Artificial Caves

In many ways, caves provide the only 'true adventure' left to man.

The oceans, mountains, deserts and icecaps all provide their challenges but there is always an alternative way of seeing or reaching a destination. To explore a cave there is no alternative available - there are no helicopters, submarines, robots, computers, detectors - to find out what is round the corner, you simply have to go round the corner and look for yourself!

Caves are obstacle courses or climbing walls without the rules. There are no parameters or off-limit zones, there are no observers taking notes and there is no pass or fail mark at the end. Exploring a cave is usually governed by a time or a passage choice but the entire method by which a cave explorer gets from point A to B is entirely between the caver and the designer of the cave.

Caves provide an excellent opportunity for visitors to explore and test their limits, both physically and mentally. There can hardly be a muscle in the body that is not stretched as a caver twists, turns, squeezes and climbs their way along a cave passage.

Caves are not a natural environment for most people. To many, the idea of entering a totally dark and enclosed setting is not only alien but often totally abhorrent. The mental effort to overcome these irrational fears is an important element of the challenge. Although the wish to defeat the physical and mental problems is fundamentally in the hands of the individual, it is the support and the teamwork within a caving group that underlies the fun of cave exploration.