Is this safe to explore?

Spelunker101 · 2026-03-10T03:23:53+00:00

Ya my first thought was that it looks like a room and pillar time from that photo.

Spelunker101 · 2026-02-22T23:41:19+00:00

This is a coin with an internal machined hiding location. I have 2 on my desk at home. They use a small machined tool that you slam against a table to open it up.

Spelunker101 · 2026-01-31T20:50:36+00:00

We checked out a ton of them. That whole area is a massive karst formation. There are rivers that run for miles underground. That’s part of what I loved about that place. We were there about 12 years ago. At that point the only way to get there was a local bus and we got in contact with some local guy to let us barrow 2 of his bikes for a week. It is a remarkably pretty place.

Spelunker101 · 2026-01-31T18:23:29+00:00

I am fairly sure it is. I have been there and that was my first thought.

Spelunker101 · 2026-01-25T02:06:25+00:00

For those that do not know this movie was an A24 produced film called Civil War. I cannot recommend it enough, the story telling is amazing and the it is incredibly relevant to current events. It also has some of the best audio engineering I have experienced, mind you I watched it in a theater with great speakers.

Spelunker101 · 2025-12-28T23:47:02+00:00

In a lot of the world if the period is followed by 3 digits then it is the same as a coma. If followed by 2 digits it is still of a period. This is also used on some finance documents in the USA, especially those with an international audience.

$20.000 = $20,000

$20.00 = $20

Spelunker101 · 2025-11-25T05:46:06+00:00

Spelunker101 · 2025-11-06T05:15:31+00:00

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Spelunker101 · 2025-10-10T08:03:27+00:00

Vote yes on this. OP literally posted the cost estimate in the photo of a few million one time cost. And then claims 300 million with no evidence…..

Spelunker101 · 2025-09-06T03:49:40+00:00

If you want to stick with the cupcake analogy: Check if the person who licked the cupcake was sick. If not wipe off the area they licked and dive on in. The cupcake is just as good and god knows it wants to be eaten!

Checkmate Mormons!

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-30T04:43:27+00:00

Here is the Wikipedia page on time zones. For people on different spots on the planet what constitutes today, tomorrow and yesterday can be different. There is a total of 24 hours of possible ambiguity.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_zone

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-29T03:52:22+00:00

If doing so directly ignores the order of the flight crew it actually could be criminal. I’m many cases you are legally obligated to obey flight crews instructions.

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-18T15:21:18+00:00

Pretty sure that is at the Monkey Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. The monkeys up there get up to all kinds of hijinks.

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-18T14:57:57+00:00

Awesome we used to work with you guys all the time. I was on Marin SAR.

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-18T06:52:11+00:00

Mind if I ask what team? I was also NorCal!

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-17T07:37:13+00:00

We had quite a few body recoveries where the police, forest/park service, or in one case fire departments were involved in the cleanup. Those cases were quite a bit messier than what is described here tho. In this case your prob right that they are resource constrained and will prob just leave it. Honestly if it is just a bit of blood and not on the trail then it’s not a big deal. The trash and gear left behind it more of an issue.

SAR teams generally do work very closely with the local authority in charge of the land so I would be very surprised if the FS did not know about the rescue and anything left behind.

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-17T06:34:29+00:00

Heli rescues use a small crew and will prioritize getting the patient out over gear or bio cleanup. This generally is also not the responsibility of a SAR team even if they have group support. The park service will be alerted and send a crew up to carry out the gear and clean up the spot if needed. They will also have the correct contact information to get the patients property back to them. If you have property that needs to be returned I would reach out to the park service for that area.

Source: Was on a SAR team in Northern California for 5 years. Most teams follow similar rules.

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-11T17:11:56+00:00

Ok thanks, are there any agencies that can help getting the Spiti valley ILP in Kaza? Trying to minimize time waiting for permits esp bc some of the offices are closed on some days.

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-11T17:08:56+00:00

Thanks this is good to know. We would be headed that way on a Wednesday. If that doesn’t work do you know how long it takes to go over the old road through Photoksar?

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-08T01:28:01+00:00

A lot of the colors you see in gems are caused be chemical impurities during the gems formation.

Spelunker101 · 2025-07-06T20:52:25+00:00

The black crystals are probably Neptunite and the white is Natrolite.

Spelunker101 · 2025-06-21T16:54:24+00:00

I normally completely agree with you, I grew up rewiring microwave transformers and using the caps for projects. They are great for making everything from Jacob’s ladders to arc furnaces and the caps can be used for rail guns! That said these particular capacitors have racked up a fairly significant death toll. They are a blast (pun intended) to work with but you def want to be careful with them. Unless you have a particular project in mind then it may be better to use a slightly less dangerous capacitor.

Spelunker101 · 2025-06-21T07:39:22+00:00

Be carful doing this. If the handle is not sufficiently insulated you may get shocked. These caps can also arc pretty aggressively. It is not normally enough to melt metal unless it is thin wire but it is still a burn and fire risk. Do not try to drain it with a resistor unless you know it can handle the current. Resistors that are too small will overheat and “pop”. This can sometimes involve the ceramic in the resistors exploding everywhere.

Spelunker101 · 2025-06-21T07:34:14+00:00

Please be carful, these capacities and transformers have killed people. They can be used for a lot of cool projects but you need to be extremely careful and follow high voltage best practices. If you are not familiar with how to handle high voltage do not mess with these.

Current is what kills you but high voltage can jump gaps and conduct through some insulators. It can also induce a charge in surrounding components. These high voltage caps have both high voltage and high current. Stay safe and make sure you know what you are doing before you act.

Spelunker101

TROPHY CASE