Editing Cave digging (section)

{{Short description|Enlarging cave openings}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2009}}
[[Image:Notts2up.jpg|thumb|Looking up the entrance shaft of Committee Pot entrance to Notts II Cave on [[Leck Fell]] which was dug after divers had accessed an extensive cave system below]]
'''Cave digging''' is the practice of enlarging openings of [[caves]] to allow entry. Cave digging usually begins with a survey of mountains and valleys in [[karst topography]] searching for new caves, with the goal of creating accessible entrances.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.virginiacaves.org/vss/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=208|title= Chapter 1 - Searching|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website= Virginia Speleological Survey|access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref> Whether outside an inaccessible cave or inside an already accessible cave, when a space are evident on the other side of a blocked passage, there are various possible ways to widen an entrance: including rearranging rocks and the use of explosives.<ref>{{cite conference |first=William K. |last=Jones |title= DIGGING: GUIDELINES FOR CAVERS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS|format=DOC |conference=National Cave and Karst Management Symposium |pages=88–91 |date=31 October 2005 |location=Albany |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&context=kip_talks |access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref>

The area around digs may be unstable, and it must often be shored up with scaffolding or concrete to prevent it collapsing again. This can be a dangerous activity.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.virginiacaves.org/vss/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=209|title= Chapter 2 - Digging|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website= Virginia Speleological Survey|access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref>