1 00:00:01,501 --> 00:00:06,464 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:18,518 --> 00:00:21,855 BILL (off-screen): I received a phone call in January of 1988. 5 00:00:22,355 --> 00:00:25,567 And they said, uh, there's an amazing new discovery 6 00:00:25,567 --> 00:00:30,155 in the Sierra Juarez mountains of Eastern Oaxaca, Mexico. 7 00:00:32,866 --> 00:00:34,743 BILL (off-screen): By the end of that brief re-con, 8 00:00:34,743 --> 00:00:37,078 we realized that, that we were on to something. 9 00:00:38,329 --> 00:00:41,499 The scale of which is totally unprecedented. 10 00:00:46,379 --> 00:00:49,382 There's a massive entrance at the top of the mountain 11 00:00:50,175 --> 00:00:52,844 and an exit at the bottom where the river flows out 12 00:00:52,969 --> 00:00:55,055 over 9,000 feet vertically below. 13 00:00:57,182 --> 00:01:00,727 That makes Chevé the deepest cave on Earth, in theory. 14 00:01:02,479 --> 00:01:04,147 Whether a human can go through or not, 15 00:01:04,147 --> 00:01:06,816 that's what we're here to, uh, determine. 16 00:01:14,365 --> 00:01:17,994 (grunting) 17 00:01:19,204 --> 00:01:20,455 COREY: Oh God. 18 00:01:20,872 --> 00:01:21,873 Okay. 19 00:01:25,376 --> 00:01:26,544 (theme music playing) 20 00:01:37,430 --> 00:01:39,557 BILL (off-screen): This is not really a, uh, a race course. 21 00:01:40,433 --> 00:01:42,477 This is a fluency test to make sure you know 22 00:01:42,477 --> 00:01:44,229 what the heck you're doing before you go in the cave. 23 00:01:44,229 --> 00:01:47,774 Everything you see here. Every one of these complicated little maneuvers, 24 00:01:47,899 --> 00:01:50,485 that exists in the cave. This is not a fabrication here. 25 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:53,905 BEV: Okay. 26 00:01:53,905 --> 00:01:55,865 - BILL: Uh-oh. Careful. - BEV: Uh-oh. 27 00:01:55,949 --> 00:01:57,575 BILL: Think about where it's gonna go. 28 00:01:58,034 --> 00:02:00,620 This course is here because a guy died in this cave. 29 00:02:01,704 --> 00:02:02,580 Came in. 30 00:02:02,664 --> 00:02:05,792 Had never trained for the type of rope work that was happening. 31 00:02:08,128 --> 00:02:10,755 BILL (off-screen): And went down and he landed on his head. 32 00:02:12,590 --> 00:02:14,884 Ever since then we instituted this, 33 00:02:14,968 --> 00:02:16,177 what we call a rebelay course, 34 00:02:16,261 --> 00:02:18,221 uh, to test everybody who comes here. 35 00:02:18,221 --> 00:02:19,681 Most of these people are world class. 36 00:02:19,681 --> 00:02:21,391 Some of them are newer, younger people. 37 00:02:22,976 --> 00:02:25,270 That's good, switch to repel. 38 00:02:25,854 --> 00:02:28,731 We have a nominal 40 minute time to do the whole course, 39 00:02:28,857 --> 00:02:32,068 but, really, most people who are fluent will be under 20. 40 00:02:33,027 --> 00:02:35,613 Descender's off. Our descender off. 41 00:02:38,116 --> 00:02:40,034 That's off. One, two. 42 00:02:40,660 --> 00:02:41,953 17 flat. 43 00:02:41,953 --> 00:02:43,705 PABLO: Whoa! Very good. 44 00:02:43,705 --> 00:02:44,873 (laughs) 45 00:02:45,373 --> 00:02:47,375 BILL: And that was textbook except for one or two. 46 00:02:47,375 --> 00:02:48,751 PABLO: Yeah. 47 00:02:49,419 --> 00:02:53,047 PABLO (off-screen): My name is Pablo Durana and I am the cinematographer 48 00:02:53,131 --> 00:02:54,174 going in the cave. 49 00:02:54,841 --> 00:02:58,178 I've gone on expeditions in Greenland, in Antarctica. 50 00:02:58,553 --> 00:03:02,432 Uh, so, environments that are, are difficult. 51 00:03:04,058 --> 00:03:07,687 PABLO (off-screen): But I've never been in a cave as deep as this or as, 52 00:03:07,687 --> 00:03:10,106 as technical or complicated. 53 00:03:10,481 --> 00:03:12,275 You know, this is true exploration and, 54 00:03:12,942 --> 00:03:16,154 you know, Chevé is at the top of this big mystery. 55 00:03:17,572 --> 00:03:20,366 Hopefully they'll discover the passage that'll make this 56 00:03:20,450 --> 00:03:21,826 the deepest cave in the world. 57 00:03:32,337 --> 00:03:33,963 BILL: Uh, so, uh, just confirming, 58 00:03:34,547 --> 00:03:38,051 we will be restarting the restock, uh, supply train 59 00:03:38,051 --> 00:03:41,054 hopefully tomorrow, if not then the very next day, uh, 60 00:03:41,054 --> 00:03:44,557 and people will be moving back into camp one and camp two for a shuttle, over. 61 00:03:47,727 --> 00:03:50,563 COREY: The distance and the depth involved, uh, in, 62 00:03:50,647 --> 00:03:52,357 in getting to the bottom of Chevé 63 00:03:52,607 --> 00:03:55,193 is singular among the caves in the world. 64 00:03:55,693 --> 00:03:59,030 So, it's massive effort that takes thousands of pounds of equipment and 65 00:03:59,030 --> 00:04:02,033 months and months of planning to even get us here. 66 00:04:02,367 --> 00:04:04,535 BEV: Camp one? Basecamp here, over. 67 00:04:05,119 --> 00:04:07,747 You guys on the line? We need to talk to you. 68 00:04:08,331 --> 00:04:11,042 BEV (off-screen): On the surface, you got a team of people 69 00:04:11,042 --> 00:04:13,378 who are packing up all the food, all the supplies, 70 00:04:13,378 --> 00:04:19,092 making sure that everything is getting into that multi-day supply chain, 71 00:04:19,092 --> 00:04:21,511 so that it can arrive down into the cave. 72 00:04:22,387 --> 00:04:25,932 BILL: Well, so purgatory borehole is aligned with sump one. 73 00:04:28,059 --> 00:04:29,602 BILL (off-screen): Over the past 30 years, 74 00:04:29,978 --> 00:04:32,438 we've established a chain of underground camps 75 00:04:32,647 --> 00:04:34,983 leading deeper and deeper into the cave. 76 00:04:36,484 --> 00:04:39,988 All the way to our current front line of exploration 77 00:04:39,988 --> 00:04:42,198 about five kilometers from the entrance. 78 00:04:43,533 --> 00:04:45,535 For those who have an idea to go to camp five, 79 00:04:45,535 --> 00:04:48,413 I'm gonna tell you right now, the only people going to camp five 80 00:04:48,413 --> 00:04:51,708 are those whose skill sets are specifically needed there. 81 00:04:51,708 --> 00:04:54,168 Okay? It is not a pleasant place. 82 00:04:55,628 --> 00:04:59,632 I think we have, uh, ten, uh, nations involved in this project this year. 83 00:04:59,882 --> 00:05:04,762 So what unfolds is gonna be an orchestrated team of 84 00:05:04,846 --> 00:05:08,266 highly trained individuals and getting a little bit of luck. 85 00:05:09,517 --> 00:05:13,146 This is the last terrestrial frontier and it is the real deal. 86 00:05:14,022 --> 00:05:15,148 SEAN: We've laid siege to this mountain. 87 00:05:15,148 --> 00:05:16,607 We've got 60 people. 88 00:05:16,691 --> 00:05:19,569 We've got the best technology and some of the world's best cavers. 89 00:05:20,153 --> 00:05:22,947 And our goal is to make this cave the deepest cave in the world. 90 00:05:28,202 --> 00:05:30,038 BILL: Think we could get by with one roll of flagging tape? 91 00:05:30,621 --> 00:05:32,665 BEV: (laughs) Yes. BILL: I might have to. 92 00:05:33,207 --> 00:05:34,709 All right, survey kit. 93 00:05:35,293 --> 00:05:37,795 Right on top and that is it. 94 00:05:40,173 --> 00:05:41,674 Little on the heavy side. 95 00:05:42,759 --> 00:05:43,926 40. (laughs) 96 00:05:44,010 --> 00:05:47,013 BILL (off-screen): Right now I'm headed down to the front line to camp five 97 00:05:47,013 --> 00:05:50,475 to rally the lead team for a big push deeper into the cave. 98 00:05:52,977 --> 00:05:54,896 PABLO: It's like we're going into battle. 99 00:05:56,481 --> 00:05:58,941 - BEV: We are! - (laughs) 100 00:06:00,902 --> 00:06:03,029 BILL: Everybody ready to roll? Let's go. 101 00:06:15,541 --> 00:06:18,002 BILL (off-screen): From the entrance it's five hours of travel 102 00:06:18,252 --> 00:06:19,504 to reach the first supply camp. 103 00:06:25,426 --> 00:06:28,346 COREY: This is an entrance you could fly, like, an airplane in to. 104 00:06:28,346 --> 00:06:31,432 Uh, so, the first impression you get is that it's big 105 00:06:31,516 --> 00:06:34,811 and it keeps giving you that impression all the way down. 106 00:06:37,772 --> 00:06:41,234 BILL (off-screen): The entrance chamber itself goes for several hundred meters 107 00:06:41,567 --> 00:06:44,028 before you can drop down through the floor 108 00:06:44,112 --> 00:06:45,905 to the first rope pitch. 