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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 1, 2007 18:24:42 GMT -5
Christchurch teenager injured after falling off Peacock RockThe Press (NZ) Tuesday, 2 January 2007 A Christchurch teenager became the second person within five days to be airlifted from the top of a Pohara cliff following a fall. Ben Bakermans, 16, who was staying with his family at a Pohara motel, attempted to climb the precipitous Peacock Rock with his girlfriend, Natasha Adams, about 11am on Saturday. Natasha, who described the climb as "very rough" said that Ben's leg became trapped when he slipped and fell into a shallow hole near the top of the rock. "I managed to get his leg out of the hole but he couldn't stand up, so I rushed down for help," she said. It was the second accident at the same spot within five days. On Christmas Day, Christchurch teenager Cameron Ellis spent hours trapped in a hole after falling and breaking his leg near the top of Peacock Rock. Three weeks ago, a 12-year-old girl suffered minor injuries after plunging 10m down a tomo in Clifton, another limestone area with sinkholes just 3km from Pohara. Saturday's rescue operation involved police, fire and ambulance services, plus the Nelson-Marlborough Rescue Helicopter. Takaka Fire Brigade deputy chief officer Kevin Hebberd said six firefighters, two ambulance officers, a policeman and Ben's father, Peter Bakermans, climbed the rock to attempt to rescue the youth, who sustained a suspected fractured ankle. "As the boy was not too badly hurt, we hoped to try to bring him down in a stretcher but it was too dangerous," he said. By the time the helicopter arrived 20 minutes later, a crowd of holidaymakers had gathered at the foot of the cliffs at the Hanson Winter Reserve. After airlifting the injured youth, the rescue helicopter landed briefly on Pohara Beach before taking him to Nelson Hospital. Constable Crispin Lee, of the Takaka police, said he did not believe putting up warning signs in the area would prevent any further accidents. However, he said the karst limestone cliffs of Pohara were riddled with tomos and reminded people "to take care of themselves". –Nelson Mail Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 6, 2007 8:44:32 GMT -5
Drama not over till the fat lady signs rescue billJanuary 6, 2007 Port Elizebeth Herald By Cathy Dippnall Garden Route Correspondent THE adventure that trapped overweight Veronica Hlabelela in the Tunnel of Love at the Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn on New Year‘s Day, could cost as much as R15 000. But whoever ends up footing the bill, the drama – which was reported around the globe – has meant a huge publicity boost for the tourist attraction with visitors now flooding in to see where Hlabelela got stuck. Hlabelela, 37, of Durban, was trapped in a 50cm-wide tunnel for over nine hours with 23 other people behind her, including a person with diabetes and a child. In real terms, the cost could be much higher, but government-run rescue services and NGOs will absorb the expenses themselves. Representatives from these organisations, however, have said the cost of a rescue mission is not something they consider when it comes to saving someone‘s life. “The government emergency rescue services are run by a province (in this case, Western Cape) and are reliant on government subsidies, which absorb the costs of rescue operations,” said Eden District emergency services spokesman Dion van Wyk. NSRI, which operates as an NGO and which is called out repeatedly to rescue people who have not heeded warnings, also does not consider the financial aspects of rescue operations. “The cost of an emergency is not taken into consideration when a person‘s life is at stake. Our aim is to rescue people irrespective of costs,” said Craig Lambinon, NSRI spokesman. “Our organisation relies on sponsorships and donations. After we have done a rescue operation, we ask for a donation if possible from the people concerned.” However, the private ambulance service Ambu 911 of Oudtshoorn said they would invoice the Cango Caves for their part in the rescue which took over nine hours, with over 20 rescue personnel from different units being called out. “The cost is in the region of R10 000 to R15 000, inclusive of all equipment needed,” said manager Anthony Fivas. “We expect the cost to be covered by the Cango Caves‘ insurance which covers emergencies such as this.” Hein Gertsner, manager of the Cango Caves – which belongs to Oudtshoorn municipality – will meet municipal officials after January 15 to discuss whether or not Hlabelela will have to pay any costs to the municipality. “The final cost of the rescue operation is pure guesswork at the moment,” Gertsner said. “However we have had the best free advertising we could wish for as the news has become known worldwide.” After a worryingly slow start to the season, numbers at the caves picked up over Christmas. After the incident was made public, the adventure tour was booked out on January 2 and people are still flooding in. Gertsner said visitors specifically asked to go to the Tunnel of Love and wanted to know where the woman was stuck. “You never know – this (the rescue) could just turn us around financially and make it one of the best seasons ever,” said Gertsner. Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 1, 2007 18:10:52 GMT -5
23 trapped in Cango caves24.com 01/01/2007 21:38 - (SA) Johannesburg - Rescuers are trying to free 23 people trapped in the Cango Caves, in Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo, SABC radio news reported on Monday. They were trapped when a woman became stuck in one of the narrow passages more than a kilometre into the caves at 12:30. Initial attempts to free the woman failed. A rescue team from George was now cutting away a piece of the cave. The SABC reported that while no lives were in immediate danger, one of the trapped men was a diabetic. Medication had been taken to him. Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 30, 2006 6:47:09 GMT -5
Explorer found dead at bottom of caveBy Christine Byers ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 12/30/2006 ANTONIA — An innocent curiosity about a nearby cave, hidden in the woods of Jefferson County, led to the death of a 45-year-old father of two Friday. Dave Wiegand, of the 6300 block of Old Lemay Ferry Road in the Imperial area, was found dead at the bottom of an approximately 100-foot cave, according to Deputy Chief Glenn Nivens of the Antonia Fire Protection District. His wife, Anna, accompanied him on his trek to the cave earlier Friday afternoon and grew worried when she could no longer hear him, said Larry Cole, Wiegand's friend and neighbor of 20 years. She went for help, leaving the cave to get to her car. Then she drove to Cole's house, he said. "Dave's stuck in a hole," she told him before calling 911 around 3 p.m. Cole, his girlfriend, Pam, and their roommate, Don Durand, then returned to the site with Anna, Durand said. "We do this kind of stuff all the time," Durand said of the many expeditions the friends and neighbors have shared searching for arrowheads and other artifacts in a nearby 30-foot cave. The group had heard about the deep cave before but never could find it, Cole said. Wiegand stumbled upon it Thursday, Durand said. "He came over last night saying how proud he was that he found it," Durand said. When the group arrived at the cave's opening, Durand said, they found four fence posts and rusty barbed wire blocking the triangular-shaped entrance, which was about the size of a manhole. Wiegand's rope was tied to one of the fence posts, his backpack and flashlight were nearby, Cole said, adding that Wiegand responded to him when he called. Emergency vehicles from the Jefferson County sheriff's office and several nearby fire districts gathered at the foot of the bluff Friday. "He told me he was fine, and I told him the Fire Department was on their way and that he had to come up," Cole said. "Then I never heard from him again." Nevin said firefighters learned from a previous rescue that the cave has a ledge about 75 feet below its opening and another drop-off of about 30 feet. Cole said he feared his friend may have fallen from the ledge after they spoke, unable to navigate his way in the dark. By 4 p.m., rescuers reached Wiegand, Nevin said. They asked Cole and Durand to leave the scene, and the men said his wife was close behind as they traveled down the bluff. But halfway down, she turned back, Cole said. A police officer gave Anna Wiegand a ride back to the home she had left just hours earlier with her husband for an afternoon of exploring. "I really feel for Anna," Cole said. "I know she had a daughter who died a while back and they have two boys. And now this." Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 16, 2006 8:07:04 GMT -5
