smell , hear, feel ,taste

[Spike]

The smell of limestone giving way to hammer and chisel

The sound of a pebble, tossed into a too-tight way on, rattling down a bedding plane and plopping into an unseen pool

The feel of a hot shower after a weekend's Daren camp

The taste of bang fumes that haven't quite cleared properly, but you're too eager to get on and see what's happened

 

[mikem]

Pete Hall  - you should get the Turner prize. Now there's and idea........

This year's (Somerset) Turnip Prize has just been announced - collywobble (a dog on a jelly)...

Mike

 

[Kenilworth]

The work of centuries is ruined with only a little "tink"

 

[Wardy]

The feel of that first welly filling with freezing water on a winter trip and then realising that any thoughts of going back have now gone.

 

[yrammy]

Very profound Kenilworth  - that should go on a t-shirt.

 

[Ian P]

The sound of ?ROPE FREE !? When stood at the bottom of a wet draughty pitch waiting to ascend.

 

[MarkS]

The sound of ?ROPE FREE !? When stood at the bottom of a wet draughty pitch waiting to ascend.

And of course the nasty alternative of a shout of "BELOW" followed by a crash, when you're already on the rope and can't run away.

 

[Maj]

Some that others have already mentioned like the smell of "fresh" air on the surface, the enticing sound of a dropped stone into the unknown, the sound of a roaring stream beyond the end of the dig (the sound and anticipation often being better than the reality when reached), the clanking of a ladder as it's fed down a pitch, the eerie sounds when on your own in total darkness, voices that aren't there, smell of freshly cracked limestone.

Smell of a burning Tilley or Primus as you approach Hard Rock if you're not the first to arrive.
Smell of the cradle straps of my caving helmet reminding me it's due for a good wash.
The sight of that wet footprint that confirms you haven't taken a wrong turn along with the reassuring sound of your fellow cavers in the distance as you close the gap after loosing contact with them.
The creaking of a dry rope as the knot tightens for the first to descend and the squeak of a descender on a dry rope.

Maj.