Random reflections on culture, life and the Universe.
Warning: will regularly include Scottish actors.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Caving is NOT safe
Sorry. I don't care how expert someone is, caving is dangerous. I'm sure proportionate to the people participating it is relatively safe, but going underground in water-filled spaces is not my idea of a safe activity.
When I lived in Stockport as a youth, the local folk scene was full of Derbyshire Caving Club members, so I once spent a lot of time chatting to cavers. I think it's like climbing, in that the golden rule is not to bite off more than you can chew. If you're a comparative novice you don't try scaling the Old Man Of Hoy; and you don't go into any caves with the potential for being flooded unless you have someone with you who knows for certain that you aren't getting into anywhere you nay get trapped. One of the regulars at the pub we used to have sessions at (can't remember the name, but just opposite the Robinson's brewery) was a diver with the cave rescue team, and always looked surprisingly normal for someone who probably recovered several dead bodies every year (mostly when he was called in, they were going to be dead). He didn't put himself in danger, but then as he said, he knew the caves he worked in as well as anyone alive, and he had scuba gear. And he was still extremely cautious.
1 comment:
When I lived in Stockport as a youth, the local folk scene was full of Derbyshire Caving Club members, so I once spent a lot of time chatting to cavers. I think it's like climbing, in that the golden rule is not to bite off more than you can chew. If you're a comparative novice you don't try scaling the Old Man Of Hoy; and you don't go into any caves with the potential for being flooded unless you have someone with you who knows for certain that you aren't getting into anywhere you nay get trapped. One of the regulars at the pub we used to have sessions at (can't remember the name, but just opposite the Robinson's brewery) was a diver with the cave rescue team, and always looked surprisingly normal for someone who probably recovered several dead bodies every year (mostly when he was called in, they were going to be dead). He didn't put himself in danger, but then as he said, he knew the caves he worked in as well as anyone alive, and he had scuba gear. And he was still extremely cautious.
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