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Original poster

People who do potholing for fun

193 replies

StrychnineIntheSandwiches · 02/02/2022 14:33

I just watched this extremely distressing video of a fully grown man squeezing his fully grown self into a letter box sized hole. He probably doesn't even know where that hole leads. Pennywise might be down there waiting for him. He might never comes back.

'Ah' his friends will say 'but he died doing what he loved most, squeezing himself into creepy little caves'.

I'd rather walk across broken glass to embrace a naked Nigel Farage than go potholing.

twitter.com/jeremiahjw/status/1488607102452912129

OP posts:

oncemoreunto · 02/02/2022 16:02

I used to pothole when young and at Uni.
I enjoyed it, although the water logged entrances were a little hair raising.
It is quite warm down a cave system so a good way of getting exercise when the outdoors is quite manky.

You need to practice rope work etc, we used a Uni gym to do this as well as going out at weekends.

There are good maps and with decent leadership you should be pretty safe.

Octomore · 02/02/2022 16:03

@FrugalFrancine

How fascinating! I still don't think anyone should be charged for their medical care if they're fat, a smoker or , a potholer / cave diver. My reasons for hating the sound of potholing are absolutely not fiscal

Oh, I'm not a caver either! I tried it a few times, but prefer being on a cliff in the wide-open air. I never did any particularly difficult or complex caves either (although I did squeeze through some very small holes).

I just hate the fact that whenever there is a thread about a supposedly 'extreme' sport crops up, you always get uninformed people frothing at the mouth at the imagined cost of rescuing people. It's not extreme sports enthusiasts that are over-burdening the NHS!

SamphiretheStickerist · 02/02/2022 16:04

I potholed, loved spelunking as a young teen (which will tell some the kind of person I learned from).

But I had to stop when I went from flat chested to extremely booby. Getting snagged on a rock by your tits, under water, under ground isn't as much fun as it sounds.

(Friend in front grabbed my arms and just heaved. I had to go the long way back)

Octomore · 02/02/2022 16:05

how is it a challenge, really? You either fit through or you get stuck

It's not just a case of fitting through. There are underwater dives, roped climbing sections, abseils etc. It's highly skilled, like any high level sport.

Ostryga · 02/02/2022 16:06

I once got stuck in a full body shapewear thing in M&S, my arms were above my head and the shapewear pinning them up whilst strangling me. I had to be cut out. The panic was horrendous.

Exactly what I imagine pot holing to be like. But worse because a nice sales assistant can’t chop you out between laughing. Hideous.

FrugalFrancine · 02/02/2022 16:07

I just hate the fact that whenever there is a thread about a supposedly 'extreme' sport crops up, you always get uninformed people frothing at the mouth at the imagined cost of rescuing people

Totally agree.

And the NHS is overburdened by underfunding, not some low earning extreme sports enthusiast, smoker or diabetic (I am none of these things btw). Don't let those bastards make out it's all our fault or encourage fighting over which poor sick or injured person is responsible for bringing down the NHS when those fuckers have starved it of oxygen for decades.

Original poster

StrychnineIntheSandwiches · 02/02/2022 16:07

@FrugalFrancine

I recall going through soft play with dc1 while pregnant with dc2. I forgot about my bump for a second and attempted to go through those rolling things which look like a mangle and just stopped dead (obviously - but still I tried a couple of times before realising there was no way I'd get through).

I imagine this would happen to my hips if I attempted any sort of potholing nonsense. I am not built for it. Anyway, I'd rather die

Soft play extreme sports. You'd have had to rely on sticky fingered toddlers to rescue you.

OP posts:

THisbackwithavengeance · 02/02/2022 16:07

Slightly different theme but if anyone on this thread is Northern, I recommend a visit to the mining museum in Wakefield where they take you underground and show you the tiny holes that men and children had to crawl thorough on their bellies. It is truly awful but fascinating.

Agree with the general consensus that anyone who potholes needs their head examining.

Horriblewoman · 02/02/2022 16:08

I went fully down a nutty putty rabbit (pot) hole this morning after seeing the tweet you shared.

Utterly horrifying, surely breaking his legs would have been the least worst outcome? What a horrible situation.

FrugalFrancine · 02/02/2022 16:09

Soft play extreme sports. You'd have had to rely on sticky fingered toddlers to rescue you.

I was a bit panicked at first as I didn't know if there was another way out, but then reasoned I got in so must be able to get out. Thought I was going to end up stranded among the giant yoga balls. Probably good for labour though tbf

BlowDryRat · 02/02/2022 16:09

Did you have to pay for the ruined shapewear, claim compensation or just call it quits?

