Mechanical means to open a cave

[patpicos]

No political comments, even by foreign nationals

nice changing of your response in your lifetime, you've seen enough muppets going for government heheheh

[toby43]

No political comments, even by foreign nationals

Agreed, British cave diving an altogether too political issue to tolerate foreign intervention.

[Leslie Sapp]

Concerns me a lot less than something like this

I had a discussion with some Suwannee River Water Management staff members some years back concerning a small sinkhole they were filling in. It was very near the Otter Springs cave system. I asked what the procedures were to ensure they were not inadvertently blocking part of the cave. Was met with blank stares.......

[dogwatch]

Someone removed some rock at the entrance to Little Dismal back in the 80's to make it "easier" to get in. We weren't too happy about that. It was a challenge, but you could get in with double 104's and a huge canister light if you keyed yourself just right.

[Kirk]

In dry caving we do it. We, however, do it sparingly. We do it only when there are signs that indicate going cave, or when done to improve safety. If it can be done with a pry bar, we go that route before reaching for the explosives. If, however, we need to use the explosives, we go for the least destructive / most precise for the task at hand (microshaving before detonating cord before kinepak). If we create a man made entrance from the surface for safety (either with explosives or drilling), we plan the location to be at a minimally intrusive spot in the cave, with no damage to formations, then use a cave radio to transmit the location to the surface, to indicate where to start.

[JohnnyC]

I'm not an explorer, and I only backmount, so I'm not interested in banging away in a cave personally, however I don't begrudge someone from opening up access if there's a reasonable probability of going somewhere.

I'd draw the line at explosive exploration though. At that point it's just mining...... The appeal is finding out where the cave goes, not making the cave go where you want it.

[Kelly Jessop]

I'm not an explorer, and I only backmount, so I'm not interested in banging away in a cave personally, however I don't begrudge someone from opening up access if there's a reasonable probability of going somewhere.

I'd draw the line at explosive exploration though. At that point it's just mining...... The appeal is finding out where the cave goes, not making the cave go where you want it.

The irony is that the average backmount cave diver is probably more responsible for opening up cave. Places like Rocky Horror, Worm Hole, Harry's crack to name a few, were very questionable backmount passages, and more likely sidemount domain,but years of being pushed by backmounters have opened them up.

[FW]

The irony is that the average backmount cave diver is probably more responsible for opening up cave. Places like Rocky Horror, Worm Hole, Harry's crack to name a few, were very questionable backmount passages, and more likely sidemount domain,but years of being pushed by backmounters have opened them up.

You left out a biggie, the Lips in Devil's Eye. When I first went in there in the early 70s, it was tight in doubles, now you can scooter through in doubles

[Scubaru]

After seeing the restriction in Morrison for the first time in person yesterday, all I've been researching is underwater demolition and limestone cutting techniques... I'm of the mind that it should be considered cave restoration rather than destruction. What a beautiful cavern.

[Kelly Jessop]

You left out a biggie, the Lips in Devil's Eye. When I first went in there in the early 70s, it was tight in doubles, now you can scooter through in doubles

Also the Lips in Peacock. There is a reason we have "The Mistake".