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This might be the most dangerous video I've ever attempted. Oh my God. No way.
Exploring Mosdale, the world's most dangerous cave, known for deadly floods and tragic history, with Magnus Midtbø's firsthand experience.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.
Key Takeaways
- Mosdale Cave is extremely hazardous due to unstable geology and rapid flooding.
- Historical tragedy underscores the importance of caution and respect for natural hazards.
- Weather forecasts are critical and unreliable factors in cave exploration safety.
- Even experienced cavers face significant physical and psychological challenges inside Mosdale.
- The cave remains a somber memorial and a rarely visited site due to its danger and history.
What the video covers
- Mosdale Cave in Yorkshire Dales, England, is one of the most dangerous caves globally due to unstable rock, flooding, and difficult navigation.
- In 1967, a tragic flood trapped six men inside, resulting in their deaths and the cave being sealed for decades.
- The cave was reopened recently after discussions with victims' families, but remains rarely visited due to its extreme danger and haunting reputation.
- Magnus Midtbø and his cameraman Sam undertook a carefully planned expedition into Mosdale, highlighting the cave's hazards and history.
- The cave features tight passages, loose boulders, and flood-prone chambers, requiring extreme caution and reliance on weather forecasts.
- The video documents the psychological and physical challenges of navigating Mosdale, emphasizing the ever-present risk of sudden flooding.
- The rescue attempts in 1967 were among the largest ever, but some bodies remain inside due to the cave's inaccessibility.
- The cave's flooding can occur rapidly, with water levels rising within an hour during heavy rain, making timing critical for safety.
- Magnus reflects on the emotional weight of exploring a site with a tragic past and the respect needed for such dangerous environments.
- Despite the risks, the video offers rare footage and insights into one of the least explored and most perilous caves in the UK.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and History of Mosdale Cave
- 01:051967 Tragedy and Rescue Efforts
- 02:16Reopening and Planning the Expedition
- 04:13Entering the Cave and Initial Challenges
- 05:30Navigating Dangerous Passages
- 07:54Flood Risks and Psychological Impact
- 10:13Memorial and Reflections on the Tragedy
- 12:06Conclusion and Decision to Exit
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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Wildly regarded as one of the most dangerous caves in the world, Mosdale is responsible for the worst recorded caving incident in history.
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In 1967, 10 young men prepared to venture down into the cave located in the Yorkshire Dales, England, as it was thought to potentially have kilometers of undiscovered unexplored passages.
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Mosdale was already known for being extremely dangerous because of unstable rock, ceiling collapses, sections that were almost impossible to navigate in, but most importantly, flooding. The cave was extremely prone to flash floods.
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This is what the entrance looked like normally. And this is what it looks like under heavy rain. When this happens, any caver inside has a very limited time to escape. But with a group all being experienced cavers and the weather
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forecast looking good with clear sky, they decided to enter. After several hours, no one knows why, but four of the men decided to turn back around while the remaining six continued deeper. Not long after the four returned to the
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surface, they made a horrifying discovery. The weather had suddenly started to turn as a thunderstorm started to rain down. The cave began to flood rapidly. They desperately tried to go back and warn the others, but already the entrance had filled with water.
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There was no way. All they could do was call for help. What followed was one of the largest cave rescue attempts the world has ever seen. Hundreds of people dug trenches, tried to divert the flood water, and worked around the clock to
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get the water level down while the six young men remained trapped inside. It took 4 days for the water levels to finally go down and be deemed safe to enter. A team of rescuers entered the cave hoping to find the men alive,
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hiding in one of the high ceiling caverns. But sadly, it was too late as they discovered the lifeless bodies of all six men. It's believed that in under an hour, the whole cave had completely filled with water and sadly all six
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young men had drowned. Over the next few days, rescuers attempted to return the bodies of the men to the surface. But it was deemed too dangerous, so they were forced to leave them inside the cave where they still remain to this day.
