Cave Diving Dangerous?

[Daedalus]

Yes.

 

[jerrwhy01]

You are 100% completely dependent on life support equipment in an environment that has no natural ambient light, no direct ascent to the surface, may have certain environmental conditions that are always working against you (flow, silt) and may require complex decompression practices.

Yes, there are inherent risk and people die doing this; it has demands and requires a certain level of maturity, self assessment, and honesty to be successful. However, with the correct training, the right mindset, and attention to detail it can be very safe.

 

[bamafan]

I personally feel safer doing a basic cave dive than I do doing a single tank ow drift dive on a reef. Tbone mentioned this and for the most part I agree. Now there are certainly cave dives where this isn't the case but with proper planning and equipment the risk can be greatly reduced. Take the classes and decide for yourself. The classes themself have a great safety record.

 

[Black Cat]

Excellent points. Thanks guys.

 

[northernone]

There is a greater complexity to cave diving. With equipment and training to mitigate those risks still there are generally thought to be more deaths. So therefore, yes. Inherently more dangerous and experientially as well.

I may feel safe cave diving and may drown in a puddle but I think both are unlikely realities.

For me it is about risk vs reward and risk mitigation.

Enjoy your training. Perhaps consider taking cavern first and evaluate for yourself at that point.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[gcarter]

Hey guys...I'm thinking about going Cavern through Full Cave in the spring. When I tell my friends and family this, I get the standard "Oh, that's so dangerous" response from them. So my question for all you experienced cave divers and instructors is, do you consider cave diving dangerous? Now...obviously entering an overhead environment without the proper training and equipment is beyond dangerous. But assuming one has the appropriate training and equipment and do things the correct way, do you guys still consider cave diving especially dangerous?

All diving is dangerous. Diving is risk management. The management required varies according to the type of diving you are doing. The error many make is thinking risk management for one type of diving is sufficient for another type of diving. Beware normalization of deviance.

Yes, cave diving is dangerous. It requires specialized training and specific equipment choices. That does not remove the danger, only mitigates it.

 

[gcarter]

Think about this:

If you jump out of a plane and your chute fails, you have a small statistical chance of survival. People have walked away from chute failures.

If you are diving and you run short of gas, you die. Period. Cave diving = more restrictive surface access = greater risk of running short of gas if anything goes wrong.. You can mitigate but not eliminate this.

Do not try to rationalize a lack of danger. Acknowledge, find ways to mitigate, and make a risk reward calculation. With the right training / equipment / dive buddies, many find a palatable solution to that equation. But yes, there is inherent danger.

 

[Jack Hammer]

It's definately dangerous. How much that danger increases on a given dive depends on a lot of factors and how well you recognize and respect them.

 

[kensuf]

Yes.

The training helps you to understand and manage the risks, but it is still dangerous. So is crossing a busy intersection on foot.

 

[billgraham]

It's obviously more dangerous but the training turns you into a better and safer diver no matter where you go.