I don’t know if it has just been me, or what, but my YouTube suddenly suggested cave diving videos! I say that, but in reality, I looked up one incident and suddenly my entire front page is filled with cave diving videos. And when I get into something, I find it hard to stop watching to learn more and get deeper in the concept. Tunnel vision is real.
There has been this meme/TikTok format of video where people have been putting shoes into seemingly flat surfaces as if to show off someone “diving” into a tight space. Since I’ve first seen it, I’ve seen the shoes on walls, doors, people’s bodies, and many other egregious places that I know people cannot typically fit. When I first saw it pop up, I was confused. I remember asking my boyfriend, “What is up with these cave diving memes? I don’t get it,” and it all spiraled from there. He suggested I watch the incident regarding the Nutty Putty Cave, and then I couldn’t stop watching them.
There are so many documentaries out there regarding every single cave diving incident – tragedies, successes, and more often than not: resilience! The mental strength that a cave diver must have is incredible. Deliberately pushing yourself to explore the unknown, charting new areas, squeezing yourself into spaces that your brain warns you not to requires a lot of determination and steel courage. I am especially in awe of these rescuers that recover victims, oftentimes risking their own life to save a life, or even put their family at ease. It reminds me of how good humanity can be – coming together and putting in effort to save strangers.
From all of these videos, I have determined some ground rules of cave diving. Mind you, I developed these through spectating and I don’t think my advice should be taken as professional, but I have noticed some patterns that will help someone if they were ever planning on going cave diving.
- Never go alone – Pretty self-explanatory. Always have someone standing outside the cave to get help and always travel with at least one person who can immediately assist you in the moment.
- Uncharted? Inexperienced? No. – I’ve noticed that a lot of people get way over their heads. Ego is a nasty thing and people deliberately chase the glory of charting a new portion of the cave or squeezing into tight spaces because they are qualified and experienced when they are not. Do not fall for your own ego.
- Right conditions – Do not ignore weather conditions and other factors that may affect your dive. If it is raining and you think, “Oh, this didn’t go like my practice run, but we’ll be fine,” stop. Pick a different date.
- Nitrogen narcosis is real so avoid it with the ⅔ rule – Since I am studying health sciences, this part fascinated me because I wasn’t really exposed to this concept of decompression. I first heard it through my mentor, but to hear exactly what it does to individuals on a physiological scale is very interesting. So, make sure you always have a tank of oxygen if you are planning on going in deep or entering water!
I personally would never go cave diving, but I would be willing to enter a very big commercial cave where tight spaces are not a thing with lots of people around me!