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Because of this tragedy, the cave was then permanently sealed with concrete and would remain that way for many years.
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That was until a few years ago when after talks with the families of the victims, access to Mosdale was granted once again. Despite the cave being reopened, however, it's thought only a few people have been willing to go down
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inside because of the extreme danger it presents and also many believing that the cave is haunted with some claiming to have heard voices echoing in the tunnels.
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All of this making it too risky for even the most hardcore cavers. So, when a caver who was one of only two people to have captured footage down there reached out to me wanting to take me down, I
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didn't exactly jump at the opportunity. But with extensive planning, preparation, and a lot of consideration, me and my cameraman Sam finally decided to go down there. Jesus, what is that rumbling sound?
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So, is the entrance there? No. Well, it used to be. It used to be the entrance. Yeah. It's collapsed. So, the new way in is around the corner.
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So, there was an accident here a few decades ago. Some of the bodies were never recovered because it's so hard to get to the place they were.
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Yeah. And it just wasn't worth everybody else's lives trying to pull them out.
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Yeah. The fact that there's still bodies down there is very scary and is also a reminder of how dangerous this is. This is by far the most dangerous cave we've ever been to.
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Yeah, if there was a thunderstorm, I'd be really worried. You really have to be very careful with this cave, especially this time of year in the summer because the weather tends to have more thunderstorms.
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There are some clouds and it rained a little bit earlier today, but according to the weather forecast, it's not supposed to rain.
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And this is the memorial of the people that passed away. And this cave was closed for decades, right? After, I read somewhere that more people have been to outer space than down this cave.
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Do you think that's true? Probably. Yeah. I mean, if you look online, there's not much footage except from my Simon Beex. So, and I've only taken a few people down here in my time.
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So, yeah. It doesn't get frequented as much. I mean, look, it's quite overgrown around here. You can tell people don't go in there very often.
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So, this is the most scared I've been for a video, I think, ever. Having to rely completely on the weather forecast.
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If the weather forecast is wrong, then this place is going to flood. We're trusting that weather forecast with our lives.
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Our aim for this trip was to reach Fourways, one of the deepest sections of the cave that few people had ever explored. It would take around 7 hours and it seemed like a logical place to aim for as it was where the potential
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for new passages began. But already I was beginning to see how dangerous this cave was.
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Right. This is the bit where I was slightly confused. Way. See down there or down there? I think it's because the boulders moved at once. Yeah, that one's right.
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That's the boulders moved. Yeah. A while back. I think this time it's changed slightly.
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This section of the cave was made up of tons of huge loose boulders. Dislodging one and being crushed was a real danger.
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This is why the entrance of the cave had changed so many times over the years. I had to be careful not only to not get stuck, but also to make sure I didn't touch anything that could cause a
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collapse. Oh, dude, this is so tight already. That's where you put your legs. Don't kick anything on that side. Okay. So, it's a little loose on that side.
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And then onto the floor. The floor. It's already more extreme than the— Yeah, it is for sure.
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Yeah. So, how long would it take for this to, like, if it started pouring down now, how long would it take for the rain to, like, reach us or the— Probably an hour. Only an hour before this would be flooded.
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Yeah, because it's really dry outside. Yeah, having that in the back of your mind that it could flood, that is what makes it so freaking terrifying. Like, I'm not afraid of being stuck in a cave as long as it's dry.
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Yeah. But the wetness is just—that freaks me out. Head for a job.
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Alex, have you ever caved with anyone where they just completely panicked? I've had to drag somebody out who was crying once, but I've seen your videos, Magnus, and you wouldn't want to do that.
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Yeah, I'm usually a very calm guy, but we'll see later on when we get to the water.
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My leg is stuck or the backpack is stuck. Could you wiggle it out a bit, Sam?
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Thank you. After 30 minutes of extremely tight and delicate squeezes, we finally made it to the first place we could stand up, the boiler room. But even here, you couldn't feel safe.