109 00:06:48,658 --> 00:06:51,661 And when you hit the bottom you can now begin to hear 110 00:06:51,661 --> 00:06:53,538 the Chevé River for the first time. 111 00:07:00,378 --> 00:07:02,130 MAN (over radio): Yeah, it'll definitely be of use deeper. 112 00:07:03,381 --> 00:07:05,466 BILL: Okay, we'll put that in the out pile and then 113 00:07:05,550 --> 00:07:08,219 somebody coming in next time, put that on their list for camp two. 114 00:07:09,303 --> 00:07:11,681 BILL (off-screen): Camp one, it's there as an acclimatization camp 115 00:07:11,681 --> 00:07:13,683 for people who are just showing up on the mountain. 116 00:07:14,976 --> 00:07:16,477 You get acclimated to the, the altitude, 117 00:07:16,978 --> 00:07:20,356 you get acclimated to just the physical brutality of, 118 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:22,984 of hauling heavy loads up and down. 119 00:07:23,651 --> 00:07:25,570 AMY: I'm gonna say three liters of breakfast. 120 00:07:27,196 --> 00:07:28,489 BILL: Uh, yeah, this is camp one. 121 00:07:28,573 --> 00:07:31,492 Uh, we currently have, uh, four souls, uh, down here 122 00:07:31,576 --> 00:07:35,705 with about 60 kilos of food, headed for camp two. 123 00:07:41,377 --> 00:07:44,213 BILL (off-screen): Completing the journey down to camp two requires 124 00:07:44,297 --> 00:07:48,342 a highly technical descent of a 500 foot underground waterfall. 125 00:07:54,474 --> 00:07:56,184 Do you want me to wait for you down there? 126 00:07:57,685 --> 00:08:01,189 PABLO: Any moment feels okay for you to wait would be great, 127 00:08:01,189 --> 00:08:03,733 ...but I don't want you to get cold. 128 00:08:03,733 --> 00:08:05,485 BILL: You're gonna have to step across, 129 00:08:06,110 --> 00:08:09,822 go up about two meters and there's a traverse line. 130 00:08:10,448 --> 00:08:13,409 Just clip it with your two cow's tails, don't screw around with a jumar. 131 00:08:13,493 --> 00:08:15,661 PABLO: Okay. BILL: Don't dally in there. 132 00:08:16,245 --> 00:08:18,372 And don't do anything reckless either. 133 00:08:19,332 --> 00:08:20,458 Rock! 134 00:08:24,295 --> 00:08:26,422 BILL (off-screen): The worst thing that you can possibly have happen, 135 00:08:26,506 --> 00:08:28,883 on an expedition, is to have someone die. 136 00:08:29,467 --> 00:08:32,678 Okay? And I, I can tell you that from hard personal experience. 137 00:08:32,762 --> 00:08:33,971 It's happened to me four times. 138 00:08:36,557 --> 00:08:38,100 BILL (off-screen): When you look over the edge there, 139 00:08:38,184 --> 00:08:40,937 you know that that's, you know, death staring you in the face. 140 00:08:41,562 --> 00:08:44,524 And so you pay attention to everything you do. 141 00:08:47,026 --> 00:08:49,028 This would not be a place to have a broken leg. 142 00:08:58,746 --> 00:09:00,581 BILL (off-screen): Camps three and four were the furthest 143 00:09:00,665 --> 00:09:02,833 we've been able to go for about 20 years, 144 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,380 until we found a bypass to a new route in 2017. 145 00:09:12,260 --> 00:09:15,638 Now, camp five is our current front line of exploration. 146 00:09:16,264 --> 00:09:18,641 Four full days of travel from the surface. 147 00:09:29,193 --> 00:09:32,697 A collapsed tunnel has halted all forward progress from here. 148 00:09:35,408 --> 00:09:37,201 We gotta, we gotta think out of the box here and, 149 00:09:37,285 --> 00:09:39,579 and you know, finding a way on is number one, 150 00:09:39,579 --> 00:09:41,414 - and survey is the next thing. - WITEK: Why waste time? 151 00:09:41,414 --> 00:09:43,541 BILL: Also, make sure it's Bill-sized please. 152 00:09:43,541 --> 00:09:45,751 COREY: That's gonna be a little hard to promise. 153 00:09:45,835 --> 00:09:46,752 - (laughs) - WITEK: Yeah. 154 00:09:46,836 --> 00:09:49,922 COREY: I think a non-Bill-sized route forward is better than no route forward. 155 00:09:50,047 --> 00:09:50,881 BILL: Well, I agree with that but... 156 00:09:50,965 --> 00:09:52,216 COREY: But, it can be made Bill-sized, later. 157 00:09:52,300 --> 00:09:54,385 - WITEK: It can be engineered. - COREY: Yeah. 158 00:09:57,930 --> 00:10:00,641 BILL (off-screen): Sean Lewis and Witek Hoffman are our specialists 159 00:10:00,725 --> 00:10:02,143 on the front lines right now. 160 00:10:03,894 --> 00:10:06,272 The idea is kind of like in playing any, any game. 161 00:10:06,856 --> 00:10:09,066 You want to have your, your superstars out front and 162 00:10:09,150 --> 00:10:10,401 everybody else is supporting them. 163 00:10:12,903 --> 00:10:14,697 SEAN: Okay. Got one. 164 00:10:15,448 --> 00:10:18,534 I got interested in Chevé when I first came here in 2018. 165 00:10:19,577 --> 00:10:21,412 SEAN (off-screen): I work very closely with Bill. 166 00:10:21,996 --> 00:10:24,290 We've been working almost full-time. 167 00:10:24,290 --> 00:10:25,833 Coordinating logistics. 168 00:10:26,334 --> 00:10:30,588 Organizing the data and I think all the people on this expedition 169 00:10:30,588 --> 00:10:32,465 are here because we share his dream. 170 00:10:34,842 --> 00:10:37,762 BILL (off-screen): If the lead team can find a way through the collapsed tunnel, 171 00:10:38,137 --> 00:10:40,848 we believe it will connect into a new passage 172 00:10:40,848 --> 00:10:42,767 that leads all the way to the bottom. 173 00:10:45,311 --> 00:10:47,772 SEAN: Let's do a mental check to make sure I have everything ready, 174 00:10:47,772 --> 00:10:49,982 I got a hammer drill, I got a bit... 175 00:10:50,066 --> 00:10:51,776 MAN: Distorted sense of hope. 176 00:10:51,776 --> 00:10:53,569 SEAN: I got a distorted sense of hope. 177 00:10:54,779 --> 00:10:56,113 BILL (off-screen): Sean is an interesting character. 178 00:10:56,614 --> 00:10:58,574 He was a grad student working in physics. 179 00:10:59,325 --> 00:11:00,576 It's a kinda thing where, 180 00:11:00,826 --> 00:11:02,662 he just used it as a mathematical puzzle. 181 00:11:05,915 --> 00:11:08,376 SEAN (off-screen): You know, there's clues every step of the way. 182 00:11:08,376 --> 00:11:11,504 You can follow the wind, you can follow the water. 183 00:11:12,254 --> 00:11:15,257 But truly, you know, the cave environment is it's own animal. 184 00:11:17,510 --> 00:11:19,845 Rock. (rumbling) 185 00:11:19,929 --> 00:11:22,014 WITEK: Whew! Hello. 186 00:11:23,140 --> 00:11:25,643 So we are, now try with some smoke 187 00:11:26,394 --> 00:11:27,853 and see where the smoke actually going. 188 00:11:30,815 --> 00:11:32,400 WITEK (off-screen): The stronger the smoke, 189 00:11:32,858 --> 00:11:35,945 hopefully the bigger the spots between the rock are. 190 00:11:37,071 --> 00:11:39,740 That stream, definitely wants to head up. 191 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:42,535 SEAN (off-screen): Some of the wind seemed to be going up, 192 00:11:42,535 --> 00:11:44,537 which is a sign, very clear, 193 00:11:44,537 --> 00:11:48,374 that there's an easier way to travel, for the air, up higher. 194 00:11:49,500 --> 00:11:51,419 Here you can see it moving this way. 195 00:11:51,919 --> 00:11:54,171 WITEK: Oh yeah. Wow, it's strong here. 196 00:11:56,841 --> 00:11:58,843 SEAN (off-screen): The wind can go places that we can't. 197 00:11:58,968 --> 00:12:01,178 So, the question is, can we follow the wind? 198 00:12:01,846 --> 00:12:04,890 WITEK: That's coming up. And this is where we're gonna go. 199 00:12:04,974 --> 00:12:07,476 SEAN: Lots of loose rocks, so stay, stay back a little bit. 200 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:08,686 WITEK: Mm-hmm. 201 00:12:10,187 --> 00:12:13,149 SEAN: Virgin territory is always filled with loose rocks. 