Well, I survived my deep Mexico caving shananigans.  However, the cave did not easily reveal its secrets.  After a rocky start with the local politicians, our group eventually got permission to go up the mountain and begin the expedition.  I arrived shortly thereafter as the first trips into the cave began.  A lot of work was needed in order to improve the rigging, fix the phone line (yes a cave phone), and equip the camps.  On top of that, of course, we had to get a ton a diving gear to the sump, which is 2-3 days travel from the surface.  It took a team of about 12 people one full month of hard work to accomplish the task.  We then sent the first two divers into the sump, James and Jose.  Their job was to continue underwater exploration until they had a major above-water continuation, and then to rig the sump for travel and camping beyond.  This included running the phone line through the sump and rigging a 9-mm climbing rope through so that divers hauling camp gear could simply pull themselves through the sump.

As the dive began, most the rest of us anxiously awaited news in base camp.  James had previously dove the first sump and found another sump beyond.  Our assumption was that this sump would also have to be cracked.  However, Jose and James returned with news that they had found a large dry continuation between the two sumps that seemed to bypass the second sump.

A polish caver, Marcin, and I were the lucky ones who were in line for the first follow up exploration on the far side.  We saddled heavy loads to replace some of the consumables used up in the first dives, as well as gear and food for more than a week in the cave and exploration beyond the sump. Three days later we were at the sump.  It took a couple of hours to ready the dive gear and get suited up, and then we made the dive into the unknown territory beyond – prepared to stay for a while.  During the rest of that day we found a good place to set up camp and began surveying the passages beyond the sump, which included a massive chamber between the two sumps that we called “The Land Between the Lakes.”  With the next day of survey we discovered that we were in a large flood water maze, where everything was coated in mud.  Unfortunately, the cave didn’t seem to be going anywhere in particular.  We did discover one large passage that went in the right direction for several hundred meters before it was blocked by flowstone up high and a lake down low.

The next day we returned to the lake with our dry suits and swam across to see if we could find a continuation beyond.  Unfortunately, it was sumped, but we felt that this must be the way on.  We spent two more days pushing leads and surveying the maze.  Finally, on our last day, Marcin decided to do a reconaissance dive into the sump, which we had named “Lake 41.” He could only use a little air, since we needed to have enough for the trip out, but he had enough to do a short recon.  The sump was only about 25 meters long, but surfaced in another chamber enclosed by flowstone.  He decided that the continuation must be underwater somewhere, but he just didn’t enough air to spend more time looking.  Later that day we returned through the first sump with 870 meters of new survey but only 2 meters of added depth.  We began the long trip out from the sump and were on the surface two days later.  Elizabeth had arrived in base camp and greeted me at the entrance as we surfaced after 8 days underground.

That was to be my last trip deep into the cave before I left for home, but Bill and Jose returned in the remaining weeks of the expedition.  It turned out that the way on was through Lake 41, but they still didn’t crack the sump.  They found an underwater continuation that went for 350 meters, surfacing in several small air bells, but never opening up into dry passage.  It continued, but they ran out of time and resources for further diving, so deeper exploration will have to wait for the future.  You can find some excellent photos of our expedition taken by Marcin Gala and Kasia Bernacka here.

-Matt, the elder brother

Marcin and I celebrating the fact that we're at Camp 4 - beyond the sump! Photo by Marcin Gala.

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Marcin returning from his dive in Lake 41. Photo by Matt Covington.

Me on the way out through the first sump. Yes, my mask kept horifically filling with water. Next time I'm taking my own. Photo by Marcin Gala.

For many years now I have decried cave diving as a pursuit of the insane – so dangerous that no reasonable person would engage in it.  In fact, many ‘dry’ cavers have this view of their underwater brethren.  However, in the last 6 months I have embarked on a journey that has taken me into the world of underwater caving.  Obviously, to all those loved ones around me who have long heard my tales of the perils of cave diving, the question arises – have I gone nuts?  Over the last few months I have constantly found myself back-paddling from my previous statements, explaining to those around me what exactly it is that I am doing and why I think it’s ok.  So, let me tell you my story.

First off, sumps (places where a previously above-the-water cave goes completely underwater) are one of the chief banes of dry cave exploration.  Often, a cave reaches it’s ‘end’ when it goes underwater.  However, it is also often the case that miles of dry cave lie just on the far side of a sump.  For several years now I have participated in the exploration and survey of a new deep cave in Mexico, J2.  J2 is hydrologically a part of the greater Sistema Cheve, which could ultimately be the deepest cave in the world with almost 2600 meters of depth potential.  The hope is that J2 is the key to the currently un-accessed central portion of Sistema Cheve.  Over three years we explored deeper and deeper into J2.  However, in 2006 this effort was ultimately halted by a sump.  For several weeks we attempted to find a bypass to the sump but had no luck.  The team hauled enough gear to the bottom of the cave for a single cave dive.  The sump proved to be 150 meters long and quite shallow.  After the sump the cave emerged into a large chamber and flowed into a second sump.  This information was enough to know that any further effort at that route would require a significant diving expedition.  However, given the position of the cave passage far above the resurgence, there is likely to be significant dry cave beyond the sump, dry cave that could hold the key to breaking into the true depths of Cheve.

