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"Cave of the Swallows" Revisited This year's expedition built heavily upon experience gained in 1995 by several returning members. Coupled with an experienced cadre of new jumpers, the trip resulted in 41 jumps among 7 jumpers with no injuries. Compared with only 6 jumps total made the year before, it was a quantum leap in progress for the site. Much of this improvement came from an improved winch system built by Randy Pacheco and Mark Lichtle, two veterans of the cave and the expedition's organizers. Starting by powering the new model with an 8 horsepower engine, complete with custom gearing and rope capstan, the pair devised a new winch that proved capable of sub-10 minute pulls out of the cave to retrieve jumpers. Last year's expedition relied on an underpowered "free floating" winch that kept jumpers hanging on the rope for 45 minutes at best, a very unnerving experience for BASE jumpers used to relying on their parachute equipment but not a rope system. Another reason behind the improved jump numbers this year was attitude. Although the site is quite intimidating even to an experienced BASE aficionado, several newcomers proved their mettle when faced with "the hole." "When I first got here and looked over the edge," said Max Hurd, the least experienced BASE jumper of the group, "I thought, who the hell thought I could jump this!" After watching several others go before him, however, Hurd bit his lip and stepped off into the void. He had plenty to think about. In addition to the fact that the cave is 360 degrees around a jumper at all times and dark at the bottom, it has a small landing area with even worse outs. Failure to make the 60' by 25' flat spot among jagged boulders would mean impact on a steep slope and certain injury at best. The logistics of handling an injured person at Golondrinas take on nightmarish proportions. Besides extraction from the cave itself, the unfortunate party would face the unpleasant experience of being manhandled over boulders along a path to a rough dirt road, with another hour's bumpy transport to the nearest telephone. At this point, the closest hospital equipped to handle an emergency would still be two hour's drive away in Ciudad Valles. These considerable factors notwithstanding, several other new jumpers to the site enjoyed the rich reward of conquering the cave's intimidating nature. Seth Blake, Vladi Pesa and myself all made our first subterranean leaps and put to rest all the scuttlebutt that precedes such an endeavor. We had been told about the illusion that the cave presents to the newcomer. Without any right angles or manmade objects to aid the eye in determining distance, the cave's shape is distorted and the walls look much closer than they really are. Poor lighting at the bottom 1100' below lends few other reassuring clues as to the exact nature of the site. "Until you've been here, you don't know _ _ _ _," quipped Blake as he was pulled to the surface after his first look at the bottom. All new jumpers were required to make a rappel to check out the landing area first. Once the setup of the winch and landing area were accomplished, jumping preceded straight-away. Initial nervousness gave way to a boogie atmosphere as each new jumper "passed through the door" and each veteran reacquainted himself with the fact that the cave is indeed doable. By the second day of jumping, an accuracy contest was started, stable exits became back layouts and members started leaping from different spots around the edge. Ensuing days saw front-flips, two-ways and several different tree exits. It seemed everyone wanted to try something new. Every evening brought a bumpy ride back to the small pueblo of Aquismon, subsequent quantities of cheap beer and various gastrointestinal delights as only rural Mexico can provide. Jumping at the cave was only sporadically interrupted by occasional rain and bird holds. At times, most often in the early morning, massive quantities of sparrows exiting their evening roost presented a hazard as they spiraled out of the cave. Off-heading openings were few and largely caused by poor body position after exit gymnastics. These and one line twist incident were all handled admirably, however, by the experienced participants. Excellent openings and accurate landings must also be attributed to the fact that the expedition was 100% equipped with Mojo canopies manufactured by Consolidated Rigging. The parachutes performed extremely well and were perfect for the site. A stylish BASE container provided for the trip by Stunts Adventure Equipment was also put through its paces with good reviews. In fact, the scariest incident of the whole expedition occurred to myself through poor stowage of excess brake line on the risers. After a stable and on-heading opening, I unstowed my toggles to find my left steering line wrapped completely around both left risers in a knot. Looking up at something I had never seen before--and with the ground coming up fast--I quickly resorted to risers only and navigated to the landing area for a rough touchdown close to target center. A good PLF, combined with the inherent stability of the canopy, saved me from injury. Further inspection after landing revealed that the excess steering line from brake stowage must have come loose on opening and whipped completely around both risers on opening, forming the knot when I unstowed the toggle and inadvertently pulled it through the loop. Better packing, better light conditions and better awareness could have prevented the exciting moment. Most of the other excitement apart from jumping came as jumpers were extracted from the cave. Confidence in the retrieval system's safety rested squarely with David Schlossman, or "Squirrel," who once again accompanied the jumpers and oversaw rope safety. An experienced rock climber and the owner of a climbing gym in Davis, California, Squirrel performed the critical task of ensuring no one went for an unintentional, final plunge into the cave. He also provided a large amount of climbing gear for the rigging. When the time came to pack up and head home, members of the expedition policed the landing area to leave no trace of their presence, save a few dents in the bird guano. This included packing out a significant amount of garbage left by others. One item left intentionally by the party was a time capsule built by Randy Pacheco. Team members stuffed various memorabilia in the sealed container to be opened in the year 2100. The cave's deteriorated logbook container was also replaced with a new waterproof model. As the expedition hauled out the large quantity of gear necessary for Golondrinas, preparing for an arduous drive through the mountains to Mexico City and return to the "land of the free" where BASE is still overwhelmingly illegal, we realized we had been a part of something very special. Veterans and novices of the cave alike had combined to form a smooth-running team that overcame the unique problems jumping at the cave presents. As Eric Rushing put it, "Last year we learned. This year we jumped." By Eric Lee
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