Cave of Crystals

Have you ever looked at a fantasy drawing of a cave, and the artist always adds larger than life depictions of crystals jutting out of all ends in the cavern? What if I told you that place is real? That's right! A cavern in Naica, Mexico of quartz crystals of gargantuan sizes was accidentally stumbled upon by over 2000 miners searching for silver and lead. Lying 900 feet below the the earth's surface, and having a humidex value of 228 degrees Fahrenheit, this is considered one of the most extreme enviornments on the planet. Without the protection of a special cooling suit, your body cannot shed internal heat, so you would literally be dying as you step inside, and death would come in a mere 15 minutes. Even with the suit, you could only withstand a maximum of 45 minutes. The exploration crew in charge of this cave takes extra preparations and precautions to ensure a safe exploration of the site. Records must be kept of each crew member entering through the steel door at the entrance and how long they have been inside. Lighting must be set up around the perimeter so the crew can see and mind their footing, since the crystals are very slippery due to the high humidity, and one slip could prove fatal, for the crystals are sharpened to deadly points. Paramedics are on standby near the entrance when any member has entered, and will monitor their status when they exit. The suits themselves are custom made, with several layers of protection, the first being an insulated vest protecting the individual from frostbite due to the icepacks attached in one of the layers, which is a special gel    that is frozen to cool the body's core temperature. Then there is a layer of overalls that is insulated and tough to protect the icepacks and the body from the sharp crystals and the heat. Then comes a backpack with insulated foam and frozen metal ice bottles with a fan blowing over them into a hose and facemask, allowing the individual to breathe the chilled air as long as the bottles remain frozen.
The writer of this entry on http://www.stormchaser.ca/caves/naica/naica.html was indeed one of the explorers that got to go inside, and he described his experience thus:

Actually going inside, wearing the suits and exploring the cave was a dream come true. I've never seen such a spectacular place. It was like setting foot on a new planet. Many of the crystals were so large that I couldn't even wrap my arms around them and the terrain was so difficult to walk on that we had to be extremely cautious not to slip and fall. Doing so would could get you impaled on a sharp crystal and would require a dangerous and difficult rescue.

 

Each minute you stay inside, the more unbearable it gets. You begin to breathe heavy, your hear rate jumps up and sweat is pouring down your hands. I was actually concerned that the sweat was going to short circuit my camera. It becomes easy to get confused and disoriented from the heat and your higher cognitive functions start to shut down. When you finally leave the cave, your body is so weak that all you want to do is lie down and drink. Dehydration is an obvious concern and I was amazed at how many liters of water I drank.

If you got to see something so spectacular, would you risk your life to do it? And how did such a beautiful and deadly place form?
500,000 years ago, the cavern was completely underwater, before the mine pumped out the water, which is the exact lifeline of this cave: when the mine is no longer viable, the pumps will stop, and all the 55 ton 36 foot long crystals of selenite and gypsum will be destroyed. So, why is it so hot down there? The cavern lies along a fault line, wherein lies a magma chamber right below the cave. The chamber heated up by the magma and the groundwater full of saturated minerals, and allowed for a stable enviornment so the crystals could grow in the water, until the miners broke into the cavern in 2000, awaking to cavern from its 500,000 year slumber.
For more information, watch the excerpt of it in the special Angry Earth, or at www.furiousearth.com. The person responsible for writing the article is also the main speaker in the episode AKA George Kourounis.
Now, here are some pretty pictures!!!
 Here he is, treading carefully over the massive crystals.
  ...And even bigger ones!!! With  all that they are wearing, it's a feat to even climb!!

 When filming, they need to make sure the battery is full, since  the harsh heat and humidity doesn't allow much functioning for the cameras.
  Here is the staging area where the team prepares their coolers and suits before entering, and even there the temp is about 41 degrees Celsius.