This tantalizing lead got the wheels turning for Bill Stone, the expedition leader.  In the three years since, he has gotten together with Poseidon to develop a new version of his Cis Lunar line of rebreathers, the Discovery Cis Lunar Mark VI.  This rebreather is lighter, more compact, and simpler to use than the previous models.  It is actually designed as a ’sport’ rebreather to be used even for initial dive certification courses.  Along with this new technology, Bill has concocted a plan for a serious push beyond the J2 sumps.  The central problem in this sort of exploration is that there are very few experienced cave divers who are also accomplished enough dry cavers to make the journey to a place like J2.  In cave diving, the standard is to roll your vehicle up to the dive site, flop into the water, and go.  In contrast, J2 requires 2-3 days of challenging, physical, vertical caving just to reach the edge of the water.

Since there is such a small group of people capable of both of these activities, Bill has taken to training expedition cavers to pass sumps.  For the case of J2, we have a core group of 4 -5 experienced cave divers who will be conducting all exploratory dives in the sumps.  If they are capable of finding a route through the sump into dry passage beyond, and if that route is not too long, too deep, or too technically challenging, then we have a secondary dive team prepared to follow behind in order to push the dry cave beyond.  The exploration divers will rig a 9 mm climbing rope through the sumps.  Since this rope is strong, it will be possible to pull ourselves through the sump, greatly reducing the time needed to traverse the sump and the possibility of navigational error.  While it doesn’t remove all danger, this means of travel through the sump greatly reduces the risk factors involved in the dive.  When this plan was unveiled, I and a number of other cavers who had never before considered cave diving decided that this specific sort of cave diving carried with it a low enough risk factor and high enough reward that we were willing to take it on. Given the nature of the known sump and the method of travel through it I think that there is more risk of serious injury on the trip into the cave than there is in the sump itself.

Once I had had this internal debate, the time came to discuss my desires with Elizabeth.  I had promised her that I would never go cave diving (after all, only crazy people did that right?), and I took that commitment seriously.  I would only go if I could convince her that this was a reasonable exception to the general rule that I don’t cave dive.  Much to my surprise, she fairly calmly told me that she thought this was OK.  Her main fear was that I would become addicted to cave diving and want to do it a lot.  Admittedly, I had some of that fear myself.  We decided that any cave diving I did we would discuss on a case-by-case basis.  Thus began my dabbling in cave diving.

In the early fall, 15 cavers and divers converged in Austin, Texas at Bill’s ranch for a week of dive training on a beta version of the new rebreathers.  It is always incredible to get that many focused and like-minded individuals together in one place all working toward the same goal.  Despite the beta state of the rebreathers we were all able to do a number of successful dives and learn the ins and outs of the new gear.  Overall it was an intense and productive week.  We discussed rebreather theory, learned how to take the rigs apart, learned how to put them together, learned how to fix them when they weren’t working properly, completed a number of pool dives, and finally headed into the open water.  The week culminated with a series of night dives pulling ourselves along on a rope underwater and simulating the conditions of J2. Below you can see some photos from the week.

-Matt, the elder brother (who really hasn’t gone crazy, and that’s the story he’s sticking to)

An early week session on rebreather theory. Photo Matt Covington.

Heading out for a dive on one of the rigs at Lake Travis. Photo: Andrey Bizyukin.

The team.

Over breakfast, Stephen strained himself trying to recall the events of the previous night. Although it was hard to remember exactly what had happened, the fact that something really had happened was clearly set in his mind. It wasn’t a dream. He just knew. Plus, how else would he explain the extra set of tracks leading up to his door. Also, if it had occurred to him that he was actually eating breakfast, which he was never in the habit of doing previously, he would have known beyond all doubt. But the change that had taken place in him last night was too deep and too pervasive for him to notice.

Stephen was accustomed to laying around watching TV on Sundays, but today he knew he had to get out and take care of something. The fact that he didn’t know exactly what it was he had to do, or where he had to go, didn’t really bother him. After shaving and taking a shower, Stephen dressed and got ready to go out, but he first thought: “No, I really need to clean this place up a little first.”

…

While Stephen furiously cleaned his apartment, a man walked resolutely out of a narrow alleyway with a small brown package in his hands. It looked much like a gift wrapped in parcel paper. It even had a string tied around it and a note fixed to the top. The man’s collar was turned up to hide his neck, and the gray fedora that crowned his head tilted down in the front to obscure his face, if he had one.

…

After two hours, his apartment was almost spotless. Stephen proved to be a surprisingly fast cleaner, considering how out of practice he was. His mindless determination fueled him. He was now ready to face the task at hand. He put on his heavy winter coat, stepped outside and locked the door. Then he began to forge a new set of tracks in the snow, this time heading perpendicular to the other two sets. He was on his way to the office, or toward the office I should say. He wouldn’t make it that far, at least not today anyway.

Stephen entered the subway station located several blocks north of his apartment, just as if he were heading to work. And, just as if he were heading to work, he boarded the Blue Line with his freshly swiped ticket in his hand. Again, just as usual, he sat down in the next to last row in his car. There were two details, however, that were out of the ordinary this morning. The first was how few people there were on the car, but then again, it was a Sunday, not a weekday. The second, and more importantly, the significant discrepancy between this subway ride and any other trip to work, was that Stephen sat down on the left side of the car, not the right. And next to him in the seat was a brown package wrapped in parcel paper. It had a string tied around it and a note attached to the top. Stephen flipped open the card out of impulse, though he didn’t need to read the five words written upon it in scratchy handwriting. He already knew what it said: “Just wait. You will know.”

-James, the younger brother