202 00:12:21,490 --> 00:12:23,200 PABLO: Can you just grab my helmet, I don't wanna lose it. 203 00:12:23,284 --> 00:12:24,660 SEAN: Yeah. 204 00:12:28,581 --> 00:12:29,498 Awesome. 205 00:12:30,708 --> 00:12:33,043 PABLO: I have no clue where, where I am. 206 00:12:33,127 --> 00:12:35,880 (laughter) 207 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:40,092 I, I don't get how you do this. I really don't. 208 00:12:41,677 --> 00:12:43,220 SEAN (off-screen): A lot of the people here 209 00:12:43,304 --> 00:12:45,681 are very accustomed to being underground 210 00:12:45,765 --> 00:12:49,143 in situations that would cause a lot of other people to... 211 00:12:49,268 --> 00:12:51,687 feel claustrophobia or panic. 212 00:12:53,481 --> 00:12:57,109 I wanna say it's scary but I never get scared. 213 00:12:58,027 --> 00:12:59,820 This is starting to look really good again. 214 00:13:00,738 --> 00:13:03,616 I can see a larger space above us so we're still, we're still 215 00:13:03,616 --> 00:13:05,868 in the right track, we have to go up through the boulders 216 00:13:05,868 --> 00:13:07,244 to find a big space above. 217 00:13:08,746 --> 00:13:10,581 SEAN (off-screen): That puzzle aspect of caving, 218 00:13:10,581 --> 00:13:12,917 to me, that's my happy place. 219 00:13:13,501 --> 00:13:17,338 I'll never be happier than when I am pushing into something unknown. 220 00:13:18,798 --> 00:13:21,342 Ah! Too tight. 221 00:13:22,384 --> 00:13:25,221 That doesn't go, that doesn't go, this doesn't go. 222 00:13:25,888 --> 00:13:29,934 Also I don't, it to make many moves and forget about how we got here. 223 00:13:30,601 --> 00:13:32,770 SEAN: That does happen, and it's very scary. 224 00:13:32,770 --> 00:13:34,980 WITEK: I would not want that to happen. 225 00:13:38,859 --> 00:13:41,362 SEAN: Ah, wow. 226 00:13:44,573 --> 00:13:46,659 PABLO: How the hell did you fit through that? 227 00:13:48,619 --> 00:13:52,414 The big hope is that they'll break into a big, big tunnel with no boulders 228 00:13:52,790 --> 00:13:55,709 and if that happens we could have multiple kilometers 229 00:13:55,793 --> 00:13:58,629 of giant tunnels going down the mountain, no problem at all. 230 00:13:59,213 --> 00:14:01,590 You know there's something above us, it's just driving me crazy. 231 00:14:01,674 --> 00:14:03,467 We've checked five different holes at this point. 232 00:14:03,551 --> 00:14:05,261 None of them have gone in to it but there's, 233 00:14:05,261 --> 00:14:07,137 every-time I check there's a small space 234 00:14:07,221 --> 00:14:10,307 and I can see something bigger above, 235 00:14:11,517 --> 00:14:13,018 there's one more hole to check. 236 00:14:17,398 --> 00:14:19,441 PABLO: So they're in a spot where they can hear an echo, 237 00:14:19,525 --> 00:14:21,861 which is really promising that there's a big chamber. 238 00:14:22,653 --> 00:14:24,655 I'm so impressed with their determination. 239 00:14:26,699 --> 00:14:28,242 They just don't stop. 240 00:14:29,535 --> 00:14:30,703 What do you see right now? 241 00:14:31,287 --> 00:14:33,205 SEAN: There's a big of room just ahead. 242 00:14:33,289 --> 00:14:34,415 (screams) 243 00:14:34,957 --> 00:14:37,084 SEAN: Whoa! (laughter) 244 00:14:37,084 --> 00:14:38,669 SEAN: (bleep). 245 00:14:49,305 --> 00:14:50,681 (yells) 246 00:14:52,016 --> 00:14:54,268 (laughs) 247 00:14:54,268 --> 00:14:56,228 (screams) 248 00:14:56,729 --> 00:14:58,063 SEAN: Big room. 249 00:14:58,272 --> 00:15:00,900 Borehole! 250 00:15:01,609 --> 00:15:05,112 - WITEK: Oh my gosh, oh. - SEAN: Welcome! 251 00:15:06,113 --> 00:15:09,658 (laughs) 252 00:15:11,493 --> 00:15:13,913 (screams) 253 00:15:13,913 --> 00:15:15,247 That's all I gotta say. 254 00:15:19,168 --> 00:15:22,046 - PABLO: This is huge. - WITEK: It's a nice feeling, huh? 255 00:15:24,965 --> 00:15:28,510 (shouting) (laughter) 256 00:15:28,594 --> 00:15:29,762 ALL: Boom. 257 00:15:32,306 --> 00:15:34,558 WITEK: I think it might be one of the most beautiful rooms 258 00:15:34,642 --> 00:15:36,769 in the whole cave actually. 259 00:15:38,062 --> 00:15:39,480 Now, we go up. 260 00:15:40,481 --> 00:15:44,276 SEAN (off-screen): Being the first person to set foot in a brand new place, 261 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:46,487 that no one's ever been before, uh... 262 00:15:46,487 --> 00:15:47,947 (laughs) It's really quite something. 263 00:15:48,864 --> 00:15:51,033 SEAN (off-screen): Especially when you know that 264 00:15:51,158 --> 00:15:53,285 there's a whole expedition behind you and 265 00:15:53,369 --> 00:15:56,163 everyone's hoping that there's gonna be a big discovery. 266 00:15:58,415 --> 00:16:01,126 BILL: We are on-line waiting for whatever you're gonna tell us. 267 00:16:03,253 --> 00:16:04,421 SEAN (over radio): We got it, Bill, this is... 268 00:16:04,505 --> 00:16:05,881 SEAN: Borehole, over. 269 00:16:06,966 --> 00:16:10,010 BILL: Ah, go ahead and, uh, elaborate on that please? 270 00:16:10,094 --> 00:16:11,136 (laughter) 271 00:16:11,345 --> 00:16:16,767 SEAN: We popped near the top of the slope in a borehole that was probably... 272 00:16:17,351 --> 00:16:19,186 SEAN (over radio): 15 meters high and... 273 00:16:19,853 --> 00:16:21,146 SEAN: About the same width. 274 00:16:21,230 --> 00:16:22,856 BILL: Nicely done, guys. 275 00:16:23,399 --> 00:16:24,858 BILL (over radio): A new card on the table. 276 00:16:25,401 --> 00:16:27,403 (laughter) 277 00:16:29,613 --> 00:16:31,240 BILL (off-screen): This is the breakthrough 278 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:32,282 we've been waiting for. 279 00:16:33,075 --> 00:16:37,329 We're now at a point where we are beyond this, uh, 280 00:16:37,413 --> 00:16:41,834 large breakdown zone that had stopped exploration for 30 years. 281 00:16:45,796 --> 00:16:49,133 WITEK: So unusual and so beautiful. 282 00:16:53,137 --> 00:16:54,638 BILL (off-screen): Camp 5.5 283 00:16:54,722 --> 00:16:56,306 will be our new beach head for exploring 284 00:16:56,390 --> 00:16:58,726 deeper into the cave than anybody has ever been. 285 00:17:00,227 --> 00:17:03,063 WITEK: Big enough for two people lying down. 286 00:17:07,151 --> 00:17:10,571 SEAN: Everything around here is just like, sharp, jagged boulders. 287 00:17:11,530 --> 00:17:14,575 It's not meant for human habitation. We had to build everything. 288 00:17:14,575 --> 00:17:16,910 So, building this bed... 289 00:17:17,661 --> 00:17:20,164 (patting) Make it all nice and flat. 290 00:17:21,373 --> 00:17:23,000 Protecting ourselves from the drips. 291 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,335 (water dripping) 292 00:17:25,419 --> 00:17:29,131 It's really important that we make the best use of every single day at this camp 293 00:17:29,131 --> 00:17:31,550 because the expedition does have limited time 294 00:17:31,550 --> 00:17:33,719 and limited resources and we want to make sure that 295 00:17:33,719 --> 00:17:36,096 the frontier is being explored every day. 296 00:17:36,221 --> 00:17:39,975 COREY: Wow, the republic of 5.5. (laughs) 297 00:17:41,018 --> 00:17:42,811 PABLO: Things don't dry out much do they here? 298 00:17:43,103 --> 00:17:44,855 WITEK: No it's... 299 00:17:44,855 --> 00:17:47,149 Mm, smells just terribly. 300 00:17:47,983 --> 00:17:52,613 It's all wet and I can already feel it and smell it. 301 00:17:54,156 --> 00:17:55,157 (retches) 302 00:17:55,157 --> 00:17:56,700 SEAN: You know, I don't have any clean clothes, 303 00:17:56,784 --> 00:18:00,037 I've been wearing the same socks to bed for three weeks. 