I did some guided underwater caving myself in coastal reefs in Egypt.
I’ve been in tight caves, skydived and may soon buy an ultralight, climb without a rope (class 3ish) with fatal fall exposure, etc. I’ve managed to stay alive because of heavy risk assessment and mitigation efforts.
Cave diving is a whole different category of risk. I’d never attempt it. As a hobby it’s certain death. Please say something about this in your post above.
Thirty years ago I spent three months as a USGS intern as part of a team taking depth readings on explored portions of caves.
What makes Mammoth so cool is the huge size of the passages. But, I don’t think I’d have been nearly as impressed if I’d not spend three months mostly crawling through the tiny passageways that comprise the vast majority of most caves.
Wyandott cave once ran a 12 hour 2 person + 2 guide tour into the tighter areas. If they’re still running that tour then I highly recommend it. At the time, it was damned near impossible to ever see a cave in that way unless you had a friend already hooked into the spelunking community.
Clear, concise, and with respect. That seems exceptional for a modern parent.
Yeah, it’s funny. But, OP, please tell him he’s awesome for me.