SHECK EXLEY THE DEEPEST DIVE

A Study in Controlled Paranoia

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY NED DeLOACH

the sound of the last bell on Friday afternoon, He made a mental note to inflate them even more. April 1, 1988, Sheck Exley locked the door to Causing on the tires was the of 34 A his classroom at Suwannee High in Live Oak, scuba tanks packed carefully inside. Each cylinder was Florida, where he teaches algebra. It was the beginning of filled to capacity with gas mixtures-helium, , Spring Break He signed out, joked briefly with a few stu- and compressed air. The sizeable collection of tanks, dents gathered at the school's entrance and walked across enough to supply the average needs of a sport diver for a the parking lot to his red Ford van. The chassis was sitting lifetime, would be required for Sheck to make a single unusually low. Sheck knelt down to inspect the rear tires. exploratory dive into Nacimiento Del Rio Mante.

80 oceanneann Archives: BlennyWatcher.com Originally published in Ocean Realm Magazine

ante is a water-filled spring cave "At our turnaround point I remember round trip from the north Florida spring located in northern Mexico, west thinking about Sotano de las Golondrinas, caves. In May 1987, his 3000th cave dive M from Tampico, across a fertile plain the world's deepest free-falling pit that was entered in his log. that runs inland from the Gulf of Mexico was just 60 miles south of us. Its drop is Sheck not only leads the way in the for 60 miles. The flat land ends abruptly 1248 feet. Could Mante be this deep? It caves, but also in education, just past the farming community of Ciudad was exciting to think that we might be An untiring effort has produced over 100 Mante, where an ancient geological fault suspended inside the deepest underwater articles and six books on the subject. He split the earth and pushed the continent cave in the world." has been repeatedly honored for his ac- straight up over 2000 feet. Flowing myster- Both divers knew to venture no further. complishments. These distinctions include iously from the mountain's base is a clear In the deep passage, their minds were being named a Fellow of the National river. The cool water streams from a dark already swirling with vertigo that would Speleological Society and Explorer's Club cave entrance, briefly forming a spring pool intensify with depth until reality blurs in- and, in 1981, receiving the Lew Bicking that quickly narrows and begins to wind to unconsciousness. Sheck tied the safety Award as America's top cave explorer. its way east across the arid farm land. line to a rock projection and began to Although Sheck is proud of these The river is a welcomed anomalywhere ascend. The return to the surface would honors, they are not a compelling rain is scarce and the tropical sun unre- be slow-over an hour. Long, tedious behind what he does. He is an inherent lenting. From the early Indians until today, was the price they paid explorer whose true passion is to go the local inhabitants have gathered in the for going deep. where no one has gone. Our planet's last basin's pleasant surroundings. They wash Two of the world's most experienced unmeasured frontier-the earth's depths- in the cool, sweet water that is shaded by deep water cave divers had once again is the realm he has chosen to enter. This the cliff above. Tull, flowering trees line been turned away by the "depth barrier" - compulsion has for 23 years repeatedly the water's edge. Fragrant blossorns-; a set of physiological that had driven him further and deeper into water purple, gold, and white-shower down taunted them for over a decade. The haz- caverns than anyone has gone before. At on the bathers below. Where the river ards combined to make a 39 he remains a forerunner with visions comes from, no one knows. "From the risky business below 130 feet, and past yet to conquer. other side of the mountain," you will be 300 feet almost suicidal. It was clear: if "Thirty-nine is old for pushing physi- told, with a shrug, if you ask Mame's secrets were to be discovered, ological limits in underwater caves. Mar- Unlike the bathers who relax daily in technology would have to advance to a athon runners tell you that your respiratory the spring's outflow, Sheck knew well the point where narcosis could be suppressed efficiency, critical on a deep dive, drops hidden river's path. He had made four and decompression time shortened. enormously as you reach the mid-30's, and previous dives into the mountain cave Less than a decade later Sheck would the risk of bends rapidly increases with starting in 1979, and he was leaving that explore far beyond the "barrier" on a dive age after 30. I still feel well-prepared, afternoon to make another. that would establish Mante as the deepest mentally and physically, but I am con- On his first trip, Sheck and veteran cave water cave in the Western Hemisphere stantly aware of my age. I must always diver Paul Deloach penetrated 150 feet and, in doing so, he would set a depth factor in into my dive plans. into Mante's cave opening, where they lo- record so extraordinary that it was un- "Nine years ago, when I first dived cated the cavern's true course-a narrow imaginable in 1979. Mante, I was at a physical peak, but it didn't fissure that dropped directly down the fter his reconnaissance trip to north matter because we hadn't yet gained the great fault. Mexico's caves, Sheck returned to know-how to go deeper. I