The Everest of Caves: One Mile Below the Earth's Surface - Ieva Keirate

Although many humans have spent their time and effort reaching peaks and summits over a mile above the Earth, Ieva Keirate went the opposite way, heading over a mile underground in one of the planet's deepest caves. In total, Keirate and her team spent seven days underground, camping, eating, and living within the cave. Moving through it required climbing, hiking, and rappelling and along the way Keirate collected microbiological samples to evaluate humans' impact on the cave's ecosystem. Described as "the Everest" of caves, there are often people traveling within Krubera and setting up camps, which negatively affects the underground ecosystem of the cave.