Deep, The Story of Stormy Pot

[@huwjones6541]

Still my favourite caving film! Absolutely brilliant Kieran!

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Yep mine to. They were great times and it was a fun film to make thanks :-)

[@jonathancarr7239]

Thanks Kieran for a great trip through Stormy Pot - Nettlebed! I really like this video.. it communicates not only the extreme amount of effort, the nature of the cave.. but the best thing about caving, a team of great people!

[@vidviewer100]

Best caving film ever! Can't wait to watch part 2. Thank you team

[@NewZealandWild]

Can't help watching this over & over again. So many people I know, and I can feel it all as if I was there,the hope, the wonder, the pain & frustration. But its so cool to see all those faces & places again. I'll never forget my 97 Nettlebed trip with Andy Matthews & Dave Jackson. We abseiled into Blizzard Pot, snow all around,sheets of ice falling off the walls of the top pitch,then pitch after pitch (10 in all I think) down to the incredible expanse of the cavern they call Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ,then down the ever so stable looking (NOT) Funk Hole,through Diamond Alley,then down the Antlion pitch,and up the magnificent Hammer Heights to SoftRock Cafe. Then down via Salvation Hall to the bottom of Jacobs Well,through the Hinkle Horn Honking Holes & out the Nettlebed entrance. The size of the cave inside that mountain is truly staggering. And KUDOS to you bwave splorers. You guys are No Way Jo Bloggs's off the street. A very special breed indeed ! You wouldn't get me doing that stuff !

[@jeffandlucywilliams5082]

This project reflects the one that connected the Flint Ridge and Mammoth Cave systems in Kentucky. Took years, but eventually found success! Best wishes to those NZ cavers

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thanks for your kind words of support. We did in fact make the connection.

[@speleokeir]

Excellent video. Love the rant at the end and a brave man at 21:28, I diagnose a serious case of willy inversion! My best mate spent a year in NZ a few years back and joined a local club in order to get his fix of caving. Something he said about the experience has always stayed with me: "It's reassuring to know that wherever you go in the world, caving clubs are full of the same eccentrics, freaks and weirdos you get back home!"

[@timluttrell4000]

I appreciate this video of the underground. Whether or not you succeed in connecting the two cave systems your efforts have unveiled wonderful beauty and from my perspective that made it worth it. Wish I could have been with you all on these trips!

[@becamicusack3598]

Really really good, rare quality of something so important and so often disregarded, caves and tombs are the new space, the new frontier, and I am glad you made this to share your travails.

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thanks for your kind words Ben. Underground is a beautiful place and it is very exciting standing at the edge of the known world then stepping into the true unknown

[@cgreenland05]

I'm hooked, such a great story.

[@survival_of_the_sickest4448]

hahaha the McDonald's rant at the end killed me 😂 what an amazing adventure, thanks so much for taking us along

[@leegalea9724]

Lovin your exploration down south there. Feeling all those emotions, as we do up here potting and exploring now here in Spain. We are 150m from connecting in Cueva Vallina to sistema la Vega. Great report, hope you connected the two systems.

[@Piratetreasures]

✨ A brilliant film of a determined, supportive team of pioneering explorers. So impressive! ⚡

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thanks Fiona, really appreciate the kind words

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

That was a really amazing project, one of the best I have been involved with. Thanks for watching and writing some comments cheers Kieran

[@omegajuice2209]

So interested in seeing the next long form piece you and your team of cracking crazy caving kiwis put together. Great video! I've watched it many times now and I consider it one of the best caving videos I've seen. Your work is much appreciated :)

[@duaneayers6117]

These guy's are the real OGs to when going caving. The people who goes into caves today have the luxurys of making caving as to walking in the park.

[@charlenedaugherty1458]

Not sure when this was filmed so does anyone know if they ever did find a connection. What a great film. Please continue to take us exploring

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thanks for watching :-) we did make the connection. I do have all the footage of it and i will put together the finale. Just trying to scrape up some motivation. :-)

[@bigbenlorax]

33:35 monologue = BRILLIANT. Great doco.

[@tonyjoel985]

Well done guys.....loved the video, keep us updated

[@raymac6262]

Excellent film and storytelling. I much enjoyed this. Well done! I look forward to learning more about any additional work that might have been done in the area. - Ray MacNeil, Toronto Caving Group, NSS# 66458

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thanks Ray. If you watch the video about windrift, this is a glimpse of what we are up to in the cave next to the stormy pot nettlebed system

[@neoclassica2700]

Thanks for the upload. Excellent.

