A group of international cavers left Fernie early Sunday in the hope of finding a new entrance to the deepest cave system in North America, north of Mexico.
Named Bisaro Anima, the cave stretches 5.3 kilometres in length and 670 metres deep, and is located in a mountain plateau northwest of Fernie that is so remote, it can only be accessed by helicopter.
The latest expedition to Mount Bisaro will run for about a week and is being led by Calgary man Christian Stenner and father-and-son team Henry and Jeremy Bruns, who were involved in the initial discovery of the cave entrance in 2012 and further exploration .
It aims to extend the known length and depth of the Bisaro Anima cave, and has been named B次元官网网址渆xpedition of the yearB次元官网网址� by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS).
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a bit of excitement and anxiety,B次元官网网址� said Stenner as he waited at Ascent Helicopters in Fernie on Sunday.
B次元官网网址淲e never know what weB次元官网网址檒l discover because we canB次元官网网址檛 see whatB次元官网网址檚 around the corner in a cave, so itB次元官网网址檚 always a bit of an adventure to see what we might find, so thereB次元官网网址檚 excitement in that but also some anxiety because you never really know what youB次元官网网址檙e going to be doing.B次元官网网址�
The cavers will spend the week exploring previously uncharted passageways in an attempt to find a new entrance to the cave system.
Stenner said there were almost 100 different surface holes, shafts and sinks on the plateau.
B次元官网网址淪ome of those may connect to the cave but we just need to find and make those connections,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚f we do that, we could even make the cave much longer than itB次元官网网址檚 already known or perhaps even deeper if we count that a higher entrance than the known entrance is found.B次元官网网址�
The cavers are prepared to stay underground for days at a time and have packed sleeping bags, hammocks and several four-litre tubs of dehydrated meal mix, along with personal items such as a ukulele and harmonica.
Conditions inside the cave will be cool and wet, with the temperature remaining at about 2C year-round.
B次元官网网址淲e expect it to be pretty damp underground, so thereB次元官网网址檚 going to be some waterfalls and water spray, and things, and lots of drips,B次元官网网址� said Stenner.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 going to be sections that are pretty muddy and thereB次元官网网址檚 going to be some shafts, and rifts and things that weB次元官网网址檙e going to have to negotiate over and, of course, these big, long drops that we have to rappel down and then climb back up to get out of the cave.B次元官网网址�
Stenner has 15 yearsB次元官网网址� experience caving in places including Mexico, Central America, Belize and the Pacific Northwest, U.S.
He said Bisaro Anima was different to other systems he had explored.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 pretty impressive, these really neat long shafts to rappel down and climb up, and thereB次元官网网址檚 quite a mix of open passages and tight squeezes,B次元官网网址� he said.
As with any outdoor activity, there are risks involved with the expedition, which the cavers have tried to plan for with first aid and rigging equipment.
B次元官网网址淭here are risks with rock fall, there are risks with being on rope and sort of the technical aspects, so weB次元官网网址檝e recruited a team which is well versed in that and should be able to negotiate those challenges,B次元官网网址� said Stenner.
Cavers have travelled from Quebec, California, U.S., Alberta and B.C., for the expedition and their excitement was tangible on Sunday.
For some, it will be their second time exploring Bisaro Anima.
Genairon Jerome took part in last winterB次元官网网址檚 groundbreaking expedition when the cave was confirmed as the deepest in Canada and the U.S.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard to be in the cave, so I was tired and B次元官网网址榦h my god itB次元官网网址檚 difficultB次元官网网址� but outsideB次元官网网址� I was very happy to break the record and to be alive,B次元官网网址� he said.
The Montreal-based Frenchman hopes to set a new record during this expedition and will be better prepared this time with warm clothing, and waterproof writing materials for surveying.
B次元官网网址淚 am very happy to be here for a second time,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚 hope to find another entrance in the plateau.B次元官网网址�
An expedition of this size can costs tens of thousands of dollars and Stenner said the group was fortunate to receive funding and equipment from the RCGS and Mountain Equipment Co-op.
He is already planning to return to Bisaro Anima later this year to explore more leads and a sump (underwater passage) at the bottom of the cave.
B次元官网网址淎 caving project is not measured in one expedition, itB次元官网网址檚 measured in years and it can be dozens of years, so the potential for this exploration project to go on for many years is pretty great,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淲e have people from all around the world that may come to go caving and itB次元官网网址檚 kind of, I guess, a unique thing for Fernie to be sort of home to this deepest cave north of Mexico and deepest in Canada, and pays homage to Mt. Bisaro and the history of Mt. Bisaro.B次元官网网址�
The mountain range was named after Fernie-born infantryman Torindo Bisaro, who fell during the invasion of Normandy in World War II, with some underground passages dubbed Vimy Ridge, the trenches, Dieppe and the Black Watch.
For English caver Mark Scott, this weekB次元官网网址檚 expedition will be his first time alpine caving in Canada.
He lives in San Francisco, California, and was invited to join by Jeremy, whom he met several years ago.
B次元官网网址淚t sounds like a really fun, interesting system with a good potential for significant depth records,B次元官网网址� he said.
Scott has been involved in discoveries in other parts of the world and said it was a sense of exploration that drives him to cave.
B次元官网网址淯nless you can convince someone to go into space or you like exploring deep oceans in submarines, there are very few places on earth you can go to that no person has ever been to before,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淐aves are, for someone who is not doing it professionally, 100 per cent of the time, about the only frontier left where you can actually go find something new, thatB次元官网网址檚 new to mankind, that no one has ever seen.B次元官网网址�
