Is Caving Dangerous?

"God Hates a Coward"

Well, is it?
Yes.
Not as dangerous as skiing or driving on the highway. Certainly not as dangeous as attending an American high school. But there are dangers and it pays to be aware of them.

That said, caving seems a lot more dangerous than it is, because the only cave stories that non-cavers get are from the news, and the news is only interested if someone dies or gets trapped. Why is that?

First, "Five cavers go into cave, come out muddy" is not a good headline. There's not a big element of drama there.
Second, the news is not interested in informing you; it is interested in selling you a newspaper, and drama is what does it, not information. If you wanted information about the dangers of caving, you'd be reading a book or a web-page written by someone knowledgeable, not an article by some guy who's never been underground.
Third, reporters have no way of knowing what goes on underground, unless someone tells them, and cavers aren't likely to do that. If someone dies, well, word of that tends to get out. Likewise if a big rescue is mounted. Otherwise, they'd never know.

When all you hear about is caver trajedy, you get a skewed sense of the dangers. You're much more likely to die driving the highways than caving, but you've driven the highways, and known plenty of other people who have, too, so it doesn't worry you. You have a realistic view of the dangers. After you've been underground a few times, the dangers of caving won't bother you either.

But caves are dangerous just because they're hard to get to. If you fall on the sidewalk and break your ankle, it is no big deal. If necessary, the ambulance can drive up to you and load you in. If you break your ankle in a cave, it is a more serious matter. And you are more likely to break your ankle in a cave, because it is dark, uneven and slippery.

Cave-Ins

This seems to be the biggest fear among non-cavers. The whole structure might come down on you. This is certainly a possibility. In 2002, there was a large cave-in West Virginia's very popular Bowden cave. But in general, cave-ins are not very likely, and where they are, experienced cavers are usually able to tell and take precautions. Most caves beginners are likely to enter are pretty stable.

A good general rule is this: if it looks loose, don't touch it.

Getting Lost

It is very, very easy to get lost underground. Every time I go into Moira cave, I end up getting lost. Cave maps are hard to read, and landmarks start to blur. But this is more of a nuisance than anything. Experienced cavers know that if they keep at it, they'll find their way out again. Most people who get dangerously lost in caves do not have a clue what they are doing, and shouldn't be in there alone.

If it is a cave of any size or complexity, don't go down without maps and a compass. If you are coming back out the same way you go back in, you can use some sort of retrievable marking system. We use popsickle sticks with reflective tape on one side. You can stick them in the mud at a juncture, and see them a long way off. Because the tape is only on one side, we know if we see the reflector, we're on the way out. Hust remember to collect them on your way out.

Many cavers object to this sort of system on the grounds that...hell, I don't know what their reason is. It seems pure snobbery.

Getting Wedged

Floyd Collins got wedged in a cave a died a few days later. He wasn't the first or the last, but he's the most famous, and it's a name you should know if you're going to be caving. However, most people who get stuck don't die. They usually aren't dumb enough to go through amazingly tight, unexplored passages on their own.

However, sometimes rescues take hours, sometimes days. You might rather be dead than stuck in a cold, dark hole, unable to move, until rescuers can chip you out.

Unlike most cave dangers, this is one more likely to effect experienced cavers. Beginning cavers usually err on the side of caution (and if they don't, their trip leader shouldn't let them go into a passage they might not be able to get through. Know your ability level. Unless you feel comfortable with the thought of waiting for hours to be rescued, don't go down extremely tight passages unless you are confident in your ability to get through or get back out.

Flooding

This is a very real danger, and one I don't get very cavalier about. Many caves have rivers or streams running through them, and a heavy rain can fill cave faster than it can drain. How do you like thinking about a long belly crawl upstream, with no visibility and not much air?

Cave descriptions will mention if the cave is prone to flooding. If it is, check the weather carefully before going down. If it's raining anywhere in the cave's region, it might be better to save that cave for drier weather.

This isn't always enough. A group went into New York's Onesquethaw cave in perfectly dry weather, but some of the towns upstream decided that they'd tear down the local beaver damns that day. Onesquethaw flooded, and the cavers were just barely lucky enough to get to a high part of the cave and wait it out. I'm glad I wasn't there.