[@proudchristian77]

Be so careful you guys, ☕🍯🍶 coffee yum ! & have fun ! 🎈🎈🎈

[@NewZealandWild]

Congratulations on making the connection Kieran The result of years of hard work & sheer determination, laced with lashings of passion & adrenaline .... not to mention courage (we keep telling ourselves its not stupidity,right ?) You guys have bigger balls than I ! Thats some way scary s...t you were getting into there. Even I would balk at some of that stuff ! I guess you'll have been in touch with Guinness World Records by now. Well, done, and congrats to you all .... Kieran McKay, Neil Silverwood, Troy Watson & Heidi Godfrey

[@KennelTube]

Very good story, very inspiring! Regards from Hungary

[@effoffutube]

I imagine the cavern at the bottom with crystal growth indicates no connection that way.

[@darcgibson5099]

Where do you relieve yourself in these camps? there can't be many good locations that don't somehow connect to the water you'll be traversing through, and the smell can't be great with the ventilation... Do you get much wind through deep caves, if any? 25:28 is absolutely terrifying. Awesome stuff, man. There really seems a specific type of person who gets in to spelunking, got that little tinge of crazy with their character haha! I thought of something that I personally thought was quite clever: calling the sport 'Grave diving'. Whaddaya think of that?

[@uncle1886]

You bring out what you bring in…..hint hint hint…

[@DebrinaDiary1]

That was awesome to watch! Hope the connection is made this year, aye?

[@kimblanchard8857]

It was in the Manawatu standard and I got this video off his Facebook page. They made it, Kieran something.

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Connection made last week!! Regards Kieran Mckay

[@MatsOland]

Awesome stuff! Seen the vid two times now. Whats the song at 4:15 btw?

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

That song, light up your carbide baby was written for the original TVNZ production of Soft Rock Cafe

[@MatsOland]

@@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving i see, thanks! 🙌🏻

[@TheOrionStar]

Really interesting. If you're staying within the cave where do you go for a number 2? do you also leave a lot of stuff down there or do you try and bring it back up?

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Number twos are simple, we go in a bag and carry it out of the cave 😊 while we are exploring a cave we will leave camps set up with sleeping bags, foam mats and cookers. Also the cave will remain regged. When we are finished we pull everything out

[@ritialydia]

Hey there Kieren. So sorry Mahone and I dinged your oxygen tanks on your underwater surveying expedition in Waitomo. We were star struck amateurs. Regards, (Grandma) Dorinda.

[@Chrizzletrizz]

Thank you :-)

[@missionron]

Now these men are cavers.

[@rexremedy1733]

Caves are important! We need caves...

[@wookwookey1150]

What gear did you use to make this vid? We've tried to record expedition caving in Austria and I know how hard it is to do well. The quality, and the editing are both really impressive. And how far off was the survey at the connection? :-) Anyway - absolutely top job. I've spent years not finding bloody connections too.

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Hi there, Thanks for your message. We used a variety of cameras from a fuji fine pix which we used initially three years ago,(still has the best sound) it was the first camera we found that was cheap and HD. We then moved onto using a Canon 5D, go pros and and Panasonic lumix point and shoot and a sony HD camcorder. Now we use the latest gopro the 5D and a olympus T2. We are finding the small cameras better with capturing the gritty full on caving stuff as it happens as long as there is plenty of light and these days with good LED lights this is easy. After capturing the real stuff we go back with the 5D and shoot the nice stuff like interviews, scenics and big chamber shots. Editing I used final cut pro on a macbook air (much too small for the job it was insanely frustrating!!) The biggest challenge was getting the team used to being on camera and that took a couple of years, now they are all excellent and work well in front of the camera and setting shots up. Everyone just instinctively knows what to light up and how which makes a huge difference and the shooting does not interfere to much with the caving. The surveys ended up being incredibly close....25 metres out horizontally and 4 metres vertically. This is over a 10 k loop! If the GPS coords for the entrances had been correct we would have made this connection a couple of years ago. We didn't believe that uing the old method tape, compass and clino could be accurate!! We are going to make another one about the connection and the through trip which we will be doing in a few days. This connection is only the start, we have higher entrances and another big system 6 km away that has been proven to connect with dye. So there is some pretty exciting caving ahead of us. Good luck with your project. If you want any help let me know Cheers Kieran

[@shekeyra100]

wow why so low views this is incredible

[@darkcognitive]

Awesome, did u ever manage to make the connection?

