World's Largest Cave, Son Doong, Prepping For First Public Tours http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/07/son-doong_n_3873341.html xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Yes, that IS interesting. Some of you know that we have been over there the last two years, although we did not actually get into "The Big One". It was not permitted at the time as political and practical realities were shaking out. We do know the country and many of the people. It will be interesting to see how many takers they have at that price, especially after the first rush of adventurers. It is a unique resource, after all. Yes, the advertised price is $3000 per person for a minimum group of 6. Included is all training, supplies, transportation, guides, and equipment for 6 days. You do have to pass some rigorous physical tests in order to go in. The Park officials have limited visitation to 220 permits for 2014. You can do the math ------. For a couple of years, in the dryer season (April), they have been offering three day treks to Son Doong. It's about 15 km trek through the jungle to another big cave (Hang En), where you sleep . Next day hike over to the entrance of Son Doong and look in, but do not enter. Then walk back to Hang En for a second night. Hike out the third day. The planning to open the cave to "all comers" on a week-long trip has raised considerable concerns, not only about operating inside a World Heritage Site and protecting the cave, but to assure the safety of the visitors. The last few years has seen the training of competent Vietnamese guides under the tutelage of Howard Limbert, the Brit who has been exploring there for the last 20 years. (Howard met with our group of cavers last November and reviewed the history of his explorations - we also met some of the guides.) See http://www.oxalis.com.vn/ Oxalis also offers other cave and karst tours at lesser cost. It IS phenomenal country. The comment about a 100 meter rappel is also in the National Geographic video that aired a couple of years ago (and available in three parts on U-tube). Yes, you CAN enter the cave that way. However, a careful reading of Howard Limbert's description of their taking the National Geographic crew into the cave reveals that they were able to rig the entrance as a 60 meter down-climb without actually using SRT. The behind the scenes discussion of caving and making the National Geographic video and article of Son Doong from a caver's perspective has recently been posted: http://www.vietnamcaves.com/report-2010 If you want to review what we were doing poking around the karst of SE Asia, you might review the Cave Chat Blog: http://www.forums.caves.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13148 DirtDoc