304 00:18:00,370 --> 00:18:03,624 I've got like three pairs of dirty shirts and that's it. 305 00:18:03,624 --> 00:18:04,792 Right, and so it's like... 306 00:18:05,250 --> 00:18:06,126 (laughs) 307 00:18:06,210 --> 00:18:09,463 You know, after a while you just have to stop caring about that stuff but. 308 00:18:09,797 --> 00:18:14,134 ♪ Down, down, down you go ♪ 309 00:18:14,218 --> 00:18:15,844 ♪ Down the hole, down you go ♪ 310 00:18:15,928 --> 00:18:21,350 ♪ Jack you never see the skies and your working in a dungeon ♪ 311 00:18:21,350 --> 00:18:22,851 COREY: Being out, days from the surface, 312 00:18:22,935 --> 00:18:25,562 is a, is a really, uh, wild feeling. 313 00:18:26,313 --> 00:18:31,026 You know, that there's 5,000, 6,000 feet of rock straight above you. 314 00:18:31,485 --> 00:18:33,153 Definitely think about that a lot. 315 00:18:34,780 --> 00:18:36,657 I've been here, uh, six weeks. 316 00:18:37,324 --> 00:18:41,995 It's actually my longest stay on an expedition. Um, ever. 317 00:18:42,913 --> 00:18:45,415 COREY (off-screen): And, and I admit too, you know, I get a bit homesick, uh, 318 00:18:45,499 --> 00:18:47,376 when I'm, when I'm gone this long. 319 00:18:48,585 --> 00:18:51,463 There is so little that's familiar down there, you know, 320 00:18:51,547 --> 00:18:52,840 compared to the surface. 321 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:55,467 Everything around you is kinda, just kinda alien. 322 00:18:57,469 --> 00:18:59,805 BEV: In your normal life, when you turn off the lights, 323 00:19:00,013 --> 00:19:02,349 eventually there's a little light coming from somewhere else 324 00:19:02,349 --> 00:19:03,934 and your eyes adjust. 325 00:19:05,060 --> 00:19:07,354 BEV (off-screen): When it's truly, completely dark, 326 00:19:07,729 --> 00:19:12,317 your eyes never adjust. You can't see anything. 327 00:19:14,444 --> 00:19:19,241 And, for me, that's a really kind of comfortable, cozy feeling. 328 00:19:19,241 --> 00:19:23,912 To have left behind all the chaos and static of the surface 329 00:19:23,996 --> 00:19:25,998 of our everyday, hectic lives, 330 00:19:25,998 --> 00:19:28,917 and to be able to focus on one single task. 331 00:19:33,714 --> 00:19:36,550 - (laughs) - WITEK: Good night. 332 00:19:39,803 --> 00:19:41,138 - BILL: Safe to come up? - AMY: Yeah. 333 00:19:44,808 --> 00:19:48,562 The current world depth record is 7,257 feet 334 00:19:49,062 --> 00:19:51,899 in a cave called Veryovkina in Eastern Europe. 335 00:19:55,152 --> 00:19:56,695 If we make it to the bottom of Chevé, 336 00:19:57,196 --> 00:19:59,990 we'll break that record by over 1,500 feet. 337 00:20:02,367 --> 00:20:04,119 If this turns out to be the main route, 338 00:20:04,203 --> 00:20:06,496 we'll have to de-rig the rope and push it over. 339 00:20:08,415 --> 00:20:11,168 COREY: As the front of exploration get deeper and deeper 340 00:20:11,668 --> 00:20:15,130 into the cave, there's a whole supply infrastructure 341 00:20:15,214 --> 00:20:19,259 behind them consisting of a multiplying number of people 342 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:21,720 as you get farther and farther back toward the entrance. 343 00:20:26,975 --> 00:20:29,728 BILL: Uh, so we've brought down, uh, something like 344 00:20:29,728 --> 00:20:31,897 seven 55 liter sacks of gear 345 00:20:31,897 --> 00:20:35,567 here and, uh, we've got about four sacks of climbing gear. 346 00:20:36,526 --> 00:20:38,987 SEAN (over radio): I know we're gonna need to resupply camp three and 347 00:20:39,071 --> 00:20:42,824 just keep stuff moving forward and deeper into the cave. 348 00:20:43,909 --> 00:20:45,953 PABLO (off-screen): I mean, this is what sets caving apart. 349 00:20:46,495 --> 00:20:48,163 It's such a collective effort. 350 00:20:48,747 --> 00:20:53,126 They're working like an army of ants and they're shuttling supplies in and out, 351 00:20:53,210 --> 00:20:58,006 in and out for the people at the forefront to be able to push. 352 00:20:59,675 --> 00:21:00,884 BILL (off-screen): It's harder to go deeper, 353 00:21:00,968 --> 00:21:03,720 because every meter you go forward 354 00:21:04,304 --> 00:21:06,515 puts you one more meter from the entrance. 355 00:21:07,015 --> 00:21:10,227 And we're now at a point where 356 00:21:10,227 --> 00:21:12,271 you might as well be on the far side of the moon. 357 00:21:12,271 --> 00:21:17,567 MAN (over radio): Three, two, one, zero. All engines running. 358 00:21:18,151 --> 00:21:21,905 Lift off, we have a lift off. 32 minutes past the hour... 359 00:21:21,989 --> 00:21:23,699 BILL (off-screen): When I was a kid, you know, 360 00:21:23,699 --> 00:21:26,034 I wanted to be a, an astronaut. 361 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:29,413 MAN (over radio): Okay, Neil we see you coming down the ladder now. 362 00:21:29,413 --> 00:21:31,957 NEIL (over radio): The view is beautiful, just beautiful. 363 00:21:32,874 --> 00:21:36,044 BILL (off-screen): Watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon 364 00:21:36,545 --> 00:21:37,963 That was, that was, that was something that just, 365 00:21:37,963 --> 00:21:40,132 you know, burned it's way into my, my psyche. 366 00:21:40,716 --> 00:21:43,176 MAN (over radio): This is Houston reading you loud and clear, over. 367 00:21:43,260 --> 00:21:45,345 BILL (off-screen): By the time I was in sixth grade, 368 00:21:45,679 --> 00:21:49,641 I was interested in science and my Dad came home one Christmas 369 00:21:49,725 --> 00:21:53,103 and got me one of these Gilbert chemistry sets. 370 00:21:53,603 --> 00:21:55,439 And I was running experiments that were, 371 00:21:55,439 --> 00:21:59,401 you know, graduate student level, organic chemistry, in my basement. 372 00:22:00,235 --> 00:22:03,196 I was the classic nerd. I really never even got into dating until 373 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:04,990 I was almost at the end of college. 374 00:22:06,241 --> 00:22:07,451 It was the goal of getting out and, 375 00:22:07,451 --> 00:22:09,244 you know, getting into the astronaut corps. 376 00:22:09,870 --> 00:22:13,040 And for nine years, I submitted applications. 377 00:22:13,623 --> 00:22:15,625 You know, they had psychological tests, 378 00:22:15,709 --> 00:22:16,960 they had physical tests. 379 00:22:17,502 --> 00:22:18,628 I got a nice thin letter that said 380 00:22:18,712 --> 00:22:21,173 I was too independent for the astronaut corps. 381 00:22:21,173 --> 00:22:24,301 (laughs) Which I cherish to this day. 382 00:22:26,011 --> 00:22:29,598 BILL (off-screen): I went off to form my own company and ever since then 383 00:22:29,598 --> 00:22:32,142 I have structured my life around exploration. 384 00:22:34,061 --> 00:22:34,936 I'm 68. 385 00:22:35,562 --> 00:22:38,148 I've sunk a lot of my life into this project here. 386 00:22:40,776 --> 00:22:46,031 I wanna do the most exploration that I can during my lifetime. 387 00:22:47,657 --> 00:22:53,205 And, uh, Chevé is the challenge in exploration right now, on Earth. 388 00:22:56,666 --> 00:22:59,711 COREY: I think Bill's known that this is the deepest cave system 389 00:22:59,795 --> 00:23:03,215 in the world for a long time and 390 00:23:03,215 --> 00:23:08,261 coming back year after year after year and not getting there, 391 00:23:08,345 --> 00:23:10,180 you get more and more attached. 392 00:23:10,180 --> 00:23:11,932 (laughter) 393 00:23:12,432 --> 00:23:16,645 BILL: Chevé will give you piece of spectacular tunnel 394 00:23:16,645 --> 00:23:20,690 and then right when you think you've got it all, it'll stop. 395 00:23:22,275 --> 00:23:24,194 BEV: If it was easy everyone would do it Bill. 396 00:23:24,194 --> 00:23:26,696 BILL: You know, if it was easy it'd have been done 30 years ago. 397 00:23:26,780 --> 00:23:28,782 BEV: Exactly, what would you be doing with your life now? 398 00:23:28,782 --> 00:23:31,827 BILL: Hm, well I'm pretty happy where I am right here. 399 00:23:31,827 --> 00:23:32,953 BEV: Mm-hmm, I know. 400 00:23:35,038 --> 00:23:37,290 COREY (off-screen): I think it would be one of Bill's, you know, 401 00:23:37,374 --> 00:23:40,502 great life accomplishments and, and the fulfillment of a dream 402 00:23:40,502 --> 00:23:43,797 if he could see us, uh, break the world depth record. 