Solo Caving

[martinr]

A friend of mine told me solo caving is like sex. You can do it by yourself but it's more fun with a partner.....

 

[Peter Burgess]

I suppose when you are on your own, you have nobody to put you off doing something you are quite capable of doing, and equally nobody to persuade you to try something that you really should back away from. That is fine, as long as you know you can trust your own judgement.

 

[gus horsley]

Another advantage with solo trips is that there's nobody to wear the rest of the party down by moaning about being cold, tired, etc.  What's the use in moaning if you're the only one there to hear it?

 

[racingsnake]

I suppose when you are on your own, you have nobody to put you off doing something you are quite capable of doing, and equally nobody to persuade you to try something that you really should back away from. That is fine, as long as you know you can trust your own judgement.

I can't really judge if I can trust my own judgement !!!!!!!



Happy xmas Mr Mendip

 

[SamT]

Until there are good waterproof and sturdy MP3 players available I probably wouldn't do solo trips. Without good company on a trip I imagine I would get a bit bored.

I totally agree - although I cant see even an MP3 making the difference. I just get bored in my own company. The enjoyment I glean from caving and digging is always based on the people I share it with, not really the cave.

Strange when I think about it.

I love caving, full stop. love it.

but solo caving is a bit boring. Hmm

Im sure an analyst could have a field day.

 

[Chris J]

a complete lack of cavers willing to join me on the trips i wanted to do, which is pretty f...ing pathetic considering the hundreds and hundreds i know.

Couldn't be anything to do with your sparkling charm, wit and personality??

Seriously though I don't normally struggle to find people for caving trips (except when abondoned in the TSG and saved by Derbyshire CDG) but then again I don't invite people on trips by throwing down the gauntlet and challenging them to do a trip!

Maybe you should look at Capt'n Chris's post about caving for the caves and not the people and all the responses which say we cave for both!!

 

[Mark]

Couldn't be anything to do with your sparkling charm, wit and personality??

 

[Stevo]

Probably done more soloing than i have accompanied caving and i really enjoy it, but i only turned to soloing in the first place due to there been a complete lack of cavers willing to join me on the trips i wanted to do, which is pretty f...ing pathetic considering the hundreds and hundreds i know. I always inform a close friend where i'm going and give them a call out time....usually +4hrs on top of when i expect to be out. Personally i wouldn't recommend soloing to anyone other than the most confident cavers i.e with hundreds of top end trips under their belt + maybe a past in rock climbing/mountaineering, those with experience in the latter are always the stronger, i find. I've got old mountaineering buddies who come caving occasionally who're probably more confident and braver than most cavers i know.

With all these stories of derring-do where you go where no caver has gone before you must have found some amount of virgin cave passage. Yet I haven't seen any mention of these caves in any of the guide books or indeed published anywhere else. Following in someone elses track is not the hard bit.

Getting back on topic I find solo caving a bit boring. What's the point of doing crazy climbs, free diving sumps and pushing boulder chokes when there's no one there to say 'Bloody hell are you mad!'. And if there is no one there to watch me then who's to say I just made it up.

 

[LoneRanger]

Solo caving is just like normal caving but better.

With normal caving you have fun getting wet and tired - and lots of people think you are stupid and irresponsible and they don't understand why you do it.

With solo caving, even more people think you are stupid and irresponsible and don't understand why you do it.

 

[Simon Beck]

I'll be damned if i'm gonna justify myself to you stevo and anyone else especially when you've got the nerve to presume in the first place, i think i've explained myself enough in past threads. You people don't know me my ideals my motives for doing what i do or the/my ethical code i follow in my approach. You people speak of boredom etc...etc (you just lack the correct perspective), i'm bored personally listening to you all. Due to my lack of discoveries(i think i've only ever been somewhere where nobodys been and it wasn't much further, once before) who gives a shit, i certainly don't, i can assure you that i've only just scratched the surface with regards caving and all that comes with it, that is as long as i continue to survive what i aspire to do in the present, what i do in the present i regard as an end in itself, these goals criticised earlier as been unworthy by someone due to the fact men had trodden there before, you've got a bloody nerve!, men may have trodden there in the past, but few men frequent these places even today.
I apologise if i may have upset, offended some folk in the past, i assure you it was never my aim, i have enormous admiration for all who have come before me and all who push the limits and operate in the present. But i will continue to play this game the way i've always played it and if you don't like it then screw your morality.

