the mountain’s underbelly. Carved by rivers over
millions of years, some passages are big enough to fit
a Boeing 747 plane; others are so tight the cavers can
pass only while exhaling to compress their rib cages.
As Stone’s crew tests the limits of exploration, push-
ing toward record depths and gathering mapping data
on the way, camaraderie and teamwork are essential.
By the end of the 2021 season, the farthest and deepest
camp lay 7.3 miles, or about a five-day trip, from the
closest entrance. Only a select few work at that point.
Others tend the miles of rigging or search for swifter
and safer routes. And all must shuttle heavy packs with
supplies and energy-dense foods to stock the camps.
For every bite taken underground, Stone says, “a whole
chain of people have paid for that in sweat.”PEOPLE AT CHEVE give different reasons
for their devotion to caving. Many are
driven by an “insatiable curiosity,”
Blackwell says. She and Hackley both
use the word “compulsion” to describe
their desire to seek new passages. But the
search can be dispiriting.
Hackley and teammate Bev Shade recall a
bleak moment in 2017 while hunting for a way through
one cave section. It was named after a picturesque
Mexican beach, but in reality—typical of cavers’ wry
humor—it was a cramped cleft where water and mud
pelted them from a hole in the ceiling. Hackley remem-
bers Shade, covered in slop, turning to tell him, “Some-
times I wonder why I don’t have a different hobby,
like bird-watching.”
Such moments forge indelible bonds between thecavers, evident in the laughter Hackley and Shade
share while recounting their tale.
The strong community is a big part of what’s kept
Shade involved for some 30 years, ever since she
attended her first caving event at 16 in her hometown
of Austin, Texas. She finds serenity underground too,
“away from the chaos of everyday life.”
For many, caving also represents embrac-
ing life to the fullest. On a day trip to
explore other entrances to Cheve, a trio
of team members found a pit whose
echo promised great depth, and eagerly
lowered themselves as far as their rope
allowed. They returned hours later,
vibrating with excitement, and reported
that beyond their reach were even more passages
to explore. “This is why I do it, right there,” team
member Mike Frazier declared.
Setting a record is almost beside the point, many
of the cavers tell me. “There’s always going to be
another deepest cave in the world,” Shade says.
“We’re just all trying to do something together. Some-
thing that none of us could do by ourselves.” jBeyond Cheve’s Camp One, caver Mikołaj Harasimowicz navigates a challenging section named Salmon Ladders for its
similarity to the obstacles salmon must surmount to swim upstream to spawn. PABLO DURANAEXPLORE | THROUGH THE LENS
The one-hour special Explorer: The Deepest Cave
premieres on May 30 at 10/9c on the National Geographic
Channel and streaming on Disney+.Maya Wei-Haas is a staff science writer at National Geographic.NGM MAPSMEXICOOAXACAMexico City
Sistema
Cheve