Go Crawl in a Cave

2004-05-04T00:03:00.000-07:00

Cave without a name

The San Antonio Express-News has a nice article about the restoration of Cave Without a Name.

"Using toothbrushes, sponges and their own gloved hands, the geology club from the University of Texas at San Antonio spent Saturday stripping away the grime, revealing rock formations that have not been visible for decades.

"The work is painstaking: Two people working together might uncover only 3 feet in a day.

"It's a good way to spend your days, helping this place get better," Edith Flores said, using a headlamp to illuminate the cave's floor as she worked."

Nice work, guys! Let the rest of us know when you're planning a work day and we'll organize some help.

2004-04-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

Cave deaths in St. Paul

"Three teenagers died and another was hospitalized Tuesday after they were overcome by carbon monoxide while exploring a cave near Plato Boulevard and Wabasha Street on St. Paul's West Side.

A fifth teenager walked out of the cave on his own, complaining of dizziness, and called the St. Paul Fire Department about 4:20 p.m. to report his friends were still inside the cave."
Link

2004-04-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Rescue in Washington state

Here's a brief news story about a caving accident in North Spokane, Washington:

"A Whitworth student is safe after she fell 30 feet into a cave Saturday afternoon.

"Kim Allard, 20, and her friends had been exploring caves in North Spokane, near Wandermere and Dartford Roads. The group had been repelling down into the cave. The entrance to the cave was extremely narrow, and witnesses say it is amazing they made it in the first place. However, getting out proved to be a tougher challenge. The group repelled in and when Kim's turn came, her gear failed and she fell down the vertical wall. Allard couldn't climb out herself, and friends called for help. A paramedic repelled down into the cave, stabilized the girl and helped lift her out. She was in the cave for about an hour.

"Allard has a broken leg, most likely her tibia, and she is pretty banged up, but otherwise okay."

2004-04-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

Cave deaths in Indonesia

I was waiting to see if there might be more information forthcoming on this, but so far there are no more details, except this brief report.

"Two nature lovers identified as Sofyan M Nur,33, and Hariono,33, from Indonesia`s district of Tangerang, Banten province were found dead in Gudawang cave, Cigudeg sub-district, Bogor district, West Java, police said here on Thursday.

"Bodies of the victims were evacuated to Bogor PMI (Indonesian Red Cross) general hospital at 9.25 a.m. local time, the police said.

"Brigadier-II Agus of the Cigudeg police office confirmed the report on the death of the nature lovers. No Information on why they died but it was beileved that they were drowned. He asked the press to seek more information from the hospital."

2004-04-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

Sad news

Mariano Fuentes Silva's body was found yesterday by rescue divers. Recovery of his body was expected to begin this morning.

2004-04-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

The search continues

Here's the latest report on the ongoing rescue efforts in Oztoque. Cave divers from Austin and Quintana Roo have arrived and the assembled team has resumed diving to search for the missing caver, Mariano Fuentes Silva.

2004-04-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

One caver still missing

Caving in Mexico has once again made international news. Previous accounts said four ill-equipped Mexican explorers were rescued from a cave near Mexico City. More recent reports say one caver from a party of four is still missing in San Jose Balvanera cave (Oztoque/Oztoquito) near Mexico City.

Correction and update: I originally thought this incident and the previous one might be the same, considering the wildly inaccurate reporting that has been known to happen. It is clear now that this is a different incident entirely. These were experienced cavers and cave divers, exploring an unmapped area of the cave they hoped would connect two separate entrances.

The Mexican newspaper El Sol de Puebla reports on the ongoing rescue effort and indicates that more expert assistance and equipment may be needed to speed up the rescue. A previous story in El Sol recounted the early stages of the incident and rescue.

2004-04-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

Role reversal

With an ironic twist, considering the recent British caving expedition derailed in Mexico, a group of four Mexicans spent four days lost in a cave without proper supplies and equpment. They were rescued after spending most of their four-day ordeal in pitch darkness without food or water.

"The two women and two men, aged 20 to 24, were rescued on Wednesday, emerging muddy, dehydrated and unsmiling after spending most of their four-day ordeal in pitch darkness and without food and water, local media reported on Thursday.

"It's like a labyrinth in there and we couldn't find the way out," 20-year-old Ericka Sierra told El Universal daily.

"We had brought candles, but they went out," she said.

"The group entered the caves in the run-down district of Iztapalapa around midnight on Saturday, intending to explore them, but became lost shortly afterward when they couldn't find the way out.

"As they realized their predicament they panicked and became hysterical, and one wanted to try and dig a tunnel to the surface with his bare hands, the group told El Universal.

"After a 16-hour search, emergency workers found the four young adults huddled 300 yards (metres) inside the cave network, smeared with grime and with ripped clothes. All four were hospitalized."

Clearly, these four weren't experienced cavers, but with the current high awareness of caving in Mexico, this could only make things worse for cavers in the future.

2004-04-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

Cave dwellers

The city of Flagstaff proposes an innovative solution to problems of housing, pollution, education, policing, and all other community ills. The city plans to house citizens in caves.

"It is amazing how easy it is to transform an ordinary cave into Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel," Arisa said. "You'll get the same timeless results without the fuss of assembling scaffolding."

