Once upon a time, the life of our ancestors was closely connected with the caves. This is not surprising - where, if not in them, it was possible to hide from predators, light a fire in order to warm up and cook food, relax … In a life full of hardships and dangers, our ancestors found time for original creativity. They decorated their dwellings with rock paintings - petroglyphs, amazing in their beauty and laconicism.
In pursuit of impressions
Probably, each of us has a genetic memory of the prohibitively distant life of our ancestors. That is why the emptiness of the dungeons is so attractive and alluring. The mysterious, semi-mystical connection between man and the cave is reflected in folk art. The labyrinth of the half-man-half-bull of the Minotaur from Greek legends, the cave in Mount Venus from the legend of Tannhäuser, the castle of the Dovr elder from the play by Heinrich Ibsen “Per Pont”, the storerooms of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain from the tales of Pavel Bazhov … But you never know in world literature works where the action takes place in the mysterious halls! One can only marvel at the fantasy of mother nature, because even speleology, the science of underground spaces, is unable to study all their diversity. Ice grottoes of Iceland, bottomless caves of Abkhazia and Spain have long been inviting climbers and cavers from all over the world. Thousands of fans of speleotourism, in pursuit of new experiences, embark on risky journeys along underground routes. They are mesmerized by the beauty of turbulent rivers and waterfalls, bizarre stalactites, rock crystals shining in the light of lamps with silver or heavenly blue.
Unusual pillars and swords
In Northern Mexico, there is a small town called Nike (Chihuahua State). An unremarkable town of miners. For a long time, lead, zinc and silver have been mined here. The high humidity combined with the heat made the work of the local mine workers almost unbearable. It is no coincidence that they called it “the cave of death”. But the family needed to be fed, and there was no other work … The miners noticed long ago that around the main adit there are voids in which steam swirls. How many and how large they were, no one knew. In 1910, tunnellers discovered a strange room underground, filled with long white crystals, each up to a meter long. They dubbed this space "the cave of swords". There was a riddle, it was interesting, but there were no people willing to investigate it more thoroughly. And in 2000, while drilling a new adit, a hole with huge white pillars randomly lying in the water suddenly opened in front of the workers of the mining company. After the water was pumped out by powerful pumps, experienced speleologists from Italy descended into the cave. And … as if they got to a foreign planet, plunged into a mysterious jungle. There were hundreds of white "logs" around - crystals of selenite (one of the forms of gypsum. - Author's note) of incredible size. Previously, experts did not find such. The length of the "trunks" reached eleven meters, the diameter - four, and the weight - tens of tons. The bottom and vault of the cave were strewn with placers of transparent crystals, not inferior to the beauty of rock crystal.plunged into the mysterious jungle. There were hundreds of white "logs" around - crystals of selenite (one of the forms of gypsum. - Author's note) of incredible size. Previously, experts did not find such. The length of the "trunks" reached eleven meters, the diameter - four, and the weight - tens of tons. The bottom and vault of the cave were strewn with placers of transparent crystals, not inferior to the beauty of rock crystal.plunged into the mysterious jungle. There were hundreds of white "logs" around - crystals of selenite (one of the forms of gypsum. - Author's note) of incredible size. Previously, experts did not find such. The length of the "trunks" reached eleven meters, the diameter - four, and the weight - tens of tons. The bottom and vault of the cave were strewn with placers of transparent crystals, not inferior to the beauty of rock crystal.
Later, scientists found out that volcanic magma once got into the fault. For a very long time, she heated the water that filled the cave. Even a figure is called - about 500 thousand years! Gradually dissolved in water, selenite, under the influence of a water bath, whose temperature reached 60 ° C, turned into giant crystals of an unusual shape.
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During the descent here, the cavers had to take precautions: with one hundred percent humidity and high temperature, the cave could become a mass grave for them. After spending some twenty minutes underground and getting to the surface, the scientists could hardly move and speak on their own: incredible fatigue fell upon them. Nevertheless, it was decided to continue exploring the cave. It continues now. But the mining company promised to close the mine soon. Then water will again become the mistress here. Filling all natural voids, it will "bury" the extraordinary beauty of selenite crystals.
Dungeon Prisoners
The descents into the caves can be very dangerous. In the history of speleology there are many examples when even experienced specialists found themselves in difficult situations, sometimes with a tragic outcome.
On November 13, 1999, seven tourists descended into the Vi-tarrel cave system, near the small town of Gram, in southern France. The weather was sunny but windy. Friends, of course, knew about the unfavorable weather forecast for the coming days, but did not attach much importance to it. The guys believed that they had thoroughly prepared for the trip, took with them everything they needed - a rubber boat with oars, sleeping bags, oil lanterns, tablets for disinfecting water and a sufficient supply of food.
Having long become a kind of Mecca for tourists, Vitarel remained in many ways a mysterious country. For fourteen kilometers, three large caves with many galleries awaited them, a rather turbulent river flowed along the bottom. Friends preferred to walk, being ankle-deep in water. The boats were seldom resorted to.
By the end of the day, the wind intensified, storm clouds came, and a real storm fell on Gram. The water level in the river began to rise rapidly. For a while the tourists rowed against the current, but when they got to the farthest cave - Cle De Vout - there was almost no strength left. And the stream became so violent that there was no way to move on.
After a couple of hours, the water rose so high that the arch of the cave could be reached with a hand. The situation threatened to become critical. Suddenly the water level dropped sharply, apparently, downstream an underground river washed away the blockage. Young people gathered in a small niche, which they considered the safest. Powerful waves beat against the walls of the cave with a hammer, and the water was so cold that it shuddered. Long days and nights of subterranean captivity dragged on. They ate little by little twice a day, slept in fits and starts, barely enduring the piercing cold. The lanterns were turned on only when absolutely necessary.
And at this time, their relatives and friends announced the alarm. Volunteer rescuers from all over France gathered in Gram. People were ready to work for days, just to rescue the missing expedition. The most experienced speleologists Bernard Turt and Guy Bariviera repeatedly descended into the mine and explored the underground. There was no one in the two caves nearest to the entrance. It was impossible to advance further, and then the drilling equipment was connected.
… It was the seventh day of the search, when the drill fell into the void. Guy Bariviere descended into the widened hole on a cable and continued his search, but the system of underground galleries turned out to be too ramified. Meanwhile, the exhausted captives prepared for death. There was no food left, there was no lighting, the cold was brutal, and most importantly, hope began to leave the guys. Guy Barivier, who was falling from fatigue, was replaced by his colleague Cyril Arnault.
On the ninth day of their imprisonment, faint voices reached the captives. At first they did not believe it, because they had already heard strange sounds for a long time - some moans and howls. Friends with the last bit of strength began to shout and throw stones into the river to attract the attention of rescuers. Finally, Cyril reached the niche, and soon the first of the unlucky travelers was lifted from the adit to the joyful shouts of rescuers and journalists. This was the youngest member of the expedition - nineteen-year-old Nicolas Violan. He later recalled that even mortal fatigue could not suppress the feeling of great happiness when he saw the light of day. Despite all that he had experienced, Nicolas subsequently overcame his fear of caves, choosing the profession of a lifeguard-caver.
But since then, the only entrance to the Vitarel Caves system has been closed and sealed by the municipal authorities. It is necessary to equip at least one more descent into the ground. Spare.
Tragedies in the underworld
But such stories, unfortunately, do not always end well. In 2001, a tragedy occurred in Turkey that claimed the life of speleologist Mehmet Ali Ozel. He was part of the expedition of the Speleological Society of Bogazici University from Istanbul, exploring the deepest cave in Turkey. When he and his comrades were at a depth of 1280 meters, a downpour suddenly began, taking scientists by surprise. Mehmet could not escape. His body was found only three years later, when members of the expedition of the Bulgarian Federation of Speleology reached a lake at the bottom of a cave 1429 meters deep.
And in November 2009, people died in the Perm Territory, when at a depth of about a kilometer there was a collapse in the Russian cave. A group of young people was in a distant grotto when its vault suddenly collapsed. Two died on the spot, others - injured - were left behind a heap of stones. Only one person managed to get out of the cave and call the Ministry of Emergencies. The rescue team arrived very quickly, but it turned out that the passage was completely blocked. Along a narrow manhole, with difficulty pushing apart the fragments of the rock, the rescuers crawled to the place of the tragedy for more than two hours. In doing so, they risked their lives, since at any moment the vault could collapse again. Two children with multiple fractures and craniocerebral injuries were removed from the rubble and sent to the hospital. The parents of the rescued did not even know which "hell" their children had been to.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №30. Author: Sergey Sukhano