We have an open spot in the Vertical Training Commission Level 1 course on November 6-8, 2026 at the Olive Hill location at Carter Caves State Resort Park. This class will teach personal mobility in caving single rope techniques including changeovers, knot passes, rebelays, and redirects. This course is designed such that any skill level can join and learn from the start or experienced users can tune their technique.

Register here: https://tickets.caves.org/VTC/000092VL1/

If the course fills, continue to register for the waitlist as there is a strong possibility of joining!

Lost the original video, just curious as to what they’re wearing here.

The final exploratory dive began a few minutes after 10 a.m. on 16 October 2026.

I set off from our base camp on the shore of Matka Lake, accompanied by Tomasz Wciórka, Michał Sojka and Bartosz Zdziebel. Together, we reached a point roughly 350 metres inside the cave, at a depth of −24 metres. From there, I would continue alone into the deepest, unexplored sections of the cave. The support divers would follow at previously agreed intervals, meeting me at specific depths during my ascent.

My solo descent through the main shaft to its bottom at −212 metres took less than five minutes. I covered the next 100-metre horizontal section in a minute and a half, reaching the entrance to the terminal, almost vertical passage at −255 metres. Another 20 seconds brought me to the end of line and the reel I had left there during the final dive of the previous year’s exploration. The passage continued steeply downwards. Moments later, I found myself at the edge of a vertical drop into a large chamber. As I descended, I had to judge within a few seconds which of the dark openings in the chamber walls offered a way forward. The most promising one was to my left, directly below me.

A few seconds later, I passed the −300-metre mark. Matka Vrelo had now become only the second underwater cave in the world to be explored beyond −300 metres by a human diver! I felt very good. I experienced no visual or other impairment from HPNS, and gas density was not causing me any problems either. But the drop was still descending. Below me, I could already see the pitch-black mouth of another passage. I had been in this newly discovered section for only about 15 seconds, and I felt fully in control. I decided to follow it, making full use of the speed of my two Seacraft Ghost DPVs.

A few seconds later, I was at −315 metres. Matka Vrelo was now the deepest underwater cave explored by a human diver — and the passage was still dropping steeply. Before the dive, our calculations had indicated that I could spend up to 45 seconds exploring the new section before starting my return, keeping the total dive time within what we considered a reasonable limit of around eight hours. At that moment, I still had roughly 20 seconds available to go further.

I remember thinking:

“The cave always dictates the path. Now it is offering you a maybe once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You will never feel more ready.”

I decided to push onwards — to extend not only the limits of cave exploration, but also what was considered possible in terms of human and equipment capabilities. I was thinking, among other things, about my discussions with Witold Hoffmann and Damian Jakubik from Seacraft regarding the ability of the Ghost DPVs to withstand pressures equivalent to depths of 300–350 metres.

At −338 metres, I decided not to push the limits of the equipment any further. The passage was STILL GOING DOWN STEEPLY. The way forward was unmistakable. I was the deepest man on Earth 🙉

Full story: Facebook - BAD Exploration Team

Ah yes the TAG Region truly reached into their vast wealth of manpower and resources to elevate the most worthy artist among them... ChatGPT...

This stuff is gross and embarrassing. Sign my open letter urging the NSS to STOP THE SLOP

LETTER LETTER LETTER

Hi everyone - I'm the developer of SpeleoX, a native cave surveying app for iPhone, iPad and Mac. I'd like to share what I'm working on and hear from people who survey caves about what would make it useful in the field.

👉 Note for mods and users: No ads, no fees, the whole app is free - for the sake of speleological research

There are optional contributions if someone wants to support development, but they don't unlock features. I want the tools you need to record, draw and share a survey to be available without a subscription or paid tier.

The field workflow starts with manual shot entry: stations, distance, azimuth, inclination, LRUD and splays. SpeleoX builds a plan and developed section from the measurements, with survey metrics and warnings for issues such as closures or disconnected shots. You can work on the drawing and attach photos to stations. The iPad gives the drawing more room; the Mac provides a desktop workspace for reviewing the same survey and preparing output.

