People who do potholing for fun

[StrychnineIntheSandwiches]

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

I'm an outdoors, give it a go type but pot holing is a hard no for me.

Shit, bugger that! I get panicky putting my slightly too tight jumper on

Me too, I haven't worn polo necks for 20 years. I also feel claustrophobic in the back seat of cars. I don't think I'm going to make a potholer

I did this on a school trip as a teenager... They took lots of kids down apparently... but I (even then) had a 44" bust and got stuck in a very small hole. I had to breathe right out before they could drag me through. NEVER again

There's no way I can send my child potholing I'd be worried sick the whole time and I pray to God she wouldn't get into stuff like that when she's older

No, I just couldn't, though I have been in caves. I think potholing is a pretty selfish hobby, like climbing. Bloody dangerous.

Ooohhh no no nope. nope...
Couldn't

I cant get over that man on the video smiling as he goes in

Judt reading this thread is giving me enough of an adrenaline rush!! No way I could go down an actual hole. Makes me feel panicked just thinking about it

Got part way through the nutty putty cave story and don't want to read more. Pregnant wife and young child left behind.

@Horriblewoman

Cheese press people, you've actually done this?

No no no no no no X a million.

It looks worse than it is. I’m a little claustrophobic, but the first time I went through, they lied to me and said it was the only way out. I went through so fast, just wanting to get the hell out of there. Ended up enjoying it and doing a couple other caves over the years.

A big no thanks from me. The only thing equally as bad would be floating about in space like in the film Gravity.

I still think about that poor boys that got trapped in a cave in Thailand for 18 days. Swimming underwater in narrow tunnels for long distances must have been horrible.

I did it for years, absolutely love it. I’m a bit claustrophobic so I’ve had freak outs at some of the really small passages in the past but it’s so worth it for the fun bits and the amazing things you get to see.

There’s pot holing and pot holing though, a lot of it doesn’t involve really tight tunnels. I’ll do short squeezes if there’s something worth seeing on the other side but some people actually enjoy the tight bits - madness! And I’d never do cave exploration or cave diving - I want to know someone has found a safe way through before I go in and I am not getting underwater (apart from a very quick sump) in tight spaces thank you very much.

Hahahah I love your post I thought this was going to be a serious post about a new hobby hahah the penny wise but made me spit my tea out 🤣 can we be friends please 😎

@safeharbour

Very sorry for the man who died, and for his family. We are not all the same and it's great that some members of society are fit and brave enough to climb mountains, sky dive etc,and all physical activities (within reason!) should be encouraged, but given the current resources of the NHS, I do think anyone who knowingly undertakes such a risky activity (I'm talking extreme sports here not run of the mill sports) should be required to sign some form of obligatory health insurance in the event of needing to be rescued or treated. I say this as a horse rider who has needed help from paramedics for concussion. It would be difficult to draw the line as to which sports would qualify but I suspect a quick look at A & E records would help. I think it's a bit much to knowingly take part in such a risky activity without being prepared to pay for at least a percentage of your treatment or rescue when NHS resources are as stretched as they are.

Nope. Speaking as a couch potato. Nope Slippery slope to introduce nhs payment for lifestyle choices Charge cancer patients who smoked? Liver transplants for those that drank Maternity service for those having a baby Alzheimer’s patients for those that didn’t sleep enough or whatever they find are the causes

I loved it when I was young, nimble and thinner.

Some of the holes I went through were tight enough then.

Now? It’s be like stuffing a pillow sized marshmallow through the eye of a needle.

I'm getting palpitations just reading this thread. I'm terrified of getting trapped in small spaces and even the though of having to squeeze through tight gaps between rocks underground is making me feel anxious. I couldn't do this.

It’s be like stuffing a pillow sized marshmallow through the eye of a needle.

I did it several times as a child/teen - my Dad and his brother were both outdoor pursuits instructors before having kids so they took us down a few places, and then I did various outward bound-type trips where we went caving too. I really enjoyed it! Only ever went through well-explored caves with a proper instructor, who I always trusted. I would happily go again, through probably wouldn't fit through some of the same spaces these days.

I remember watching a 999 episode about cave diving and thinking it looked really fun - Dad stomped on that idea pretty quickly! That's where things start to get really dangerous. The Rescue was an amazing film, but they were so, so lucky that it all worked out ok.

For those of you saying you wouldn't let your DC do it - they are probably at more risk of serious injury or death learning to drive than on a supervised caving trip.

Yep well I still can't stomach it I'm afraid

I deliberately avoided watching anything about The Rescue.i found it so distressing even hearing about it at the time. So worried for them

Yantan ...wonder if your breech baby idea has traction! I was and my mum said I had to almost push myself out have same issues with polo necks, submarines etc never mind the horror of shapewear....
Got taken to wooky hole as a child and also a copper mine in Wales and pretty much held my breath until I got out again...nightmares for ages!

Can't click on any of those links as heart racing just thinking about it...

Can see the thrill (for others) in most extreme sports...but potholing..just no

My father got stuck in the same cave in Wales where the chap was stuck for a few days last year.
DF got stuck in the late 1940s/early 1950s.
He went down with a friend and it rained and the stream rose and they couldn't get out and had to stay there overnight.
I haven't inherited his derring do.

OP, your thread title should include "trigger warning" .

When one of my DC went on an outdoor activity school trip for a week when she was younger, I had to sign the usual consent form. I wrote in capital letters I DO NOT CONSENT TO POTHOLING OR CAVING.

DD thought I was a loon, as she fancied trying both things. Not Bloody Likely.

I don't understand why he's smiling at the end of that video, I'd be screaming 'get me out of this Pennywise infested hole of doom'.

Also that hole would have to be significantly larger for my arse to fit.

I’m a caver /potholer it just good fun! For sure that guy knew where that hole led. If not he would have gone head first to check it out! For the ‘costs lots of money to rescue them’ brigade:

1. I am far more likely to die/need medical attention in a car crash on the Motorway to get to the CaVing club than by caving
2. all cave rescuers in the uk are volunteers. As are mountain rescue and lifeboats. They are keen cavers who rescue their own.