Blind Descent
Blind Descent

Author: James M. Tabor

Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Published: 2011-02-15

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0812979494

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“Heart-stopping and relentlessly gripping. Tabor takes us on an odyssey into unfathomable worlds beneath us, and into the hearts of rare explorers who will do anything to get there first.”—Robert Kurson, author of ShadowDivers In 2004, two great scientist-explorers attempted to find the bottom of the world. American Bill Stone took on the vast, deadly Cheve Cave in southern Mexico. Ukrainian Alexander Klimchouk targeted Krubera, a freezing nightmare of a supercave in the war-torn former Soviet republic of Georgia. Both men spent months almost two vertical miles deep, contending with thousand-foot drops, raging whitewater rivers, monstrous waterfalls, mile-long belly crawls, and the psychological horrors produced by weeks in absolute darkness, beyond all hope of rescue. Based on his unprecedented access to logs and journals as well as hours of personal interviews, James Tabor has crafted a thrilling exploration of man’s timeless urge to discover—and of two extraordinary men whose pursuit of greatness led them to the heights of triumph and the depths of tragedy. Blind Descent is an unforgettable addition to the classic literature of true-life adventure, and a testament to human survival and endurance. “Holds the reader to his seat, containing dangers aplenty with deadly falls, killer microbes, sudden burial, asphyxiation, claustrophobia, anxiety, and hallucinations far underneath the ground in a lightless world. Using a pulse-pounding narrative, this is tense real-life adventure pitting two master cavers mirroring the cold war with very uncommonly high stakes.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A fascinating and informative introduction to the sport of cave diving, as well as a dramatic portrayal of a significant man-vs.-nature conflict. . . . What counts is Tabor’s knack for maximizing dramatic potential, while also managing to be informative and attentive to the major personalities associated with the most important cave explorations of the last two decades.”—Kirkus Reviews Includes a 16-pg black and white insert

Exploring Maya Ritual Caves
Exploring Maya Ritual Caves

Author: Stanislav Chládek

Publisher: Rowman Altamira

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0759119872

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Exploring Maya Ritual Caves offers a rare survey and explication of most of the known ancient Maya ritual caves in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. The caves were the Maya underworld, where rituals, including animal and human sacrifice, were carried out. The Maya cave cult and mythology, construction and modification of the caves, and cult art and artifacts are discussed. Chládek, an intrepid explorer, then describes important caves that he has recently visited and provides photos of their wonders.

Beyond the Deep
Beyond the Deep

Author: William Stone

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Published: 2010-05-30

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9780446561273

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The Huautla in Mexico is the deepest cave in the Western Hemisphere, possibly the world. Shafts reach skyscraper-depths, caverns are stadium-sized, and sudden floods can drown divers in an instant. With a two-decade obsession, William Stone and his 44-member team entered the sinkhole at Sotano de San Augustin. The first camp settled 2,328 feet below ground in a cavern where headlamps couldn't even illuminate the walls and ceiling. The second camp teetered precariously above an underground canyon where two subterranean rivers collided. But beyond that lay the unknown territory -- a flooded corridor that had blocked all previous comers, claimed a diver's life, and drove the rest of the team back. Except for William Stone and Barbara am Ende, who forged on for 18 more days, with no hope of rescue, to set the record for the deepest cave dive in the Western Hemisphere.

Into the Planet
Into the Planet

Author: Jill Heinerth

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2019-08-20

Total Pages: 339

ISBN-13: 0062691562

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From one of the world’s most renowned cave divers, a firsthand account of exploring the earth’s final frontier: the hidden depths of our oceans and the sunken caves inside our planet More people have died exploring underwater caves than climbing Mount Everest, and we know more about deep space than we do about the depths of our oceans. From one of the top cave divers working today—and one of the very few women in her field—Into the Planet blends science, adventure, and memoir to bring readers face-to-face with the terror and beauty of earth’s remaining unknowns and the extremes of human capability. Jill Heinerth—the first person in history to dive deep into an Antarctic iceberg and leader of a team that discovered the ancient watery remains of Mayan civilizations—has descended farther into the inner depths of our planet than any other woman. She takes us into the harrowing split-second decisions that determine whether a diver makes it back to safety, the prejudices that prevent women from pursuing careers underwater, and her endeavor to recover a fallen friend’s body from the confines of a cave. But there’s beauty beyond the danger of diving, and while Heinerth swims beneath our feet in the lifeblood of our planet, she works with biologists discovering new species, physicists tracking climate change, and hydrogeologists examining our finite freshwater reserves. Written with hair-raising intensity, Into the Planet is the first book to deliver an intimate account of cave diving, transporting readers deep into inner space, where fear must be reconciled and a mission’s success balances between knowing one’s limits and pushing the envelope of human endurance.

