Physical aspects of spelunking

[Marshmallow]

In how great a physical shape does one have to be to go spelunking? I envision rock climbing and really difficult physical activities, all involving ropes. Can one be a spelunker without having to pull himself off the ground? Are there easier variations?

[catspa]

The caving I've done (not much, admittedly) was a lot more like crawling down tunnels and squeezing through small openings in the dark than lifting myself off the ground. Maybe a quarter of the way was tall enough to walk, the rest was crawling.

Do this: put on your pack and hike around your neighborhood for a couple miles, then come back and open the hatch to the crawl space under your house. Climb in there, dragging your pack on a rope behind you, and crawl around between the pilings for a couple hours. Then come back out, sit in your yard and eat lunch. If you can do that, you can spelunk any cave I've been in.

One thing, your house foundation probly has vent openings, so it won't be as dark under there as in a cave. And caves don't usually have the electrical circuits, plumbing pipes, air ducts and insulation that your crawl space does. Other than that, the exertion will be similar.

I've never been caving in other states, but I hear in Ohio they have some sinkhole caves that must be roped into. If you get a chance to explore ice caves, dress warm.

Parker

[Tristan]

Those ice caves are spectacular. I've never actually been exploring in one, but I've seen them in documentaries. They look like they're straight out of another world. That's something I'd really like to experience.

[Marshmallow]

Although I love the idea of ice caves, I'm not so sure I'd love hiking through them. It's hard to be cold, and to think my last days might end somewhere freezing because I can't climb up out of some ice hole I've fallen into is a frightening thought for me.

[Sagebrusher]

Originally Posted by Marshmallow

In how great a physical shape does one have to be to go spelunking? I envision rock climbing and really difficult physical activities, all involving ropes. Can one be a spelunker without having to pull himself off the ground? Are there easier variations?

It doesn't necessarily involve ropes or climbing. I would recommend going to one of the National Park Service caves and trying their tours. Most parks offer a variety of tours that range in difficulty from easy walking to the Wild Cave tours that usually involve a lot of crawling and some climbing.
I have first-hand knowledge of all the Carlsbad Caverns tours, let me know if you have questions.

Tour Schedule - Carlsbad Caverns National Park

[Mr.E]

I spent 40 years living in Kentucky and believe me, we have caves!
I agree with Catspa. The spelunking I've done has involved a lot of crawling on my belly and squeezing through tight places. You have to be more a contortionist than a climber. If you have a fat belly this could pose problems sometimes.

It's extremely important that you go with an experienced spelunker. We used to go with a guy who was a level 5 spelunker who told us to NEVER do level 5. He kept us to level 3 or lower.

I would not recommend going without an experienced guide. Too much can go wrong if you are just trying to figure it out all by yourself. Find somebody like this and let them take you out... and you'll really really enjoy it! It's awesome.

Be prepared to be VERY SORE afterward. Your muscles will be in pain. A good warm soak in the tub is something to look forward to. Take ibuprofen, too

[Esperahol]

You should be as close to your ideal weight as possible and be able to do strendeous activity for hours at a time. That said most caves that are open for exploration are the kind that involve crawling versus the ones you're thinking of that do in fact need you to climb both down and up. You will likely have to do a lot of twisting around objects as well.

[familytents]

I think I would get into some kind of physical shape before attempting spelunking that involved any sort of climbing, twisting or crawling. Anything you are not used to can be strenuous. I can remember climbing the Mayan pyramids in Belize and almost passing out. Man those things were steep and the steps were high. I had to turn around and come back down. Little did I know at the time I could of got down on all fours to climb.

[Grandpa]

There are many, many National park service caves with guided tours. Visit one these, imagine the pathway is not there and what it would be like to scramble over the rocks and through the openings if they had not been prepared for easy walking.

Minetonka Cave in SE Idaho, Lehman Cave in Great Basin NP, Nv, Wind Cave in So. Dakota are a few that I have been in. Even Carlsbad has many routes, some undeveloped that you can experience. Try some of these to see if this is a sport you could enjoy. Other caves that we used to explore have been blocked off because people didn't have the experience necessary and lost their lives. These blocked off caves are usually because it is so dangerous for SAR people to retrieve the dead bodies. As for myself, I do not like getting my head bumped on the cave ceilings. Even with a helmet, I've about knocked myself silly. (Or maybe silly is my natural state)

[wvbreamfisherman]

Lots of crawling over wet slippery rocks, sometimes liberally lubricated with batsh*t.

Prepare to be soaking wet and cold and dead tired.

Short answer- depends on the cave. You can be as physically challenged as you care to be. I've been in caves (ages ago) where we climbed down into one section on a rope (actually stainless steel cable) ladder (coming back out after a couple hours of crawling, squeezing through narrow passages and scrambling up and down inclines was a great cap for the day).

Other caves I've been in were (almost) a walk in the park- fairly dry, roomy passages, and gentle inclines.

For a novice, I'd say be in decent shape. More important , be honest with yourself and the group about your capabilities. You don't want to be a huge drag on your group. Try to go into easy, beginner caves at first, so you'll know whether you enjoy it or not.

I quit after a few caves, because I really didn't enjoy it all that much after giving it a fair try. I also found that I had a touch of incipient claustrophobia after almost getting stuck in a (very) skinny passageway when we were trying to map out a new cave.

Don't regret any of it. I learned a lot and met some great, hypercompetent folks.