An Adventure in Cascade Cave: Six Men Enter, Only Four Emerge
Cascade Cave, with its narrow passages, flowing streams, and stunning chambers adorned with stalagmites and stalactites, is a spelunker’s dream—though for the uninitiated, it can quickly turn into a nightmare.
On December 5, 2015, Jason Storie, an amateur caver from Duncan, Vancouver Island, set out with five friends for an adventure 80 miles from home. Rain fell steadily as Jason, dressed for the cold and damp, prepared for the most challenging cave exploration of his life. “Sleep in,” he whispered to his wife, Caroline, before leaving at 6 a.m. “Be careful,” she replied. “Always,” he promised.
At 43, Jason was the least experienced in the group, having only been caving four times. A stocky father of two, Jason ran his own window-washing business after earning a university degree in drama. His friend Andrew Munoz, 33, introduced him to caving. Unlike Jason, Andrew was an expert, having worked as a guide and trained for emergencies. The group also included paramedic Adam Shepherd, volunteer firefighter and chef Zac Zorisky, and two computer programmers, Matt Watson and Arthur Taylor.
The six men drove through the rain to Port Alberni, where they picked up the key to Cascade Cave—a system so remote and dangerous that its entrance was sealed by a locked metal door. After a short hike through the wilderness, they found the door, unlocked it, and descended into the cave. Inside, the temperature dropped to a chilly 41 degrees, and the group began navigating the rugged terrain, their headlamps lighting the way through jagged boulders and dripping water.
About 45 minutes into the exploration, Adam’s back injury flared up, forcing him to turn back with Matt as his escort. Matt returned after safely locking Adam out, and the group continued on without him. For the next 90 minutes, they explored Cascade’s narrow passages and expansive chambers. Jason, despite being the least experienced, was mesmerized by the cave’s beauty, realizing that no two caves are ever the same.
The group reached a particularly challenging section known as Bastard’s Crawl, where four streams merged and the water ran swiftly. Following Andrew’s lead, they crab-walked through the tight space before arriving at the top of Double Trouble, a 50-foot waterfall split by a massive rock formation. Using ropes, the group rappelled down the slippery surface, with water cascading around them.
After hours of exploring, the group paused for a quick lunch of stew heated over a Jetboil stove. It was now just after 1 p.m., and the cave’s end was only a quarter mile away. But as they pushed forward, Zac began shivering uncontrollably, the cold catching him off guard despite the steady temperature. Concerned for their friend, the group decided to turn back. Together, they retraced their steps, sliding and crawling through the passages that had felt exciting just hours earlier but now seemed treacherous.
Little did they know, their adventure was about to take a devastating turn.
An Adventure in Cascade Cave: Six Men Enter, Only Four Emerge
The group begins retracing their steps: first Matt, followed by Arthur, Jason, Zac, and Andrew. The sound of rushing water grows louder with every step, and the ground feels muddier than it had on the way down, their boots sinking heavily into the earth. Climbing back up proves much more challenging than their descent. “Careful!” one of the cavers up front shouts as they struggle to maintain their footing.
As they near Double Trouble at 2:15 p.m., the gentle stream they’d encountered earlier has transformed into a raging torrent. Jason wonders how the water levels rose so quickly—likely runoff from the unrelenting rain above.
Matt secures the rope at the top of Double Trouble and begins his climb. It’s only about 50 feet, but the ascent is tricky, requiring him to carefully find purchase with his feet on slippery ledges while his gloved hands grasp for stability. He finally reaches the top and throws the rope down for Arthur, then Jason. When Jason reaches the summit, he drops to his stomach, crawling through the waterlogged tunnel known as Bastard’s Crawl. The water is much deeper now, slamming into his face with icy force as he fights to pull himself forward.
Emerging into a cramped passage, Jason pauses, confused. The tunnel splits into two paths, and he can’t see the others ahead of him. Unsure of which way to go and unwilling to wait in such a tight space, he decides to go back and ask. He carefully crab-walks down about 15 feet when, without warning, a surge of water sweeps him off his feet, plunging him into the torrent.
The pressure of the water builds behind him as he struggles, his foot wedged between two rock shelves. Jason is trapped, lying on his back with water rushing over him, unable to call for help as he gasps for air. Five minutes feel like an eternity as panic sets in. Images of his wife Caroline, his son Jack, and his daughter Poppy flash before his eyes.
Zac, just behind Jason, reaches the top of Double Trouble. “Jason’s in trouble!” he shouts down to Andrew, who scrambles up the waterfall to help.
When Andrew arrives at the bottom of Bastard’s Crawl, he can barely see Jason through the torrent of water. “Head up, Jase!” he shouts. Jason is only a couple of feet away, but his position makes it nearly impossible for Andrew to reach him. “Keep coming! Head up!” Andrew urges as Jason struggles. “Place your feet against me! Lift your butt up and float!”
