National Geographic: Mysteries Underground Page #2

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the rocks like toothpaste from a tube.

Beauty abounds.

These jewels of the underground

are exquisitely delicate needles

of selenite.

With the constant maneuvering up down

and through the cave's

difficult terrain,

become painful burdens.

Always, in Lechuguills,

danger is not far away.

Okay, on three. One, two, three.

In 1991 seasoned caver Emily Mobley

slipped and broke her leg

while working on a surveying expedition

in the cave's western sector.

A mile and a half from the entrance,

this accident would trigger the largest

and most publicized cave rescue

in U.S. history.

A hundred experienced cavers

summoned to the scene

would labor four arduous days

to bring her to safety.

The bond of comradeship that unites

the caving community was seldom more

evident than during this emergency.

Every caver knows and instinctively

responds to the code of the underground

that only cavers can save

and protect each other.

After almost four hours,

the expedition reaches Lake Lebarge,

the first sizeable body of water to be

discovered in this branch of Lechuguilla.

Beautiful!

One of the greatest sights in caving,

isn't it?

Yes. Fantastic.

Is this Lake Lebarge?

Yeah.

Lebarge Borehole looks easier now.

Beautiful!

On rope!

the lake completely blocks

the way ahead.

Cavers had to wade it until they

found a detour

tricky, but possible.

Well, I think of particular moves

like dancing around the edge of Lebarge

as almost a ballet,

an underground ballet.

I know where my footholds are;

I know where my handholds are.

I know if I hit them just right

and move just right

some of them are kind of dynamic

in so much as you leave one handhold

while you're going for

the next foothold.

And if you do that just right

and you have your pack balanced

just right,

you flow through it real smoothly.

And so I think

it's very much like doing a dance,

a very intricate dance.

And you want to do it perfectly,

you know,

and it's very beautiful when you do.

Deeper into the cave,

mineral formations

become more fantastic and delicate.

Cavers must move among them

with great care.

Spikes of aragonite,

one form of calcium carbonate,

grow in fragile bushes.

The gentlest touch could damage them.

There is infinite contrast here.

The now famous Chandelier Ballroom

is one of caving's classic beauty spots

Plumes of gypsum sprout

from the ceiling,

some as long as 20 feet

the most dazzling examples

of their type ever found.

Utter silence pervades Lechuguilla.

The only sound is made by the intruder

In the constant 68-degree temperature

and high humidity,

dehydration is always a threat.

Anybody else need any hot water?

for some, the notion of life

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