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thanks. Yes we did. We made the connection in January 2014. We dug our way into the end Corolation street passage from the Nettlebed side. I am trying to motivate myself to out together the story ion the actual connection. Hopefully it will come soon

[@alison__16]

@@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving would love to see that :)

[@anonintellect9882]

Brilliant!

[@jamessmith530]

O yes looks fun 🤩

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

It was what I would call type 2 fun at times. It was an awesome period in our lives

[@tomhorseman9832]

Wait till the day you realize, that "caving" is simply finding a path through, around, and even under ancient MELTED mega structures.

[@edgeplay4205]

You dont camp on the ridge as that zephyr comes thru at 3am and dies at first light.

[@paulplatt5074]

GREAT!

[@hulksmash6594]

When she chucked that rock down the hole, I thought haven't you watched the Lord of the rings?? Don't disturb the goblins and orcs

[@shekeyra100]

to never find the opening after all the years of looking would be soul destroying to walk away for me but imglad its been found in 2014 congrats guys just sad no video just slide pics

[@Kiltoonie]

In Nelson now: are you around tomorrow for a drink?

[@unorthdoxcleric6953]

If you PAUSE the video AT 13.21 it looks like a the Entrance has a face. I would of called it Devils Face Entrance.

[@speleokeir]

Excellent!

[@danegarreau]

Fingers crossed!!!!!!

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thanks for watching. We actually made the connection in January 2016. I am very slowly putting that story together for a doco.

[@mainemade300]

Should call it Mordor ftom the LOTR sence it's in New Zealand ,an you know

[@LouisMills]

at 1:35 the explorer's helmet light is pointing directly at a statue head, the facial features are clearly visible

[@JS-wo1ol]

thats a rock sir.

[@d1nkum340]

its jesus !!!!!!!!!!! HE RETURNED!!!!!!!!!!!1

[@shekeyra100]

could you not of moved the rocks in the big room and got people down there to clear it

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thanks for your message. Too many rocks

[@garlandremingtoniii1338]

As I stopped ✋the 🛑 video at 8:50 I couldn’t help but think of John Jones that became firmly trapped / lodged deep inside the “NUTTY-PUTTY-CAVE In Utah. The reason I bring this up is because I’m not very far end of this video and already I’ve watched so many men barely just barely make it through some of these holes? Passages? I don’t really know what you call them. I just know that I’m not very far into this video, And already there are places where you men could have died. To me it’s simply not worth trying to prove anything and run up against the risk of getting stuck down inside a cave like John Jones was. Nutty Putty is a hydrothermal cave located west of Utah Lake in Utah County, Utah, United States. Formerly popular with cavers and renowned for its narrow passageways, Nutty Putty has been closed to the public since the 2009 John Jones horrible accident of him getting firmly lodged down inside of it. And some of America’s best rescuers and equipment at that time could not get him out. Short of breaking both-of-his-legs. Finally after much serious high-level discussions with these experts including with the family members the decision was made to give him a serious tranquilizer and break his legs. In a-nut-shell, knock-him-out. Then break his legs 🦵. Both legs. 🦵 🦵 in 2 places. John, was in medical school back in Virginia so he was kept abreast of everything they were discussing since he would have been a doctor within two years if they could’ve got him out. And of all things, he was in Medical School to become of all things, an Orthopedic Surgeon. There were several things concerning his situation that could not have been worse. First of all the passageway that he was stuck in was absolutely horrible. John was a sizable guy and by that I don’t mean he was fat he was it. But, he worked out and was muscular. He was 6 foot 2 inches tall and weighed a solid 190 pounds. The passageway he was stuck in, was barely wide enough for him to get his body head first down inside. Up to just past his waist. And then, to get father down inside the passageway which she thought he was in the right passageway but he wasn’t and he didn’t know this until it was too late. He’s sucked his chest, shoved forward, thinking he would drop on through. But, He didn’t. He became 100% fully, Firmly lodged. Then he exhaled and THAT. WAS. IT. STUCK. LIKE CHUCK. As cavers say here. He could not move left or right. Nor forwards or backwards. His left arm was extended forward. His right arm was firmly under his body. He was on his stomach. He was at an angle not quite 45°. And he was slowly suffocating to death. But at the time he didn’t know this and neither did anybody else. But, the angle he was at kept all the blood pumping down to his head and, it had a hard time pumping it back up, out of his head and back to the other parts of his body. He died in this position almost 24 hours later. By the time they made the decision with medical doctors back at a hospital in Salt Lake City and a major trauma center over the satellite phones and a prominent doctor had been flown in by helicopter to supervise the breaking of the legs and then to twist his body after it was oiled up and pull him out, by that time that it was a go, he was dead. And, since it was so dangerous of the locations that he was at, his family decided for safety sake to leave his body inside the cave and then cover the cave and cement it up. It’s John Jones own TOMB. His wife was there on-site through it all. Lori.

