Online Virtual Reality Caving

There are several virtual tours of caves online.  Perhaps you have seen them.  One in particular has spectacular images while some others leave a bit to be desired.  This tour of a cave starts with preparations for caving and then from the entrance of the cave, you decide when to move forward, turn left or right, up or down.  Each step of the way is about 5 feet of progress through a nicely decorated cave.  Because there are at least four pictures taken every five feet (forward, left, right and back), I selected a small cave with a few side passages and some turns to make it interesting.  It turned out to be a lot more work than I initially planned, not only in complexity but in presentation.  It is very close to an actual cave trip from the beginning to finishing up by calling your emergency contact after exiting the cave (that is, if you find your way out before you run out of battery power).  You can sign the registry and see who has been in before you.  You can also learn and exercise some conservation efforts and select what gear is appropriate to take with you on such a trip.

Thanks to the crew of people who helped me over the course of more than a year in order to produce it.  The virtual caving tour can be found online at the York Grotto website.  Click on the video below or here to try a virtual reality experience of caving.  Iit starts with properly preparing for the cave trip and is educational as well as entertaining.

See a run through of the Virtual Cave above.  Click here when you are ready to try spelunking in the online caving experience.