The Crystal City Sand Mine in Missouri, was decommissioned long ago. Now, it stands as a tourist attraction, offering guided tours through the underground tunnels and even kayak tours on the huge underground lake. Deeper into the tunnels however, things get narrow, and that's where stand up paddler Darrell Kirk had the perfect craft for the job.

Yep, he took his stand up paddleboard for a paddle through the incredibly narrow passages of a sand mine. 400ft underground, in total darkness. Lit by nothing but a torch, he and a couple of friends had to lay totally flat on their boards to fit through some of the tiny sections along the way. Below them, crystal clear water from an underground spring, above them, the solid walls of mostly silica, where back in the 60's, some of the worlds finest glass was sourced. It's a claustrophobics nightmare, but if you're cool in tight places, an adventure of a lifetime!

Now before you go diving into an underground mine with your SUP, remember this is dangerous stuff! People go missing, drown, get trapped or simply lost in mines. All the time. It looks like this adventure was accompanied by a guide, so do some research to find someone with some local knowledge before you go. The freediving community are huge fans of underground waterways, so perhaps start there to find your next amazing stand up paddling experience.

Check out the footage from the front of Darrell's board, as he stand up paddles through a sand mine, 400ft below the surface of the USA.

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