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Right. So, here you'd be all right most of the time, but you can tell in the most extreme weather events you're not, because this is a bit of grass. So that tells you that the water's gone all
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the way up to here enough to stick the bit of grass to the roof. So even in this big chamber, you're not safe in the worst of the floods.
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It's a scary thought being in here and then it started filling up with water. That's the worst way to die. It's like out of a nightmare or something.
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Yeah, I know. I feel sorry for the six people it did happen to. Imagine what that would have felt like.
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But what is worrying though is that this is the UK. I would trust the weather forecast a little bit more if it was somewhere else.
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Yeah. Yeah. It's very fickle weather. It's why you have to keep checking it again and again. You see a couple of days ago, oh, it's fine. And then suddenly it's rain forecast.
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Yeah. What I found interesting when we read the story about the peo—
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because they didn't feel something was off. Yeah. And that like instinct, it's weird how maybe that is like something to listen to.
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Okay, so now it gets wet. Oh god, dude. What the hell? This is already freaking snow, man.
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Seriously, are we going normal? This is drier than normal. Yeah. No way, man. This is insane, man.
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Alex had explained to us that the six men who passed in the cave all those years ago were buried in a certain secret chamber known as the sanctuary deep within the cave. We all agreed to avoid that part for obvious reasons.
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However, even after all these years, traces of their presence could still be found. playing the Marathon series. Um, a few years ago I went to Stream End Cave. Um, I found an old what's left of an olden light and there's only one
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place that could have come from. Okay. It was just hung on the wall. It was quite spooky really.
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So that's from the people that died then. Yeah. I can't think where else that would have come from. It was downstream of it of where they died. So it would have been washed out at some point. It's like the the atmosphere in here. Just
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like knowing that something so tragic happened in this cave also makes it so much more serious.
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Yeah. You mentioned earlier that there's grading also in uh caving, right? Yeah. It's a simple system. It goes from one to five. One being the very easiest, five being the hardest.
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Right. And what is this cave? This is grade five. at the very end of the cave where we're going. Well, not the very end, but near the end of the cave. It's called falseways.
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And how many people do you reckon have been there? 50 have gone in the cave, I estimate, and probably 20 there. If that I guess you could argue that out of the 20 who's been there, six of them died,
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right? Yeah, they would have been there. Yeah. So, the death rate technically is pretty high in this cave.
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I guess if you're looking at a ratio, Yeah. I thought of it that way, right? Cuz basically like 30% of the people who've been there have passed.
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His chesty. Oh my god, dude. What the hell? No way. Oh my god, dude. No way.
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Just stay calm and move slowly. Oh mying god. Oh my freaking god. If it starts raining, we're not going to be able to get back from here.
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No, this is this is the tr is Is there an alter alternative exit if we uh No, we'll just have to wait it out.
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Jesus Christ. It gets it's where it gets deepest. It probably probably to your neck, but the water's been that bad. I've actually had to hold my breath for a very short distance.
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But it is going to get worse after that again eventually. Yeah. When we get to the end of the record, that's where that's the wetest bit.
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While it was sketchy being this far into Mosdale, I could start to see how intriguing it was. The fact that so much of this cave had unexplored potential and that we were entering passages that potentially no one had ever explored. As
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intimidating as Mosdale was, not knowing what secrets this cave could hold kept pulling me deeper.
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Oh, wow. That's nice. So, this is where if it started raining, we would wait it out. Yeah.
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But you say that if it rains a lot, then even this place would be flooded completely.
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Yeah. We're still below the entrance, so eventually the cave fills up. Yeah. And therefore the water eventually gets back to here and completely fills it up.
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Yeah. This this this place is enigmod. There's a lot more to find in this cave. I just don't know where to look. But this the resurgence is many kilometers away. We also at the climbing shop when we got
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this gear, they said there's a rumor that there's a guy down here who's like digging out new tunnels.
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Yeah. Some guy weird guy. Uh it's not you, right? No. No. I wouldn't call him weird to his face.