Cave Exploring
Cave Exploring

Author: Paul Burger

Publisher:

Published: 2022-06-02

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Standard B/W VersionThis book is an introduction to safe cave exploration. The main focus to provide a solid foundation so beginners can explore safely and with the right techniques and gear. The book discusses how to deal with the majority of hazards that can be encountered and how to handle emergency situations. There is a brief orientation to cave maps, where to find them, and how to read them to help keep you from getting lost.The book includes the basics of how different caves form and what interesting things you can expect to find in them as well as why caves are important. Some aspects of cave geology, biology, and hydrology are covered along with some special topics such as White Nose Syndrome in bats.For those who have done some caving, the book introduces the basics of cave camping, ice caving, and technical ropework for exploration. For these advanced topics, there are additional resources outlined in the book for those who want to pursue more challenging situations. This is the only book on cave exploration that contains a section on trip leadership. There are important discussions on how to be an effective trip leader and how to be a good member of the team. This section also provides some advice on how to handle difficult team dynamics both on the surface and underground.

The Cave Book
The Cave Book

Author: Emil Silvestru

Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13: 9780890514962

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DISCOVER JUST HOW LONG IT REALLY TAKES FOR A CAVE TO FORM

Cave
Cave

Author: Ralph Crane

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2015-04-15

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1780234600

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Shortlisted for the Tratman Award 2015 To enter caves is to venture beyond the realm of the everyday. From huge vaulted caverns to impassable, water-filled passages; from the karst topography of Guilin in China to the lava tubes of Hawaii; from tiny remote pilgrimage sites to massive tourism enterprises, caves are places of mystery. Dark spaces that remain largely unexplored, caves are astonishing wonders of nature and habitats for exotic flora and fauna. This book investigates the natural and cultural history of caves and considers the roles caves have played in the human imagination and experience of the natural world. It explores the long history of the human fascination with caves, across countries and continents, examining their dual role as spaces of both wonder and fear. It tells the tales of the adventurers who pioneered the science of caves and those of the explorers and cave-divers still searching for new, unmapped routes deep into the earth. This book explores the lure of the subterranean world by examining caving and cave tourism and by looking to the mythology, literature, and art of caves. This lavishly illustrated book will appeal to general readers and experts alike interested in the ecology and use of caves, or the extraordinary artistic responses earth’s dark recesses have evoked over the centuries.

Cave Passages
Cave Passages

Author: Michael Ray Taylor

Publisher: Scribner Book Company

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13:

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Taylor (journalism, Henderson State U.) takes us spelunking around the world in flooded and dry caves and, something the caving books of past decades missed, in China. Good writing, high (low?) adventure. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Exploring Caves
Exploring Caves

Author: Nancy Holler Aulenbach

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780153566264

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Follow experienced cavers Nancy Holler Aulenbach and Hazel Barton as they explore caves in Greenland, the Grand Canyon, Colorado, Georgia, Yucatan Peninsula, and New Mexico on a scientific mission.

Exploring Caves
Exploring Caves

Author: Rebecca Felix

Publisher: ABDO Publishing Company

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1629680451

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Throughout history, people have always explored new frontiers. Adventure, fame, and scientific discovery have all driven humans to forge into the unknown. This title examines the exploration of caves. Easy-to-read, engaging text takes readers into the world's deepest caves, examines the explorers who journeyed to these dark, dangerous chambers, and traces the development of the technology and techniques that made this exploration possible. Well-placed sidebars, vivid photos, helpful maps, and a glossary enhance readers' understanding of the topic. Additional features include a table of contents, a selected bibliography, source notes, and an index, plus a timeline and essential facts. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.