Am I the only caver/spelunker/potholer here?

[Luddite]

A hobby I came to late in life, I'm so glad my fellow cavers are patient! I love the peace and serenity underground, and the fact that the worries and cares of modern life don't follow me down there.

 

[wyoDreamer]

My claustrophobia gets in the way. I tried caving once with some friends. We went into the crack in the limestone and I was fine up to the first curve. We had to dip under and around a huge rock and that was is - I was gone in a flash. It took us 15 minutes to get to that point and 15 seconds for me to get back out.
I was watching Dirty Jobs and Mike Rowe was crawling through a cave and got himself wedged in a narrow spot. I started to panic and had to leave the room ...

I can't even stand to have a blanket over my face. We have masks for painting and I need to concentrate on my breathing to keep me from hyperventilating the entire time.

I have managed to overcome my fear of heights enough to enjoy rappelling a couple of times.

 

[Luddite]

Funnily enough, most cavers I've met have claustrophobia to some extent, myself included. I have to have sedatives to have an MRI! I do have to psych myself up to crawl through spaces I've never done before, but the sense of achievement I get from overcoming both physical and mental obstacles is amazing. However, there have been times when I chickened out - but gone back later and found the fear was far worse than the actuality.

 

[crazyfarmer]

When I was in my twenties I was at a different cave at least once a month. Would love ce to still do it but there aren't any near me

 

[Luddite]

That's a shame, crazy farmer. Fortunately, this is a huge limestone outcrop I live on, and there are literally hundreds of caves within a short distance.

 

[crazyfarmer]

Your lucky then. Would still love to do it