Spelunking! – The Art of Caving
October 20th, 2009 by winna | Featured Blogger
Image from Wikipedia
So I went caving, aka “spelunking,” this weekend. I came away with so many bruises but it was all worth it considering how much fun I had. Now for those of you who don’t know what caving is, go here.
I swear that having escaped all of those — what I consider to be — “near death” experiences really changed my perspective on things like how strong our instinctual survival abilities are. I had to climb, crawl, lean against walls and whatever else, whilst holding a tiny flash light in my hand, as I was sure I was close to plunging to my death. Alright I might be exaggerating a bit, considering how much of a wimp I am. I kept having to ask my fellow cavers (yes I made up that word) to help me out, like by telling me how the heck they were able to climb up or down and in or out in the first place.
If you’d like to give caving a try, why not join our very own U of T Outing club (UTOC)? There are several opportunities to go caving with them at their cabin near the Niagara Escarpment. The club also offers other amazing outdoor events and activities.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Why is it called spelunking?
October 20th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I actually didn’t know that myself when I wrote this article but I found this definition after googling it:
“If you ask people who actually go caving, spelunking is the derogatory term for stupid or unprepared cave trips. Origin: “spelunk” is the sound a clumsy caver makes when he slips and falls in a cave and lands in water.
If you don’t take a helmet, more than one source of light, and a few friends into the cave with you, then you’re not caving. You’re spelunking.”
Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=spelunking
Hehe, I definitely went spelunking then according to this definition.
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
o i actually had thought maybe it had something to do w/ the german word “speil” for fast.
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
hmm could be