Text|High baby.
In the belly of the Winster Mountains in Bavaria, Germany, there is such a cave, known as the Richentin Cave.
The Riesendin Cave is located more than 1,000 meters down from the entrance of the cave at the top of the mountain, and then 6 kilometers deep horizontally, and it is also the longest cave found in Germany at present, with a maximum depth of 1,148 meters and a total length of 193 km.
Today's story is happening here.
On June 8, 2014, 41-year-old Meyer, 52-year-old Lao Wei, and 37-year-old Pony met for an adventure in Winster Mountain. Their purpose is clear, to explore every corner of this cave.
It's the nature of explorers, and it's a belief.
It was a long-awaited expedition, and as top spelunkers, their operation went very well at first: first they passed a huge cave lake, and although the water temperature was close to freezing, they were able to enter the vertical sinkhole as scheduled thanks to the hovercraft.
During the descent, their ropes would often scrape small gravel off the rock face. In order to avoid falling small gravel hitting their companions below, they slowed down their descent. After about 10 hours, they reached the very bottom of the cave safely.
The three of them were so excited that they couldn't take a break, so they continued to explore the depths of the cave in one go.
After more than 6 kilometers of travel, a high platform appeared in front of him. But just after Lao Wei climbed the high platform, an accident happened: a lot of gravel suddenly fell from the top of his head, and one of them hit Lao Wei's head hard.
Although he had a safety helmet, Lao Wei immediately fell to the ground unconscious, and he couldn't even breathe.
After being rescued by Meyer and Pony, Lao Wei finally regained his breathing, but the severe brain ** caused half of his body to be paralyzed, and his speech ability was almost lost.
What to do?
If you want to bring Lao Wei back to the top of the mountain, it is absolutely impossible to rely on the strength of Meyer and Pony alone. Not to mention the 800-meter vertical cave wall, it is very difficult for one person to go up, and if you carry another person, it is unimaginable.
So, they decide to split up: Meyer, who is in better health, returns the same way to call for help, and Pony stays behind to serve as Old Way's life guard.
Time is of the essence, and with every extra second, Lao Wei is one step closer to the ghost gate, so Meyer immediately set off.
He first spent three hours quickly passing through more than 6 kilometers of parallel tunnels, and in the process, he kept climbing up and down, drilling holes and passing through cracks, not only carefully avoiding falling rubble overhead, but also always being careful not to fall into the surrounding dark holes.
After walking through this parallel tunnel, the next step is to challenge the more difficult vertical sinkhole.
The sinkhole is 800 meters high, which is equivalent to the height of a 200-story building. Before, they came down as three people, reminding and encouraging each other, and with gravity, it took them 10 hours to reach the bottom of the sinkhole.
But when you go up, it's a completely different story.
However, it was unbelievable that Meyer also climbed the sinkhole in just 10 hours. In fact, it is very, very dangerous for him to do this, because once he lacks physical strength, he may miss his hand, and the result is unimaginable.
But at this time, Meyer couldn't care about it so much, and he only had one belief in his heart, that is, to climb up desperately, and strive for every minute, every second.
Eventually, at noon on June 9, Meyer finally crawled back to the ground.
From the moment he descended the cave, he walked through the cave for 26 hours without sleep, and he was exhausted.
As soon as he got out of the cave, Meyer turned on his phone, but there was no signal at the top of the mountain. He could only hold his mobile phone, gritted his teeth and ran all the way to the halfway point of the mountain, only to find a weak mobile phone signal.
However, the rescue team members are all mountain rescuers and have no experience in caving. And they also don't have the equipment to go down the cave.
What to do?In the end, he desperately ran to the rescue team office at the foot of the mountain and sent a request for help to European countries through the computer.
As soon as the news spread. Ten or ten spread hundreds, and soon received a response from many cave explorers. Since June 10th, private explorers from five countries, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Italy and Switzerland, have spontaneously rushed to the local area.
On the 10th alone, 70 people gathered, and in the end, more than 200 explorers with caving experience came to Winster Mountain one after another.
On June 11, a temporary headquarters was erected on the top of the mountain. At this time, Meyer, the iron man who had not slept for 48 hours and had climbed the cave for 26 hours in the middle, finally fell asleep peacefully.
At this time, the temperature in the cave is only 3 degrees, and it is getting lower and lower.
The pony set up a simple tent in a gentle place, and wrapped his sleeping bag and blanket around Old Wei's body. Despite this, Lao Wei's body was still trembling.
The pony lit a small stove again, and kept boiling hot water and filling a warm water bag on Lao Wei's chest and abdomen to keep him warm. But Lao Wei's condition is still getting worse and worse, and he stops breathing from time to time, and Pony can only give him CPR over and over again.
Twelve hours passed, and suddenly a bright light entered the cave.
Could it be Meyer coming back?
The pony was pleasantly surprised, but when he looked at it, it was a stranger.