remember "We had dived several other Mexican Florida where he continued to looking at the cave dropping below us into spring caves before we arrived at Mante," lead the way in the exploration, surveying unattainable depths-it might as well have Sheck recalled. "Most began with a steep and mapping of the state's extensive aqui- been a painting. Underwater cave explora- drop, but would form into a horizontal fer system-an obsession that has directed tion is a technologically dependent en- tunnel at a depth between 140 to 190 feet. his life since he became certified in scuba, deavor, and we were then locked out by Mante was different; it just kept dropping in 1965, at the age of sixteen. He made his numerous constraints. I had no idea than beneath us. Although the crevice was over first open-water dive in a shallow spring if I would ever be able to explore Mante 100 feet long, it was quite narrow, just over cave in Florida's Crystal River. Although further and even less idea from what direc- three feet in places. The was dif the limestone opening offered limited tion new technology would come to make ficult. Enough water was shooting up the penetration, it was enough to ignite an it possible." passage to feed a river that runs for miles. insatiable curiosity that would in only a As it turned out, it was a combination Moving against it was like swimming up a few years propel Sheck to the forefront of three elements-oxygen, helium, and waterfall. We used our hands to pull on of underwater exploration. In less than computerized decompression tables in- the sharp rock walls. Both of us were seven years, at the age of 23, he became corporating these gasses that would key pretty cut up after the dive." Three hun- the first person to log 1000 .cave dives. new possibilities, dred thirty feet below the surface the div- This was an average of two and a half cave n the early 70's, cave divers took a lead ers stopped, hovering on the very edge of dives per week. During the same period from the US Navy and began to experi- their physical limits. Below, Mante con- he graduated from high school and the Iment with oxygen. Its use helped to tinued its plunge into darkness. University ofG eorgia in Athens, a 600-mile shorten the long decompression stops re-

82 OceanRealm quired after lengthy cave penetrations. the search but recommended a own when word ofjochen's extraordinary from tanks filled with pure oxy- (helium/oxygen) mixture for the difficult feat reached Florida. The team of Sheck, gen at the ten and twenty-foot intervals dive. Hal remembers being cold and nerv- Clark Pitcairn and Mary Ellen Eckhoff were could cut decompression time by as much ous as he dropped into the lower reaches making final preparations for a big push as half. Like everything associated with of the sinkhole. Failing to find the lost into the Big Dismal cave system. In June, deep diving, however, the innovation was diver, he headed toward the surface. Dur- the trio penetrated the underwater cavern not without risk. It was quickly learned ing ascent, problems occurred forcing Hal 5,847 feet. A month later, Sheck, Clark, that if too much oxygen was breathed be- to miss his 60-foot decompression stop. and Bill Main made an incredible seven- low 33 feet, a deadly condition called He sustained a severe bends hit. stage-bottle foray into Manatee Springs. ( oxygen poisoning) devel- "The pain felt like my lower spine had The effort produced, and remains today, oped. Symptoms are extreme-sudden been injected with hot lead. I agonized the world's record swimming cave pene- convulsions, then death. To complicate and vomited constantly for the two and a tration of7,665 feet. things ever further, the Navy's oxygen half hours it took to get me to a chamber When Sheck finally stopped long tables were based on experiments con- at the Cape," Hal vividly recalled. It was enought to contemplate Jochen's record, ducted with unexerted subjects locked a year before he completely recovered he still remained skeptical about the use out in dry chambers. When cave divers from the painful injury. of helium in cave exploration. "Both applied the Navy's times to their stressful heck's closest friend, Lewis Holtzin- Jochen and Dale made impressive dives, environment, problems developed. Sheck dorff, died in 1975 while attempt- but I felt that they were riding on luck. I cared even less for the long decompress Sing the world's first cave dive using wouldn't give either of them odds to safely periods than most cave divers. helium. The divers were decompressing repeat the dives." "Five or six hours spent hanging off on oxygen at 40 feet after a dive of 265 Two years later, in 1983, Jochen made in the cool water of a spring basin was a feet. Both were suddenly unable to another deep dive. The result-an astound- numbing conclusion to long and difficult breath. Lewis convulsed and drowned; ing 656-foot plunge. Again, he was using exploratory dives," he explained. "The his partner, Court Smith, miraculously heliox. With this one dive, the "barrier" sheer boredom was grueling, We used to made it to the surface and survived. that had been firmly in place for over a read, play magnetic checkers or pull tricks During 1978, two divers reached 325 dozen years was swept away. Rules had on each other, but generally we would put feet in a Missouri cave. They were experi- been changed. A new era had begun. ourselves into a trance. Oxygen was a menting with (helium/oxygen/ Matter settled! great