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Conquering the cave
Inside the Vietnam mammoth caves are a real jungle. There can even fit a skyscraper. And the end of the cave is not visible. Giant cave columns tower over drifting through the depths of Hang Ken, one of the twenty new caves discovered last year in Vietnam.
Climber climbs in the rays of light in Loong Con, where humidity rises to cold air and forms clouds directly inside the cave.
In this portion of Hang Son Dung unit can fit a 40-story building half a mile long. This may be one of the longest underground tunnels worldwide.
Jungle in a cave? Collapsed roof many years ago in Hang Son Dung let light into the cave, which was continuously watch the plants. While "Sweeney" Sewell climbs to the surface, the travelers have to contend with the Garden Edam.
Fog shrouded hills Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. In 2001, was allocated 330 square miles of the park in order to protect one of the largest cave systems in Asia. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese soldiers hid in caves from US air attacks. Bomb craters now turned into ponds.
Going down, the members of the expedition included in the Hang Ying, cave tunnels made by Rao Thuong River. Exhausted to small ponds during the dry months, the river can reach 300 feet during the flood season, covering the rocks where cavers stand
Internal height decreases in the middle Hang Ying as researchers tested under notched ceiling left after flood waters swept. Soon the river reaches the surface, and then descends into the depths of Hang Son Dung.
As if petrified waterfall cascade occurs before cavers corrugated limestone covered with green algae. Researchers already near the exit of Hang Ying.
Huge boulders and a 30-foot drop test performed by Mark Jenkins in front of the entrance to the forest-shrouded Hang Son Dung. "Even if these caves are huge, they are virtually invisible until you find yourself in front of them," says Jenkins. Hunters found these caves, analyzing wind their underground holes.
Airbags Hang Son Dung allow sprout life in those places where the light comes from above - this is another world with a desert, quite cramped and dark space familiar to most cavers. Ferns and other green plants are completely flooded these areas. In the jungle, directly under the roof opening, the researchers noticed the monkeys, snakes and even birds.
Rare cave pearls fill dried terrace near the garden Edam in Hang Son Dung. This unusually large collection of boulders formed over many centuries, as the water has left the calcite crystals, which were collected over a grain of sand, and increases with time
Exploring the maze of algal growths, expedition organizers Deb and Howard Limbert way through the sculpted cave deepening Hang Son Dung. They are rich in calcite pools ribbed shape, overflowing water.
As if the castle on the hill, the rock glows under a skylight in Hang Son Dung. The storm had just filled the pool, making it clear that the study of the cave came to an end.
The biggest challenge for the expedition was to find a way through the Great Wall of Vietnam, an overhanging its huge mass and blocking the way to the depths of Hang Son Dung. For climbing specialists "Sweeny" Sewell and Howard Clarke used the anchor bolts, thus support the weight of all the climbers, climbing on slippery and porous rock using ropes. Once on the wall, the expedition found another entrance to the cave.
16. The 200-foot cliff of the Great Wall of Vietnam stopped in 2009, the first team that was trying to get into the Hang Son Dung. When the researchers returned Sewell drilled the holes for the bolts for the climbers, so they were able to climb with ropes. White stripes on his right show how high the water rises during the rainy season.
"It was like the roar of the train," said "Sweeney" Sewell, describing the noise for a second before the waterfall broke into Hang Son Dung through observation points dinosaurs or drain hole. Because of the dry season flow of the water was just huge. Do researchers feared drowned? "Maybe if the cave was smaller, but not here," said expedition leader Howard Limbert
Using only option, rope climber descends 225 feet in Hang Lung Cohn. Researchers discovered this cave in 2010, hoping that it is associated with great Hang Son Dung. Wall boulders soon block the way forward, but studies have shown that on the other side is a huge cave.
During the dry season, from November to April, a caver can safely explore Hang Kin with all its shallow pools. With the arrival of monsoon, the underground river becomes wider and fills all the passages, making the cave impassable for researchers.
Climber climbs in the rays of light in Loong Con, where humidity rises to cold air and forms clouds directly inside the cave.
In this portion of Hang Son Dung unit can fit a 40-story building half a mile long. This may be one of the longest underground tunnels worldwide.
Jungle in a cave? Collapsed roof many years ago in Hang Son Dung let light into the cave, which was continuously watch the plants. While "Sweeney" Sewell climbs to the surface, the travelers have to contend with the Garden Edam.
Fog shrouded hills Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. In 2001, was allocated 330 square miles of the park in order to protect one of the largest cave systems in Asia. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese soldiers hid in caves from US air attacks. Bomb craters now turned into ponds.
Going down, the members of the expedition included in the Hang Ying, cave tunnels made by Rao Thuong River. Exhausted to small ponds during the dry months, the river can reach 300 feet during the flood season, covering the rocks where cavers stand
Internal height decreases in the middle Hang Ying as researchers tested under notched ceiling left after flood waters swept. Soon the river reaches the surface, and then descends into the depths of Hang Son Dung.
As if petrified waterfall cascade occurs before cavers corrugated limestone covered with green algae. Researchers already near the exit of Hang Ying.
Huge boulders and a 30-foot drop test performed by Mark Jenkins in front of the entrance to the forest-shrouded Hang Son Dung. "Even if these caves are huge, they are virtually invisible until you find yourself in front of them," says Jenkins. Hunters found these caves, analyzing wind their underground holes.
Airbags Hang Son Dung allow sprout life in those places where the light comes from above - this is another world with a desert, quite cramped and dark space familiar to most cavers. Ferns and other green plants are completely flooded these areas. In the jungle, directly under the roof opening, the researchers noticed the monkeys, snakes and even birds.
Rare cave pearls fill dried terrace near the garden Edam in Hang Son Dung. This unusually large collection of boulders formed over many centuries, as the water has left the calcite crystals, which were collected over a grain of sand, and increases with time
Exploring the maze of algal growths, expedition organizers Deb and Howard Limbert way through the sculpted cave deepening Hang Son Dung. They are rich in calcite pools ribbed shape, overflowing water.
As if the castle on the hill, the rock glows under a skylight in Hang Son Dung. The storm had just filled the pool, making it clear that the study of the cave came to an end.
The biggest challenge for the expedition was to find a way through the Great Wall of Vietnam, an overhanging its huge mass and blocking the way to the depths of Hang Son Dung. For climbing specialists "Sweeny" Sewell and Howard Clarke used the anchor bolts, thus support the weight of all the climbers, climbing on slippery and porous rock using ropes. Once on the wall, the expedition found another entrance to the cave.
16. The 200-foot cliff of the Great Wall of Vietnam stopped in 2009, the first team that was trying to get into the Hang Son Dung. When the researchers returned Sewell drilled the holes for the bolts for the climbers, so they were able to climb with ropes. White stripes on his right show how high the water rises during the rainy season.
"It was like the roar of the train," said "Sweeney" Sewell, describing the noise for a second before the waterfall broke into Hang Son Dung through observation points dinosaurs or drain hole. Because of the dry season flow of the water was just huge. Do researchers feared drowned? "Maybe if the cave was smaller, but not here," said expedition leader Howard Limbert
Using only option, rope climber descends 225 feet in Hang Lung Cohn. Researchers discovered this cave in 2010, hoping that it is associated with great Hang Son Dung. Wall boulders soon block the way forward, but studies have shown that on the other side is a huge cave.
During the dry season, from November to April, a caver can safely explore Hang Kin with all its shallow pools. With the arrival of monsoon, the underground river becomes wider and fills all the passages, making the cave impassable for researchers.