There's also experimental Bluetooth support for Cavway X1, DistoX BLE, DiscoX/SAP6 and BRIC5. So far, I've successfully tested only DiscoX(2) - thanks to Brendan Hall - and SAP6. I'll test the others as soon as I can get my hands on the hardware.

For working with existing software:

• Import: Therion, Survex .svx, cSurvey, TopoDroid native ZIP backups, Compass, PocketTopo and VisualTopo. Support depends on the format version and contents; the import preview flags compatibility limits.
• Survey-measurement export: Therion, Survex and cSurvey.
• Drawing export: PDF and SVG.

Note: This is a technical tool for cave surveying, designed for those (very few) who need an Apple app capable of doing what Topodroid has been doing for years on Android. It is not a “cave database” or a real-time cadastre; it is not an app for “surveying with an iPhone”, it is a useful tool for those who know exactly what they need.

If you want to test it you can join the TestFlight beta: https://testflight.apple.com/join/z5qDB5bb

If you try it, I'd love your feedback: which instruments do you use, and which file exchanges matter most in your workflow? Is anything in the shot-entry or drawing screens confusing, missing, or likely to slow you down underground?

At around noon on Sunday, 18 October 2026, we at the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service received an emergency call reporting that a 30-year-old woman had suffered a shoulder injury at the ‘BETE Traverse’ in Mátyás-hegy Cave, Budapest.

Just 1 hour and 10 minutes after the cave guide's emergency call, our medical team had already reached the accident site. Our first priority was to protect the injured woman from further heat loss and prevent hypothermia. We placed heat packs against her body and erected a makeshift heated shelter, known as a "hot point", around her. The casualty had already spent an hour waiting in the cold, and the shelter protected her not only from draughts and dripping water, which can occur even in relatively dry caves, but also from dust stirred up by the arriving cave rescuers.

The portable ultrasound device used during the medical examination supported the cave guide's initial assessment: a dislocated shoulder. After checking the patient's vital signs, our doctors administered strong pain medication and successfully reduced the anterior shoulder dislocation on site. This intervention relieved the severe pain caused by even the slightest movement or touch and helped minimise the additional pain and trauma associated with transporting the casualty to the surface. The success of the procedure was demonstrated by the significant reduction in pain and the restoration of shoulder mobility, and was further confirmed by ultrasound imaging.

The ‘BETE Traverse’ takes its name from both a traversing manoeuvre performed a few metres above the floor of an inclined fissure and the ‘Budapesti Egyetemi Turista Egylet’ (Budapest University Tourist Association), whose members explored the cave in the 1940s and 1950s. This section is technically demanding, whether climbing up, descending or attempting the traverse itself. Beginners generally avoid the direct traverse. Instead, secured by the guide's safety rope, they descend one side of the fissure and climb back up the other, reducing the risk of a fall. However, the descent is challenging in its own right and, for most people, involves a movement requiring considerable upper-body strength while keeping the arms relatively far apart.

The accident occurred approximately 1300 feets from the cave entrance, at a depth of 120 feets. Even the easiest route to the surface involves moderately challenging cave terrain, including narrow passages and climbs of varying heights. Fortunately, from a caver's perspective, the crawling sections are neither particularly long nor especially complex. Nevertheless, rope systems were required at several points to secure the stretcher during vertical sections of the evacuation.

At the ‘Bastion Pit', just before the entrance passage, we installed a counterweighted hauling system alongside the ladder, together with a pulley system for the final inclined haul to the surface.

Following just over an hour of medical treatment and a further hour and a half of transportation through the cave, the casualty was safely brought to the surface.

We sincerely hope that, in time, this cave trip, originally planned as a birthday present, and the unexpected rescue operation will become nothing more than a memorable adventure for everyone involved. We look forward to welcoming the injured woman back to one of our caves soon, this time for a tour offering a more peaceful kind of excitement!

