MT Everest

Coming off the other thread, if Eagles Nest in not the mount Everest of cave diving, what is? Just curious as to what peoples opinions are? What makes a cave Mt Everest.... is it the type of cave, depth, distance? What is your MT Everest cave and Why?

Currently my MT Everest is swimming to the Henkel at Ginnie. My dive partner and I have tried to make this dive several dives. The last time we had plenty of air but I called the dive because my head got in the way. After I accomplish this Their will be a new "Mt Everest" for me but currently this is mine.

John

PS couldn't find the proper spelling of Henkel if I am wrong on this feel free to correct

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Originally Posted by jdsffa

Currently my MT Everest is swimming to the Hienkel at Ginnie. My dive partner and I have tried to make this dive several dives. The last time we had plenty of air but I called the dive because my head got in the way. After I accomplish this Their will be a new "Mt Everest" for me but currently this is mine.

John

PS couldn't find the proper spelling of Heinkel if I am wrong on this feel free to correct

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I have seen a lot of spellings, but Lewis himself spelled it Henkel.

I think it is a little dangerous having a geographical goal. Working on improving your skills isn't a bad goal, but a geographical location might be, if you are so fixated on it that you ignore warning signs. At least you did turn when your "head" told you to.

I have a friend who thinks Everest is a "kiddy" climb because it's guided. He is an experienced climber. To him sleeping on the side of a wild icy cliff is fun. It's perspective. My favorite dive is a cave that challenges me as a person, has some pretty stuff to look at and has room for a friend and I to dive. I kind of like Kiddy dives. :)

I know its not a cave and I will catch a bunch of crap for it but my Everest is the Andrea Doria. I took cavern because I was told that it was a good start off to wreck penetration. After I took cavern though I was totaly hooked and now will do cave before I continue on my quest for the Doria. I haven't forgotten her though and I will visit her one day.

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Originally Posted by jdsffa

if Eagles Nest in not the mount Everest of cave diving, what is?

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I'd say Bushman's Hole. Modern scuba diving is about sixty years old, and only one person's made it to the bottom and back safely.

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Originally Posted by Git-R-Dun Diver

I know its not a cave and I will catch a bunch of crap for it but my Everest is the Andrea Doria. I took cavern because I was told that it was a good start off to wreck penetration. After I took cavern though I was totaly hooked and now will do cave before I continue on my quest for the Doria. I haven't forgotten her though and I will visit her one day.

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The Doria might be a good comparison. Both are over rated because of their history, have killed people trying to get the t-shirt and once you're there you don't get to spend that much time enjoying it.

I'm former mountain rescue and can tell you I've pulled lots of people from places they never should have been but they are the same places I commonly traveled for fun. It's all about your abilities and training (more abilities than training because there's a lot of "full cavers" out there that aren't).

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Originally Posted by sea2summit

The Doria might be a good comparison. Both are over rated because of their history, have killed people trying to get the t-shirt and once you're there you don't get to spend that much time enjoying it.

I'm former mountain rescue and can tell you I've pulled lots of people from places they never should have been but they are the same places I commonly traveled for fun. It's all about your abilities and training (more abilities than training because there's a lot of "full cavers" out there that aren't).

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This may be the best CDF post of 2009...bang on. Not much else to say, you nailed it :smt023

While I've got my own list based on set-up, distance, difficulty, and time, you have to give credit where it's due and I'd have to say it's every cave system - for those crazy, CRAZY guys who first laid that knotted line to the end for the first time.

I can only imagine how pumped they must have been when they surfaced, and when they said to themselves or or their buddies "Did we really do what I think we did?" Nobody around to celebrate, and years before we even came on the scene.

Mt Everest is a moving target, IMO. Maybe our technology, our vast experience from those who came before us, and our own dedication makes this so.

I'm just gratefull for those crazy, crazy guys (and girls).

But DAMN, isn't it fun to plan for years your own Mt Everest, to dive and dive to set up your "Great Adventure," to finally dive it, and to walk out of the water knowing you made it and you made it safely. In a way it's a let-down that it's over, but in another way it's something that you take with you for the rest of your life. It's something that creates a bond with your buddy that will never break. And, it's that wonderful memory you see in your mind before you go to sleep at night.

Love this stuff.

the mt everest of cave diving is definatly the cave Bill Stone explore in Oaxaca, Mexico. the Sistema Huautla
more 1400 meter deep before reaching the last sump. The cis-lunar rebreather was desing for that expedition
http://usdct.org/usdct_expeditions/huautla1994.htm

There a really good book about that expedition... Beyond the Deep: The Deadly Descent Into the World's Most Treacherous Cave
Etienne

p.s. this is not my mt Everest, it's definitely too crazy for me