Post by L Roebuck on Aug 14, 2006 17:29:02 GMT -5
GORP:
Down Below
Caving in Western Montana
By Michael Finkel
My friend James Cummins is an avid and accomplished caver. Almost by definition this makes him an odd person. Caving — by which I mean technical, exploratory caving, as opposed to a guided walk through a tourist cavern — is a peculiar activity. It takes place in a world that is dark and cold and cramped and wet and muddy and dangerous. In other words, it takes place in areas where you might want to stick someone that you hate. Little surprise, then, that people who go out of their way to spend as much time as possible in such places tend to be on the eccentric side. There is certainly no money in caving, and no fame. If ESPN were to start a half-dozen more channels, I still don't think caving would make air time, not even at four in the morning. Caving is possibly the least hip sport on the planet. Recently, I read a magazine article in which one of the world's most skilled cavers, a woman named Carol Vesely, described her fellow enthusiasts by saying,"I don't think I know any cavers who were ever in the in-crowd."
Article: gorp.away.com/
Down Below
Caving in Western Montana
By Michael Finkel
My friend James Cummins is an avid and accomplished caver. Almost by definition this makes him an odd person. Caving — by which I mean technical, exploratory caving, as opposed to a guided walk through a tourist cavern — is a peculiar activity. It takes place in a world that is dark and cold and cramped and wet and muddy and dangerous. In other words, it takes place in areas where you might want to stick someone that you hate. Little surprise, then, that people who go out of their way to spend as much time as possible in such places tend to be on the eccentric side. There is certainly no money in caving, and no fame. If ESPN were to start a half-dozen more channels, I still don't think caving would make air time, not even at four in the morning. Caving is possibly the least hip sport on the planet. Recently, I read a magazine article in which one of the world's most skilled cavers, a woman named Carol Vesely, described her fellow enthusiasts by saying,"I don't think I know any cavers who were ever in the in-crowd."
Article: gorp.away.com/
