Caving Philippines

ajstars

New member
Looking for advice:

Firstly a little about myself and our task; I have a little experience in caving and a lot in climbing and rope work, as do my friends.  In January we are travelling to the Philippines where we own a piece of land which has a number of caves, all unexplored.  The area is well known for its caves and gold mining, and it is suggested that in WWII Japanese soldiers hid in the caves.  We need to explore the caves in order to find water that we desperately need for washing/building etc.  Many other settlements in the area have found water in the local caves that they pump down the hillside for their use.

We have the necessary pipework and pumps.  Earlier in the year a local took the pipe into one of the caves and found a small amount of water, but that dried up.  I threw a stone in and am sure I heard water fairly deep down. 
I wonder if you have anyone with any experience of caving in areas such as the Philippines, what we may need to watch out for and what we may need?  We do not intend to go deep into the cave, we simply need to find water and will take the necessary safety precautions. 

We already have a 100 metre rope waiting for us, and we have our climbing equipment and medical personnel with us.  We are slightly concerned about bat excrement and the possibility of snakes etc. however I am led to believe we are only likely to find snakes at the cave entrance??

Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated, as would a refresher in rope climbing techniques etc. if anyone would be able to assist?

Many thanks,
Andrew (Smallfield, Surrey)


 

cap n chris

Well-known member
It might be wise to rig any descent in such a way that anyone abseiling, who succumbs to exceptionally high CO2 levels and becomes unconscious while on the rope, can be instantly hauled to the surface. A 3:1 z-rig or traxion haul set-up should suffice but you'll need a high belay to make it efficient.

University of Bristol Spelaeological Society engaged in some expeditionary work in Thailand (which I'm assuming has a similar climate, characteristics) and poor air was a major hazard, to such an extent that rebreathing apparatus was used.

Re: bat guano. I'm not sure whether there is a high risk from histoplasmosis but face masks might be a plan, too.

Hopefully someone on the forum who has experience of tropical caving will provide more comprehensive advice. 
 

estelle

Member
There's been quite a lot of caving expeditions over the years to the Philippines - i went out there about 15 years back and there was quite a lot of cave already found by then. I'm not sure who the best person to contact for up to date information is, but can ask around those that were involved and see if they can help you.
 

ajstars

New member
Excellent, thanks for the advice,  roughly how deep down would I be looking at CO2 levels being a problem?
 

cavermark

New member
There's a multitude of factors in CO2 - mainly to do with air movement (or lack of). In tends to "pool" in blind shafts, being heavier than air. A search of this forum for CO2 or bad air might give more info than I can.
 
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