help. It was the closest thing to a nitrogen). Although only 50 percent of The use of the Navy's decompression decompression pill we found." their mixture was helium, both became tables to prevent arly experimentation by the Navy hypotherrnic and had great difficulty fin- (bends) has been standard procedure for found that the substitution of he- ishing their required decompression. scuba divers since the sport began. These E lium for nitrogen in underwater- Sheck followed these stories carefully, tables, however, are not applicable when. breathing mixtures greatly reduced remaining unimpressed with helium's breathing mixtures are changed from air narcosis. The ability to dive deep and re- potential. He had gone deeper in caves (21% oxygen/79% nitrogen). With the main clearheaded would be a dramatic using compressed air. Why should he be advent of from deep- breakthrough for cave explorers, but concerned with helium? water habitats in the 1960's, the perplexing problems complicated early trials. The American cave diver, Dale Sweet, finally search for reliable mixed gas tables for Navy spent a great deal of time trying made a successful breakthrough with surface-to-surface diving came to a stand- to devise safe helium tables but were mixed gasses in 1980. Using heliox, he still. thwarted by the gas's volatile nature. bottomed out the west Florida sink Die ecently, cave divers had begun to Decompression times proving safe for Polder #2 at 360 feet. Dale's dive had hallenge the deep caves. Their ven- one diver would cause severe cases of broken Sheck's deep cave dive record by ture has many obstacles. The most the bends in others. Helium also caused 20 feet. His achievement immediately got pressing is safe decompression. a rapid reduction of body heat, bring- Sheck's attention. Six months later Sheck The 1987 Wakulla Spring Project, head- ing about . On top of these made the same dive using air. Matter ed by Dr. Bill Stone, combined the latest problems, when breathed at great settled! in diving technology to explore one of depths, it played havoc with 's The big bombshell came from across Florida's largest and deepest cave systems. nervous system. Sheck doubted that the Atlantic in 1981. Europe's best under- The twelve project divers, including Sheck, the gas would ever have any serious water cave explorer, Germany's Jochen penetrated over 4,000 feet into the pas- application in cave exploration. The Hasenmayer, descended into the French sages at depths to 300 feet using mixed few divers that did use helium met Vaucluse to 476 feet. Everyone was stun- gas, a historic milestone in cave exploration. with mixed results, often tragedy. ned. Not only had he shattered Sheck's During the intensive diving, not one The helium horror stories started in cave record by over 100 feet, but he had explorer had problems with the bends. 1970 when Hal \¾tts, a pioneer deep div- also set a new world's record for a surface- The tables used at Wakulla came from a er from Orlando, Florida, used a helium to-surface dive on scuba. Jochen was new source-DECAP (Decompression mixture during a body recovery at Mystery breathing heliox. Computation and Analysis Program), a Sink. The Navy declined to take part in Sheck was busy setting records of his creative computer program operated by

83 Bill Ham ilton and Dav e Kenyon from Tar - tightly together inside the van. Ten min- cave divers, but I realized that neither had rytown , New York Sheck was impressed; utes later, Sheck emerged carrying a paper the experience to help Sheck if an emerg- this was the break he had been waning for sack of groceries. ency occurred. to get deeper into Man te. "About ready?" It was only at this point that I started to fter leaving Suwannee High School, "Sure," I replied. Less than five minutes comprehend the intricate web ofp roblems Sheck drove to his home located a later we were heading west on 1-10. Our that would face Sheck There was no sup- few miles outside Live Oak. He long drive to Mante would take us nearly port for such a dive, absolutely none. Not had purchased this part icular piece ofland 1,500 miles-across the south eastern the Navy, not compan- a few years back because less than 200 feet states, through Houston, down to the Rio ies, not even the cave diving elite could be behind his backdoor, a sinkhole opened Grande Valley-where we would cross the of the least assistance where he was going. into the world's largest aquifer system. I border at Brownsville-and then 300 miles Sheck would be a one-man show heading was sining on the front porch of his double- on into Mexico. straight for no-man's land where submers- wide, surrounded by cameras and scuba ibles and diving bells couldn't go. If some- equipment, when the van pulled through thing were to happen the show would be the gate. A loud greeting preceded Sheck over- no rescue, not even a body recovery out of the van. "Tapeizcuinte, Que l?asa ?" would be possible. He tagged me with this outlandish As we drove past Tallahassee and head- nickname during a reconnaissance trip ed toward Pensacola, Sheck began to tell we made to the Yucatan coastal caves in me about the dive. "After Jochen Hasen- the '70's. Short on cas h and civilization, mayer's dive to 656 feet, I knew that helium we found ourselves eating from a limited was obviously the way to go. In late 1986 wildlife menu at a cheap Mayan restaurant I made two practice dives on helium in located just off the Xcaret road. The bill Florida. The