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Dream Gate System |
Story of a connection ... It all starts February 22, 2009. Alain Pocobelli and calling me asking if I wanted to make a dive somewhere. It is not working, and so I say why not, better to go underwater to get bored. The appearance but little late, browse for a bit 'maps as you decide where to go and eventually decides to go to a section of the system Aktun He also called friendly Car Wash ... before you discover the underwater caves was used as a car wash (! !) Are in the process of changes to my system, side-mount which is not yet ready, and I lack the basic parts, so we decide to go with the back-mount classic. We load everything you need on the pick-up, including a good supply of mosquito repellent, since the last time was almost needed a transfusion (!!!). Alain starts driving, rock music at full throttle and away to the south. Soon we pass the Rancho Lagunero, and Alain asks me if I've never immersed in the cenote Dream Gate, which is precisely within this property. Say no, I have already spoken, but it never happened to the occasion. Alain tells me that we did some diving in the cave leading the Cavern Tour, diving very popular tourist attraction in Riviera Maya. I speak of very beautiful limestone formations, which resemble those of Nohoch system, and continues saying that there are caves already explored in the direction of which way is up-stream to down-stream. An exchange of glances quickly elapses between us. Directional light on the right. ORoad-side approaches. Glance in the mirror. Turn U. And enter the Rancho Lagunera. We stop in front of the house of the guardian and pay our entrance, then continue to the entrance of the system, the cenote Dream Gate which is still 1200 meters cart in the Mexican jungle. The cenote offers a breathtaking view. A crater 20 meters in diameter that sinks with steep walls up to the surface of the water, seven feet below. At the center of the cenote that in ancient times was the turn of the enormous cave simulates a small island surrounded by crystal clear water. Fortunately, a few years ago, the cenote was used as the basis for a documentary about the aquifer system of the Yucatan peninsula, and remained, for use by divers to descend a staircase and a platform from where to start diving. We begin to unload our equipment out of the car and prepare for the draft. Being the first dive for both do not know quite what to expect, and decide to equip ourselves with 3-spool-head jump. The primary reel anchor in open water is not necessary, as the guideline for cavern tour starts from the platform. Meanwhile, chat, and try to imagine what will be our draft. We decide not to jump unless they prove necessary, to both, as we enter for the first time in a system, like having an idea of the main line before starting to visit the side passages. The equipment is ready, put on your wetsuit, the double tank, and jump into the water. Like any dive, we start with the preliminary checks, bubbles, we review the operation of all equipment, especially the lighting, we review the plan and decide the limits of our dive. And we go inside. Alain is in front, but there is no problem ... the things that he sees no escape for sure before I can get ... by the way... there are thousands (or millions?) Years ... Begin to follow the main line, but after a few minutes we are at the first T intersection. We must make a decision and choose to go left, for no other reason but because we know that the south west is the system Nohoch and why Alain suspect the Dream Gate is part of the same system. But after another few minutes we are facing another T, and then jump obliged, from the end line in the middle of another, then another T and other jump. Navigation begins to be really complex, but we have a continuous line to the open water and have well marked our exit, so continue. We both know that so many meet a T intersection has only one meaning: the mapping of the system was never completed, and in many such cases, there are still many steps to explore. The depth is small, rarely we exceed 33 feet, but most of the time we are around 25, so the air consumption is very low. And after about 50 minutes of bottom time, surprise: the line ends suddenly linked to a stalagmite in front of us and the cave go straight. And huge. Alain still has a reel with 150 feet of line, and is all that remains besides the safety reel, and immediately decide to connect online with online and go on. The cave appear to be virgin. Non c'č nessuno dei segni che i subacquei, anche i pių bravi, lasciano quando entrano per la prima volta in una grotta sommersa. There is no sign that the divers, even good ones, they leave when enter for the first time in a submersed cave. The 150 feet of line end up quickly, and there is nothing more to do but call the dive and move towards the exit. When we leave the water we can not talk about something else. We regret not having brought with us other cylinders. It seems incredible that they can find more caves to explore so close the entrance. But we have to spend 5 days before having the chance to go back inside. And 27 February we are back there. This time with a stage cylinder and the double. Repeat all the way done in the first dive and we get to the end line. This time we are equipped, we have with us an entire reel with a knotted line at intervals of 10 feet (for calculation of the distance in mapping phase) and line markers with our names. But we can lay just over 150 feet that we had already seen the previous time. The more we enter the passage is more small, and finally it is clear that the back-mount configuration no longer can allow us to continue our exploration. We're out again, and