Nerve Endings Firing Away

I came upon the Wikipedia entry for ‘caving’ while I was reading Confused’s post on the extent to which man can go to avoid containment in prison. I had always known the sport of exploring caves as ‘spelunking’ (which I find to be a cool word) so naturally, I was curious why it was now referred to plain-Jane ‘caving’.

Clay Perry — an American caver of the 1940s — wrote about a group of men and boys who explored and studied caves throughout New England. This group referred to themselves as spelunkers. This is regarded as the first use of the word in the Americas. Throughout the 1950s, spelunking was the general term used for exploring caves in US English. It was used freely, without any positive or negative connotations, although only rarely outside the US.

In the 1960s, the term “spelunking” began to convey the idea of inexperienced cavers, using unreliable light sources and cotton clothing. In 1985, Steve Knutson (editor of American Caving Accidents) made the following distinction:

“…Note that I use the term ‘spelunker’ to denote someone untrained and unknowledgeable in current exploration techniques, and ‘caver’ for those who are.”

This sentiment is exemplified by bumper stickers and t-shirts displayed by many cavers: “Cavers rescue spelunkers”.

It is amazing to note the level of animosity or probably friendly ribbing amongst different levels of enthusiasts of the same sport. Now note that such competitive spirit is pervasive in other allied fields as well and the one that readily comes to mind is journalism and blogging. Think of cavers as journalists who are honed professionals in the pursuit of their trade while bloggers storm the scene with sheer numbers with their bumbling efforts at writing and worse, attempting to pass off as journalists. You might almost expect a journalist sporting a “Journalists expose bloggers” bumper sticker.

However, the kicker is when these ‘cavers’ in the writing field shed their professional and editorial constraints and dive headlong into the field of ‘spelunking’. In fact, most of the times, they seem to do a better job at it too. Two examples come readily to mind and that ain’ t fair. But hey, we still love them, don’t we? Even if the blogging-spelunking analogy doesn’t stick, I still learnt something new. Who says Wikipedia is useless? For such random facts and trivia, it is a priceless resource.

Potholing refers to the act of exploring potholes, a word originating in the north of England for predominantly vertical caves. The term is often used as a synonym for caving, and outside the caving world there is a general impression that potholing is a more “extreme” version of caving.

Vertical caves, huh! I almost thought they were talking about splashing around in urban puddles. It would be a rage during the monsoons in Mumbai. But alas, these ‘potholes’ are the kinds that kids fall into and get rewarded with state scholarships. Why would someone do it for fun is beyond me but then humans are known to do crazy things; things that give a ‘rush’ or rather bring you closer to death are especially desirable.