 

[Simon Beck]

well said ranger!

 

[Cumbrian Neil]

I'll be damned if i'm gonna justify myself to you stevo and anyone else especially when you've got the nerve to presume in the first place, i think i've explained myself enough in past threads. You people don't know me my ideals my motives for doing what i do or the/my ethical code i follow in my approach. You people speak of boredom etc...etc (you just lack the correct perspective), i'm bored personally listening to you all. Due to my lack of discoveries(i think i've only ever been somewhere where nobodys been and it wasn't much further, once before) who gives a shit, i certainly don't, i can assure you that i've only just scratched the surface with regards caving and all that comes with it, that is as long as i continue to survive what i aspire to do in the present, what i do in the present i regard as an end in itself, these goals criticised earlier as been unworthy by someone due to the fact men had trodden there before, you've got a bloody nerve!, men may have trodden there in the past, but few men frequent these places even today.
I apologise if i may have upset, offended some folk in the past, i assure you it was never my aim, i have enormous admiration for all who have come before me and all who push the limits and operate in the present. But i will continue to play this game the way i've always played it and if you don't like it then screw your morality.

Simon - Was this free thought??  A form of writing that has very few periods, but many thoughts??  Sorry, I couldn't resist.  It's okay to be a sport caver and you really don't have to justify yourself to anyone.  Did you ever make any headway with information in the Leakey Tapes??

The only soloing I have done was to the bottom of Jingling Pot and back.  I also soloed out of Langcliffe after bottling out of the boulder squeeze in Boireau Falls Chamber.  It was a very bizarre experience.  Way too many sounds that you don't naturally hear when you are with a group.  Too many moments of looking over one's shoulder to look for the voices or footsteps that you believe you can hear.

CN.

 

[Simon Beck]

Hey neil, the 'leakey tapes' i regard as a prized possession, very interesting and insightful, thanks for introducing them to me. With regards headway, yes and no. Yes when refering to the sporting trips i undertake in the systems in question, but no with regards to my aims in the aforementioned systems, maybe with a little help in the future i could see these plans/ideals come into fruition. 

 

[cap n chris]

The only soloing I have done was to the bottom of Jingling Pot and back.  I also soloed out of Langcliffe after bottling out of the boulder squeeze in Boireau Falls Chamber.  It was a very bizarre experience.  Way too many sounds that you don't naturally hear when you are with a group.  Too many moments of looking over one's shoulder to look for the voices or footsteps that you believe you can hear.

Among some good Mendip solo stuff (such as multiple trips to Rhino Rift, Hunter's Hole and the Round Trip in Swildon's Hole) did double figure solo trips to Yorkshire this year (including Jingling but that's the only cave where I actually met other people while there!). Soloing has its own distinct characteristics - there's a heightened sense of awareness due to the increased "uh-oh!" factor if stuff goes a bit squirrelly (especially when you get hung up for a while, for example, on pitch somewhere like Sell Gill Holes, during so-so weather). Also there's a great quiet and peacefulness which can be almost deafening at times - as a result every/any noise is amplified in your mind and, boy, do caves make noises sometimes! The setting, completion or abandonment of objectives is also an interesting element since it's only you who makes the decisions or where, when, why and how long to go and when to call it a day and start the return. Taking big swings onto ropes at pitch heads is also a big thrill but when unaccompanied and done in total silence these moments border on spiritual. Soloing in a cave for which you have no prior knowledge, never having been there before, and no rigging guide is an excellent adventure with awesome unforgettable moments. It's all very strange and compelling and surely ranks as one of my favourite caving experiences. Soloing? Love it.

 

[MSD]

I don't mind caving solo. This summer I was in a bit of a hurry to get to the Aven des Baoudillons do get on with some detackling. The rest of the team took it slower and so I went ahead solo, started the detackle and met the rest of the gang part way up again. Since by that stage I had three full bags, they were a welcome sight.

Incidentally this cave is a great sporting outing which very few people seem to know about. It's like Hammer Pot on steroids - three times as deep, three times as much tackle. Fortunately not three times as tight, but several awkward take-offs and lots of narrow rifts with plenty of tricky traversing (and cursing!). It even has a master cave full of the same kind of milled potholes and razor shorp edges as Hammer....which finishes in a final big pitch (yes, you guessed it, three times as deep as Hammer). A real cracker, definitely recommeded.

Mark

 

[Chris J]

The only soloing I have done was to the bottom of Jingling Pot and back.  I also soloed out of Langcliffe after bottling out of the boulder squeeze in Boireau Falls Chamber.  It was a very bizarre experience.  Way too many sounds that you don't naturally hear when you are with a group.  Too many moments of looking over one's shoulder to look for the voices or footsteps that you believe you can hear.

Among some good Mendip solo stuff (such as multiple trips to Rhino Rift, Hunter's Hole and the Round Trip in Swildon's Hole) did double figure solo trips to Yorkshire this year (including Jingling but that's the only cave where I actually met other people while there!). Soloing has its own distinct characteristics - there's a heightened sense of awareness due to the increased "uh-oh!" factor if stuff goes a bit squirrelly (especially when you get hung up for a while, for example, on pitch somewhere like Sell Gill Holes, during so-so weather). Also there's a great quiet and peacefulness which can be almost deafening at times - as a result every/any noise is amplified in your mind and, boy, do caves make noises sometimes! The setting, completion or abandonment of objectives is also an interesting element since it's only you who makes the decisions or where, when, why and how long to go and when to call it a day and start the return. Taking big swings onto ropes at pitch heads is also a big thrill but when unaccompanied and done in total silence these moments border on spiritual. Soloing in a cave for which you have no prior knowledge, never having been there before, and no rigging guide is an excellent adventure with awesome unforgettable moments. It's all very strange and compelling and surely ranks as one of my favourite caving experiences. Soloing? Love it.

Hardly surprising considering - "It's the caves I'm interested in. Not the people"

Seems that you cave solo for the extra thrills it brings whilst Simon caves solo because he can't find people to cave with. - i.e. he'd rather cave with someone if given the opportunity.

Personally I find the concept of soloing (or having no prior knowledge, never having been there before, and no rigging guide) for the sake of thrills a bit odd. If you want to make caving more challenging or difficult there are plenty of more useful things you could do.

The bit about having no prior knowledge and no rigging guide sounds like you want to do some exploring - my advice is to do this properly and go on an expedition! 

I personally have no issue with soloing but I wouldn't normally do it just for the sake of thrills. Have done a couple of solo exchange trips (i.e. two people - one in each route), also very happy heading off on my own or coming out on my own etc.. I also see its use when involved in digging or diving projects which require some setting up. All in all I'll go on my own if there is a good reason to - not to make a point about how 'ard I am.

 

[cap n chris]

I'm not a hard caver; never have been, probably never will be (and it's not in my nature to make an issue about what I get up to solo, unless asked). But I certainly go caving because it generates thrills. Doesn't everyone?

 

[Simon Beck]

For me the rewards and the feeling i get from soloing hard stuff supersedes doing the same trips with other folk by two fold, plus you really do find out what you're made of when you face this stuff alone, it's a real charactor builder.

 

[ChrisB]

But I certainly go caving because it generates thrills. Doesn't everyone?

I don't. I'm sure a lot of cavers do, and the same goes for many climbers, kayakers, etc, and I understand that.

I do it, however, because it's interesting, and challenging, and there are always new things to learn. Thrills are too close to dangerous, for me, and I don't like dangerous.

 

[Simon Beck]

I will admit that i do it for the thrill but it's not the only reason i do it, a culmination of reasons exist. But yes it's got to be dangerous, only through facing my demons do i gain true satisfaction. But with regards to soloing i'd give it up tomorrow if i had the partners to share the experience with on all the trips i wanted to do, but i doubt in most cases that will ever be the case.
I think some folk get the impression i'm a real loner and no that's not the case, i cave as much with others as i do on my own.