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Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um unfortunately he's he's not done it for a bit. He was down here 80 odd times now. And um yeah, he's been bringing scragg dragon scaffolding bars through here to shore up his dig. So, he
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does it all on his own. He doesn't want any help. He just wants to do it all on his own.
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Do you think if I left you like this, you'd find your way back out?
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No, never. Or actually, I'd like to think I would, but I know from just other caves that it's so much harder than you think. I think that I kind of remember where we went, but I probably didn't.
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No, I think it's right back here. Sam, there's several ways you can turn right there.
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Sam. Excellent. There's more grass up in the roof. So, this is completely flooded. Now, I really started to feel scared.
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Being this far underground was extremely dangerous. And the infamous knee recorder crawl lie just ahead. Known as the worst part of Mosdale, over half a kilometer long, it was an extremely tight passage that once you enter, there was no way of turning around with the
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ending having the tightest underwater squeeze in the whole cave. Oh, this is narrow. So, if it starts raining outside right now, we're dead basically in this bit. Yeah.
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Yeah. Cuz the top thing fills up with water and as you can see, it's very low.
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Yeah. I mean, and it's only a matter of 1 hour of pouring rain and this is going to flood. That is insane to me that you're willing to take that risk.
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Yeah. I mean, so you you're here with me. Yeah. Yeah. That is a very good point.
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What is that rumbling sound? It's just me. Is it just you? Yeah. It's terrifying. Felt like I heard like a deep bass rumble sound. I guess that's like the last thing you hear and it came like this.
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Yeah, I'm trying not to think about that. This passage seemed to go on forever. We had been crawling now for half an hour and still weren't even halfway. This was by far the most claustrophobic and scared I'd ever felt
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in a cave. Dragging your body through hundreds of meters of rough rock and water was exhausting. And in this tight passage with nowhere to turn around, rainfall now would mean almost certain death. And I still had the hardest bit
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to conquer. No, Magnus. Hi. How are you doing? I'm doing good. Uh, but my knees hurt a lot and this is sort of scary to be in such a long narrow tunnel like this.
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Yeah. Actually, you feel so trapped. Okay. Um, you can tell me turn around if you if you want. That's always up to you.
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Turn around. If you want, there's a bit I'm about halfway about halfway down it.
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How you doing, son? Good. Okay. I know. This is the worst thing I've ever done.
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It's like every part of my body just hurts. I know. Me too. Amazingly found this moth which is alive and flying through my helmet. It's amazing that you can get in this.
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Yeah. Seems almost like a bad omen. Yeah. Why? It's like to do with the devil or something, right? No.
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Get off my hand. And where's your drone? Get off my hand. I could feel the fatigue now as the crawl seemed never ending and went on and on. But just as I thought this was the hardest caving I'd ever done, things
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were about to get even worse. Oh, dude. Man, this is Now I'm actually regretting this a bit.
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Like honestly what Alex. Oh my god, dude. What the is this? Okay. So, this is I mean this is the goal.
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This is we made it. It's hard like when you watch a video like this, you can't it's it's hard to like describe how far this is really. Like we're very deep now. Uh few kilometers in. But yeah, no, I think we
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should try to rush out before uh not spend too much time here in case it starts raining.
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I agree. I'm in need of more danger. Even though the original plan was to explore a little further, we decided we had had enough and wanted to get out.
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And although Alex reassured me everything was okay as we made our way back, to me it felt like the sound of the water was getting louder and louder and the water levels were rising.
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I wasn't sure if it was real or just a cave playing tricks on me. Not wanting to find out, we started to move as quickly as possible.
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light. Thank you, Thor, for no thunder. Quite nice. Oh my gosh, that's the most claustrophobic cave I've ever been to.
Topics:Mosdale Cavedangerous cavescaving accidentcave rescuefloodingMagnus MidtbøYorkshire Dalesextreme cavingcave explorationhaunted cave