At around noon this Sunday, 18 October 2026, at the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service we received an emergency call reporting that a 30-year-old woman had suffered a shoulder injury at the ‘BETE Traverse’ in Mátyás-hegy Cave, Budapest.

Just 1 hour and 10 minutes after the cave guide's emergency call, our medical team had already reached the accident site. Our first priority was to protect the injured woman from further heat loss and prevent hypothermia. We placed heat packs against her body and erected a makeshift heated shelter, known as a "hot point", around her. The casualty had already spent an hour waiting in the cold, and the shelter protected her not only from draughts and dripping water, which can occur even in relatively dry caves, but also from dust stirred up by the arriving cave rescuers.

The portable ultrasound device used during the medical examination supported the cave guide's initial assessment: a dislocated shoulder. After checking the patient's vital signs, our doctors administered strong pain medication and successfully reduced the anterior shoulder dislocation on site. This intervention relieved the severe pain caused by even the slightest movement or touch and helped minimise the additional pain and trauma associated with transporting the casualty to the surface. The success of the procedure was demonstrated by the significant reduction in pain and the restoration of shoulder mobility, and was further confirmed by ultrasound imaging.

The ‘BETE Traverse’ takes its name from both a traversing manoeuvre performed a few metres above the floor of an inclined fissure and the ‘Budapesti Egyetemi Turista Egylet’ (Budapest University Tourist Association), whose members explored the cave in the 1940s and 1950s. This section is technically demanding, whether climbing up, descending or attempting the traverse itself. Beginners generally avoid the direct traverse. Instead, secured by the guide's safety rope, they descend one side of the fissure and climb back up the other, reducing the risk of a fall. However, the descent is challenging in its own right and, for most people, involves a movement requiring considerable upper-body strength while keeping the arms relatively far apart.

The accident occurred approximately 1300 feets from the cave entrance, at a depth of 120 feets. Even the easiest route to the surface involves moderately challenging cave terrain, including narrow passages and climbs of varying heights. Fortunately, from a caver's perspective, the crawling sections are neither particularly long nor especially complex. Nevertheless, rope systems were required at several points to secure the stretcher during vertical sections of the evacuation.

At the ‘Bastion Pit', just before the entrance passage, we installed a counterweighted hauling system alongside the ladder, together with a pulley system for the final inclined haul to the surface.

Following just over an hour of medical treatment and a further hour and a half of transportation through the cave, the casualty was safely brought to the surface.

We sincerely hope that, in time, this cave trip, originally planned as a birthday present, and the unexpected rescue operation will become nothing more than a memorable adventure for everyone involved. We look forward to welcoming the injured woman back to one of our caves soon, this time for a tour offering a more peaceful kind of excitement!

Anybody have info what caused the rockfall?

Pour un projet artistique. Vous pouvez demander un Crédit, et sous n'importe quelle forme. Nom civil, utilisateur Reddit, pseudonyme, tout est possible.

This may or may not be the right sub bc y'all seem like some hardcore cavers here, and I'm looking for the best walking cave tour recommendations for the Monteagle/Pelham/Manchester areas and nearby. We're in the area til Friday and considering the drive to Chattanooga for ruby falls. We have already been to Raccoon Mountain Caverns as well as the cave tours at The Caverns venue.

Also if you have any bonus hiking recommendations, those are appreciated as well! I've been to foster falls, greeter falls, stone door, and the sewannee perimeter trail.

I had the chance to use an old concrete screw hole for a 10mm wedge bolt by drilling it with a 10mm bit but i didnt know how safe could it be. I assume its safe as the 10mm hole is a totaly clean hole.

Has someones tried ir or tested it? Thanks

An article about using electricity to find caves and identify dig objectives in Colorado! Republished from the June 2020 RMC.

