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Post by Sharon Faulkner on Jun 13, 2007 22:18:16 GMT -5
A repost from Hazel Barton from her experiences on the 2006 Guatemala Expedition to Naj Tunich Cave. "Journey to the Center of the Earth" will be shown June 25 on the History Channel. ----------------------------------------------------- All, Please feel free to pass this along to any other caver distribution lists. Last summer, Paul Burger and myself, along with climber John Climaco, hosted a TV show for the History Channel with the dubious title of "Journey to the Center of the Earth". We didn't get anywhere near the center of the Earth, but we did go to Naj Tunich Cave in Guatemala, which was a sacred cave for the ancient Maya. The producers of the show were very conscientious and worked hard with us to make sure that a good caving ethic and safety message was given - they had a real desire to see a good product that cavers would be supportive of. Unfortunately, during filming we had a significant incident and self-rescue. One of the members of the team failed to let the others know that they suffered from a medical problem that basically left them incapacitated ~420 feet down a 600 foot deep pit. With much help from Brandon Kowalis, John Climaco, Benjy and Dawn von Cramon and many of the film crew, we succeeded in pulling the injured caver out in ~21 hours. The final TV show looks great, however the History Channel decided not to film any more because they said that NO ONE IS INTERESTED IN CAVES!! Anyway, here is the trailer for it on Youtube - it's an unofficial version that was put up anonymously, so it has an unedited cuss word (be warned) and there was an issue figuring out how deep 420 feet was in floors. But you'll get the feel for it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQWeVUB0MYM The show will air June 25th at 10 PM on the History Channel. If you'd like to tell the History Channel whether you liked it and are interested in caves, maybe they'll make more. If you didn't - that'd be good to know as well!! Enjoy, Hazel |
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Post by L Roebuck on Jun 17, 2007 7:17:20 GMT -5
Local geologist to co-host History Channel documentary on sacred Mayan cave Local geologist Paul Burger will co-host a History Channel documentary about sacred Mayan caves... CARLSBAD — A Carlsbad geologist will soon play a major role in a History Channel documentary about, what else, a mysterious cave. Paul Burger, Carlsbad Caverns National Park geologist, is one of three experts hosting a History Channel show, "Journey to the Center of the World: Sacred Cave of the Maya." The show will feature a team exploring Naj Tunich, one of the most sacred caves in the Mayan world. It will air at 8 p.m. Monday, June 25, on the History Channel. "I helped document the cave and push beyond the known limits of this remote cave," Burger said. According to Burger, caves are closely tied to the Mayan religious belief. "The further in (the cave), the closer you are to the gods. And the harder it is to get there, the more sacred it is," Burger said of the Mayan's beliefs. The three experts, Hazel Barton, of Kentucky, John Climaco, of Utah, and Burger, explored areas of the cave that were previously inaccessible to modern explorers. Full Article
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Brian Roebuck
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Jun 18, 2007 5:29:50 GMT -5
That's a pretty cool artical. I can understand why the Mayans thought that the tougher it was to go through the closer they were to the gods. In a sense I suppose that is exactly true. if you push so hard you die - well there you are face to face with your religious beliefs!  |
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Post by Sharon Faulkner on Jun 23, 2007 11:11:05 GMT -5
NKU Professor's cave journey on History ChannelJune 21, 2007 Tune in to the History Channel at 10 p.m. Monday to see Northern Kentucky University professor Hazel Barton in "Journey to the Center of the World." Hidden within the darkest jungles of Guatemala, Barton and a team of professional cavers and scientists penetrate one of the deepest, most mysterious caves in the world - Nah Tunich. The cave is considered sacred by the Maya and was once a shrine to their ancestors. A thousand years ago, the ancient Maya made incredible advances in mathematics, medicine and astronomy. But deep inside Naj Tunich, Barton's team discovers a disturbing, more menacing side to the Maya: human skeletons, razor-sharp obsidian needles and ritualistic and sexual paintings. What were the ancient Maya doing so deep within the the earth? And adding to the drama, Barton and her team are faced with a 21-hour self-rescue mission when one team member is left incapacitated 420 feet down a 600-foot pit. Articleor tinyurl.com/3as9bd
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Brian Roebuck
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Jun 24, 2007 8:00:35 GMT -5
I'll definitely have to tune in for that one! It sounds pretty good. I hope they do the cave footage justice. Knowing how editors take hours of video and show only minutes it is sometimes dissappointing to watch cave oriented TV. They like to put video of people talking and other semi-related stuff in there instead.
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L Roebuck
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Post by L Roebuck on Jun 25, 2007 17:51:28 GMT -5
According to the schedule, "Journey to the Center of the World" will air at 9:00 PM Central time.  |
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Brian Roebuck
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Jun 26, 2007 5:47:43 GMT -5
We watched the Naj Tunich Cave Documentary "Journey to the Center of the World" last night thanks to the U S Cavers heads up. The cave and the surrounding countryside were amazing. I can see why the Maya worshipped the cave gods with all the Karst features in the area. They had a logical belief system that naturally included all the things they came into contact with on a daily basis. Naj Tunich even has some nice formations in it as far as we could see. It would be neat to explore - if the cave gods gave permission of course!  |
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L Roebuck
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Post by L Roebuck on Aug 9, 2007 14:57:16 GMT -5
For cavers who may have missed " Journey to the Center of the World ", the show will be rebroadcast on the History Channel. Schedule: Friday, August 10 at 11:00 PM Saturday, August 11 at 3:00 AM Tuesday, August 21at 10:00 AM Tuesday, August 21at 4:00 PM "Far from civilization, hidden within the darkest jungles of Guatemala, an elite team of professional cavers and scientists penetrates one of the deepest, most mysterious caves in the world--Naj Tunich. This cave is considered sacred by the Maya and was once a shrine to their ancestors. A thousand years ago, the ancient Maya made incredible advances in mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. But deep inside Naj Tunich, the expedition team discovers a disturbing, more menacing side to the Maya: human skeletons, razor-sharp obsidian needles and ritualistic and sexual paintings. What does this mean? What were the ancient Maya doing so deep within the bowels of the earth? To find the answers, the team travels deeper into Naj Tunich than any modern human has ever gone. Rating: TVPG Running Time: 60 minutes " www.history.com |
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Post by wimpanzee on Jul 17, 2008 12:41:03 GMT -5
Why does Mr. Cobb appear to change which arm is in a sling in one of the shots of him climbing out?
Every shot I saw, his left arm was the one dislocated and in a sling. One scene of him climbing up, he is using his left arm, and his right arm is in a sling. This was near the end of the show. I don't ahve the exact minute, but it clearly obvious. Both arms are clearly seen in the shot.
Other than that, I found it to be an enjoyable show. Too bad they were unable to recover any artifacts from the mud pit at the bottom.
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