Jill Hemperly:  

Life After graduation, I went to Concordia Luthern College in Austin. I was introduced to Cave exploring and spent 4 years with the Association of Mexican Cave Studies. I was a member of the US Deep Cave Exploration Team. I was an active team associate on numerous expeditions to Mexico studying the science and exploration of the caves of Sistema de Huautla, Oaxaca. Aside from my studies in Mexico, I traveled the world with other cavers in search of deep caves in Guatemala, Germany, France, Spain, Greece, Yugoslovia, Austria, Switzerland, and England. I was the second woman in the world to reach the -1000 meter depth. And for 10 years I held the women's world depth record. At the time, Huautla was the deepest cave in the Western Hemisphere. I moved to Georgia in 1977 where I lived for 4 years exploring, mapping and doing cave research in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. I organized and lead sport caving trips in numerous caverns and pits. A partner and I discovered the connection between the upper and lower entrance of the infamous cave called McBrides Cave in Alabama. Maybe you saw the account of the caver rescue on the National Geographic Channel? I lead the first all women's through trip(from upper entrance to lower entrance) in McBrides Cave. Nothing is more exciting than the thrill of discovery and being the first person in the world to see a virgin passage. In 1982, I moved to Indiana and lived there for 11 years married to a caver and we had 2 boys. Having children pretty much ended my...Expand for more