E085 Robbie Schmittner - Understanding the Caves of Yucatan

Speaking Sidemount

Hey, great to bring you Episode 85 with the support of our sponsor XDEEP and the patrons of Speaking Sidemount. Massive thanks to both for their support of the show that makes all of this possible.

It was super cool to do this episode with renowned cave explorer Robbie Schmittner. Robbie has spent the last 25 years exploring the caves of the Yucatan peninsula and has mapped literally hundreds of km of flooded passage. Along the way, he has been responsible for connecting cave systems that have become the largest explored cave systems in the world including Sac Actun and Dos Ojos.

This experience has given Robbie a unique perspective on cave exploration and a deep understanding of the caves of the Yucatan and how they are formed.

In this episode, Robbie gives us some background on how he came to Mexico and then we discuss his early days of cave diving including his time with cave legend Bil Phillips. We discuss many of Robbie's achievements including the Sac Actun-Dos Ojos connection before Robbie provides what I can only describe as an unbelievably compelling view into his theories on how the caves of the Yucatan were formed. He tells us how he is using this information to inform his current exploration. Robbie has published a paper on his theories and I will try and get this to you all separately.

We talk about the all-female Xu nan Ha expedition before Robbie gives us his perspectives on the use of closed circuit rebreathers in cave diving and his recent experiences training with Edd Sorenson and Patrick Widmann on the KISS Sidewinder.

Thanks again, Steve