What did it feel like laying line for the first time?

[bent]

A lot of them have cave, some big, some small, some tiny. Most of them are very low visibility.

What do you consider to be 'very low visibility'?

[Ben M]

Low visibility occurs when the passage dimensions are larger than you can see. You end up following a line through space. In small spaces, 5 ft vis might not be bad. When the space is 50 ft all around, 5 ft might be low visability.

[OFG-1]

What do you consider to be 'very low visibility'?

When you have to turn your light towards your face to see it, that's very low visibility.

[skip]

I found a cave once and was totally excited by the prospect of "going where no one has gone before." It's a feeling unlike any other. We went in, laying knotted line and found a mess of tangled twine, a mask, and an open water pistol grip light! We cleaned it up and in subsequent dives pushed further, added more buddies, and pushed ever further until it became a major project. The landowner eventually denied permission to dive there any more. One dive team pushed it to an air-filled chamber two or three miles past the entrance, but did not crawl out on the mud to see if water was on the other side or not. As far as I know it's still there. waiting. Three miles, three miles out and no landowner permission. Average depth was 20 feet in the first 1000 feet or so, then 30-40 after that with 50-60 eventually and ups and downs along the way with various "bad air" pockets overhead sometimes. All diving, no sump - at least until the EOL.

On another one, a full team of several sump divers and sherpa's spent 14 hours going and coming and pushed the EOL another mile or so. And the cave just kept going. It was a lazy river, 12 feet deep or so with the ceiling coming down from time to time, but much of it little more than a snorkel (as long as it hadn't rained in awhile). I finagled a spot on one push team, but the final push team was two guys. Five of us made the last known sump dive after 8 hours of swimming, snorkeling, hiking, climbing, duck walking. It opened up into good air and large chamber with dry tunnels here and there. The river wound off into the unknown. The two divers on the final push team took all the reels and line we had and swam off a ways, then stopped and called for me to join them. I swam over and they handed me the reel and sent me on ahead about 20 feet in front of them for a short swim up river where the ceiling came down within inches of the water. They then took the reel from me and continued on while I rejoined the other two back in the chamber. So for those few feet I had gone further in that system than anyone had gone before. I can't help but grin ear to ear every time I think about it. Now that's what I call good buddies!

skip

[Dsix36]

I found a cave once and was totally excited by the prospect of "going where no one has gone before." It's a feeling unlike any other. We went in, laying knotted line and found a mess of tangled twine, a mask, and an open water pistol grip light! We cleaned it up and in subsequent dives pushed further, added more buddies, and pushed ever further until it became a major project. The landowner eventually denied permission to dive there any more. One dive team pushed it to an air-filled chamber two or three miles past the entrance, but did not crawl out on the mud to see if water was on the other side or not. As far as I know it's still there. waiting. Three miles, three miles out and no landowner permission. Average depth was 20 feet in the first 1000 feet or so, then 30-40 after that with 50-60 eventually and ups and downs along the way with various "bad air" pockets overhead sometimes. All diving, no sump - at least until the EOL.

On another one, a full team of several sump divers and sherpa's spent 14 hours going and coming and pushed the EOL another mile or so. And the cave just kept going. It was a lazy river, 12 feet deep or so with the ceiling coming down from time to time, but much of it little more than a snorkel (as long as it hadn't rained in awhile). I finagled a spot on one push team, but the final push team was two guys. Five of us made the last known sump dive after 8 hours of swimming, snorkeling, hiking, climbing, duck walking. It opened up into good air and large chamber with dry tunnels here and there. The river wound off into the unknown. The two divers on the final push team took all the reels and line we had and swam off a ways, then stopped and called for me to join them. I swam over and they handed me the reel and sent me on ahead about 20 feet in front of them for a short swim up river where the ceiling came down within inches of the water. They then took the reel from me and continued on while I rejoined the other two back in the chamber. So for those few feet I had gone further in that system than anyone had gone before. I can't help but grin ear to ear every time I think about it. Now that's what I call good buddies!

skip

That was indeed pretty darned awesome of your buddies to give you that few feet. I hope to be that good of a buddy when I grow up.

[FW]

,,, It was a lazy river, 12 feet deep or so with the ceiling coming down from time to time...

This wouldn't be the sump where I offered you my gear, and you already had your own mask and fins in your pack, would it?

[Kelly Jessop]

Where I have enjoyed laying line,but nothing compares to discovery and uncovering of the cave ecosystem. The first time the data that had been collected started showing characteristic patterns of cave species and water quality,it was far more joy then any line I have layed. That is why I say, don't be myopic and think all cave exploration is laying line,because the understanding of the cave ecosystem has barely been touched. The best part, these discoveries weren't made with carrying hundreds of pounds of gear through the woods with multihour dives, no, they were done in "tourist caves", where everyone claims that there is no exploration to be done.

[kwinter]

Funny thing is I didn't feel any of that my first time. I was pushing a sump in a grotto "project" cave. I had over a dozen "sherpas", most of whom only were there to watch. So many feet had stirred up the stream to the point it looked like chocolate milk. I was tempted to call the dive, before ever gearing up. I gave in to peer pressure, and geared up anyway.

You need to understand that you could count the previous US sump dives on your fingers at that time. I wasn't using a line reel, another diver was feeding me climbing rope from the pool. I broke into clear water, just as they ran out of rope. I stopped to look around, and I was tempted to leave the rope behind, when they decided I had been gone lone enough. They started pulling me back out. I was damned lucky there wasn't a line trap

Then he chiseled the map onto a stone tablet, and fought his way back through the dinosaurs guarding the entrance.

[FW]

Then he chiseled the map onto a stone tablet, and fought his way back through the dinosaurs guarding the entrance.

I am starting to feel like Rodney Dangerfield

[WEPIV]

That's okay Forrest. Even though his shtick was that he didn't get any respect, in reality he did -- and still does.