Missing cavers found safeABC News Saturday, December 16, 2006. 5:16pm (AEDT) Four people who were missing in a southern Tasmanian cave system have been found safe and well. Experienced caver Brett Woodward led three inexperienced family members into the Mystery Creek Cave system near Ida Bay in Tasmania's far south last night and became lost in a section called the "confusing chamber". They were reported overdue this morning and found by professional cavers this afternoon, almost 10.5 hours after they were due to walk out. Mr Woodward says he decided it was safest to stay put, a decision that earned the praise of rescuers. "We knew that somebody would call - we had everything that we needed, we had food, water, light, clothing, nobody was hurt - we were just a bit cold," he said. Two students and a teacher died in the cave system in 1990 when a flash flood swept through Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 15, 2006 20:57:52 GMT -5
Brotherly love testedTwin steps out to break other's fall, making both tumble deeper into caveBy BOB FOWLER, fowler@knews.com Knox News December 12, 2006 LAKE CITY - When Justin Braden saw his twin brother, Dustin, falling down a pit in a cave, he put himself in harm's way. Standing on a ledge below, Justin Braden stepped forward and tried to catch him. The impact knocked the 21-year-old brothers 30 feet deeper into the treacherous cavern, touching off a dramatic rescue Sunday night. Justin's split-second decision to try to catch his brother after a 45-foot fall may have saved Dustin's life. "His brother stopped the brunt of his fall,'' said the twins' father, Lee Braden. "It (Dustin's fall) could possibly have been fatal,'' Justin Braden added. "I would have done it for anybody, but especially for him.'' "The two are inseparable,'' Lee Braden of his sons. "They do everything together.'' Dustin Braden was hauled out of the cave Sunday night in a daring, high-angle operation involving nearly 40 rescue squad members and volunteer firefighters. Flown by medical helicopter to University of Tennessee Medical Center, Dustin Braden stayed overnight for a checkup and was released Monday afternoon, bruised and scratched but otherwise unhurt. The twins were part of a group of seven Campbell County men and boys, ages 14 to 26, who were out on an adventure that rapidly went awry Sunday. The group had originally planned to explore a cave in Campbell County. During a breakfast stop in Jacksboro, though, a friend told them of the unnamed cavern high on a steep mountainside off Lake City Highway in Anderson County's Medford community. The explorers tied together ropes with knots and loops in them to use in climbing back out and lowered it into the cave, whose entrance is described as a pit more than 75 feet deep. Soon after they began caving about 1 p.m., the group became lost in the cavern's huge chambers. They "had no safety equipment whatsoever,'' said Steven Newby, Anderson County rescue squad chief. "They had never been in a cave like this before.'' Once back at the bottom of the entrance shaft, Dustin Braden was the second to begin the climb out. Close to the top, "he lost his grip and tried to readjust before falling,'' Justin Braden said. "He tumbled a few times as he was coming down backwards. I tried to catch him, and his shoulders caught me in the face as I tried to wrap my arms around him,'' he said. "The force knocked us both down about 30 feet into a hole.'' The only explorer who had exited called 911 around 6 p.m., prompting a rescue that concluded after 9 p.m. Dustin Braden, who complained of pain in his left hip and leg, was immobilized in a Stokes basket and pulled from the cave by rescuers. "I've talked to them about the dangers of this, but, of course, young people really don't listen to that,'' Lee Braden said. The trip may have been his last caving expedition, Justin Braden said. "My wife told me I wasn't going back,'' he said. Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 9, 2006 19:54:10 GMT -5
Girl rescued after cave plunge NZ Herald Sunday December 10, 2006 By Mary Longmore Twelve-year-old Madison Billens' friends watched in horror as she suddenly disappeared down a 10-metre deep cave hidden in the ground, during a birthday party treasure hunt yesterday. One moment she was running, the next she was sliding down a deep hole - known as a tomo - in an area of limestone pockmarked with caverns in the Clifton area near Takaka. "It was quite fun, it felt like I was flying at first, until I hit the ground," Madison said from Nelson Hospital's emergency department. "At first I thought I was paralysed, but then I was moving." Then the pain of her damaged leg kicked in. Stranded alone down a dark passage, she could yell to her friends 10 metres above her as they called to reassure her. "They were trying to make me feel better and stuff." At the hospital she was still clutching a teddy bear that one of her friends had thrown down to comfort her during the three hours she awaited rescue. Madison