first was to 130 feet, the sec- of fare consisted of lobster, grouper, veni- ond was a 260-footer. last April, Mary Ellen son, and tepeizcuinte. (Eckhoff) and I left for Mexico. After eight "Que es tepeizcuinte?" Sheck asked years I was more than ready to extend the the young boy waiting the table. line deeper into the Mante system. From what could be deciphered from "Two days before the dive we staged his mumbled answer, we gathered that it five tanks in the cave. I wasn't sure how was a small animal hunted in the jungle. deep I would go. I had decompression In a moment of daring, we both ordered tables for 400 feet and extrapolations for tepeizcuinte and Pepsi. Although the ex- even greater depths. My was otic entree had been disguised by prepa- Sheck looks over the 34 tanks of good to 500 feet. As it turned out, every- ration and cooking, our servings suspi- mixed gases that he would use for thing went well and I tied off when the ciously resembled skinned wharf rat done "the deepest dive." gauge read 500 feet. Since they are cali- to perfection and served in a green mole' brated for denser sea water, that meant 515 sauce, except that on the ends of their · I had not seen much of Sheck for the feet at Mante and my feet were five feet small, muscular legs were sets oft iny hoofs. last few years. A cave diving photography deeper, so 520 feet. Over seven hours and Smiling, Sheck came up to the porch project in Yucatan had occupied my last 26 decompression stops later I surfaced. and we shook hands. I followed him into two summers, while Sheck had been busily Nothing to it," he laughed. his darkened living room where I almost involved with his deep cave diving and "What made you decide to go back after tripped over a five-foot Aquazepp under- white-water kayaking. During the Wakulla the 520 dive? Was in Hasenmyer's record?" water propulsion scooter that dominated Project I spoke to him briefly; the next "Yea, it was the record, but besides that, the center position in a room filled with month we shot some cave diving pictures Mante was still dropping and I wanted to be charts, files, books, and an assortment of for his autobiography, to be published next the one to bottom it out. unmarried-man clutter year. I had heard about his big dives at "Mary Ellen and I went bck in June, just In the kitchen, he shoved papers aside, Mante, but knew few details. two months later. I had made a few altera- sat down and began to intently study a Sheck called to ask if I would go with tions in my decompression to help alleviate neatly spaced, three colum list he had him to Mexico only three weeks before we the oxygen tocicity symptoms-muscular taken from his pocket. Each item repre- were scheduled to leave. I said yes think- twitching in my face and legs and slight sented a vital link necessary for the com- ing that the expedition south would in- tunnel vision-I experienced during my pletion of the most daring and logistically volve a substantial support group. It wasn't previous dive. This time I used less oxygen complicated scuba dive ever atternpted until the week we left that I realized it was and two additional shallow water decom After nine month's planning, nothing was just the two of us driving down. We were stops were added. going to be forgotten in a last-minute rush to meet Mexican cave divers Sergio Zarn- "It took me 24 minutes to drop 660 feet. to leave town. brano and Angel Soto at Mante. They were Everything worked well but it cost me I left him at the table and began to load driving north from Mexico City to make eleven and one half hours of decompres- my gear between the stacks of tanks roped the rendezvous. Both were exceptional sion time. Over twelve hours is too long

84 oceanneatm to remain underwater. I became extremely to support his back odds are out to get me and it is obvious uncomfortable-cold, weak, and hypogly- "Bill Hamilton's, the fellow from New that they will catch up with me sometime. cemic from the pre-dive liquid diet. My York who did all the tables for the Wakulla That I am alive today is a miracle. To ex- exposed hands and face became wrinkled, Project" tend my winning streak I must spend hun- raw and began to flake. At the time I felt "Have they ever been tested as deep dreds of hours thinking of every possible that I could have dived deeper but I knew as you are planning to go?" thing that can go wrong. I do what I can to tht I had reached my decompression limits." "Ofcoursenot. Whowouldtestthem?" prevent problems during my dive prepara- "You said you reached 660 feet. It he answered tersely. tions. I mix my own gases, I check every sounds like you went just deep enough to "Hasenmayer," I retorted. Sheck broke piece of equipment over and over, and I beat Hasenmayer's record." into laughter. He was ready to talk memorize each aspect of the dive plan. Toe "No, not at all," Sheck replied. "Toe "I was maxed-out on decompression dive itself is like hunting a tiger in a thicket. best way to end up dead on a deep dive is during the 660 dive. When I finally got out Fear keeps me alert. I am constantly at- to go after a set number. First, you have to of the water I was wasted. I knew then that tuned to every feeling in my body, every understand that I didn't know how deep I I would have to come up with a shorter function of my equipment and every hap- was after I left my depth gauges at 515 feet schedule before I went deeper; and be- pening in the surroundings. Off guard for To figure my