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[ti:Modern Cavemen]
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[00:01.46]Lesson 42
[00:03.56]Modern cavemen
[00:11.73]With what does the writer compare the Gouffre Berger?
[00:18.32]Cave exploration, or pot-holing, as it has come to be known, is a relatively new sport.
[00:25.23]Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures people down to the depths of the earth.
[00:35.62]It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation for a pot-holer's motives.
[00:41.30]For him, caves have the same peculiar fascination which high mountains have for the climber.
[00:47.84]They arouse instincts which can only be dimly understood.
[00:53.15]Exploring really deep caves is not a task for the Sunday afternoon rambler.
[00:59.33]Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations
[01:06.19]It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deep cave.
[01:17.61]Precautions of this sort are necessary,
[01:20.72]for it is impossible to foretell the exact nature of the difficulties which will confront the pot-holer.
[01:27.95]The deepest known cave in the world is the Gouffre Berger near Grenoble.
[01:33.83]It extends to a depth of 3, 723 feet.
[01:38.99]This immense chasm has been formed by an underground stream which has tunnelled a course through a flaw in the rocks.