said the time passed "like 10 minutes" - her mother BJ Pocock believes she lost consciousness for a time - before rescuers in the Nelson-Marlborough Rescue Helicopter pulled her to safety. "I knew I was going to get out, because I could see everyone," Madison said. Pocock said she panicked when told of the accident. "I had a quick cry and then raced to the hospital." Pilot Tim Douglas-Clifford said rescuers extracted Madison from the tomo, amid dense bush, using ropes. "She was pretty calm about it. I think she was a bit disturbed... she was extremely relieved to come out." He said her friends were distraught. Madison said her leg was still "swollen and sore", but hospital staff said it did not appear broken. "I've got lots of cuts and bruises and scratches." Douglas-Clifford said it was "fairly common" to rescue people from tomos, especially the large Harwood Hole on Takaka Hill, in which some people had died. "[Madison] said she'll stay away from dark holes now," he said. Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 20, 2007 20:11:24 GMT -5
Blaze Breaks Out At Popular Local Tourist Destination...December 20, 2007 WCBC Firefighters have extinguished a fire in a two-story building connected to the Crystal Grottoes Caverns. All firefighters have evacuated the building, and they are clearing smoldering debris on the outside. The grottoes are a series of caves on Shepherdstown Pike outside of Boonsboro. They are a popular tourist attraction, and school children often go on field trips to that destination. There aren’t any reports of any injuries. It is not clear how the fire started. Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 20, 2007 20:02:49 GMT -5
Winners of the Seven Natural Wonders ContestNew Hampshire Magazine December Polar Caves: A mountainside of glacial debris — huge boulders form caves, which you can explore via subterranean stairs and narrow passageways. Look up to see the overhanging cliff these boulders fell from. ( http://www.polarcaves.com) Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves: What else can you ask for? Waterfalls, caves, creepy passages to wriggle through, plus a geology lesson and a wildflower garden. (www.findlostriver.com) Loon Mountain Glacial Caves: Ride the gondola to the little-known talus field at the top of Loon Mountain (www.loonmtn.com), where wooden stairs lead almost straight down into a jumble of house-sized boulders. You can simply look at the boulders or join the kids wiggling through the small spaces. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 31, 2007 7:18:08 GMT -5
Lewis and Clark Caverns shed in new lightBy MARGA LINCOLN Helena Independent Record 07/31/07 George Lane IR staff photographer - Even with newly installed LED lighting, the 538-foot-long exit tunnel still has an eerie look.High above the Jefferson River and tucked discreetly into the limestone depths of Cave Mountain lies a spectacular series of caverns. The natural beauty of the Lewis and Clark Caverns has drawn visitors’ admiration for well over a century. But now, newly installed LED full-spectrum lights further illuminate the subtle colors and intricate carvings of what is considered one of the most highly decorated caves in the Northwest. She points out the subtle hues of red, orange and purple in the calcite columns of the Paradise Room. “You could never see them before,” she said. Park Manager Lynette Kemp, who started at the park as a tour guide in 1991, marvels at what the new lighting reveals. George Lane IR staff photographer - This tour group stands in the Paradise Room and is learning all the fascinating details from tour guide, Carmen Uptmor, on the far right.Previously, under the yellowish, hazy light of incandescent bulbs the colors were more beige and brown. “The LED lighting gives a real sharp crispness to the formations. They stand out now with depth, light and shadow,” she said. The park has invested $800,000 in its new lighting project so far, she said. It’s complete in a quarter of the caverns. Award-winning designer Frank Florentine of the Smithsonian Institution has completed the full lighting design for the caverns. Kemp estimated an additional $1 million is needed to complete the project. Each of the new lights in the cavern Paradise Room operates off its own computer software, and is part of a light show that gradually illuminates different features in the cavern. Handrails studded with small LED bulbs now light some of the staircases, making steps much easier to see than they are in other parts of the cavern still illuminated by dim incandescent lighting. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 28, 2007 12:50:59 GMT -5
