I've become curious about how many spelunkers are out there. One of the hobbies of me and my friends that very few people know about is cave exploration, or spelunking as it's called in the United States. It's a hobby that traces itself to my grandfather; he had a job post-WWII where he would venture into caves because there was a fear samurai were hiding in caves all across the Pacific. This turned into cave exploration skills which he passed onto my friends (less so me, I can "technically" do it for the visual enjoyment and do certain aspects better but consider it a safety red flag). I usually sit by as "reinforcements" outside a cave even though I do sometimes fancy some visuals.
There are a number of caves where we are, as it's one of the most erosion-rich regions in the world if not the most. Sometimes my friends discover things, either they take pictures or set them up for analysis. The activity can be so fascinating, caves are the opposite of open books and it's fun to "leave a mark" as you go, if that makes sense; it's like playing a video game in real life. Everyone talks about urban exploration, which is less insightful/legal and always involves places that were once sprawling anyways. Nobody talks about spelunking.
Any of you spelunkers out there? What caves have you been to? What's the most you've ever done, and what things have you discovered or brought back? And what did your experience involve?
My introduction was Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. I've never had any training or anything, but I agree its got a kind of cool fascination to it. I thoroughly enjoy it.
That lack of training is why I never pursued it a whole lot though. It's pretty clearly obvious while you're doing it that it's an inherently dangerous activity. Not a lot or anything, but it is at no time completely safe. Just cuz rocks can move, and we all kinda know that. Respect to the people that do it though, I totally would if I had more caves, and maybe a professional to learn a few things from first.
If you're wearing the right equipment, it's mostly a matter of watching one's step and knowing small bits of advice (for example, never light a match in a cave, ever). It should be remembered people mine in caves for a living. The two friends aren't even that athletic, usually going off in different directions depending on their skills (one of them I've never seen so much as climb a hill).