Hi everyone! My question is actually for tall westerners. Say 6ft up Has anybody here visited Sagada caves and successfully spelunked their way out? I really wanted to do this but my husband is worried he might get stuck.
Not really answering your question as I do not know, but I remember that the Philippines has a fantastic selection of caves in a variety of locations. World class as I recall. I am 6ft though. I did go potholing as we call it here, in the Mendip Hills in the UK, when I was younger in a party of about 20 and I do recall that the biggest guys found the route more challenging. Potholing brings out the worst in those who suffer from claustrophobia.
OMG , I can't think of a much worse experience than potholing . I'm seriously claustrophobic , and really struggled with all but the shortest Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam . I'm glad I did it but wouldn't repeat it .
Is it dangerous? Most of the photos I find on-line for "Sagada caves" show tourists poncing around in flip-flops, shorts, and t-shirts whilst posing for photos.
I went potholing regularly when I was at Uni several decades ago. A regular Sunday trip to the Yorkshire Dales with the University Pothole Club. Crawling and sliding through deep mud in our wetsuits, diving through sumps, squeezing through tight passages, abseiling or laddering hundreds of feet. Properly equipped with wetsuit, boots, helmet, miners lamp (or carbide), ropes and ladders . The challenge is what made it worthwhile.
Yeah. I enjoyed my stint at it too. Tell me, did you come across the name Trevor Ford OBE? He really did write the book on it, Speleology that is, in the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District. I am told there is a distinction between, potholing / spelunking and cave diving. Cave diving I believe is for nutters? So it was explained to me. Carbide? That’s foul stuff! Hope you didn’t get it wet?
No, I don't recall hearing of Trevor Ford before. Used to know some guys who went cave diving, as you say that is for nutters, it seriously shortens life expectation. One of their mates apparently found somebody's head inside a wetsuit hood whilst cave diving, the chap had died several years previously whilst cave diving himself, his body had decomposed, and there was just his head, still in the neoprene hood, floating around in the underwater passage. Diving through zero visibility muddy water in confined passages, reliant on a guideline to find your way back. No thanks!
He was the brains behind the science of the cave systems and worked closely with the caving community. He ran the caving club at Leicester University. He was also one of my lecturers. But yes, there is plenty of caving to be done in the U.K. however the potential for caving in the Philippines looks awesome.
Off topic, sorry but cave diving expert, Cathay Pacific captain, now deceased of whom Ive metioned on the forum before. Much respect for this guy http://deepcave.com/pages/3/index.htm The website is maintained in his honour (unlike the page counters on that website which seem to be a distant memory!)
I think I met his half Japanese cousin Rick. Just saw the bit at the bottom: “Depth in a dive is of secondary importance to Dave.He is primarily interested in exploring.To be where no other man has explored before is the ultimate in his opinion.It seems that to achieve that goal, greater depths are becoming a must.”
Yes depth being secondary in his pursuit of exploration bur interestingly broke the world depth record on a rebreather. Seems Im repeating myself from years ago but alas not just me! http://british-filipino.com/index.php?threads/taking-off-from-cebu-to-uk.9313/page-3#post-59130 Im off topic, apologies OP
