36 JUNE 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Deepest Sleep in the World Adapted from Information by Go Below Underground Adventures Ltd. The Deep Sleep Friday or Saturday night stay is a remote camping adventure set a staggering 1375 vertical feet below the mountains of Eryri National Park (formerly called Snowdonia) in the UK. The experience begins at 5 p.m. at their Tanygrisiau base, near Blaenau Ffestiniog, where a trip leader will meet arriving campers. From there, it’s a 45-minute walk up into the mountains, steep at times, but remote and beautiful at the top. There, they stop at a little cottage to put on a helmet, headlamp, harness, and waterproof boots. Then it's time to say goodbye to the outside world and go into the depths of the world’s largest and deepest abandoned slate mine. The route down through the old workings is steep and challenging with ancient miner stairways, decaying bridges, and scrambles to negotiate. The instructor provides plenty of historical information about the fascinating environment. After about an hour, a large steel door shows the destination has been reached - Deep Sleep. Deep Sleep comprises four private cabins with two twin beds, and a romantic grotto with a double bed. A complimentary expedition-style meal is provided at a large covered picnic table. Fresh bread, side salad, fruit, and a dessert to go with the meal is usually provided too, along with plenty of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and cold drinks. (You can also bring your own food, but remember, you have to carry it yourself!) After supper, you are welcome to retire to bed for a very deep sleep! The mine at its 1375-foot depth provides an ambient year-round temperature of 50ºF (10ºC). This is chilly, but about the same as the night temperature in the aboveground area during June and September. If you were camping in a tent outside during these months, it would feel similar. The cabins are thermally lined with thick insulation, so they do warm up and are quite cozy. Warm clothes are recommended outside the cabins, since the chamber itself feels cold, especially after sitting around for a length of time. Deep Sleep does have Wi-Fi, provided through a very long Ethernet cable from a 4G antenna on the surface, but there is no mobile phone reception. All electric lighting (and the Wi-Fi) in Deep Sleep is low voltage and powered from 12-volt batteries, which are charged by the force of falling water within the mine itself using micro-hydro turbines. A diesel generator on the surface provides backup power to charge the batteries if there’s too little rain. Running water from taps comes from a spring within the mine itself which was tested and found to be of excellent quality. Most mines and caves in the UK have high humidity so the cabins are fitted with dehumidifiers which run when unoccupied, to keep them dry and fresh. Ironically, the dehumidifiers are powered by the falling water in the mine. Overnight, the instructor and a technical staff member remain in their own cabins in the Deep Sleep chamber so campers aren't left alone in the mine. Wake-up time in the morning is 8 a.m., then begin the day with a warm drink and simple breakfast snacks before starting the long ascent up to the surface and daylight again. Besides the overnight stay, other epic underground adventures at the site include zip-lining through caverns, climbing up a vertical shaft, boating across a lake, traversing over an abyss, or scaling a waterfall. For more information, visit: https://www.go-below.co.uk/ Editor’s Note: In between our print issues, the WWDR Team prepares an electronic newsletter called E-News Flash by WorldWide by WorldWide Drilling Resource®. This newsletter is filled with articles not included in our print issue. Based on readership, this was the most popular article of the month. Get in on the action and subscribe today at: worldwidedrillingresource.com MIN
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