403 00:23:43,797 --> 00:23:46,258 And go to the bottom of the world. 404 00:23:56,601 --> 00:24:01,106 ♪ ♪ 405 00:24:01,106 --> 00:24:04,651 BILL (off-screen): Right now, the entire expedition is focused 406 00:24:04,943 --> 00:24:07,737 on the mission of those people out at Camp 5.5. 407 00:24:09,781 --> 00:24:12,159 Those people, uh, who are pretty much 408 00:24:12,159 --> 00:24:15,203 some of our best in terms of, uh, route finding. 409 00:24:17,289 --> 00:24:18,331 (screams) 410 00:24:19,541 --> 00:24:21,460 BILL: What I do, do on the other side, 411 00:24:21,460 --> 00:24:25,589 I know how to plan in advance, you know, food and logistics 412 00:24:25,589 --> 00:24:28,258 and all the equipment here in base camp. 413 00:24:28,425 --> 00:24:32,429 BEV: Oh I, I could cry right now. 414 00:24:33,138 --> 00:24:34,306 It's so good to see ya. 415 00:24:34,306 --> 00:24:36,850 (overlapping chatter) 416 00:24:36,850 --> 00:24:42,022 BILL: All right, man no more harness. (sighs) 417 00:24:46,318 --> 00:24:49,529 BILL (off-screen): We have an A team of breakdown pushers out there 418 00:24:49,863 --> 00:24:54,159 who, hopefully, in the next couple of days could be out beyond the world depth record 419 00:24:55,243 --> 00:24:59,748 Here it is folks, you know, this is the wide open frontier. 420 00:24:59,748 --> 00:25:02,375 It's unexplored, figure out how to do it. 421 00:25:04,836 --> 00:25:07,506 BILL (off-screen): Camp 5.5 established our new front line 422 00:25:07,714 --> 00:25:11,551 in an unexplored passage nine kilometers from the surface. 423 00:25:12,177 --> 00:25:15,764 Now, the lead team needs to find a way out of that passage 424 00:25:15,764 --> 00:25:17,891 that leads deeper into the cave. 425 00:25:19,017 --> 00:25:21,770 WITEK: I think we go this way? 426 00:25:21,770 --> 00:25:23,647 Ho! (echos) 427 00:25:24,231 --> 00:25:25,440 COREY: A big echo up there, somewhere. 428 00:25:25,524 --> 00:25:27,651 I don't know if it's from the passage 429 00:25:27,651 --> 00:25:31,112 that we just came out of because it's really tall and narrow. 430 00:25:32,864 --> 00:25:36,910 BILL (off-screen): Corey is a proven, uh, super star when it comes to 431 00:25:36,910 --> 00:25:39,955 finding a passage where you wouldn't expect it. 432 00:25:40,330 --> 00:25:43,375 Sniffing out, you know, however, with sixth sense. 433 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:47,337 Uh, you know, where the cave goes and, and where the way into it is. 434 00:25:47,629 --> 00:25:49,172 (rock tumbling) 435 00:25:49,256 --> 00:25:52,342 COREY: All of the wind, uh, that we expect to feel going 436 00:25:52,676 --> 00:25:54,970 deeper into the cave is moving through this passage. 437 00:25:55,971 --> 00:25:59,558 COLIN: Wow, that's what we've been chasing for a week. 438 00:25:59,933 --> 00:26:03,311 - COREY: Well, 30 years, yeah. - COLIN: For pretty long, yeah. 439 00:26:04,479 --> 00:26:08,400 COREY (off-screen): I first came to Sistema Chevé in 2013. 440 00:26:09,401 --> 00:26:12,070 To me, uh, Chevé is heaven. 441 00:26:13,488 --> 00:26:17,200 But there's times when what you have to do is hellish. 442 00:26:18,243 --> 00:26:22,831 Some cave passages get so large, uh, that the ceilings collapse. 443 00:26:23,415 --> 00:26:26,209 The passages can actually, eventually, totally fill themselves, 444 00:26:26,293 --> 00:26:29,129 sometimes to the ceiling, with breakdown. 445 00:26:31,214 --> 00:26:37,220 (grunting) 446 00:26:38,638 --> 00:26:40,974 (grunting) 447 00:26:41,891 --> 00:26:45,020 Oh God. Okay. 448 00:26:45,020 --> 00:26:46,938 (moans) 449 00:26:47,022 --> 00:26:48,607 Ow. 450 00:26:49,816 --> 00:26:50,942 Well. 451 00:26:52,485 --> 00:26:56,239 I think the way on is that way. 452 00:27:03,830 --> 00:27:05,624 COREY (off-screen): Going through breakdown is like, uh, 453 00:27:05,624 --> 00:27:08,752 it's like a body puzzle and you're surrounded by rocks. 454 00:27:09,252 --> 00:27:13,006 If you go in one hole, suddenly you're presented with five more. 455 00:27:15,508 --> 00:27:17,719 Then if you go in any of those five, 456 00:27:17,719 --> 00:27:21,056 you might have three to six options to keep going. 457 00:27:24,309 --> 00:27:27,771 PABLO (off-screen): When you're climbing, you know if an accident happens, 458 00:27:28,605 --> 00:27:31,149 there's usually a heli-rescue or something. 459 00:27:34,486 --> 00:27:37,072 The rescue potential here is... 460 00:27:37,989 --> 00:27:39,949 (sighs) 461 00:27:40,033 --> 00:27:41,451 Nonexistent. 462 00:27:44,329 --> 00:27:45,747 COREY: I think it was down here. 463 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:51,419 Cavers go back to breakdown areas over and over and over again 464 00:27:51,503 --> 00:27:56,007 and don't get through and then one day after 20 pushes 465 00:27:56,091 --> 00:27:59,219 into this breakdown pile there's a magic route that, 466 00:27:59,219 --> 00:28:01,304 that gets you to the other side of the pile. 467 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:06,685 And then boom. 468 00:28:08,103 --> 00:28:09,187 Oh, my goodness. 469 00:28:12,273 --> 00:28:15,485 (laughter) 470 00:28:16,361 --> 00:28:19,906 BILL (off-screen): The team at Camp 5.5 have reported that they had finally, uh, 471 00:28:20,490 --> 00:28:22,575 gotten into solid rock tunnel. 472 00:28:23,660 --> 00:28:24,577 COREY: We did it. 473 00:28:25,620 --> 00:28:28,039 - (sighs) - (laughter) 474 00:28:29,249 --> 00:28:32,085 COREY: We're gonna start, uh, surveying it from here, uh. 475 00:28:32,085 --> 00:28:34,671 From this point forward it's completely unexplored. 476 00:28:36,715 --> 00:28:41,052 That experience of popping through into a space that's never been seen before. 477 00:28:41,136 --> 00:28:45,014 It's like the closest you can get on Earth to, to going to a different planet. 478 00:28:48,101 --> 00:28:50,645 It's something you know is new to human eyes. 479 00:28:53,022 --> 00:28:54,399 Unbelievable. 480 00:28:55,650 --> 00:28:57,235 What a day. 481 00:28:59,821 --> 00:29:03,158 We surveyed approximately another kilometer and half. 482 00:29:08,371 --> 00:29:09,247 ALL: Nice work! 483 00:29:09,998 --> 00:29:13,126 COREY: We're past, uh, we climbed up 40 meters. 484 00:29:13,126 --> 00:29:15,628 MAN: I told you it was steep. 485 00:29:15,712 --> 00:29:17,464 - COREY: And, boom! - WOMAN: Almost 50. 486 00:29:19,758 --> 00:29:22,677 COREY: Nice flat areas, hard packed clay, 487 00:29:22,761 --> 00:29:24,846 not a lot of drips it looks like, 488 00:29:25,847 --> 00:29:28,516 so this is a potential Camp six site. 489 00:29:31,352 --> 00:29:36,024 Feels like this might actually be the best lead in any cave on Earth right now. 490 00:29:40,987 --> 00:29:42,739 ♪ ♪ 491 00:29:42,739 --> 00:29:44,699 COREY (over radio): Good morning Bill, this is Camp 5.5. 492 00:29:44,783 --> 00:29:47,535 Uh, we have some interesting developments to share. 493 00:29:47,827 --> 00:29:48,995 BILL: Uh, go ahead. 494 00:29:49,454 --> 00:29:51,498 COREY (over radio): We, uh, absolutely have... 495 00:29:51,498 --> 00:29:53,458 COREY: A beautiful Camp six site. 496 00:29:53,458 --> 00:29:55,585 Uh, it's currently, uh, about... 497 00:29:55,585 --> 00:29:59,172 COREY (over radio): Two hours from Camp 5.5. 498 00:29:59,172 --> 00:30:00,799 (laughter) 499 00:30:01,591 --> 00:30:03,551 BILL (over radio): Nicely done guys. 500 00:30:03,635 --> 00:30:06,805 BILL: Think about what you need, uh, from us to, uh, keep this going. 501 00:30:06,930 --> 00:30:08,723 BILL (over radio): We'll see you there in a year. 502 00:30:08,807 --> 00:30:10,058 (laughter) 503 00:30:11,935 --> 00:30:14,062 COREY: We've got the (bleep) bull by the horns right now. 504 00:30:17,190 --> 00:30:20,026 BILL (off-screen): Camp six is, uh, deeper than anybody has ever been 505 00:30:20,026 --> 00:30:21,444 in Cueva Chevé. 