Jason’s gloved hands break through the water, and he gasps for air. “My leg’s stuck,” Jason says weakly, his voice barely recognizable. He tries to dislodge his boot, but it’s firmly wedged between the rocks.
Andrew reaches into the water, feeling around for the boot. “Is this it?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“Well, we’re in a jam, but let’s get you out of here.”
After what feels like an eternity—20 minutes of struggling—Jason finally emerges from Bastard’s Crawl, soaked and shivering. Andrew helps him to a narrow ledge just above the water, where Jason can rest. His eyes are wide with shock, realizing just how close he had come to disaster.
“You’re OK,” Andrew reassures him. “Zac, stay with Jason while I check ahead.”
Andrew returns 15 minutes later, having confirmed that the water is still rising. He tells Zac to join Matt and Arthur beyond Bastard’s Crawl, while he stays with Jason to help him recover. “I need to get Jason warmed up before we try to exit,” Andrew says. “If we’re not out in 30 minutes, notify Search and Rescue.”
Jason’s condition is worsening—he’s dangerously cold and no longer shivering, a sign of hypothermia. Wrapping him in a Mylar blanket, Andrew pours hot water from the Jetboil down Jason’s clothes. Gradually, Jason’s color starts to return.
“Welcome back,” Andrew says with a relieved smile. “Ready to get out of here?”
They still have a long climb to reach the entrance, battling against the rising water every step of the way. As they approach the top of the crawl, they’re met with a terrifying sight: only four inches of air separate the water from the cave ceiling.
“It’s too high!” Andrew shouts. “We’ve got to turn back!”
Jason spots a ledge along the steep wall of the cave, just enough space for both of them to take refuge. Andrew braces himself against the opposite wall, shielding Jason from the full force of the waterfall. The water keeps rising, and its sheer force whips the air into a fierce wind, howling through the cave. At 6 p.m., deep underground with no more fuel for the Jetboil, they huddle under their emergency blanket, trying to stay warm.
“If we don’t get out of here, our wives are going to kill us,” Jason jokes, his voice weak but steady.
The two men laugh, clinging to a sliver of hope as they wait for rescue in the pitch-black cave, the relentless roar of the water their only companion.
Conserving their headlamp batteries, Jason and Andrew sit mostly in darkness, the blackness helping them forget the claustrophobic space pressing in around them.
Jason draws on his theater training to calm himself, slowing his breath and using deep diaphragm breathing to keep panic at bay. He pulls his sweatshirt over his nose to warm his face, but his mind keeps drifting to his family. He can’t shake the gnawing thought of whether his life insurance policy would be enough for them if he didn’t make it out.
Andrew, meanwhile, repeats a mantra under his breath, inspired by Dune: “Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion. I will let the fear pass through me. And when the fear is gone, only I will remain.”
They sit in silence, wondering if their friends made it out. Doubts creep in—what if Matt, Arthur, and Zac are trapped just beyond Bastard’s Crawl, cut off by rising water? What if they’re injured or worse?
Unbeknownst to them, their friends did escape. They called for help, and by 9 p.m., Ground and Cave Search and Rescue teams had arrived. Yet, the surge of water inside the cave was so intense that the rescue teams had to pull back, regrouping to plan another attempt.
Time drags on. Jason and Andrew remain motionless, the fear of slipping in the dark keeping them alert. They drift in and out of fitful sleep, occasionally jolting awake, checking on each other every 20 minutes.
“You still with me?” Andrew whispers.
“Yeah. You?”
“Still good,” Andrew replies, both of them clinging to hope as they wait for rescue.
Every so often, one of them switches on his headlamp to check the water level. By 5 a.m., they notice it has started to recede. “Let’s give it a bit more time,” Andrew suggests.
An hour later, the water has lowered enough for them to keep their heads above it and attempt an escape. After sitting in the same position for 12 hours, their bodies are stiff and aching. As Jason shifts to move, a sharp pain shoots through his groin, causing him to scream in agony. But he refuses to let it stop him.
On all fours, he focuses on getting through Bastard’s Crawl, inch by painful inch. Each movement brings another cry of discomfort, but Andrew is right behind him, encouraging him the whole way. “You’ve got this,” Andrew urges. At last, they push through.
For the next 90 minutes, they inch closer to the cave’s entrance, wading through chest-deep water at times. Finally, in a passage where they can stand upright, Jason catches a glimmer in the distance.
“Lights! I see lights!” he shouts, surging forward. Soon, voices echo back.
“Hey!” they shout. “We’re here!”
“Andrew? Jason?” a rescuer calls out.
For the first time since entering the cave over 20 hours ago, Jason feels the weight of his emotions, and tears roll down his face. “We made it.”