"Using a paint-by-number system that is projected on the ceiling with an ordinary slide projector, decorators simply fill in the numbered space with the corresponding color.

"Aesthetic beauty aside, the Forest Service still faces a hurdle with environmentalists, who want to see more study as prescribed by NEPA, which, according to the Bush administration, stands for the Naysaying Environmentalists Plan Appeal Act."

So it's no longer April 1 and I'm a little slow on the draw, but it's a humorous read even after the fact.

2004-04-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

Field tripping

This week my 10-year-old daughter Sarah and I volunteered to help out with a city-sponsored program designed to teach elementary school students about caves. We do a lot of volunteer work, but it's always a joy for me to see my kids excited about sharing something they have a passion for.

When we arrived last week for the training and orientation session for volunteers, we discovered there were precious few actual cavers involved. Initially that was a disappointment, but our spirits picked up when we were asked to do some of the more exciting work, since we were the ones who had experience in that area.

So, when the big day came, we arrive early to rig a climbing rope in a tall tree. Sarah put on her gear and climbed and talked and climbed and answered questions and climbed some more, as bus load after bus load of children arrived. She explained how and why cavers learn to climb and rappel using ropes. She climbed many hundreds of feet by the time we were done, and she answered oodles of questions and told dozens of times about her caving experiences. I took a few turns and did the rigging, but mostly I was Sarah's assistant.

What an awesome kid. And what a great opportunity to share what you love and inspire other kids.

2004-04-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

Cave art

Prehistoric caved paintings in the UK thought to be at least 12,000 years old are now open for public viewing. The drawings were found in Church Hole Cave in the East Midlands last year, and archaeologists say their links to art found in France and Spain suggest there may have been a rudimentary Europe-wide culture at the time.

2004-03-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

No tans in sight

Oh those wacky Brits. Bored while trapped in Cuetzalan, British cavers kept their spirits up by doing the full monty for their camera. Have they launched a new career, perhaps?

2004-03-31T07:52:00.000-08:00

Miscommunication

Four Russian cavers returned home safely while a rescue party still searched for them. The search was organized when they failed to call relatives as promised after exiting Solyanik cave and were presumed missing.

2004-03-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

Brits deported

An AP story just broke saying the British cavers have gotten the boot.

"Mexico ordered six rescued cave explorers and seven colleagues expelled Monday after officials determined their expedition had violated their tourist visas.

"The 13 Britons will be placed aboard a flight to London and barred from re-entering Mexico for two years, because they failed to reveal the true purpose of their visit, said Armando Salinas, Mexico's assistant Interior Secretary.

"While stating they were here as tourists, they "carried out activities of exploration, scientific study and training," Salinas said.

"Under armed guard, the Britons were transported to Mexico City's International Airport aboard an immigration police bus with bars across the windows.

"Officials said the British exploration team - six explorers and seven surface members - violated two counts of immigration law by failing to reveal the nature of their exploration in a cave near Cuetzalan, a town in central Puebla state about 110 miles southeast of Mexico City."

Let's hope this does not bode ill for cavers exploring and mapping Mexico caves in the future.

2004-03-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

One step forward

"Mexican authorities have dropped a criminal investigation over allegations that six Britons rescued from a cave were searching for uranium, it emerged today.

"But the men, who were on a military training expedition, were continuing to be held over possible visa irregularities."

So says the Scotsman today in a report that says immigration officials have until tomorrow morning to decide whether to take further action.

Again, the subject of cave mapping as a scientific activity arises:

"Officials believed there might have been a technical infringement on their visas since although they had the right papers for exploring the caves, they were also mapping them, a common practice for potholers. Mapping comes under “scientific” activity – and needs another form of visa."

2004-03-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

Still stuck in Mexico

The Brits got out, but only temporarily. After continued rain prevented their exiting without assistance, British cavers trapped in Alpazat were escorted to freedom by Mexican and British cave divers, only to be detained again by Mexican police. The Scotsman reports that police will soon hand their case over to federal prosecutors, who will decide whether to take them to a prison, a holding facility, or to leave them in a migration detention center where they have been interrogated.

Some potentially bad news for U.S. cavers exploring Mexican cave systems came as officials vowed to keep tighter tabs on foreigners entering under tourist visas. Such activities as cave mapping may in the future be considered scientific exploration and require special visas.

2004-03-23T22:23:00.000-08:00

British cavers trapped in Mexico

The stories started with a trickle and then a flood, as word spread about Six cave divers trapped by rising water in central Mexico cavern. At Google News you can search to find the rest of the international media coverage. Here's hoping those "board stiff" cavers make it safely out of Alpazat soon.

2004-03-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

Tempest in a teapot

For years, scientists near Tucson, Arizona have been doing research in and around a cave they've dubbed La Tetera - Spanish for "The Teapot." This week they went public with their discovery. A story in the Arizona Daily Star reports that the cave was first noticed eight years ago when a passer-by saw a jet of steam emerging from a rock in Colossal Cave Mountain Park. The cave, with its colorful formations and large animal fossils, promises to be a treasure trove for scientists for years to come, though it is reportedly too small and fragile to become a tourist attraction like Kartchner Caverns.

2004-03-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

Got a craving for deep, dark, wet places? Stay tuned for caving news and commentary, and other semi-related musings.