I am an adventurer, a dreamer, a passionate outdoor enthusiast but most of all a caver. But – why caving? I could have devoted myself to the many other loves of mine like climbing, fell running, canyoning, which are all far more civilised and respected sports. So what is it about gruelling sleep deprived 30 hour trips, chafed, exhausted and broken that makes me feel so euphoric? Why do I spend all my money and free time preparing for a ‘summer holiday’ that involves camping 5 days at a time without any natural light? When an expedition departs it has no idea, no minds view of what lies ahead because cave exploration by its very nature is not only unknown in terms of its journey but also its destination. It is always a total mystery and it is this very essence that intrigues me. What we find around the corner is often beyond our wildest imaginations.

So many people are terrified of caving because caves aren’t places people can easily imagine or relate to. One doesn’t have to be a climber or mountaineer to know at least what a mountain looks like, but for caving, people rarely know what to expect and so their blank canvass is often painted with fear. Indeed, caves can be remote and committing places to explore but often spectacularly beautiful launching you unexpectedly into the most unique of physical and sensory experiences.

On one such occasion I find myself curiously following a stream along an unexplored passage 860 metres below ground in Spain’s, Pozu del Xitu. It is who knows what hour of the night, 4 days into our camping trip and I’m starting to lose all sense of day or time. Deep underground, sleep and rest are determined not by the cycles of day or night but by the cycles of adrenaline and exhaustion.

Gaelan and I were on a mission to meticulously search for any new passages leading off the main line of the cave. Searching high and low one location in particular caught our attention. Climbing up to investigate further, it seemed that we’d discovered an inlet carrying more water than was in the main streamway below. It continued vertically upwards but fortunately we were able to make swift progress by free climbing and linking crumbly hand holds. To my delight, it was exactly what we were looking for – a significant and independent development to the main cave.