depth, I connected a pre- sides, I was losing confidence in the tables a minute and the tiger is on my back measured line to my previous line. At the I used for my four previous dives. They " I've learned to handle the fear by deepest point I tied off and cut the strand. were based on purloined commercial tables what I call controlled paranoia-a After surfacing it was a simple matter to cal- that I extrapolated to the point that I was combination of meditation and culate my depth from the remaining length. concerned about their validity. experience. The meditation clears and When I decided to turn around I had no "Hamilton's DECAF program was not settles my mind, allowing me to stay at idea if I was above or below Hasenmayer's only more liberal than the tables I had been a high state of alertness and continually depth. As it turned out, I was so close to using but it allowed me to custom-tailor aware of my body's reaction to the stress. his mark that I didn't claim the record." my gas blend. Toe few cave divers who are My experience has taught me how vul- "So now you're headed back," I asked. now using mixed gases are abandoning nerable I am. "Yea, so now I'm headed back," he nitrogen altogether. My body seems to "During my 23 years' cave diving, I've repeated. have a high nitrogen tolerance so I choose survived every life-threatening situation: ith that, we silently settled into to use tri-rnix during the deepest part of bends, panicked buddy, being lost, silt- the ride. Sheck slid a cassette my dive, hoping that this will help me outs, light failures, out ofair, line entangle- W:m to the deck and soon we were avoid helium's high pressure nervous sys- ment, trapped in restrictions, on and on. absorbed in the sounds of his beloved tem syndrome and hypothermia. When something goes wrong, I must im- Beethoven. We were 350 miles into the "Using the computerized tables for this mediately rein in the fear and let experi- trip, just west of Mobile, when we dive will require that I stage sixteen bot- ence take over. Problems can occur, but switched places. I climbed behind the tles and carry four tanks. Eleven different an error in judgement is deadly. wheel and Sheck stretched out in the blends will be used. I will make 52 decom- "From the dive's start, the idea is to get reclining passenger seat. A light rain be- pression stops, starting at 520 feet and end- down as fast as possible without plummet. gan to fall. I glanced over at Sheck. He ing with a half hour at the surface breathing ing out of control. I use gravity and pull was resting with his hands behind his oxygen. How long the stops take will de- on the wall to keep from using my legs head. Since our earlier conversation we pend on the descent time, maximum depth which will increase my exertion. While hadn't talked about the dive, but I couldn't and how quickly I can get up from the deep dropping in the deepest part of the shaft get it out of my mind. Sheck would water. The last variables can't be plugged I'm in a high-risk zone. At such depths soon be asleep, this would be the last in until I actually make the dive." each breath causes the pressure gauge chance until morning to ask questions. glanced over at Sheck He was again needle to drop unbelievably. Llke a pilot "How deep do you think you will be lost in thought, staring blankly into constantly picking out alternate landing able to go on this trip?" I asked suddenly. I the night. It had been fascinating lis- sites for emergencies, I'm always looking Sheck didn't answer for a while. Then just tening to him discuss the facts and figures for a projection to tie off. If anything goes as abruptly as I had asked the question, he of the dive, but what I really wanted to wrong, my experience takes over. The answered. hear about were the things that go on problem must be solved on the first at- "At least 700 feet, maybe more." Again inside his head when his is buried under tempt or I immediately abort the dive. If silence. I waited but he didn't continue. several hundred feet of water, inside a the dive goes as planned, the turnaround I tried again. "What about decom- rock crevice, on the very edge of life, point will be dictated by my down time, pression?" and still going down. the amount of gas expended and an inde- 'Tm using new tables." he replied. It "How are you going to decide when finable coalition of sensory perceptions was obvious that he would rather be with you have gone deep enough?" I asked. that tells me to get the he)! out." his own thoughts than in conversation, but "Fear." Sheck answered immediately After finishing the statement, Sheck then I chose to persist. as if he had been patiently waiting for wished me good night and crawled across "Whose tables are they?" With this such a question. equipment to the back of the van where Sheck relented and sat up adjusting the seat "It's a mind game. The cave and the he had constructed a platform bed over

