How much dry caving did you do prior to cave diving?

[sskasser]

I am curious about how many of you had experience in dry caverns/caves prior to becoming cave divers . . .

By "tourist interest" I mean you visited publicly accessible cave systems, ie Mammoth Cave, Virginia, Florida, PA, etc

By "prior dry caver" I mean you previously joined a grotto or was guided into only privately accessible caves

None really. I visited a few tourist caves and did one wild cave tour. I wasn't a diver at all then and it never occurred to me that people would be crazy enough to try to breathe underwater, much less in a cave.

Now, I can't get enough. It is awesome that I can stop and take as much time poking around as I want, with very little in the way of time limitations presented by underwater caving. However, I've often wished on the way out that I could just float on out. Exiting is a lot more work without the water!

 

[drydiver]

I disagree and wanna know how you came about that position?

Its possible for a cave diver to travel through a cave without making any contact whatsoever, the same can't be said in a dry cave.

Well, more of opinion, position sounds so official

Contact is different from impact, the cave is an ecosystem, air bubbles, water movement from fin thrust, it all affects the system, some of which we are unable to see, including creatures which have made their home in the cave. Has no one been in a cave where their air bubbles altered the environment by sediment falling?

I am not very educated about the FL cave systems and their development. From what I have seen in Ginnie, Peacock, and JB, which is admittedly a puny sample, it is obvious there was never a long enough dry spell for the caves to develop formations.

BUT what I was referring to mainly was the type of caves that have fragile formations that only divers have the ability to get to. Mexico has many of these, do a search for speleothem or helictites to see what I am talking about. A cave instructor recently told me a story about a student having an equipment issue and taking out a good size section of fragile helictite formation, with just a minor variance in buoyancy. It'll take another bjillion years of a dry spell to replace that. Air bubbles can destroy those fragile formations also . . .

Lets assume both groups are environmentally respectful and are equally trained to have as minimal impact as possible on their cave system. In addition to all the dry cavers concerns, the cave divers have equipment, limited air source, sometimes flow and probably other concerns I am not thinking of right now.

I see what you mean about your question though, dry cavers walk, crawl, etc and cave divers have the ability to make no contact whatsoever . . . or do we?

I will admit during my training dive, in the peanut tunnel, we did a lights out air sharing drill on the exit in a somewhat confined area, heightwise and I felt my tanks hit the ceiling :blush: and it made me cringe, great, I am tearing the place apart already, pitiful

Also, in Devils Ear, I believe I *may* have touched (ok, it was a death grip) portions of the cave entrance. Between other cave diver confessions, watching other cave divers, instructors stories and the results of my own best efforts, that is how I arrived at my opinion.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Well, more of opinion, position sounds so official

Contact is different from impact, the cave is an ecosystem, air bubbles, water movement from fin thrust, it all affects the system, some of which we are unable to see, including creatures which have made their home in the cave. Has no one been in a cave where their air bubbles altered the environment by sediment falling?

Cave flow fluctuates and changes naturally as well, water movement happens. Dry cavers breath as well.

I will admit during my training dive, in the peanut tunnel, we did a lights out air sharing drill on the exit in a somewhat confined area, heightwise and I felt my tanks hit the ceiling :blush: and it made me cringe, great, I am tearing the place apart already, pitiful

Also, in Devils Ear, I believe I *may* have touched (ok, it was a death grip) portions of the cave entrance. Between other cave diver confessions, watching other cave divers, instructors stories and the results of my own best efforts, that is how I arrived at my opinion.

In dry caving, do you not get schooled in easier sites before taken to more sensitve caves? Ginnie, Peacock, JB, etc are all training caves. It is, however, very possible to move cleanly through any of them with very little to no physical contact. The same cannot be said for any dry cave that I'm aware of

 

[drydiver]

Cave flow fluctuates and changes naturally as well, water movement happens. Dry cavers breath as well.



In dry caving, do you not get schooled in easier sites before taken to more sensitve caves? Ginnie, Peacock, JB, etc are all training caves. It is, however, very possible to move cleanly through any of them with very little to no physical contact. The same cannot be said for any dry cave that I'm aware of

I understand your perspective and I'm good with agreeing to disagree

Yes on the dry cave schooling bit, but to be clear, I am not an active dry caver and even when I was, (over 15 years ago and only for a few years) I was a beginner, I used no advanced equipment to enter, etc. I have always been fascinated with caves, even during my tourist/inactive years and that has been stimulated recently again by cave diving. Just something about the peaceful darkness and peeking around the corner to see what beautiful rock formations are waiting for me

 

[sumpdiver]

Did a lot of dry caving trips to stay in shape for hauling gear to sumps and
exploring beyond them.