She finds serenity underground too, “away from the chaos of everyday life.”įor many, caving also represents embracing life to the fullest. The strong community is a big part of what’s kept Shade involved for some 30 years, ever since she attended her first caving event at 16 in her hometown of Austin, Texas. Right: Exquisitely branching aragonite formations usually grow in passages with wind-a sign to cavers that the “That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he says. Just beyond lay the first of five camps the team had established at that time.Īs I gush about that day’s experiences to Stone, a sly look crosses his face. Blackwell’s cheery calls had echoed out from the darkness as we’d scurried over fallen rocks and along scalloped walls until arriving at the base of Angel Falls, about a thousand feet deep. A mere 10 minutes into the cave, we’d arrived at Cheve’s first series of precipitous drops, clipped into a section of the miles of rope the cavers had rigged, and down we’d gone. I had shadowed Reilly Blackwell, who moves through Cheve with the sure-footedness of a dancer performing familiar steps. I tell him about tagging along with a member of his team. Imposing in height and demeanor, Stone asks if I’ve visited the cave yet. I first meet Stone after he’s surfaced from more than two weeks underground, one of his many trips into Cheve since 1988. Hall-a passage near the farthest point of exploration. Right: Katie Graham and Colin Magee sort out gear caked with mud before they attempt to climb in Harmony
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