506 00:30:22,278 --> 00:30:27,992 It is the most remote bivouac anybody has ever put inside any cave on earth. 507 00:30:29,410 --> 00:30:32,914 The hope is that it's a straight shot from here all the way to the bottom. 508 00:30:34,082 --> 00:30:36,668 (overlapping chatter) 509 00:30:36,668 --> 00:30:38,002 BILL (off-screen): I've been out for some time so 510 00:30:38,086 --> 00:30:41,256 I'm ready to go in for the big push. 511 00:30:42,006 --> 00:30:42,966 MAN: See you down there. 512 00:30:42,966 --> 00:30:44,676 GILLY: Bye. MAN: Bye, have fun. 513 00:30:46,177 --> 00:30:47,887 BILL (off-screen): But it's five full days of travel 514 00:30:47,971 --> 00:30:50,890 from the entrance for me to get down there and join them 515 00:30:51,516 --> 00:30:55,144 and I wanna be there if this new tunnel is finally the one that goes. 516 00:30:56,145 --> 00:30:57,230 See you on the bottom. 517 00:30:59,482 --> 00:31:01,317 BILL (off-screen): While I'm working my way down 518 00:31:01,401 --> 00:31:02,652 the lead team is out there 519 00:31:02,652 --> 00:31:05,697 exploring deeper into the cave than humans have ever been. 520 00:31:07,991 --> 00:31:11,995 (rushing water) 521 00:31:11,995 --> 00:31:13,955 ADRIANNE: Look at this bedrock. 522 00:31:15,665 --> 00:31:18,334 WOMAN: Yeah. SEAN: We got a, a lead up there. 523 00:31:19,878 --> 00:31:22,964 For once the cave is branching out into a lot of directions. 524 00:31:22,964 --> 00:31:25,925 Uh, it's a watershed moment in the history of Chevé potentially. 525 00:31:26,426 --> 00:31:27,427 This is really cool. 526 00:31:27,427 --> 00:31:30,346 Like, we could have really good going passage most of the way 527 00:31:30,430 --> 00:31:31,472 and this is Colin, he's... 528 00:31:31,556 --> 00:31:32,807 - COLIN: You ready to go? - SEAN: He's the real man. 529 00:31:32,891 --> 00:31:34,225 COLIN: You got it, we got... We go caving together. 530 00:31:34,309 --> 00:31:35,977 (laughter) 531 00:31:43,484 --> 00:31:45,153 SEAN: How's it looking up there, my friend? 532 00:31:45,737 --> 00:31:47,572 (shouts) (echos) 533 00:31:48,156 --> 00:31:49,282 That's nice borehole. 534 00:31:49,407 --> 00:31:51,159 MAN: I, I think we need to go investigate that. 535 00:31:51,159 --> 00:31:53,119 I'm gonna look in this pocket over here. 536 00:31:56,581 --> 00:31:57,957 (coughs) 537 00:32:00,293 --> 00:32:01,669 ADRIANNE: Holy (bleep). 538 00:32:07,342 --> 00:32:09,052 (shouts) (echos) 539 00:32:09,385 --> 00:32:11,054 SEAN: The passage gets bigger! 540 00:32:14,182 --> 00:32:15,600 Keeps going, huh? 541 00:32:17,518 --> 00:32:19,896 COLIN: Five kilometers of borehole, this is what it sounds like. 542 00:32:19,896 --> 00:32:23,149 (shouts) (echos) 543 00:32:25,234 --> 00:32:26,194 - SEAN: Not bad. - WOMAN: Fast. 544 00:32:26,778 --> 00:32:30,073 SEAN: The chambers were finding now are insanely big. 545 00:32:30,323 --> 00:32:33,451 100 foot high room right here. 546 00:32:34,327 --> 00:32:37,246 And then this room that Adrian's going up into, 547 00:32:37,580 --> 00:32:39,916 is double the height of that. 548 00:32:40,708 --> 00:32:42,085 Light her up Adrian. 549 00:32:42,710 --> 00:32:44,462 Wow. 550 00:32:46,756 --> 00:32:47,966 Holy (bleep). 551 00:32:49,092 --> 00:32:51,552 - That's a giant mountain. - ADRIAN: Yes. 552 00:32:52,053 --> 00:32:53,680 (laughs) 553 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:54,847 SEAN: What do you think? 554 00:32:55,139 --> 00:32:58,768 ADRIAN: It's amazing, Chevé is unstoppable. 555 00:32:59,018 --> 00:33:01,688 - REILLY: Unstoppable! - (laughs) 556 00:33:04,273 --> 00:33:10,571 SEAN: The borehole is 60 meters tall, 50 meters wide. 557 00:33:12,031 --> 00:33:15,284 REILLY: I think this is likely one of the better days of caving 558 00:33:15,368 --> 00:33:17,078 I will ever have in my entire life. 559 00:33:18,204 --> 00:33:19,455 We broke the Chevé depth record. 560 00:33:19,539 --> 00:33:22,542 SEAN: We, yes, we made a cave deeper today. 561 00:33:24,836 --> 00:33:26,421 Wo-oh! 562 00:33:29,465 --> 00:33:34,470 ♪ The way is wide and open ♪ 563 00:33:35,930 --> 00:33:37,098 SEAN (off-screen): You know, when you sing, 564 00:33:37,098 --> 00:33:39,392 it's like there's a chorus in the cave. 565 00:33:40,601 --> 00:33:42,228 So we named it Harmony Hall. 566 00:33:43,062 --> 00:33:48,693 ♪ The way is wide and open ♪ 567 00:33:48,693 --> 00:33:52,363 ♪ ♪ 568 00:33:55,241 --> 00:33:57,160 BILL: Another day in the dirt, huh? 569 00:33:58,703 --> 00:34:03,124 Yeah, it was a good night's sleep, just a lot of pains that weren't there before. 570 00:34:03,124 --> 00:34:05,918 Some point here, we keep going at this pace we’re all gonna 571 00:34:06,002 --> 00:34:09,005 get up and just say, "My muscles don't work." 572 00:34:13,843 --> 00:34:16,721 But, I guess until we run out of cocoa we can still get up, huh? 573 00:34:16,721 --> 00:34:17,847 WOMAN: Yeah. 574 00:34:19,682 --> 00:34:21,893 BILL: Come on Camp six, tell us you got something. 575 00:34:24,812 --> 00:34:26,105 KATIE (over radio): Camp six to Base camp. 576 00:34:26,189 --> 00:34:27,273 BILL: Ah, here we go. 577 00:34:28,024 --> 00:34:30,276 SEAN (over radio): Hey Bill, so we made the cave deeper 578 00:34:30,276 --> 00:34:33,446 and we mapped 2.1 kilometers yesterday, over. 579 00:34:35,114 --> 00:34:38,826 BILL: Very nice. Uh, is it linear or is it, uh, labyrinthine? 580 00:34:40,078 --> 00:34:41,621 SEAN (over radio): Uh, sort of both. 581 00:34:42,830 --> 00:34:44,582 SEAN (off-screen): We had been in this giant, giant room and 582 00:34:44,582 --> 00:34:46,834 now all of a sudden it came to this little tunnel. 583 00:34:48,044 --> 00:34:50,171 And at the bottom was a pool of water 584 00:34:50,171 --> 00:34:52,298 and that was the end of the cave. 585 00:34:53,174 --> 00:34:56,344 It was a sump. A place where the water fills up to the ceiling. 586 00:34:57,261 --> 00:34:58,262 But there was hope. 587 00:35:00,431 --> 00:35:05,603 There's a huge dome here with a possible passage coming in up there as well. 588 00:35:06,104 --> 00:35:07,563 SEAN (over radio): So there's a lead up there. 589 00:35:09,816 --> 00:35:12,026 SEAN (off-screen): Up on the walls were tunnels. 590 00:35:13,027 --> 00:35:17,073 The challenge was that these tunnels were really high up the wall. (laughs) 591 00:35:17,949 --> 00:35:23,538 COREY: Our plan was to just attack that, uh, climb with, with guns blazing... 592 00:35:23,538 --> 00:35:27,542 COREY (over radio): Because it does seem to be, uh, the best option. 593 00:35:27,542 --> 00:35:31,879 BILL:How far total up the wall, vertical, uh, are you at your highest point? 594 00:35:32,380 --> 00:35:35,883 COREY: It goes up about 40 vertical meters, over. 595 00:35:37,301 --> 00:35:39,095 BILL (over radio): That is a long way up. 596 00:35:42,765 --> 00:35:44,642 BILL: It seems right now that we gotta go climbing. 597 00:35:50,231 --> 00:35:51,607 We'll see ya on the flip side. 598 00:35:53,693 --> 00:35:56,154 Nobody has been able to figure out a way onward. 599 00:35:56,988 --> 00:36:01,617 The only thing that we can think of is that we have to try 600 00:36:01,701 --> 00:36:04,745 an extremely tall overhung climb. 601 00:36:05,621 --> 00:36:07,248 If we're gonna make this the world's deepest cave, 602 00:36:07,248 --> 00:36:09,125 that's the way we have to go. 603 00:36:12,128 --> 00:36:14,922 ♪ ♪ 604 00:36:15,006 --> 00:36:17,383 (overlapping chatter) 605 00:36:17,925 --> 00:36:19,427 SEAN: What do you think of Camp six, Bill? 606 00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:22,638 BILL: Well, based on all the stories that I heard 607 00:36:22,722 --> 00:36:24,599 somebody did some serious engineering. 