Sulphur Cave expedition plannedBy Mike McCollum Tuesday, July 24, 2007 The Steamboat Pilot &Today Steamboat Springs — A sulphur cave on Howelsen Hill , a caving attraction whose discovery pre-dates the city of Steamboat Springs, will undergo scientific scrutiny next month. A team that includes cavers, geologists, biologists, hydrologists and microbiologists will gather in Steamboat from Aug. 17 to 19 to explore and investigate the unique cave. “As cavers, we are interested in exploring caves and leaning more about the caves of Colorado,” said Richard Rhinehart, editor of the Rocky Mountain Caving Journal. “As scientists, we are interested in getting into the geology and biology wonders of the state.” Rhinehart, who is one of the dozen cavers and scientists planning to descend into the cave, said the Sulphur Cave is a geological oddity in North America. “A cave with a warm spring running into it and high (carbon dioxide) atmosphere is not common in Colorado or the United States,” he said. “There are scientists in our group interested in examining the cave to look for small microbes that may be living in there.” Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 27, 2007 10:10:05 GMT -5
Underground 'Snowy River' Alive AgainLarry O'Hanlon, Discovery News July 27, 2007 — The largest calcite cave formation of in the world has astonished researchers by coming alive with water, according to volunteer cavers who have dug a new, safer entry passage into the New Mexican treasure. Previous study of the calcite encrusting the two-mile-long "Snowy River" in Fort Stanton Cave just after its 2001 discovery had indicated that 150 years had passed since it had flowing water. So it was with great surprise on June 30th when volunteer cavers reached the cave by a new route and found a foot of flowing water. "It will presumably dry up and precipitate another layer of calcite," said cave researcher Penelope Boston of New Mexico Tech in Socorro. The wetting, drying process appears to have been going on with less and less frequency since the end of the much wetter Pleistocene epoch, she told Discovery News. The discovery of flowing water underlines the great scientific importance of the spectacular cave formation, she said. Snowy River’s calcite is thought to contain a natural archive of Southwestern climate, including El Niño conditions, going back tens of thousands of years. The calcite crystals are a lot like ice cores, but better, said Boston. For one thing, they stay put, whereas ice can flow. Calcite can also entomb and fossilize rare microbes as well as preserve a lot of chemical information about past climates and temperatures. She and her colleagues are hoping to carefully extract a core of the many layers of calcite from a plunge pools in the river, where the calcite appears to be thickest. Researchers have been working to get similar information out of single stalactites, Boston said, but they are somewhat less reliable, since they can be affected by local conditions. "But a river is more homogenized," she said — especially a two-mile-long river that flowed and dried up at the same time, for eons. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 25, 2007 7:38:31 GMT -5
Scientists Discover that Snowy River Is Flowing Once More Snowy River, Ft. Stanton Cave by Dr. Penelope Boston, director of Cave & Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Tech FT. STANTON, N.M. – Snowy River, a sparkling underground "frozen river" made of calcite crystals, has been found to be flowing with liquid water for probably the first time in 150 years. Snowy River, a crystalline river over two miles in length discovered in Ft. Stanton Cave, N.M. in 2001, has already been the subject of major scientific findings. The cave was closed to the public by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 2004, until a safer entry route could be found. That route has just been dug by BLM volunteer cavers breaking through on June 30, 2007. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 21, 2007 16:38:24 GMT -5
BLM makes safer opening to unique cave formation07/21/2007 By: The Associated Press FORT STANTON, N.M. (AP) - Bureau of Land Management volunteers have completed a new, safer entrance to a unique cave formation in southern New Mexico known as the Snowy River Passage. The new subterranean passageway will allow safer access to Snowy River for scientists to study the formation. The BLM closed access to Snowy River in 2004 so a safer route could be found. The new passageway was dug by volunteer cavers and a breakthrough to Snowy River occurred June 30. Officials say access to the Snowy River will continue to be limited to scientific researchers. Members of the state's congressional delegation say the new passageway is important to legislation pending in Congress that would protect the formation. The legislation would creates a Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area to protect, secure and preserve the natural and unique features of the passage and the Fort Stanton Cave. StoryFurther Note:The latest report from the breakthrough crew is that the Snowy River passage is flooded. -J
