A question about the devils eye/ear entrances

[SWAMPY459]

I am considering something and wanted some opinions from someone who has done this...

I have no interest in taking a cave course or becoming cave certified or going any deeper into a cave than I'm discussing in this thread, there is one thing kind of "cavey" I want to try though. I would, of course, take a reel and a light and a backup light....

Looking at a map of the devils eye/ear system it seems fairly simple to go into the ear, stay with the wall to your left and circle around and come back out the eye. like a really big swim through.

I would like to know, from people who have done that very thing... gone into the ear and around and come out the eye, are there any really tight spaces in that little loop that make that more difficult than it seems on paper.

I really don't want this to degrade into an ethics discussion about cave certification, this is a question about topography of that particular loop from the ear to the eye....

 

[TSandM]

It would be very easy to get into the Catacombs doing that. I think we had a recent fatality or near-fatality from someone making that mistake.

Seriously, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you have no business in there without the training to do it safely.

 

[SWAMPY459]

ugh. The guy, who did drown, went in without a line and went down on about 700 psi...

reel = way out.
full tank = time to follow string

Back to the question... topography?

 

[rivers]

If you don't have cave training, stay out of caves. Simples

 

[PfcAJ]

I've gone in the ear and out the eye before. Lots of times.

It has all the potential in the world to drown you. There is more than one spot where you can make a wrong turn and end up in an area that will silt out and leads to a maze like section of cave. There are small bits. There is a point near the eye that is quite tight. The way to the eye isn't all that obvious, either.

You might 'take a reel', but line in a cave has this interesting tendency about it to want to tangle around divers. Flow complicates this even more. Using a guideline requires specific training. Just having one doesn't mean it will help you at all. Routing the line improperly can result in it being completely useless.

The dive you describe is a prime example of something that looks easy/harmless on paper, but is one misstep away from disaster. I *highly* recommend against it.

 

[JamesK]

I highly recommend against doing this as well. I have seen many cavern trained and even some cave trained divers come out of the high flow of the Devils System with a birds nest of a reel. Furthermore without actually knowing how to properly run a reel it can end up in what is called a line trap. Just to add more, even in that short area you can easily end up in a small area that looks like an exit but is not.

These are only a small amount of things that can go wrong.

 

[Doc Harry]

What you don't know can kill you.

If you don't have formal cave training, then there a many things that you don't know or understand that can kill you.

It's not a simple matter of setting and following a line. Even something as "simple" as following a fixed line is complicated has a whole set of hazards that you learn about in cave training.

If you don't have the formal training, don't go there.

If you want to go there - get cave certified and then enjoy!

 

[kotik]

Scubaboard should have a special "Don't Like" button... maybe something that only shows results if the decision's unanimous.

 

[JamesK]

It is also not just a really long swim through. Far different. I will not go in to details about the topography of the cave, but following a wall is going to get you in trouble. Furthermore, how do you plan on getting the reel out. Laying a reel in high flow is difficult, removing it is all together worse. Plus of others are in there and have their lines down, you could easily screw up their lines of you don't know what you are doing.

 

[joystershell]

Unless you are Cavern certified, you are not allowed to even enter that system with a light.

Stay safe, stay alive, STAY OUT!!!!!!! Don't become another statistic.