the chasm. We decided to wait and see how it would
develop. Sometimes flood pulses pass quickly.
After a couple of hours, Petr Lyubimov, one of the
Russian cavers, noticed gurgling coming from a deep
hole on the edge of camp where we’d been spitting
our toothpaste. Pavel and Andrey Shuvalov left to
check the water levels deeper in the cave system.
Shortly after they’d gone, Petr inspected the
toothpaste hole again. When he turned around,
his white face said it all. The hole was full of water.
The water was rising. We had to act fast. In camp
we wore only base layers, fleecy onesies to keep
us warm. Over them we hurriedly put on latex dry
suits, Cordura oversuits, harnesses, and climbing
gear. The others were used to this gear and were
quick. But in the panic, Jeff and I had to help each
other seal our dry suits. My equipment was spread
all over the ground. I grabbed the memory cards
from the camera, put them in a Ziploc bag and into
my chest pocket. I left the rest.
Every single hole around camp was bubbling.
“We’re leaving right now,” I said to Jeff.
We hurried across a traverse that had skirted a
50-foot drop. That drop was now a lake, and we were
only three feet above the water. I turned to Petr andThe nonprofit National Geographic Society, working
to conserve Earth’s resources, helped fund this article.AUGUST 2020 35