SamphiretheStickerist · 02/02/2022 16:10

They couldn't guarantee that breaking both his femurs wouldn't have killed him anyway. I have a horrible feeling that those trying to rescue him knew, at all times, that he was going to die, no matter what they did.

gogohm · 02/02/2022 16:10

I used to do it when I was younger (and skinnier and stupider) it was fun. Too fat, too stiff jointed now

ItsJustTheOneSwanActually · 02/02/2022 16:11

Keeerrist no, not for me, tx

Closest i'll ever get, is once on our hols in Colorado we visited Mesa Verde which includes a very small tunnel you crawl through at the end (you can see daylight )
A few of our guided party were really quite overweight. not me oh no

The guide was very matter of fact. Said he wasn't worried about fat tummies coz you could 'suck 'em in'. It was shoulders that were the issue' He looked at DH and said 'you'll want to go through diagonally'

He did too - had to go in one shoulder at a time. Gave me the heebie jeebies watching

safeharbour · 02/02/2022 16:13

@Octomore

That's an excellent point but some of the more extreme sports involve massively expensive rescue operations when they go wrong, particularly mountain rescue, and some European countries do request that the person involved pays a percentage of costs which I personally think is fair enough.

In many European countries, mountain rescue is a professionally provided service (in the sense that rescuers are paid, not that they are necessarily superior to ours). People pay for rescue because the rescue system is set up that way.

In the UK, mountain rescue teams are volunteers, their equipment is funded through donations, and helicopter rescues are done by the RAF as part of the essential training hours they have to do anyway. Mountain rescue teams are happy with this approach, and the actual cost to the taxpayer is minimal. (Same for the RNLI)

So what costs would you actually be proposing to charge people?

I am perfectly well aware of how different European countries fund their rescues and happen to have a different view about this to you (if that's ok with you? )

And I am not wrong that mountain rescues, often involving helicopters and teams of people, cost thousands of pounds every year. It doesn't matter how the money is raised, through donations, or taxes, it's still a lot of money for which I believe people involved in the most extreme of extreme sports should be prepared to take a modicum of personal responsibility.

morningstruggles · 02/02/2022 16:13

Omg why did I read that nutty putty story...... I was literally gasping for breath whilst reading it 😫 how sad and horrible for all involved.

FrugalFrancine · 02/02/2022 16:20

@gogohm

I used to do it when I was younger (and skinnier and stupider) it was fun. Too fat, too stiff jointed now

And by "fun" you mean to say that it was a terrible, nightmarish experience which chilled you to the bone, yes

3beesinmybonnet · 02/02/2022 16:22

Many moons ago I went on an outdoor pursuits course with school. I was dreading the caving trip but it turned out to be amazing and something I'll never forget. The only time I felt claustrophobic was when the instructor showed us a gap in the rock like a letterbox that the experienced cavers went through.

I think I've identified the cave online and if I ever get fit/slim enough I'll book myself another visit.
No way am I watching the nutty putty thing though.

trumpisagit · 02/02/2022 16:23

The Rescue is gripping, and on Disney Plus. Highly recommend.

CorneliusVetch · 02/02/2022 16:23

@SamphiretheStickerist

Sorry for the stupid question but how would they have managed to break his femurs given his position, and how would it have helped?

One of the most moving things about the cave rescue stories is how many people risk their own lives to try to save their fellow cavers. Nutty putty was admirable how people tried to help, but read about Mossdale Caverns disaster for people really putting their lives at risk to help others. The cave flooded with cavers down there, and the water was only being held out of the cave by a makeshift dam they created that morning. And yet people went down to try to find them. Sadly to no avail, but I think it’s a wonderful testament to the community (albeit I think they’re insane to enjoy something so terrifying)!

SamphiretheStickerist · 02/02/2022 16:35

Looking at the diagram and the angle of the bend they would have to drag him back round I would guess that the break would have to be above the knee, the closer to the hip the worse, more traumatic that would be and, with a lot of trauma there is a real chance of severing enough blood vessels, or one large blood vessels, causing catastrophic blood loss.

As to how... pulling hard without care for the damage being done!

Fucking awful.

They rigged up the pulleys knowing he was slowly drowning internally. Also knowing, I am assuming, that a grab and pull would be lethal. Otherwise that's exactly what they would have done. Broken him to release him and out him back together later.

Doveyouknow · 02/02/2022 16:37

Cave rescues are carried out by volunteers who are experienced cavers. There are many reasons the NHS is struggling but I think the small number of people who injure themselves caving are not among them!

ChangingLife · 02/02/2022 16:43

I’ve done that. DH still does

Nothing unusual to see there.

ChangingLife · 02/02/2022 16:47

For those who think ‘oh it’s dangerous etc…’, you are more likely to in hospital playing football than going caving.

So no particular stress in the NHS. And as someone mentioned, the cave rescue are all volunteers that love going underground.

Threewheeler1 · 02/02/2022 16:49

@morningstruggles

Omg why did I read that nutty putty story...... I was literally gasping for breath whilst reading it 😫 how sad and horrible for all involved.

Me too. I knew I shouldn't have looked. Made me feel like I wanted to get up on the top of a hill with a big breeze and lots of space. That's such a tragic story

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