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Cave Surveying

Cave surveying is a technical caving discipline: teams measure stations, distances, bearings and inclinations, sketch passages and create maps. It is more survey and expedition practice than standardised competitive sport.

LevelDiscipline FamilyOutdoor Sport CategoryOutdoor sport

AI-generated illustration: Cave Surveying — AI-generated illustration

Classification

Category Outdoor sport

Family Outdoor Sport

Level Discipline

Getting started

Kurzbeschreibung Technical cave cartography with survey stations, sketches and team roles.

Geeignet für Suitable for people who like caves, maps, data and careful teamwork.

Cost Medium: base kit is often borrowable through a club; survey tools and backup lights are essential. Caving kit, light systems, survey instruments, software/tablet, club fees and trips. Speleo/caving club, NSS/BCRA survey group, cartography workshop or cave project. Do not present as a race or standard contest; source base remains technical/caving-based.

First progress Stations and measuring routine after a few trips; good maps take much practice.

Fitness level medium

Was du brauchst

caving base kit
helmet with light and backup
Disto/tape
compass/clinometer
notebook or tablet
experienced team

First steps

learn caving basics
join a survey team
practise setting stations
check measurements
process sketches afterwards

Speleo club, BCRA/NSS survey group, cave club or cartography workshop.

Work only with experienced team, access permission, callout, backup lights and conservation-minded conduct.

Weitere Angaben

Aliases cave mapping, cave survey, Hoehlenkartografie, Cave Survey

Tags outdoor, cave, navigation, cave-surveying-sport, outdoor-sport, cave-surveying, hoehlenvermessung, hoehlenvermessung-und-kartografie

Rules and format

Die Grundlagen

Ziel

Survey cave passages safely, document them and make them cartographically useful.

Teilnehmer

small survey teams.

Teamgröße

usually 3+ depending on cave and safety.

Spielfeld

cave system.

Dauer

Depends on format and event.

Wertung

no match scoring; survey quality by accuracy and completeness.

Gewinnbedingung

Best valid time, placing or score in the announced format.

Ausrüstung

helmet/light
survey instrument
compass/clinometer
notes/mapping material

Wichtige Regelpunkte

access without permission
ignoring callout/safety
recording incomplete data
damaging cave

Regelquellen

Federations and sources

Federations

British Cave Research Association (BCRA)
National Speleological Society Survey & Cartography Section (NSS SACS)

Cave Surveying British Cave Research Association · surveying-guide · high
Survey & Cartography Section National Speleological Society · section-guide · high
Cave Surveying Jewel Cave National Monument / National Park Service · field-guide · high