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thank you Garland for the effort you have taken to explain your feelings. I have seen the Nutty Putty cave story, what we have been doing may be perceived to be the same, fortunately the caves we explore are nothing like Nutty Putty and I assure you we all want to go home to our partners and families. Kind regards Kieran

[@preston2636]

@@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving I'm from Utah County, 5 or 10 miles from the nutty puttt cave. We love ozzys and new zealanders here. We have a large Polynesian population in Utah too, maybe not like New Zealand but please visit Utah someday. We would enjoy the company of nice explorers and we have soooo much to explore.

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

@@preston2636 I did visit Utah a few years back. Yes very beautiful place. Stayed in Zion for a couple of days before heading down to the see the giant trees. Love to get back there one day

[@Titan52berg]

Beware of the Crawlers!

[@somphothbsiratsamy3748]

Not a bad spread for dinner

[@jaws2858]

Amazing. Astronauts got nothing on these explorers.

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

The whole world watched as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. When we step off into the unknown, noone is watching, we are completely alone. I like that.

[@uncle1886]

“As you can see, we’ve lit 30 lbs of candles in order to burn up as much oxygen as possible.”

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thank you very much for watching and taking time to leave a comment. The candles are not burning up our oxygen. There is in fact a lot of air movement through the cave, generally in periods of fine weather the air moves from the top entrances down through the cave and out the bottom. There is so much air moving it creates gale force winds at times in the smaller parts of the cave. Our campsite is in an area where there is good airflow which is a blessing and a problem as the moving air is quite cold. The candles themselves are vital for our sanity and for relaxing our minds ready for a good nights sleep. The LED lights we use for our main lighting source during our :"day" are very white and research has shown that white light stimulates the brain, whereas the yellow light of a flame relaxes the brain. Maybe this is why blokes for a long time have enjoyed sitting around a fire and just looking at the flames :-). Thanks again, regards Kieran

[@NewZealandWild]

Awesome ! Brilliant work Kieran ! Great to see you're still into it. Still doing a wee bit myself too. Taking loads of nature pics as well. Should have a new book out soon. Check my latest uploads, & my pics on Flickr ( stevereekie.co.nz will get you there ) Stay safe buddy :)

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Thans for your comments Steve...connection made last week Kieran

[@garlandremingtoniii1338]

You guys needed much better TENTS LOL 😆 NORTH FACE. Or, Patagonia. Or this tent. Considered the very best for the weather conditions you folks fine yourself in. “Engineered to shelter 2 climbers in unrelenting alpine conditions, the Mountain Hardwear Trango 2 tent is the durable, comfy, dry and easy-to-assemble choice for your next mountaineering adventure. DAC Featherlite® extruded aluminum poles have high strength-to-weight ratio and are anodized with a proprietary method that reduces wastewater and the use of harmful chemicals Color coding makes for easy pole setup. Direct connection point secures tent body, frame and fly at each guyout point for a solid connection between all 3 components. 2 dual canopy/mesh doors; 2 vestibules. Large dry-entry vestibule is supported by a sleeved internal pole on one side; provides ample headroom and gear storage; snow flaps seal out spindrift. Small rear vestibule is handy for tent access, overflow storage and vent manipulation. Catenary-cut seams create a taut canopy and rainfly for improved strength. Fully taped fly, taped perimeter seams, welded corners and welded guy clip anchors create a watertight shelter. Bathtub-style nylon floor provides the best possible weather protection to help keep you and your gear dry. Internal tension shelves provide strength and storage to keep your tent organized; gear can be stored off the floor using internal mesh pockets.” www.rei.com/product/164815/mountain-hardwear-trango-2-tent

[@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving]

Our tent was crap, we knew that and suffered the exciting consequence of our camp being destroyed by the storm. It was super exciting and at times really funny. For example; my mate troy was sitting down making cheese sandwhiches. He would disappear in a maelstrom of wet nylon during the huge gusts, when the wind eased and the tent slowly picked itself up he would be ready wth sandwhich in hand to pass to us. Now you wouln't get that experience in an expensive alpine tent :-). The best place for us was underground and that's where we headed. No wind, rain or snow down there.

[@garlandremingtoniii1338]

@@KieranMckayNewZealandCaving Lol Kieran you would fit right in here in Wyoming.

[@Sickboy000000]

what a terrible slang.