enjoys or seeks out risks or adrenaline lasts long in the cave diving scene, because no-one will dive with them.