With only the lights on their helmets guiding their way, the spelunkers repelled down the 165-foot shaft into the darkness below. As they maneuvered down the rocks, moans could be heard as water hit the jagged stalagmites.

Once reaching the bottom of the shaft, the explorers began to squirm their way through coffin-like passages as they travel deeper into the cave.

The Adventure PE class went spelunking, in Moaning Cavern, Jan 25. Students repelled down a shaft large enough to hold the Statue of Liberty and explored the secondary passages and caves.

Even though cave diving was never a part of his past unit list, PE department head, Scott Callisch, hired a guide and participated with his students.

?It was my first time and I was scared but I didn?t show it,? Callisch said. ?I don?t think they (students) were scared. They got the rope and went right down into the shaft.?

After rappelling down the main shaft, the students prepared themselves for a trek through the cave.

“I orginally thought we were just repelling down into the caves,” David Sholes, ’09, said. “When our guide announced we were going to be crawling into the caves, I was gripped by a cold sweat.”

As the students traveled deeper into the cave, the passages grew narrower. The students then began to crawl through the confined tunnels.

?At first it was easy, we had to get on our knees or slide on our butts sometimes,? Sholes said. ?But after a while, we were reduced to inching through the mud.?

Entering passages called ?Godzilla’s Nostril? and ?Breakdown Room?, the students had to overcome their panic and fears in order to continue.

?The caves had wonderful names like ?Meat Grinder? and ?Pancake Flattener?,? Sholes said. ?It was perhaps one of the scariest instances of my life. Every time I remember it, I shudder and think, ?What if I never made it out of there???

One particular situation erupted when Katie Barsic, ?13, became stuck while repelling down the main shaft.

?Barsic got her rope stuck because it was wrapped around a rock,? Callisch said. ?All the ropes were being used so there were no ropes to be used for a rescue.?

Fortunately for Barsic, Tonia Keys-Bramlett, ?09, was above her and in a position to free her.

?She (Barisc) stayed really calm and I think the instructor was more scared than she was,? Keys-Bramlett said. ?The instructor had me reach over and push the rope off the ledge.?

With her rope loosened, Barsic began free falling down the shaft.

?She dropped at least five down in a free fall. It was like it wasn?t really happening,? Keys-Bramlett said. ?When we both sat down she had the biggest smile on her face; it was a huge adrenaline rush.?

Another situation arose when Andrew Bos, ’09, was trapped while going through one of the rooms.

?Crawling down the cave is like climbing a tree, its easy to get to the top but hard to get to the bottom,? Bos said. ?It was hard to get out, and I was claustrophobic and almost cried until Tonia helped me.?

After traveling through the secondary passages, the class exited the cavern by rock climbing and taking the stairs.

?It was so closed in I thought I would never get out of the rocks and the mud,? Sholes said. ?I was overjoyed to get out of there.?

Callisch plans to host an introductory course to scuba diving at the end of February.