Norbert Casteret (1897–1987)

[b:Ten Years Under the Earth|10004324|Ten Years Under the Earth|Norbert Casteret|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1293188252s/10004324.jpg|14899438] by [a:Norbert Casteret|1972430|Norbert Casteret|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] is a true classic of cave exploration literature from the 1920's and 30's. Casteret was a master caver who made many important discoveries, both of caves and of paleontological artifacts within caves. This edition includes a number of excellent photos, especially so given the era they are from.

Modern cavers will shudder at the techniques Casteret used and the risks he took. However, he was also very good at turning around and leaving a cave for later when it got too dangerous. I would have liked more details in his descriptions of the caves, and cave maps would have been a great help, but this is still an outstanding book.… (més)

Inherently thrilling subject matter. The translation is dry, but I have to assume the original text probably wasn't all that gripping to begin with. What carries the book forward in spite of itself is the author's enthusiasm, and his immunity to the fear that any normal person would experience. You imagine him all alone, a half mile under ground, with nothing but a candle and a sheaf of matches, not terrified but excited by the darkness and the million tons of rock hanging over his head, and you want to keep reading.

I enjoyed reading his amateur scientific musings, which were based largely on inferences from his own experience and intuition. For example, writing from a time before the principles of echolocation were understood, Castaret speculates that bats might feel small perturbations in the air, allowing them to navigate at high speed in total darkness.… (més)

Norbet Casteret's "The Descent of Pierre Saint-Martin, tells a fascinating story of the exploration of a cave in the Pyrenees, which was found to be one of the deepest caves (at the time anyway.) The story follows the 1951, 1952 and 1953 expeditions to the cave -- beginning with the tragic loss of Casteret's best friend and fellow speleologist Marcel Loubens. Loubens died due to the failure of a clip on his harness, so he plummeted to the cave bottom and broke his back. A good portion of the book focuses on the efforts to recover Louben's body. Casteret's description of the cave exploration strikes just the right balance between being the technical and the descriptive, making the book really engrossing. The final chapters of the book detail some of his other finds while caving, and I actually liked this half of the book even better. This book is out of print and hard to find, but a worthwhile read.… (més)

Disjointed series of essays describing the extreme abilities and pseudo-scientific speculations of the Pyronnean caver Norbert Casteret.

Originally written as two books in French in the 30s this is the first english translation published in the 50s. Each chapter covers either a different topic and or cave. Some caves Norbert explored on his own or with family - plenty of namecheck to the great speleolgist A E Martel - some as part of hydrological scientific or industrial research and some chapters are just general descriptions of artefacts found within caves. I found the artifact chapters fairly un-interesting. There was little description of the cave in which they were found and many of the speculations on the causes are now know to be wrong. I had assumed that even as long ago as the 30s they knew bats echo-located by sonar - but apparently not. How accurate some of the pre-history speculations are I'm not in a position to judge.

the most fascinating aspects of the book are the hardships and technical skills Norbert displays in his attempts to explore various Pyranesse caverns. The technology in the 30s was extremely limited - a cloth bump cap, a candle and very unreliable carbide light. The icy mountain streams were often braved naked - clothes trapping and holding too much cold water! And sumps free dived in the dark on the hope that they would go! Enduring such hardships is remarkable. Managing to convince mothers and wives to join you as a support crew is nothing short of miraculous. Norbert does confess to feeling 'ungentlemanly' as he stood on his wife's shoulders in hob nailed boots to ascend one boulder pile. Descents were made by lowering himself hand over hand, or in really long cases by the assistance of a pair of friends to physically lower the rope tied directly around him! Despite these obsticles he managed to penetrate great depths and found many important streamways.

The most jarring note is the casual contempt Norbert has for the geological treasures he passes. No-one in this age would raid caves for the crystal, but Norbert has no compunction about taking such treasues as cave pearl's home with him.

The slightly dry style of understated explanation is very suitable in such extreme sporting conditions. More detail could have been provided in some areas, but overal it's a fascinating account of one man's hobby and struggle with the challenges of various underground locations.… (més)