Would You Rather Explore the Deepest Cave or Climb the Tallest Mountain?

Exploring Veryovkina Cave means trekking as deep as 7,257 feet (2,212 meters) underground. A full trip takes a week, even for professionals! You’ll need to travel with experienced cavers and learn skills like crawling through tight spaces and scaling cave walls.

All caves can be unpredictable. Falling rocks and narrow tunnels can trap cavers. Water can surge into tunnels during storms. To date, two people have died in Veryovkina.

Veryovkina’s entrance is a small opening in the ground. You drop down using a harness and ropes until you find yourself in a giant pit. The only light is from your headlamp. As you explore, you spot ghostly white cave shrimp and eyeless insects. The passage narrows into a cold, damp tunnel. After you shimmy through, you discover a turquoise lake surrounded by jet-black limestone. Thick, icicle-like rock formations called stalactites hang above you. Take it all in—because now you have to go back up!

Climbing Mount Everest takes almost a month of uphill travel. You’ll need to train for months or even years to climb the 80-mile (129 kilometer) trail with a 33-pound (15 kilogram) backpack full of gear. Finding a guide who’s familiar with Everest’s paths is key to getting to the top.

The start of your trip is at a base camp in the Himalayan mountains, sitting at more than 3 miles (about 5 km) above sea level. As you go higher, you use ropes to pull yourself up cliffs and glaciers. Each day, you’ll start hiking before sunrise. You’ll likely spend as long as six to eight hours a day slowly climbing upward through freezing wind with a heavy pack on your back. When you reach the snowy peak, the miles of landscape below will look tiny. You’ll be seeing the world from a height few ever reach—but now you must head back down.