The 2nd Casili Spring Exploration was conducted on August 30, 2011.
Bernil and Doc
This is presently the most challenging cave system the MAD cavers have discovered!
No mount is required on entry and exit– you push down your tanks to get in, you push them up to get out.
- Casili Spring Profile View
The MAD Gate is an old tire “cemented” between the ceiling and the bottom creating a frame where we had to remove our tanks to get through, depth is 12 meters.
The MAD Gate-- filtering the unworthy.
We crawled our way through “Snake Crawl”, a loose gravel tunnel that went down to 22 meters.The ceiling-bottom clearance has a head room of about 1.5 feet. In this claustrophobic space, the challenge was made even better by sharp rocks sticking out from the ceiling, occasionally snagging our wetsuits as we crawled deeper into the spring.
The end of the the “Snake Crawl” is a silty area where visibility will turn to zero in seconds as soon as you get there! We reattached our 2 tanks in silty zero visibility, then we moved into the huge” Mantaga Sanctum Canyon” where the bottom is pitch black and the depth still yet unknown…
Our non-diving companions on this trip are siblings Joseil and Giovanni Enecio, both mountain-hiking enthusiasts who were very appreciative of the natural camping ground the area offered.
Giovanni, Joseil and Doc
Perfect site for a relaxing surface interval.
Click here for the 3rd Casili Spring Exploration report.
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- Bernil and Doc
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- Casili Spring Profile View
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- The MAD Gate– filtering the unworthy.
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- Giovanni, Joseil and Doc
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- Perfect site for a relaxing surface interval.
I’ve clicked ‘like’ but honestly not my idea of a ‘fun’ dive. Hats off to the MAD cavers.
hehe, thanks Petey!
Oh my goodness, that is awesome! I salute you for getting through the snake crawl – scary stuff. I can’t wait to hear how things go into that huge unexplored space on your next expedition.
thanks, Bill! this cave is a real test for our combined experience and skills. we’ve been to the bottom already and the tunnel is still going in further. report of the 3rd expedition is soon to follow…