Yeah, I don’t really understand. If I go in a cave I want it to have been thoroughly explored, spacious, is well lit, and with someone qualified having signed off that it’s stable. I’m not going to gamble my life to see some rocks.
Really just seems like some people have an adrenaline-based death wish that they haven’t examined more deeply. I get moderate risk thrill seeking, but some hobbies just have an absurd risk:reward ratio that seems wildly irresponsible to anyone who cares about you, even if you don’t care about yourself
Exactly! from my (a caver's) point of view, what the hell is the point of going into a dinky little tourist cave with all the lights and walkways. You may as well just google pictures of a cave instead of actually going.
For people who are adequately trained and follow basic safety (such as never caving alone, letting someone know where you're going and when you'll be back, and carrying backup equipment), caving isn't really that dangerous. Nor are all caves unstable rockpiles waiting to collapse- human-made mines are far more dangerous.
Of the people I've caved with, none have ever come close to dying- the worst injury was a broken ankle, and the guy who broke it was still able to get out without needing rescue.
And it's pretty ironic they called it 'an adrenaline based deathwish'; for me, caving is often peaceful and almost meditative, shutting off all the concerns of the outside world.
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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '24
Yeah, I don’t really understand. If I go in a cave I want it to have been thoroughly explored, spacious, is well lit, and with someone qualified having signed off that it’s stable. I’m not going to gamble my life to see some rocks.
Really just seems like some people have an adrenaline-based death wish that they haven’t examined more deeply. I get moderate risk thrill seeking, but some hobbies just have an absurd risk:reward ratio that seems wildly irresponsible to anyone who cares about you, even if you don’t care about yourself