The stranger was the explorer Schwartz, and when he went down the cave, Meyer had not yet climbed out of the cave, but they did not encounter it because the Lysentine cave had several forks in the road.
With Schwartz, along with his blanket, small stove, and food in his backpack, ponies feel much more at ease, and they take turns guarding Old Way.
Twenty-five hours later, the first group of 11 cave explorers descended to the cave, bringing more warm gear and food.
However, explorers alone are not enough, and professional doctors are needed most now. There are many professional doctors, but there are not so many professional doctors with caving experience.
The German Mountain Rescue team contacted a neurosurgeon – Michael. After hearing what happened, Michael didn't say a word, packed his luggage in only 10 minutes, and then rushed to Winster Hill in a helicopter.
Then, without a minute's delay, he put on his back the improvised medical equipment and began to go down the hole.
Finally, 40 hours after Lao Wei was injured, Dr. Michael rushed to his side.
With professional doctors and medicines, Lao Wei's life can be saved, but how to take Lao Wei out of the cave?
It took two full days to develop a rigorous plan, and then the more than 200 explorers began their rescue operation – what has been described as "the world's most difficult rescue operation".
First, the expedition sent more than 60 people into the cave.
Step 1: Plan the route and clean up the rubble in the cave.
Step 2: Install the slide rails. Because the terrain in the cave was too complicated, the rescue team used a total of 15,000 meters of ropes, 2,000 carabiners, 1,500 bolts, 60 pulleys, and 400 foot pegs to complete the transportation route.
Most of this equipment was donated by the mountaineering team, while the rest was the explorers' own equipment.
Step 3: The rescue team found a coffin, firmly fixed Lao Wei's head and body to the coffin, and then tied the coffin to the shockproof stretcher.
During the transportation, the rescue team designed a total of 5 stops, where stretchers can be placed, and rescuers also have space to rest.
At 5:38 p.m. on June 13, five days after Lao Wei was injured, his stretcher finally set off.
It took people almost 10 hours to get to the first rest point, and after a 30-minute break, they continued on their way. However, the road ahead was so difficult that it took them 20 hours and they didn't make it to the second break.
They couldn't walk anymore, so they had to rest in place for seven and a half hours, and then it took them nearly another five hours to reach the second resting point.
After the doctor's careful**, Lao Wei people looked much more awake, however, the most difficult part of the road was also waiting for them - climbing the sinkhole.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I arrived at the third rest point, something happened again: in the early morning of June 16, the sky suddenly thundered and thundered, and it rained heavily. The rain spread down the cave opening, and the walls of the cave became extremely slippery, making it even more dangerous.
However, they knew that once they started to climb vertically, they had to climb up to the hole in one go. They kept changing people, both men and women, and all members of the rescue team were involved in the rescue.
At 7:45 a.m. on June 17, they finally reached Rest Point 4, and then it took nearly another 30 hours to reach Rest Point 5.
On the way, when encountering uneven places, the rescue team members acted as human sandbags, bending their backs under the stretcher.
The rescue team members used their bodies to turn the world's most difficult cave into the safest passage of life in the world.
At 11:44 a.m. on June 19, after six long and difficult rescue days, the stretcher was finally carried to the entrance of the cave. People used hand-cranked pulleys to transport the stretcher little by little to the hole.
When the stretcher was carried out of the cave, all the people were calm, they simply clapped their hands in celebration, and then continued to silently carry the stretcher to the level ground of the hillside.
After 12 days of life and death, Lao Wei was finally safely put on a helicopter and left Mount Winster.
It wasn't until after the plane took off that the tears of the rescue team members burst out of their eyes and they silently hugged each other with relief.
After two months, Lao Wei's body has basically recovered, and there are no obvious sequelae.
In an interview from his hospital bed, he first expressed his gratitude to the 728 people from five countries who participated in the rescue, especially the 200 explorers in the lower cave.
However, the vast majority of these rescuers left on their own after attending a celebration without even leaving their names.
When Lao Wei expressed his gratitude to Schwartz, Schwartz said that there was nothing to thank, and since he had caught up, he could not turn a blind eye.
Finally, Old Wei says that he wants to thank Meyer and Pony the most, because without them, he wouldn't have made it out of the cave alive.
But Meyer and the pony's answer is very simple, they say: We are friends, we came together, of course we will go back together.
How precious is life?
I believe that after listening to this story, everyone will have the answer in their hearts.
Your ** is the greatest support.
About the Author:At the age of 15, he was admitted to the Graduate School of Chinese University of Hong Kong, and has 20 years of experience in Chinese education.
She single-handedly trained her daughter to become a first-class honours degree from the University of Hong Kong
Master of Education, School of Education, University of London, ranked number one in the world.
Only one year after graduation, the little girl's annual salary has reached 500,000.
Sister Baobao's parent-child education article is warm and powerful, helping you to suddenly open up on the road of parenting and avoid detours.