What scares you while caving?

[barcelonacvr]

WARNING: In the unlikely event that any of you follow me into this crawlway; a slight delay will be required while I mentally prepare myself to go around that corner.[/quote]


I wonder if during the long crawl you are compressing your sternum with the position and clothing thus building up co2?

[Grandpa Caver]

I wonder if during the long crawl you are compressing your sternum with the position and clothing thus building up co2?

I believe my reaction is more psychological than physical. The passage at that point is small but except for the bend, not restrictive and it's not far from the beginning of the crawlway. I seldom even notice the spot when exiting the cave.

[Darklight]

Flash flooding. Not getting trapped by one (heh, more time to cave) but getting KILLED by one. I worry so much about the weather when caving I should probably just give it up.....

[Stridergdm]

Also I hate that loud "CLICK" you get sometimes when on SRT and some carabiner or something moves to a different position as you make a movement.

I hate that!
Roger

Reminds me of the time I was ascending, stood up, and something didn't sound or feel right. Look down, my croll had somehow popped off the rope.

Took my brain a few seconds to convince my fingers that they could in fact let go of the other ascender, as they were NOT contributing at all to its apaprently still successful gripping ability. Suffice to say, once I got the croll back on, things were fine.

Of course a year later, in the same cave, coming out and smelling SMOKE. Yes, my fellow cavers had little a tiny (and I mean TINY) fire outside of the cave, but didn't think about where it would draft to...

So, FIRE?

[Stridergdm]

Worse one (personal experience) ... same scenario but the guy's stomach in front of you has just finished processing those three bean burritos (chased by tall glass of milk) and is letting the results speak for themselves.

Bah, that's when caving with Carbide can be "interesting".

[Lost]

You neglected to include "drowning" as a fear option.


So instead, I put falling, since I'm scared of heights, too.

My fear of heights is an "irrational" fear. Just a regular old phobia. My fear of dying cave diving is more of a rational fear knowing how easy it is to screw up!

I'm with you on the drowning.

[George Dasher]

I was doing vertical one time outside, and went to step with my foot Gibbs of my Ropewalker System.

Nothing happened.

I looked down, and the entire stitching on the entire thing had torn free.

My first thought was that the rest of the system had the same webbing, stitching, and everything else.

But, needless to say, the rest of the system held together. The only thing I could figure is I somehow got my foot Gibbs twisted around funny.

[ian mckenzie]

I've a theory: if you sorted the poll results by age/experience, you'd find that the older/more experienced you get, the less you fear natural hazards (rockfall) or ability-based errors (falling), and the more you fear equipment failure.

[Wayne Harrison]

Not for me. The older I get, the larger and less agile I get, and the more I fear getting stuck.

[graveleye]

Not for me. The older I get, the larger and less agile I get, and the more I fear getting stuck.

GOOD ONE!

You know I've been reading the latest NNS news article on the cave divers in the Florida panhandle and it seems like he reported 4-5 fatalities from cave diving before the article was over. I know that many were when the sport was more in its infancy, but it stills drives home the dangers involved.

My hat's off to you cave divers. You guys got guts. Stay SAFE!!!!

[cob]

Not for me. The older I get, the larger and less agile I get, and the more I fear getting stuck.

it's a piece of cake wayne... just have your younger (and smaller) son come in after you with the rope... of course, then you have to listen to him ad infinitem remind you how he "saved" your ass that time...

I will never hear the end of it.

tom

[CKB69]

Have been nearly incinerated due to gasoline fumes.

OK do tell how did that come about, what's the story?

Short version is that a gas station up the road had a leak in a pressurized line. Where did hundreds of gallons of gasoline go? You guessed it...
The fumes accumulated in the lower stream passage,~ 80' below the entrance. The cave takes air in summer,so no fumes were detected untill we entered the room with the stream.
I had a carbide lamp.
I extinguished it with all do haste.
We all beat a hasty retreat as I switched over to an electric backup light.


This cave is somewhat infamous,and I could post pages of bad luck stories,and,tales of buffoonery. I'll just give some sobering facts about this particular chasm.

The breakdown in this cave is impressive,and,alive.
The route from the entrance to the stream changes with the seasons.
The stream floods 12'-15' high.
It is the main drain in a system that has potential for over 10 miles of cave,much of which will be exquisitely miserable.

We gave it another push on Sunday,and the air dissapears into a semi collapsed dome upstream(blowing).
Downstream,the air and water filter through some of the shadiest looking breakdown I have seen. A passage tempts you to crawl beneath several slabs held up by imagination,the wind and water calling me.
We will answer that call AFTER we arrange some visible means of support for these vagrant slabs.
Beyond this point,there could be a mile+ of borehole,but it aint worth someones life!

[JackW]

I picked poisonous bugs. That is in the irrational fear category but it’s why I'll likely never likely want to cave in the SE Asian tropics. I'll live...

As for scary things. Stopped at a fast-food joint on the way from Chicago to Indiana's cave county and in the time I was in the bathroom the place was robbed at gunpoint. Glad I was in the can.

[George Dasher]

I've noticed no one has mentioned denture failure...

[eyecave]

....scariest thing huh.......holding onto the key to escape....and then realizing what it's use would lead to.................... ...jeez...i've done that more than once!........