608 00:36:24,599 --> 00:36:26,017 SEAN: Oh yes. 609 00:36:27,310 --> 00:36:29,645 BILL: Yeah, it's, it's got some charm. 610 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:38,362 So is this thing right here, the, the climb? 611 00:36:38,988 --> 00:36:40,239 COREY: Yeah, the top part of it. 612 00:36:40,781 --> 00:36:45,745 BILL: I agree with Corey. The, of all the indicators are that that chamber is it. 613 00:36:45,745 --> 00:36:47,246 It's where it's gotta go. 614 00:36:47,330 --> 00:36:50,333 Yeah, days are ticking. We gotta get out there now. 615 00:36:50,333 --> 00:36:53,127 I mean normally, you know, it's my position to kinda hang back 616 00:36:53,211 --> 00:36:56,589 and let everybody, uh, do their thing, uh, but right now, 617 00:36:56,589 --> 00:36:57,757 we're kinda down to the point where 618 00:36:58,257 --> 00:37:01,844 if we lose a day, we lose the opportunity to get deeper. 619 00:37:03,763 --> 00:37:05,389 SEAN (off-screen): What we're doing in here in Chevé 620 00:37:05,598 --> 00:37:09,769 requires a massive siege effort. A huge expedition 621 00:37:10,228 --> 00:37:14,357 and I've been sort of in a secondary leadership role in a lot of things. 622 00:37:16,442 --> 00:37:19,695 For Bill to be underground someone has to be responsible 623 00:37:19,779 --> 00:37:22,907 and be on the surface and he's asked me and Bev to take care of it so. 624 00:37:24,867 --> 00:37:26,744 Yeah I have to go to the surface. 625 00:37:28,746 --> 00:37:32,375 Which of course, I'm not happy about. But that's how it goes. 626 00:37:33,209 --> 00:37:36,295 SEAN (off-screen): This is a team effort and I think everyone on the expedition 627 00:37:36,379 --> 00:37:38,422 has that mentality even if some of us might have 628 00:37:38,506 --> 00:37:41,550 different opinions about how things should be done. 629 00:37:42,426 --> 00:37:46,597 The worst is having to leave a discovery when it's being explored and 630 00:37:47,056 --> 00:37:50,643 the excitement is not just the first moment, 631 00:37:50,643 --> 00:37:55,147 the excitement is the, um, experience of mapping as you go and, 632 00:37:55,231 --> 00:37:56,857 you know, what's around the next bend. 633 00:37:56,941 --> 00:37:58,985 MAN: No, this, this is definitely going. 634 00:38:00,653 --> 00:38:03,281 SEAN (off-screen): Its really something to be a part of this project and, 635 00:38:03,281 --> 00:38:06,575 and to be able to have the privilege of, of pushing that frontier. 636 00:38:20,798 --> 00:38:24,969 BILL (off-screen): It's a six hour commute just to get to where the action is. 637 00:38:28,180 --> 00:38:29,807 Don’t do anything that’s gonna bring a rock down on us. 638 00:38:29,807 --> 00:38:31,600 AMY: Yeah, I'm gonna try really hard not to. 639 00:38:32,101 --> 00:38:34,937 BILL: I hear anything move, I want you to get the heck out of there. 640 00:38:36,439 --> 00:38:38,607 We're going into virgin territory. 641 00:38:39,317 --> 00:38:42,194 You can step on a rock the size of a house and have it 642 00:38:42,820 --> 00:38:44,864 roll over on you and I've actually had that happen. 643 00:38:46,157 --> 00:38:49,368 BILL (off-screen): But I have an agenda and that is to prove that this is 644 00:38:49,452 --> 00:38:51,120 officially the world's deepest cave 645 00:38:51,620 --> 00:38:53,581 because it's out there to be had and you know what? 646 00:38:53,581 --> 00:38:55,583 We're in a position where we can take it. 647 00:39:03,924 --> 00:39:05,176 Let’s scout around. 648 00:39:08,137 --> 00:39:09,889 We are, I would expect, 649 00:39:10,681 --> 00:39:12,767 officially at the site of Camp seven. 650 00:39:16,187 --> 00:39:20,649 BILL (off-screen): You could vaguely make out a whitish appearance on the roof, 651 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,445 white crystals that suggested that there was a tunnel up there 652 00:39:24,445 --> 00:39:26,072 with air flow going through it. 653 00:39:28,157 --> 00:39:31,452 We set Camp seven at that site so that we could wake up in 654 00:39:31,452 --> 00:39:34,205 the morning and climb up the wall of that chamber. 655 00:39:34,205 --> 00:39:36,207 Get into that tunnel and then keep going. 656 00:39:37,958 --> 00:39:39,377 COREY: So we have one day of food. 657 00:39:39,377 --> 00:39:41,962 We're short on all rigging supplies. 658 00:39:42,963 --> 00:39:46,717 BILL (off-screen): Nobody has ever camped that far inside a cave before. 659 00:39:48,260 --> 00:39:51,555 We have a gigantic logistics problem where it might take 660 00:39:51,639 --> 00:39:54,600 seven to ten days or more to get the supplies that we need 661 00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:58,437 down to the bottom of the cave and by that time it's too late. 662 00:39:59,855 --> 00:40:05,486 And so, the weight of remoteness is on your mind when you're down there. 663 00:40:06,904 --> 00:40:12,660 But, uh, you have to realize that these are precious opportunities. 664 00:40:14,954 --> 00:40:20,668 We are privileged to be here right now quite frankly. 665 00:40:20,668 --> 00:40:27,091 This is the furthest north anybody has been in this cave system and, uh, 666 00:40:28,134 --> 00:40:31,095 with a little bit of luck we’ll find a way on right up there. 667 00:40:38,436 --> 00:40:40,563 COREY: I reckon we'll climb up there. 668 00:40:41,397 --> 00:40:43,983 BILL (off-screen): This climb is our last chance to find an exit 669 00:40:43,983 --> 00:40:46,694 out of this room and deeper into the cave. 670 00:40:47,570 --> 00:40:51,574 What we're looking for is a way how to get up into that hole, 671 00:40:51,824 --> 00:40:53,617 60 or 70 meters up in the roof, 672 00:40:53,701 --> 00:40:55,911 that looks like it's the main continuation of the cave. 673 00:40:57,413 --> 00:40:59,039 All right, here we go. 674 00:41:06,255 --> 00:41:10,259 Now that we're here, uh, we see that there are two waterfalls coming in 675 00:41:10,843 --> 00:41:14,763 that, uh, might actually be a shorter route up the wall, less bolts. 676 00:41:16,140 --> 00:41:18,017 Can't predict anything at this point. 677 00:41:18,017 --> 00:41:20,561 We're just gonna try ‘em all and one of ‘em 678 00:41:21,145 --> 00:41:22,771 might be the one that makes the connections. 679 00:41:29,028 --> 00:41:30,112 All right-y. 680 00:41:30,196 --> 00:41:31,655 MAN: How much rope is up there and how much do you need? 681 00:41:31,739 --> 00:41:33,908 - GILLY: About 40 meters is up there. - COREY: We got 40, plus 30. 682 00:41:33,908 --> 00:41:36,994 GILLY: We are running low on, uh, on resources. 683 00:41:37,745 --> 00:41:40,206 GILLY (off-screen): Food, rigging bolts, rope. 684 00:41:40,456 --> 00:41:43,501 BILL: How many you got there? Couple of extra carabiners. 685 00:41:43,501 --> 00:41:45,127 - GILLY: Six. - BILL: That's it, yeah? 686 00:41:45,628 --> 00:41:47,505 GILLY: Yep. BILL: We are... 687 00:41:47,505 --> 00:41:48,756 Are we ready? 688 00:41:51,300 --> 00:41:54,011 The entire team is counting on us, 689 00:41:54,512 --> 00:41:57,515 so we're gonna burn whatever resources we have. 690 00:41:59,725 --> 00:42:01,936 COREY: Bill's definitely, uh, built for this. 691 00:42:01,936 --> 00:42:05,272 I mean he's, he has the optimism, he has the determination 692 00:42:05,856 --> 00:42:07,566 to make stuff like this happen. 693 00:42:10,653 --> 00:42:16,659 PABLO: It takes a certain personality and Bill has a determination like no other. 694 00:42:22,289 --> 00:42:25,167 BILL (off-screen): There has to be a way out of this room. It's too big. 695 00:42:25,417 --> 00:42:27,169 There's too much air going into it, 696 00:42:27,253 --> 00:42:30,756 that there has to be some sneak hole in the ceiling 697 00:42:31,340 --> 00:42:32,508 that is the way on. 698 00:42:32,508 --> 00:42:35,594 And so we gotta get up there and get the team an answer. 699 00:42:38,847 --> 00:42:43,102 ♪ ♪ 700 00:42:46,647 --> 00:42:48,691 ♪ ♪ 701 00:42:50,067 --> 00:42:51,527 GILLY: Woo-hoo! 702 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:55,531 BILL: You're out there beyond support. 