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Post by jonsdigs on Jun 14, 2007 17:03:18 GMT -5
The legend of Bear Trap Cave: Claw marks inside reveal struggle by grizzly to escapeBy Tom Lawrence, Black Hills Pioneer June 14, 2007 CUSTER - Some stories are based in truth. Some legends are real. Some near mythic locations exist. Bear Trap Cave is one of those places. The cave is located near Custer and west of Bear Mountain Lookout in what is now the Jasper Fire burn. It's a popular spot for Black Hills cavers, or people who enjoy crawling underground and exploring dark caverns. But most people have never heard of it, or only know of the legend.Carl Clements, 85, remembers learning about the cave. Clements remembers a cave in Gillette Canyon that he visited in the 1950s that was apparently the final resting place of a large bear, perhaps a grizzly. He said he was working for the Forest Service a half-century ago when an old man who scratched out a living by cutting wood for posts high in the hills offered to show him a cave. The cave had been the final resting place of a bear, Clements said the old man told him. A bear had entered the cave through a hole at the top but had found it impossible to get out of the living-room size cave, the woodcutter told him. Sure enough, there were deep ridges in the walls of the cave, Clements said, apparently from the bear's claws as it desperately fought to get out before it weakened and died. The old woodcutter told Clements that a grizzly's skull and other bear bones were found in the cave. That explained the name the cave had gained: Bear Trap Cave. Clements did more than listen to the story. "Oh yeah, I crawled in there," he said. The claw marks were still evident but the bear remains had disappeared. "They were gone a long time before," Clements said. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on May 23, 2007 22:15:22 GMT -5
We used to build them in our barn in Northern Illinois. It was a 3-D challenge done in total darkness.Thanks for the good memory!
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Post by jonsdigs on Apr 9, 2007 19:14:43 GMT -5
We love... Dan-yr-Ogof CavesApr 9 2007 Robin Turner, Western Mail (Wales) THE multi-award winning Dan-yr-Ogof Caves in the Upper Swansea Valley give visitors a chance to walk where their ancestors walked hundreds of millions of years ago. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, Dan-yr-Ogof was named as the greatest natural wonder in Britain. With water dripping from ancient stalactites which were around in the Stone Age, startling cave and rock formations and streams foaming and roaring through narrow passageways the cave system offers a unique and exhilarating visit. Known officially as The National Showcaves of Wales they offer a unique insight into the geology and natural history of the Brecon Beacons National Park. There are three spectacular caves in the complex, Dan-yr-Ogof Cave, Cathedral Cave and the Bone Cave where 42 human skeletons have been found. The site is also host to a range of other attractions including, the Dinosaur Park (fibre-glass models some bigger than a house), a replica Iron Age farm, a shire horse centre, a Victorian farm and a caravan and tent park for longer stays. Dan-yr-Ogof is a 15km long cave system, one of the most extensive in Western Europe. The cave was first explored by two brothers in 1912, Tommy and Jeff Morgan, using candles and primitive equipment including canoes to traverse the many sunken waterways. Completely unsure of what they would discover down in the darkness, they even armed themselves with a revolver. The Morgan brothers' initial expedition was halted at a large lake, which they later managed to cross by coracle. They eventually crossed three more lakes in the same manner, but were stopped by a tight crawl known as "The Squeeze". The Squeeze was eventually passed in 1963 by Eileen Davies, a member of Swansea University Caving Club. Exploration has been steadily continued by later cavers who have explored the cave network to its present 15km length. Some of this length was reached through cave diving, a sport entirely for the non-faint hearted. One of the underground underwater explorers was Martyn Farr, who wrote a book about the cave system in which he claims it will eventually be extended to at least 150km. Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Mar 14, 2007 11:16:02 GMT -5
