First of all, when you are preparing for caving, be sure to check the basic equipment required for caving. They should include: lighting, food, drinking water, ropes and protective equipment.
Because many of the caves are very narrow and often have to crawl through, it is best to bring knee pads, elbow pads, gloves and a hard hat. Hard hats not only prevent bumps when drilling holes, but also prevent injuries from accidentally falling rubble. In addition, the flashlight should have enough spare batteries and spare bulbs. The rope should be strong. You can also bring a few whistle for contact.
It is best for cavers to use calcium carbide lamps for lighting, because when there is a lack of oxygen in the cave, the color of the calcium carbide lamp flame will change significantly, which can remind cavers to exit in time. It is worth noting that when the calcium carbide burns out and removes the residue, the residual calcium carbide gas will escape. It is necessary to prevent other people’s calcium carbide lamp flames from igniting the escaped gas gas. Therefore, when one person replaces the new calcium carbide, other people have to withdraw a certain distance (more than 5 meters), and still need to bring a flashlight to use the calcium carbide lamp.
The biggest danger of caving is getting lost. In order to prevent getting lost, the general method is to set up road signs. It is best to prepare some reflective road signs of different colors (such as the reflectors on the rear fender of the bicycle), number them, and place them in the order of the number. The advantage of reflectors is that they are easy to spot and recyclable. Some people like to use chalk to draw arrows on the cave walls. In our experience, such signposts are not easy to spot, easily mixed with arrows drawn by other cavers, and can stain the cave walls.
Caves generally consist of narrow passages and spacious “halls”. The hall is often where several passages meet, and is densely covered with rocks. It is easy to enter the hall from the passage, but difficult to find the passage from the hall. So, when you enter a spacious hall from a narrow passage, be sure to make reflective road signs at the entrance.
If you have lost your way, the first thing is to stop immediately, don’t panic, and stabilize your emotions. It’s best to sit and rest for 10 minutes before finding your way out. In the case of getting lost, people’s feelings are often unreliable. At this time, you should put aside all feelings and use specific methods to solve them. From where you find yourself lost, start making signs and try going one direction at a time. Be patient and explore slowly. One thing to remind is that the caves are all formed by the erosion of groundwater. The river scouring the cave wall will leave traces, from these traces you can judge the direction of the river in that year. At this time, no matter which “tributary” you are in, you can go downstream. In fact, any professional caver does not make road signs, and they will easily walk out of the complicated underground river according to the traces of the current.
It is worth noting that it is not advisable to enter the cave after several days of heavy rain and earthquakes, because the situation in the cave is unstable and prone to landslides.
