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Ne descends pas dans ce gouffre, à moins d'être avec un guide.

Ne descends pas dans ce gouffre, à moins d'être avec un guide.
Do not go down into this chasm unless you are with a guide.
From Lesson 385:Negative conditions (à moins de)·French

Questions & Answers about Ne descends pas dans ce gouffre, à moins d'être avec un guide.

Why do we use à moins d'être here instead of à moins que tu sois?
Since the implied subject is the same in both parts of the sentence (you are the one going down, and you are the one with a guide), you use à moins de followed by the infinitive (être). You only use à moins que followed by the subjunctive when the subjects in the two clauses are different.
Shouldn't the s be dropped in the imperative command Ne descends pas?
No, because descendre is an -re verb. The rule about dropping the final s in the tu form of the imperative only applies to regular -er verbs (like parle) and verbs that conjugate like them (like ouvre). For -re and -ir verbs, the s stays.
Could I say sauf d'être avec un guide here?
No, sauf cannot be followed directly by de plus an infinitive in this way. If you want to use sauf, you must use sauf si followed by a fully conjugated clause, like sauf si tu es avec un guide. Using à moins de is the standard way to link this negative condition directly to an infinitive.
Why do we use dans for "into" instead of a movement preposition like vers?
When you are physically entering a three-dimensional enclosed space, a hole, or a deep opening like a gouffre (chasm), French uses dans to emphasize going "inside" it. Vers would just mean heading "towards" the chasm without necessarily entering it.

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