Inner Earth Film Project Visits Monstrous, Culturally Significant Caves in Belize Inner Earth Team explores Actun Tunichil Muknal.Press Release San Diego (PRWeb) March 14, 2007 -- To ancient Mayans, the monstrous jungle caves known as Actun Tunichil Muknal represented the underworld. But to a group of videographers and archaeologists who visited the caves in modern-day Belize last December, it was just another day at the office. They were there for a week to shoot the latest segment of the Inner Earth Film Project, a work in progress documenting the most spectacular, unusual and remote caves on Earth. The team flew from Los Angeles to a small airport in the southwest corner of Belize near the Guatemala border. "Almost as soon as we got off the plane, we loaded our gear on a tractor for a 40-minute ride to the nearest access trail," said Greg Passmore of Passmore Lab, the San Diego-based firm creating the Inner Earth Film Project. "Then we hiked another 40 minutes just to get to the caves. It wasn't easy, with the outside temperature a humid 90 degrees. There was some relief when we got into the caves; it was about 70 degrees inside. Then we transferred everything to inner tubes so we could explore the lakes and streams that flow through the monstrous cave system." The Actun Tunichil Muknal is believed to have been the root of Mayan architecture. The main opening of the cave is shaped like a pyramid - a shape the Mayans perfected in the pyramids and temples they built throughout their empire. Because the cave site is so remote and still revered by the area's inhabitants, the team was able to photograph Mayan pottery undisturbed for thousands of years. The high-ceilinged caves feature soaring limestone walls, huge deposits of calcium carbonate and gigantic, multilevel travertine "dams" with water cascading over them to create indoor waterfalls. The interior water system is an example of "stream piracy," a phenomenon in which caves capture runoff groundwater from above. In the Actun Tunichil Muknal, the result is a complex series of streams, rivers and lakes many kilometers long. Testing new underwater camera housings, the Inner Earth team also took still images of the spectacular cave interiors, available at www.innerearth.tv. Full Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 16, 2007 4:44:38 GMT -5
Too Much WaterWBKO (Kentucky) Last Updated: 10:00 PM Jan 15, 2007 Two area landmarks are feeling the effects from the weekend’s heavy rains. Lost River Cave officials say they’re dealing with high water in the cave. The water is five to six inches over the cave’s spillway. They also have standing water in the driveway. The boat tours are not being given at this time, however the walking trail and gift shop are still open. Hidden River Cave in Cave City is also suffering from the rain. The cave has experienced a few inches of flooding but the museum is still open and they are still giving partial tours. Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 6, 2007 8:55:48 GMT -5
Climber high on Golden BayBy HAYLEY GALE - The Nelson Mail (NZ) Friday, 5 January 2007 Dunedin's Jolyon White is spending most of his three week holiday in Golden Bay off the ground. For him, one of the main attractions of the bay is the internationally known Paynes Ford "crag" just outside Takaka. "The crag has literally hundreds of climbs of all grades. It's a great place, surrounded by native bush," said Jolyon, 33, a qualified rock climbing instructor and electrician. The limestone rock in Golden Bay has a different quality to the rocks down south, he says, and Paynes Ford is a well-developed site, with bolts already in place on the rock, making it popular with sports climbers. "Rock climbing offers a complete physical and mental challenge and it can also be quite meditative, nothing but you and the rock and the moves," he said. On holiday on his own, he is staying at Hang Dog campsite, just a stone's throw from the "crag". "Most of the campers are climbers themselves so there is never a shortage of people to climb with. There's also a really good social scene," Jolyon says. Having lived in Takaka for three years in the past, Jolyon is already familiar with Golden Bay's outdoor attractions. When he's not climbing at Paynes Ford he's doing some other outdoor activity such as swimming or caving. An experienced caver as well as rock climber, he has even ventured down into Harwood's Hole, New Zealand's largest sinkhole."I love the environment of Golden Bay," he said. Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 13, 2007 22:26:23 GMT -5
