Caving, Speleolgy, mine exploration etc?
 

Any one here into the above?

What do you explore?

Not keen on urbexing, seems too many of that community ruin mines/caves for everyone else with graffiti etc, and generally the activities i have seen have been less than safe from the urbexing communities!

Do your srt? IF so what kit do you use?

Im a mine explorer, we explore all the old mine workings down in cornwall and devon, its nice when you find new areas of mine that havent been seen since the last mine left in the 1800s.....

I explore people's minds for living, not mines. :)

Good hobby you've got there. :cool: I'd love to explore ancient mines as well one day.

I dont know where you are based but you are always welcome to come along for a trip if you are ever down this way.

I prefer mines, where as alot of people prefer natural caves.

There are plenty of places to explore even for an untrained amateur. Obviously there are significant risks involved but "adit" levels (the main drainage channel for the mine water) are usually walk in tunnels.

It gets more complicated once you start getting into the mine shafts etc, as you need SRT (single rope technique, a way of climbing up or down on one rope, and been able to change between the two mid rope) This is quite involved and needs alot of kit, I did a trip last week down a 600ft shaft and we took nearly 120kgs of kit each!



Cornwall way btw TH!

I always fancied getting into the cave diving but there isn't many people that actually do it that are happy to bring a 1st timer along with them :(

Steve, I assume you are a diver already?

Diving is especially dangerous in caves as i am sure you are aware! I am looking into getting my diving qualifications and starting cave diving, my exploring buddy already does a bit of it! It really does take some serious balls!

Everyone has to start somewhere! Have you ever done underground on foot?

alot of cave diving is with side mount harness's and the small bottles etc as you physically cant get the gear in!

Some of me dangling above a 500+ ft mine shaft, very wet and miserable that day! And exhausting due to the complexity of the rope work down the shaft!

https://www.scoobynet.com/picture.ph...ictureid=24950

https://www.scoobynet.com/picture.ph...ictureid=24951

Certainly, JGlanzaV. I shall bear your kind invitation to the mine in mind. :thumb:

I'm in North Wales, and we have some popular coal mines on Snowdonia way. I've been into them, and they're cool.

Apart from the underground mines, I quite like the caves with rich history and art etc. as well. My bucket list contains the Ajanta, Ellora and Reed Flute types.

Coal mines are especially dangerous make sure the lamps you take etc are all atex approved etc! It will be a big bang when you encounter fire damp if not!

We have plenty too see down here, including the largest copper mine in the world at the time!

The tamar valley is probably one of the most densely mined places in the world, my house is situated ontop of a junction to 4 different mines :)

Yeah I'm a padi professional :) I'm more of a holiday diver now as the cave diving was too much hassle to get into.

If your going to start it I would make sure you get a lot of diving under your belt and put yourself in a few stressfull situations just to see how you cope,

Its very easy for a novice diver to get stressed out and then bang all your air is gone :D

Ah yeah Im well aware of the risks, Its the same with the rope work, when you get hung up and need to get yourself out and the caving harness' arent designed for long periods etc you start getting compartment sickness etc.

Had some pretty scary situations lol

I've seen Zinc and Marble mines in India.

We have quarry culture in the area we live in N. Wales. We lived in an old chapel here a few years ago at a hill footing, and converted it into a residential property. Once renovated, very unfortunately a quarry got dug on the hill peak about a mile close to our chapel. It ruined our gigantic chapel windows on daily basis with dust, and the revving lorries going past etc. devaluated the property like hell. Sometimes we heard bombarding as well, as they'd ignite fire crackers to make another hole in the existing hole. Glad that that quarry is now done with and banned, and no more to come into existence.

Oh nice! All the mines in my area are disused, so the only issue i have is, as the council put it -

"sudden de watering of mines in the area will cause catastrophic surface collapses and extensive loss of life and damage to property"

Serious stuff hah!

You got to be slightly screw loose to want go cave diving imo

Have a look at Sub-Brit they do visits to underground sites but with owners permission so dont do graffiti etc.

the best sites are visited by the inner circle but still worth membership for conferences in london and magazine

I have been on sub-brit etc, To be honest I dont do "clubs" We have a local caving and mine exploring group who are all a bunch of jumped up tossers too :D

Have to say me and my little rag tag band of explorers, (2 - 4 of us) have way more fun and get to see much more interesting stuff than any of the clubs do.

Most people dont want to affiliate with clubs as they dont want hundreds of people crossing their land etc! We have got into a very prestigous mine that no one has been in for a very long time. Simply because we do not affiliate with local clubs, can keep a secret and have the nessecary paperwork ;)

And I will be cave diving in the future, I think it is the same as anything, people have their limits, it all depends on what yours are ;) We are into the more "extreme" exploring, reaching new ground and going to the places people dont venture.

I never have felt too keen on the idea of going underground or underwater. I preferred lots of elbow room.

Les :)

Its not for everyone thats for sure!

I had a dabble years ago, but that sub-brit lot pissed me off. They say/said don't pester land owners for access etc. and then any trips they did do seemed to be a 'closed shop'. When I pointed this out, I got a torrent of abuse back saying, "why not get off your backside and organise a trip yourself" to which my response was, "see the posting here (don't pester land owners) on your own website"

You can't win.

I do frequent the 28dayslater website and did visit an old cinema a good while ago, but time, Mrs and kids wait for no one :(

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/...-dec-09-a.html

Eurgh, 28 days later, the website who organised a group to go and "restore" a 150yr old mining crane, with no experience and when the crane was in no need of repair or restoration.

Covered it in old engine oil and silver hammerite. Just like it would have been in the 1800's... *rolls eyes*

The same people who decided to abseil off "the bridge of death" in Cwmorthin slate mine (held up by a hope and a prayer as it is not a stable thing to attach to) with no safety back up incase the bridge failed, and abseiling into a level you can walk into.

Urbex and doing the cinemas etc ig et, but that method of exploring etc doesnt work in mines where historical pieces like the crane and bridge just end up getting ruined because they dont give a damn about any of it.

That's why you flew planes. Lots of elbow room up there in the sky, I dare say. :D

Underwater is like Finding Nemo. Underground is like finding another world, except there's no world beneath us apart from something that lets us be on it as a world.

When I was a child, my child cousins told me that if you keep digging the earth, you find little mounds that are actually the tops of the tiny people's huts; as tiny as they were in that book called 'Gulliver's Travels'. Apparently once you've dug the whole hut out, a 6-inch tall person may come out from the hut and say 'Hiya' to your surprise. I found that fascinating! I did really believe that they were in there, as my cousins told me to leave like five rupee in there overnight, and when it disappeared in the morning, they told me that it was that 6-inch tall person who took it. Sure he did. :mad:

It could get a bit tight at low level at night,especcally without a moon, but we just accepted it as part of the game and just told each other what a thrill it all was while trying to hide the "shakes"!

Les ;)

Loving the word 'especcally'. :cool: Never heard that before. :D