703 00:42:56,031 --> 00:42:57,866 So if you have a time sensitive injury, 704 00:42:58,659 --> 00:43:02,454 say a compound fractured leg, forget it. 705 00:43:03,831 --> 00:43:06,500 We're beyond a point where rescue is possible. 706 00:43:07,751 --> 00:43:09,753 (drill whirring) 707 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:15,467 BILL (off-screen): I was scared to the point where I had to tell myself 708 00:43:15,551 --> 00:43:19,430 to focus on what the hell I was doing because there was nothing but 709 00:43:19,763 --> 00:43:23,142 crappy rock and mud all over everything. 710 00:43:23,142 --> 00:43:26,353 Very few places to put bolts or anything else to hang on. 711 00:43:26,979 --> 00:43:31,275 (hammering) 712 00:43:33,986 --> 00:43:35,988 GILLY (off-screen): Meanwhile, I'm kind of looking at the lead 713 00:43:35,988 --> 00:43:38,866 from the bottom and shining my light up and kinda getting a sense 714 00:43:38,866 --> 00:43:41,577 for where we're going because it's so dark in this room, 715 00:43:41,827 --> 00:43:43,954 that we can't even see where we're trying to climb to and that's 716 00:43:44,663 --> 00:43:48,250 one of the huge challenges of doing a dome climb in a place like this. 717 00:43:48,334 --> 00:43:49,793 You can't see where you're going. 718 00:43:50,669 --> 00:43:53,380 We have not... 719 00:43:53,464 --> 00:43:55,674 Five meters! 720 00:43:55,841 --> 00:43:58,761 BILL: Five meters! Okay, thank you. 721 00:44:00,763 --> 00:44:01,847 BILL (off-screen): We didn't have enough rope. 722 00:44:02,306 --> 00:44:04,516 It was like half the length of what we really wanted. 723 00:44:04,892 --> 00:44:07,978 And you're getting tired and your legs are getting constricted. 724 00:44:08,062 --> 00:44:10,189 And the blood is not flowing through your legs 725 00:44:10,189 --> 00:44:14,109 and you can only hang in a harness for so long in a free-fall position like that. 726 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:18,447 And it was like, looking up, I realized there was like, 727 00:44:18,447 --> 00:44:21,992 six or eight bolt placements to go and Gilly's telling me 728 00:44:22,076 --> 00:44:24,995 you got three meters of dynamic rope left. 729 00:44:30,918 --> 00:44:33,087 BILL (off-screen): And there's no easy way to bail out from that 730 00:44:33,420 --> 00:44:37,091 other than hanging on a single rock bolt 55 meters off the deck. 731 00:44:37,466 --> 00:44:39,593 And trusting whether that crappy rock is gonna hold that bolt 732 00:44:39,677 --> 00:44:41,261 while you try to get out of there. 733 00:44:41,345 --> 00:44:44,723 So there was a lot of complicating thoughts going on 734 00:44:44,807 --> 00:44:46,975 in my mind while I was doing it. 735 00:44:56,276 --> 00:44:59,738 We reached it with just a very short bit of, of rope to spare. 736 00:44:59,822 --> 00:45:01,699 - Okay! - GILLY: Whoa! 737 00:45:01,699 --> 00:45:03,742 BILL (off-screen): Finally finished that last piece 738 00:45:03,909 --> 00:45:07,955 to get the answer and, unfortunately, it went up and walled out. 739 00:45:11,417 --> 00:45:12,918 MAN: Grab the rope. 740 00:45:20,884 --> 00:45:23,178 - BILL: Oh my God. - GILLY: So? 741 00:45:24,430 --> 00:45:25,973 BILL: (bleep)! 742 00:45:28,016 --> 00:45:29,643 (moaning) 743 00:45:30,853 --> 00:45:32,521 (sighs) 744 00:45:35,315 --> 00:45:37,526 GILLY: Well this is it. We're out of bolts, we're out of rope, 745 00:45:37,526 --> 00:45:42,614 and that down there is a drop we can't free-climb down. 746 00:45:44,158 --> 00:45:45,659 BILL (off-screen): This is the end of the line. 747 00:45:46,201 --> 00:45:48,537 We're out of supplies and out of options. 748 00:45:50,080 --> 00:45:51,498 We spent the entire month of April 749 00:45:51,582 --> 00:45:53,459 with some of the best cavers in the world, 750 00:45:53,459 --> 00:45:56,628 by far, uh, down there and we struck out. 751 00:46:00,090 --> 00:46:02,009 That climb was supposed to go. 752 00:46:05,429 --> 00:46:07,431 Shot a lot of resources on that. 753 00:46:10,601 --> 00:46:13,145 What I really wish I had is like, 754 00:46:13,896 --> 00:46:16,148 through rock 3-D vision. 755 00:46:17,274 --> 00:46:19,693 Just see that it's right over there. 756 00:46:23,322 --> 00:46:25,240 BILL (off-screen): You never conquer anything down here. 757 00:46:25,324 --> 00:46:27,075 If anything the cave conquers you 758 00:46:27,576 --> 00:46:29,077 and so you go back and say, "All right, 759 00:46:30,287 --> 00:46:32,372 - we couldn't get through this time. - What do we do to get through next time?" 760 00:46:33,290 --> 00:46:34,541 We're out of here. 761 00:46:35,584 --> 00:46:37,419 GILLY: Was a good, good last day. 762 00:46:40,881 --> 00:46:44,843 COREY (off-screen): I remain convinced that it is 100% possible, uh, 763 00:46:44,927 --> 00:46:46,887 to get that world depth record here. 764 00:46:47,554 --> 00:46:49,223 If you believe something's there, if, 765 00:46:49,223 --> 00:46:52,684 if you believe it's worth doing, then you're gonna keep trying 766 00:46:52,768 --> 00:46:56,355 to do it until, until you either do it or die. 767 00:46:57,898 --> 00:46:59,441 BILL (off-screen): You know, the thing that happened this year 768 00:46:59,525 --> 00:47:02,611 that was an epic, in my mind, 769 00:47:02,736 --> 00:47:06,782 was that we discovered 20 kilometers of gigantic new tunnels, 770 00:47:06,782 --> 00:47:10,160 the scale of which are unprecedented even in this cave. 771 00:47:23,549 --> 00:47:26,760 There's no question about this project continuing. 772 00:47:26,844 --> 00:47:29,888 It is a multi-decadal, multi-generational project 773 00:47:30,389 --> 00:47:36,353 that has the allure because it is the hardest damn thing 774 00:47:36,353 --> 00:47:38,814 going in exploration. 775 00:47:45,445 --> 00:47:46,488 ALL: Hola! 776 00:47:46,572 --> 00:47:48,115 BILL: Hola, my friend. GILLY: Hola, my friend. 777 00:47:48,115 --> 00:47:50,742 (cheering) 778 00:47:51,159 --> 00:47:53,161 BILL: Good to be back in base camp. 779 00:47:53,829 --> 00:47:54,997 Oh yeah. 780 00:47:55,497 --> 00:47:58,542 - BEV: Hi. How are you? - GILLY: Good. 781 00:48:02,629 --> 00:48:03,922 (grunts) 782 00:48:09,303 --> 00:48:10,971 GILLY: I think it'll be good to, 783 00:48:10,971 --> 00:48:15,183 to not put, put myself in this outfit every day. 784 00:48:15,267 --> 00:48:16,351 (laughs) 785 00:48:17,227 --> 00:48:19,688 BILL: Oh. Phew. 786 00:48:19,938 --> 00:48:23,901 MAN: My back is probably the, is probably hurting the most right now. 787 00:48:36,538 --> 00:48:39,416 PABLO (off-screen): Chevé's the first cave I've ever been to 788 00:48:39,416 --> 00:48:42,294 and it was pretty awesome to experience it. 789 00:48:43,462 --> 00:48:46,423 I love filming true expeditions 790 00:48:46,423 --> 00:48:48,634 where you don't know what the outcome is gonna be. 791 00:48:48,634 --> 00:48:52,804 We're not fabricating a story. This is, this is real exploration. 792 00:48:52,888 --> 00:48:58,477 I mean I, I feel pretty damn lucky, you know? (laughs) 793 00:49:02,230 --> 00:49:05,525 BILL: Mmm. Oh jeez. 794 00:49:08,028 --> 00:49:11,323 If we could have this at underground camp we'd still be down there. 795 00:49:14,910 --> 00:49:20,666 BILL (off-screen): What I wanna do is be here for that special moment 796 00:49:20,999 --> 00:49:26,171 when we realize the entire exploration from the entrance to the resurgence. 797 00:49:26,171 --> 00:49:28,966 That, that will be special and that would be worth being here for. 798 00:49:31,009 --> 00:49:32,344 And that will happen. 799 00:49:32,344 --> 00:49:34,513 You know, whether it happens in one year, 800 00:49:34,513 --> 00:49:36,682 two years or ten years it's gonna happen. 801 00:49:36,682 --> 00:49:39,017 This will be the world's deepest cave. 802 00:49:40,811 --> 00:49:47,651 ♪ ♪