Volunteer archaeologists discover Turkey's caves Saturday, January 13, 2007 VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News Volunteer archeologists working to preserve Turkey's caves and archeological sites have turned United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heads with their comprehensive bilingual online inventory, which publicizes information on Turkish archeological sites covering the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. In an effort to create a chronological inventory of Turkey's cultural assets, Oğuz Tanındı, professor of prehistory at Istanbul University's department of Archeology, established The Archeological Settlements of Turkey (TAY) in 1993. Tanındı, now TAY's project coordinator, said that Turkey's vast archeological sites are unprotected and in serious danger. The project carried out by his team of volunteer archeologists intends to reclaim archeological sites, and more recently caves, by drawing up an inventory and sharing this information with the international community and Turkish public. "All cultural assets within the borders of our country are a collective heritage for mankind and we have to claim them in this sense," Tanındı told the Turkish Daily News. "Starting in 2000 our land survey team traveled throughout Anatolia and Thrace covering 92,000 kilometers in five years,"Tanındı said. The volunteers took the coordinates of archeological sites, prepared reports, took photos and filmed hundreds of sites. TAY's newest project has uncovered 2,327 caves throughout Turkey. The findings are available online and can be updated by visitors to the site, as only 467 of those caves have substantial data. In every separate card there is the information of the name, height, width, depth, region, province, town and location of the cave. Research done on caves is particularly important because they are the earliest known human residences. According to Tanındı, researching and publicizing the information can diminish the damage, which is caused by treasure seekers and administration alike. "We should know what exists where. This way we can minimize the destruction," he said. In 2007 research will focus on confirming and updating data on Turkey's Cave Inventory, by taking the caves' coordinates and collecting visual material. Up to now the inventory includes data up to the end of the First Bronze Age and the team plans to tackle the Iron Age next. The TAY Project Web site was selected by UNESCO to appear in its CD-ROM called Millennium Guide to Cultural Resources on the Web. The Web site has been hailed as an example due to its accessibility. Users can participate with their contributions and update the project's archeological sites. The TAY team has published its findings on the Web in English and in Turkish so that foreign researchers can easily access information. The user-friendly site came in handy when the French Genetic Team used TAY's inventories for their work on genetics in Turkey. The project is powered solely by the personal efforts and commitment of its team. According to TAY's Web site its formation, goals, methods and approach to pursuing the documentation of cultural heritage is the first and only example of its kind in Turkey. Tanındı said that it is so difficult to find information, books and the necessary bibliography that often when searching for resources it seems like they are on an archeological expedition pointing to the challenges that researchers face when taking on projects the size of TAY. Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 29, 2006 17:46:41 GMT -5
On another forum I read an article giving the link to a database to hundreds of the archaeological cave sites in a country. To cavers in America this is shocking. However, we seldom think outside our context to consider the perspective of other cultures.
Countries who have poor communication resources may not even take the issue in consideration. Perhaps caves being a local resource be it for guano, birds nest collecting, or for guiding tourists may give a different take. Of course they may have their own reasons for discretion such as contraband storage, refuge against persecution or it being a sacred site. How about Osama and his supposed cave refuge? Inquiring minds...
What do you think?
-Jon
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