Cave Exploring

Many years ago, I had occasion to go caving. It was just an introductory class. First, we - there were about 10 of us - learned how to rappel down a cliff that was about 20 - 30 feet high. When it came my turn to rappel down, I chickened out. Being rather wimpy, I didn't think my arms would be strong enough to hold my weight, and I'd fall all the way down the cliff and go splat.

My sister, who was also taking this class, and who'd already rappelled down, ran back up the hill and encouraged me. So I just gritted my teeth, said "que sera sera", and went backward over the edge of the cliff.

And found it exhiliarating. There was no need to be muscular at all. You had one hand behind your back to control your rate of descent, and one hand in front of you, and you just walked backwards down the cliff. Or you could slide all the way down if you wished, without even walking.

I loved it,and would gladly have spent the entire rest of the trip doing that again and again.

Unfortunately, we went caving. There were three parts of the cave where we'd have to rappel down, and of course there was an instructor right beside us as we went through the hole, and one down below holding the rope taut. And I really enjoyed these rappels. In between, not so much. The cave was dark, and uninteresting.

After the class had finished - it was only a one day thing, I had no interest going caving again, but I went rappelling often. Out in the sunshine where one could see the scenery!

Having said that, let's talk about cave terminology. (I'm writing a book about the caverns of Virginia - the commercial caverns that have lights so you can see everything, not the caves where its just you, a rope and a spelunking helmet, so I checked out a book on caves, just to read up on it.)

Caving terms

Anchor - a solid object like a cave or a rock, to which a rope can be attached.

Bad air - Air that is either low in oxygen or high in nonbreathable gases such as methane or carbon dioxide.

Balaclava - a hood that covers the entire head with an opening for the face.

Belay - a safety line used by one caver to help another keep from falling in case of a slip. Also, the act of providing a safety line for another caver,