Fire

This isn't a danger one often associates with caves, but it is one that all experienced cavers live in mortal dread of. Many minerals, such as coal and sulphur (brimstone) are highly flammable. There is also the presence of natural gas, coal dust, and other flammable gasses. A careless match or discarded cigarette could send a fireball roaring through the cave which would immolate every living creature inside, as illustrated in the dramatic photograph on the right, showing two cavers attmepting to escape a flame-out in Kentucky's Far In the Hole cave.

Actually, that isn't true at all. If you get hurt by fire in a cave, it's because you or someone you're with is doing something pretty stupid.

Hypothermia

Most caves are not all that cold. But many people who die in caves, die of hypothermia. That is because they get hurt some other way, and go into shock, and their body temperature drops. The best way too deal with this is to know some basic first aid, know the signs of shock, and have some means of keeping the hurt person warm. Force them to eat, get them something dry to wear if it is available. One handy item is a space blanket: a foil blanket that folds up to the size of a man's wallet, but can unfold to cover a person and help keep them warm.

Panic

This is more of a psychological danger than a physical one, but it is more common than any of the others. There is one time and one time only that panic is helpful: when a predator's got you, and random thrashing might make them let you go. So don't panic.

But you well might want to, especially in those squeezes. This is not because you are a beginner or a coward. It is because you have not yet escaped your human neurology. Your evolution is telling you if you can't move freely, you will not pass on your genes, which is the most horrible thing your evolution can think of.

Don't listen. In this case, your evolution is wrong. Keep a level head and you are much more likely to pass on your genes.

Breathe. According to Soto Zen, "correct breathing is not the way to enlightment; correct breathing is enlightenment." You never see zen masters freaking out in caves, so there must be something to it.
Distract yourself. It helps if you can talk to someone, about something not related to caves. Talk about the movies you've seen recently, how things are going at work, if you do get to pass on your genes, who you'd like to share genetic material with, etc.
Focus on what you can do. If you can move forward an inch, move forward an inch.

What if I'm wedged in a tight passage with no hope of rescue and the water level's rising inch by inch and I need insulin and Lassie doesn't even know where to look for help... Panic. It won't help, but why not spend your last minutes in that euphoria of pure animal terror?

Vertical Caving

Vertical caving uses ropes and other gear to rappel into caves and then ascend out again. This is the only way to see a great many caves, but it is definitely not something for the beginner.

Vertical cavinng adds a great new dimension to cave dangers. You have the possibility of gear failure, ropes sheared, anchors pulling, rappeling off the end of your rope, human error, etc. Almost all of these can be avoided by knowing what you are doing, and making sure the others with you are doing things as they should.

Ice Caving

Caves can form in glaciers and icebergs, and judging from photographs, they are the most beautiful things on Earth. They are also, like most beautiful things, very dangerous. But beginners are so unlikely to be ice caving, it hardly warrants mentioning.

Cave Diving

You may have donned some diving gear and puttered about in a large water-filled cave as part of an adventure tourism in Mexico or Jamaica or something. This sounds llike fun, and I might do it myself some day.

But it isn't cave diving.

Cave diving has a very, very low injury rate. That's because almost every mistake is lethal. Take all of the above dangers and multiply them times ten, and you have cave diving. Disorientation because of poor visibility (because silt inevitably gets stirred up) and poor judgment because of nitrogen narcosis are some of the new dangers. And don't forget that you're on the clock. You can't wait nine hours for a rescue. And if you get anxious, you start burning through your oxygen faster...

Cave diving is insane.

Is it worth it?

It's your call. Thousands of people world-wide think it is. Could they all be wrong?

Of course they could. Just look at how many people buy Microsoft products. But caving is fun, exciting and exotic. You'll see some beautiful scenery that most people will never see. You'll get the status of doing something more interesting than your friends do.

And best of all, you'll be spending your time doing something cool. Yes, it is dangerous, but if you're just going to spend your life staring at the idiot box, why do you need it to be longer?

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