we decide to gather more information. We write to Jim Coke, the Quintana Roo Speleological Survey (QRSS) to know if in that system are ongoing explorations or mapping. He replied that the project was started by Buddy Quattlebaum and Chris Stanton in 2004, but later abandoned for lack of interest. We now proceed to ask Robbie Schmittner data mapping. He will give us the data only authorized by the original explorers. So we meet Buddy and Chris, who not only agree to let us have all the information but could also pleased that someone has a desire to continue their old job. In addition Chris suggests going to see another system that was exploring the same period, the system Pierre P, also called "friendly" Piss Hole which is located south of the Dream Gate, according to Chris "lacks little to connect them" . Meanwhile, we also turned the curiosity of Robbie, and Steve Bogaerts, two living legends of the cave-diving, they are looking for years the connection between the systems Nohoch and Dos Ojos. The Dream Gate and Pierre P are exactly in between these two giants, and given the size we decide to divide the tasks. Alain and I will stay to explore and map the Pierre P, while Steve and Robbie try to get off the Dream Gate. We begin a series of dives to recheck the data collected by Chris Stanton, which differ slightly from the current conditions. Not only that, but some guidelines have never been mapped. Because of the small size of the passages and the lack of visibility that is created by the leaching of particles from the ceiling, we choose to immerse ourselves with equipment side-mount, Alain in the down-stream sction and I in the up-stream section. From the first dive I can see immediately that the exploration has just begun and immediately stopped. There is much to do, so many steps to see, so much line to lay. IThe main passage runs very close to the surface, between 12 and 20 feet deep, with numerous pockets of gas in the ceiling. The roots of the trees which swarms, and they lie in the pipes carried by the weak current, forming elongated bushes. Le stalattiti e le stalagmiti con il loro colore nocciola si alternano ai tunnel freatici bianchi dove risaltano i fossili marini incastonati nel calcare. The stalactites and stalagmites with their hazel color alternate with the white phreatic tunnel stand the marine fossils embedded in limestone. The dimensions are reduced. Often encountered "major restrictions." The first is just 10 meters from the beginning of the up-stream section. "Major restrictions" means that a diver equipped with a classic double tank can not pass The maximum distance reached by Chris entry is 510 meters, about half-way there is an intersection with a 4 directions. The exit, two tunnels to the north-northwest and the main passage that follows the south-west. Strange direction, because the systems are almost all oriented from northwest to southeast. Diving is one after the other. Having taken all the data of line lying by Chris Stanton, I began a systematic exploration of the side passages that led me to explore 282 meters of tunnels virgins. The thrill of go to places never seen by any other human being is strong. Too often I kept thinking "This is the right step" and then after a while I happened to find myself stuck in a cul de sac. An area, especially, left me impressed: After a very small restriction I happened to see one of the most richly decorated rooms limestone formations of the whole system. The revelation I got almost to the end. The north-west passage opened a wide and low, almost a bedding plane with the bottom covered with organic sediment very dark. Usually this type of sediment indicates the presence of a cenote upstream, only through an opening in fact, can enter the water organic elements such as leaves, fruit, wood. For the exploration of this part I had to equip myself with an extra stage cylinder because I needed a third of this just to get to the beginning of that stretch, and so have the two cylinders still full penetration. In this section I have explored 663 meters of steps and, as I expected, I found the connection with another cenote. I went over this opening up to the maximum distance of 815 meters from the main entrance. In the end it appeared the flow split, and tunnels are increasingly smaller and branched. In one of these limestone ornaments adorned a room apparently without other steps. Often the visual tricks, and what is clearly seen by one part may be unlikely since the other, then I continued exploration of trying to force passes to the south of this room. Until May 2, 2009 Robbie Schmittner, comes from the cenote Koxol Ka'an, which is already connected to the system Nohoch / Sac Actun in search of a guideline laid by Steve Bogaerts in the system downstream Dream Gate. And while the search direction was perfect, so it was not the depth, and passes directly over the tunnel explored by Steve, who is 5 feet below. But the passage in which it still continues, and Robbie does not stop, until after the last restriction he found in front of a line perpendicular to his direction. It's my line, and a few meters after Robbie sees one of my markers. He understands where he came immediately, and understands that it exceeded the passage opened by Steve. Thus, once back until he can see an opening to the east, and is one that leads him to find, after about 80 meters, the line of Steve in the system Dream Gate. At the conclusion of all I can say I feel honored to have attended another system connects Sac Actun with two genuine world class cave diving explorers, as Robbie and Steve. The total number of steps added to the second largest system in the world amounts to 10470th meters.
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