85 the tank storage. To save time, we had inspired B. Traven's classic, Treasure of the basin's rocks. planned to drive straight through to Mex- Sierra Madres; a bold frontier for hardy We left the spring for town, following ico. I was to drive the night shift so that spirits where fortune and tragedy co-exist Sergio and Angel's jeep. After checking Sheck wouldn't have to alter his regular only a heartbeat apart. into a hotel, we ate lunch together. That sleeping habits before the dive. A mellow, e spent the night in Victoria, morning they dived the cave to 180 feet. sensuous sax from a New Orleans all-night choosing to wait for the fresh- The visibility was 50 feet and the flow station kept me company through Louisi- Wn ess of morning before tackling moderate. Conditions were good for ana and into Texas. We streaked through the 100 miles of twisting mountain roads Sheck's dive. Houston at 4:00 AM and were ready to head that wind their way to Ciudad Mante. south toward the border when he crawled When we woke, the morning sun was back to the front. still red on the mountains and the air cool. "How about breakfast, amigo, or do you We set out early so that we would be want to drive a bit further?" he joked. We unhurried during the difficult drive. It was pulled into the first diner I saw. My body Easter Sunday. Mexico was dressed in was still on autopilot and buzzing from its finest. All along the roadway well- fatigue after the eight-hour ordeal. Sheck groomed families followed the sounds was making an issue of how well he had of church bells to early services. slept as we walked into the restaurant lobby The night's rest readied us for the where a set of brightly lit arcade games mountain road, but as expected, prog- glittered against the wall. ress was slow. It took three hours to "Hey, amigo, just the thing for you." reach Ciudad Mante. Sheck drove straight He stepped over to a machine and dropped through the town without stopping. At a quarter in the slot. An animated race car the southern glorieta, we veered off onto leaped into action, careening from side to a narrow road that led toward a distant Sergio and Angel; experienced cave divers side at a dizzying pace down an endless mountain range. It was the end of the and expedition men meet Sheck at the highway. As I stumbled into the dining dry season and Sheck was anxious to dive site outside Cuidad Mante in room, heading for the first vacant booth, learn if the lack of rain tempered the Central Mexico. All three had dived I could still hear echoes of Sheck's laugh- spring's flow. The volume of water that together on previous occasions. Sergio ter coming from the lobby. surged up the crevice was a critical factor and Angel, being knowledgeable about noon, we crossed the border. It in how deep he would be able to dive. the complexities and dangers involved was always exciting being in Mex- As we approached, the dark mountain in this type of dive, had offered to help A ico, a country I learned to associ- bluff began to show detail. Large runs of Sheck in staging the tanks in the cave and ate with great pleasure. During my dozens gray granite, separated by dense foliage, to serve as backup assistants for the dire. of trips there I had acquired a penchant shot straight up from the plain. The clos- for the land and people, but not for er we drove the higher it grew, until the Sergio and Angel are expedition men Customs. There we were, packed to the crest could no longer be seen through in the purest sense-a pair that goes to pavement with tons of elaborate under- the windshield. We paralleled the cliff exotic places to do extraordinary things- water equipment, trying our best to act for a quarter mile before arriving at the Himalayas, Peru, sky-diving, rock climb- nonchalant like ordinary tourists out for spring. ing, and for the past five years, cave a weekend's fun. The first official who While walking down to the water, we diving. They do such things for no other looked in the van called another, who saw two dry-suited divers with fins in reason than the spirit moves them. Dur- called another, who called another. In hand coming up the embankment. Sheck ing the difficult process of setting up and the meantime, Sheck was inside effici- immediately recognized the men. It was breaking down his dive, Sheck could ently going from desk to desk getting our Sergio and Angel returning from their have no better help. Both men worked papers approved. By the time an inspec- first dive into Mante. Warm greetings diligently helping to stage the sixteen tor came inside to report the strange were passed. While the two cave divers tanks in the cave and were always avail- load, Sheck had all the documents signed removed their cumbersome gear, Sheck able to do what needed to be done. One and stamped. A mini-summit was held led me to where I could get a view of the of their strengths is knowledge. Immedi- in the foyer. We suddenly spoke no spring cave. ately they questioned Sheck about how Spanish; just kept repeating "scuba There is was, exactly 1,464 miles from he was going to put together his dive. holiday" whenever one of the inspectors Sheck's front door; a cave entrance right After lunch, Sheck made the decision glanced our way. 'Twenty dollars later out of a Speilberg movie. Looking down to move the dive up a day. We had ar- we were heading out of Matamoros. from the cliff, we watched the water pour rived at Mante ahead of schedule, the The highway's first 150 miles passed from the mountain. It rushed from the weather was splendid and he was anx- through sparse, flat agricultural land simi- bottom half of the cave entrance into a ious to get started. The change of plans lar to southern Texas. Then, in the distance, blue spring pool 50 yards wide. Although meant that he had to make a difficult we saw the mountains begin to rise. This it was only midmorning, several bathers 330-foot dive that evening to stage the was the emergence of the wild terrain that already sat cooling themselves on the deepest tank.

86 oceanRealm hen we returned to the spring In the morning, when I awoke, his bed We arrived at the spring just before at 4:00 PM, the basin area was was empty. I found him in the van dean- eight. Three sentences weren't passed Ws warming with holiday bathers. ing the second stages on his regulators. between us on the ride out. His thoughts During the two hours it took to prepare He was so intent in his effort that I said were lost in the dive. Not one of the for the dive Sheck was surrounded by nothing and went back inside to dress. dozens of important details could be onlookers who asked a ceaseless stream A moment later he came in. It was easy forgotten or his attempt would end in of simple questions. Hot, annoyed, and to tell by his actions that the paranoia failure. Like a team whose pitcher is losing . he finally asked was beginning to set in. To and fro, from going into the ninth inning with a no- the crowd to leave him to his job. Courte- box to bag he went with long quick steps. hitter, Sergio, Angel and I ignored Sheck. ously they all backed up a few paces, "Good morning," I said. We sat twenty yards away, on the tailgate and once again commenced with their He stopped and glanced around to of their jeep, watching him ready his inquisition. After he was finally outfitted where I was sitting on the bed. final equipment. and heading to the water, his faithful "Can I help you with anything?" I itting there, my thoughts went entourage followed closely at his heels. asked. back to a conversation I had with A few even splashed happily after him "Good morning, yeah, sure, here." Swith friends from Miami just be- as he pulled his heavily equipped body He handed me a paring knife and a whet- fore I left for Mexico. We were discuss- through the current and disappeared stone he had just taken from a gear bag. ing Sheck's proposed dive. inside the cave. It was the knife from his wrist scabbard One of the questions they asked was, It was dark and the crowd long since that would be used to cut the line at the "How are you going to feel when Sheck gone when I saw his light beam cut dive's deepest point. actually starts down?" through the pool. In the time he was "Moving the dive up a day has set me Then I was rather flippant with my down, I made a dive into the cave; ex- behind," he stated. "Really shouldn't be answer, but now, close to the dive time plored the 'cliff above the basin; read diving today. It's already getting late, and more educated about the difficulties several chapters in War and Peace; lis- almost 7:00 now." involved, I began to rethink my position. tened to somba tapes and took a nap. 'Just wait until tomorrow," I suggested. Those who knew about decompression What a trial of boredom Sheck must "Maybe; we'll see; I'm close now." with mixed gases, both in the Navy and have experienced during the same per- He left the knife and stone in my hand commercial diving business, gave Sheck iod while hanging from the rocks wait- and bounded across the room where he no better than a 50/50 chance of surviv- ing for the nitrogen to seep from his began to copy a duplicate set of decom- ing the attempt. Decompression was tissue. That evening's decompression pression times on plastic tags. only one problem he had to overcome; was only a quarter of what he would "Hey, another day doesn't matter. there was also helium's high pressure have to endure in two days. If a prob- Why not wait?" I asked. nervous system syndrome, hypothermia, lem developed during the deep dive, He glanced in my direction. "To tell oxygen poisoning, pulmonary edema, forcing him up early, he was certain to the truth, I don't want to think about it equipment failure, and because he was sustain a serious bends hit. The shortest another day. We should be out of here using nitrogen in the deep mixture, route for treatment to relieve his agony in half an hour." narcosis. Sheck was learning how to put would be a 90 mile drive to Tampico, a the entire package together and now low altitude flight to the Harlingen, Texas, was the time to see if it worked. airport and then an air ambulance to He is not a daredevil; he is an ex- Methodist Hospital in San Antonio-the plorer who spent twenty years preparing closest chamber. himself mentally and physically for un- TI1e next day was long and busy. Fif- derwater challenges. In the years I have teen additional tanks were tied off. known him, I have acquired an almost Sergio and Angel secured stage bottles mythical confidence in his ability to ac- twenty feet apart from 160 feet to 80 complish amazing dives. He is simply feet, and at ten-foot intervals from 70 the best and most experienced diver in feet to 30 feet. Sheck made another the world. If it were physically possible deep dive, leaving two cylinders at 270 to pull off a 700-foot plus dive, Sheck feet, one at 240 feet and another at 210 was the one who could do it. As I watch- feet. This time I followed behind taking ed him make his final preparations, the pictures. At 100 feet I stopped in the question for me was not whether he center of the narrow passage and watched would survive the dive, but how deep Sheck, silhouetted by his powerful light, would he go? go down beneath me until his beam At 10:45 AM when he finally entered evaporated in the darkness. the water, perspiration was beginning to That night at eleven, when I turned soak the heavy wool overalls he wore out my reading light, Sheck was still Entrance to the cave where "the deepest inside the sealed . His face was knotting line and double-checking charts. dive" would take place. scarlet. On his back were two 100-cubic-