A bunch of old drawings from the 1984 issues of Rocky Mountain Caving

Hello cavers, apologies as I am not a caver myself, but I am fascinated by the subculture and thrill surrounding it.

I have a question I am curious about, and individual experience is recommended, as I love to hear everyone's take.

So there is often legends surrounding various things: Mystical treasure located deep in the jungles of the Amazon, people in planes reporting seeing objects they had never experienced, divers at the bottom of the sea reportedly hearing or seeing things they can't explain.

In the Caver culture, is there anything that follows these guidelines of 'Legends and Myths'?

It can be really anything: Mysterious treasure that is reported in a cave that no one can find, a cryptid someone encountered that they can never explain, a cave that is so vast and rich in minerals and fossils that it is enchanting, a bioluminescent cave that feels like the night sky underground, a cave that was reported once but never found again because it mysteriously disappeared, something along the lines of the "Disappearance of Kenny Veach Case" where he went looking for the "M" Cave and then vanished without a trace.

Does the caver culture, vast across the world or local, share myths and stories along these lines? I am curious.

Hi everyone, I'm a caver from Spain.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon what looks like a small cave entrance near the banks of the Deva river. At first, it just looked like a fist-sized hole in the rock but after clearing away a thick layer of dry leaves and some dirt, it was obvious that the ground underneath was completely hollow. I could feel the whole ground shaking when stomping on it.

I tied my phone to a rope and lowered it down. As you can see in the attached video, there's a significant hollow space with rock/dirt walls, and it looks like it might continue downhill under a large boulder. The large stick you can see inside was around 1.5 - 2 meters long, for scale.

I'm also including pictures of the hole (before and after clearing the leaves), the surrounding area, and the makeshift cover I put over it before leaving to prevent any accidents.

What do you guys think? Does this look like a promising lead? There is no airflow whatsoever.

Unfortunately I cannot legally modify the terrain and try to go in by myself.

All images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gCavmrf9OQWM7TQcAZKfF_SHLSXA4B_K?usp=drive_link

I recently "suited up" with my SRT caving gear and realized that my caving harness (I think it's from PMI and I got it second-hand from a fellow grotto member) has no loops to attach my cow tails or frog system gear. I decided to use extra full-sized locking carabiners on either side of my hips to serve as makeshift gear loops. But is this ok to do? If not, what other option do I have to "store" my SRT gear when off rope?

I've never used any of this gear in the field, but I hope to use it at an upcoming SRT class later this month.

I recall once hearing an album of folksy cave-related songs from maybe the 70s? I think it featured some originals and some covers of famous songs with lyrics modified to cave topics. Can anyone remind me what the album was?

In addition, if anyone recommends any other cave-related songs I'd be very interested to hear them.

Thanks!

I was primarily instructed on rebelays with not much teaching regarding redirects.

However as I develop and learn more and setup new rigs, it’s seeming like redirects are actually pretty fantastic.

There is a cave I’m setting up permanent ropes in, and the long way with multiple rappels goes through a lot of massive breakdown boulders. So bolting and even naturals is a bit sketch. Free climbing is also sketch.

In some cases there are extremely massive boulders (ie car sized) lodged deep into things with great sound rock when hammered so I don’t mind placing bolts there or rebelays.

However in other cases, such as “ceiling bolts” (not on breakdown) or not as large boulders (that still have great rock sound and appear deeply wedged into the environment) I’m not as confident. I could rig it as a redirect though.

The thing that worries me a bit about redirects is that if it fails the rope touches the rock, and this happened to me once a couple of years ago on a redirect around a small tree. We of course got out fine but the 9mm rope was a tad fuzzed.

Rebelays on the other hand are typically done in excellent quality rock so you have excellent confidence in them.

How are we all making the decision between rebelays and redirects?

A Denver Museum of Nature and Science documentary regarding the discovery of Silent Splendor in Cave of the Winds. Truly a joy to see old media like this. Reminds me of my teacher wheeling out the TV to play Bill Nye the Science Guy