Red Bulletin UK 5/21

Cave exploration
Klaus Thymann is 300m inside an
underwater cave in Mexico, 10m below
dense jungle, navigating a constricted
passageway that’s barely bigger than he
is – around 60cm from floor to ceiling.
The Danish-born photographer and cave
diver is shooting what are likely to be
prehistoric human bones, so he has had
to adopt a plank position with his arms
outstretched, using his lungs to control
his level in the water; if any part of him
touches any surface, he could destroy
these artefacts by disturbing silt that
could also leave him with zero visibility.
Under this intense pressure, Thymann
– who estimates he has spent several
hundred hours in caves like these during
his career – is the most stressed he’s ever
been on a dive. But he knows that if he’s
unable to stay calm, he’ll get through
his supply of air too quickly and there’s
a high chance he could drown.
This is cave diving at its most extreme.
Cave exploration is a better description,
since most of the routes Thymann and his
diving partner Alessandro Reato survey
have not yet been mapped, making the
pair the first humans in modern history
to lay eyes on whatever awaits them
around the next dark corner. “Your body
screams panic in these situations,” says
Thymann. “You are underwater, in
darkness, in a confined space, so stress
levels are high. But your survival depends
on your being calm. You have to develop
the skills to subdue that intuitive fear.”
Squeezing expertly through spaces
small enough to make most wince, these
underwater explorers are willing to go
where most can’t or won’t, carrying with
them all the equipment they need to
avert disaster if something goes wrong
– and things often do. “It’s not really a
question of if, but when, something will
go wrong, meaning you just have to be
prepared for it,” says Thymann. “There
is no dive buddy. I frequently squeeze
through gaps so small I have to tilt my
head sideways, and in that position
another diver can’t get to you.
“When it comes to kit, we have at
least two of almost everything. Two is
one, one is none, as we say. Packing and
preparation are done with military
precision, as even a little thing can be
what saves the day. I don’t like risks. I work
methodically and don’t deviate from my
protocol – that’s how I justify doing this.
I plan, I prepare, and then of course I’ve
had extensive professional training and
Top left: you can’t see it from the
air, but beneath the dense jungle
there’s access to the underwater
caves. Above: they may be filled
with air, but the dive tanks weigh
more than 10kg each, meaning
they’re ferried to site one by one
44 THE RED BULLETIN