87 foot cylinders containing trimix. Slung Against the strong flow, he pulls him- "My light beam fell on an excellent under his chest and extending below his self down arm over arm, following the tie-off 20 or 30 feet down. I took a waist were two additional tanks-one line on the south wall. Three minutes breath and moved toward the projection, filled with air to begin the dive, in the into the dive, at 190 feet, he skirts left when suddenly a jolting concussion al- other, trimix. over a rock promontory and then once most knocked me unconscious. I look- With a nod he submerged. again down. Here the passage widens ed behind for a ruptured valve or hose. From a narrow ledge above the cave I to fifteen feet and the walls are much There was no leak. Something imploded watched as he pulled himself toward the smoother; he is forced to kick to keep from the pressure, but what? I drew entrance. Once he was inside I walked his pace. His pulse quickens slightly another breath and kicked the last eight a distance down the Rio Mante and sat with the added exertion and he slows feet to the tie-off. Quickly, I threw two alone in the shade of a palm thicket. I his effort as he passes the stage bottles half hitches around the rock, reeled in leaned back and began to imagine at 210 feet, and then 240 feet. the loose line and made the cut. My down Sheck's present situation. Six minutes into the dive, 270 feet be- time was 24 minutes ten seconds. Eight minutes pass since he enters low the surface, he makes his first brief the cave. He is 100 feet inside the dry stop to exchange his air tank for the wait- chamber kneeling on a shallow rock shelf ing cylinder of trimix. At the ten-minute meditating. The brief rest allows his pulse mark he knows he is 400 feet down when \.-., . to settle and his mind to clear the pre- he spots the blue garter left by Mary Ellen , .., . dive pressure. Periodically he plunges last June. The crevice walls are now . ,_·<.«' }}-,,, his maskless face into the cool water. separated by 30 feet of water-their wid- ~ ffl est point. His descent is in control. r ,. At 520 feet he briefly pauses to attach his backup watch and two depth gauges I to the line and begins to breath the tri- "I wanted to move fast from the deep mix on his back. The attached pressure water, 120 feet per minute if possible. gauge and his watch are now the only The current that I had battled during instruments to monitor his situation. my descent helped to lift me up the in- Their readings are vital. cline. I drew a breath and felt a slight Six hundred sixty feet below the hesitation from my regulator. The next mountain he arrives at the line's end. breath came harder. Was I out of air? It is seventeen minutes since he started Again, I hit the gauge on my tank but his descent. He attaches the line from this time the reading didn't change. If I his reel and begins his drop into depths was forced to use the gas in my belly never before reached by free-swimming tank, I would miss all my decompres- man. sion to 330 feet where my first stage "As I entered the unexplored cave bottle was tied off. I switched over to zone, I was concerned about my slower my backup regulator and with relief than expected rate of descent. I forced drew a full breath. myself not to pick up the pace. Instead "At 520 feet I untied the gauges and of continuing its vertical drop, the crev- started my decompression. It was strange ice began to narrow and run at a 60- to be decompressing at such a depth, In preparation for the arduous dive, Sheck degree angle. Flashes of narcosis were knowing that only one person had ever meditates, occasionally plunging bis maskless becoming more prominent. I glanced gone deeper. I remained for a minute face into the cool waters. at my pressure gauge. I had a problem; and then began to ascend at the rate of the reading hadn't changed since my ten feet per minute until I reached 340 Two minutes later he turns on his last check. I banged the unit on my feet. When I saw my first stage bottle four backup lights and the bright primary tank. The needle jumped several hun- and knew that I had spare gas around unit built specially for the 700-foot dive dred pounds lower. Pressure had forced me, I finally began to relax. My stress by English Engineering. With the regu- the lens against the needle, but had it was gone, but the long decompression lator to the air tank gripped between his stuck again? I had no way of knowing. stops were only beginning. teeth, he pushes his weight off the ledge, A projection to tie off was just below. "Now, with extra time, I began to gains control of his awkwardly ballasted I passed it and dropped deeper. The search for the cause of the deafening body and swims 50 feet underwater to tunnel began to flatten out, falling at a implosion. The source was the large the lip of the drop-off. He checks the 45-degree angle. I looked at the pres- plexiglas battery housing for my primary exact time and enters the figures on his sure gauge; it showed a third of the gas light. The pressure had been so great slate, purges the last bit of air from his was gone. Was the reading correct? I that the three-quarter-inch lid was forc- vest and begins to descend had been down just over 22 minutes. It ed into the casing crushing the battery into the crevice. was time to get out. pack. Amazingly, the light still functioned.

88 oceanneatrn OVERHEAD YIEW (>I' CREVICE "N ext, I counted the knots on the line remaining in the reel. I =::::::> C::::::c =:=::::::.....::~:::=- factored in the angle of the cave's lower reaches and estimated that I dived 780 feet-a world's record depth for a surface-to-surface dive." Three and a half hours after we last -===- c;;;__:::::::::====::::---:::::. saw Sheck, Sergio and Angel made a dive to locate his position and offer assistance if needed. They found him at 100 feet, suspended behind a cluster of twelve empty scuba tanks. Sergio handed him a slate with questions prewritten in Eng- lish. Sheck wrote the answers in Spanish. .. At 9:30 PM he finally arrived back at the surface. Sergio, Angel and I were waiting in the light of a butane lamp. He had been below water for ten hours and 43 minutes, but his decompression dues were still unpaid. For 30 additional minutes, he remained kneeling in the basin breathing pure oxygen. When he emerged from the water, he resembled an old man. His face and hands were severely wrinkled and his walk faulty. Three times, on his way to the van, he stopped to calm his racing pulse. Later, while struggling to free himself from the dry suit, I saw weari- The Exploration of ness set deep in Sheck's face like I had never seen in another man. What came NACIMIENTO DEL to mind was Hemingway's description in RIO MANTE The Old Man and the Sea of Santiago's Tamaulipas, Mexico utter exhaustion after his battle with Survey by NSS Cave Diving Section the sharks. 1988 Sheck Exley We were up early the next morning. 0 50 100 Sheck was surprisingly strong. He did FEET most of the work repacking the van and drove 300 miles of Mexican highway before the day was over. At the begin- ning of our return trip, just after leaving Ciudad Mante, I asked him a question that had haunted me since the dive. "Will you ever do it again?" From behind the wheel he cocked his head, gave a sly half smile and answered. "I don't know."

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