This is a story which happened a little while ago:
I had never been further than -7, until this run. I ended up stumbling into the mines, however, I was not prepared for what was in there. I ended up having to drop everything and run to the exit. From there a mad dash ensued to get to the exit of each consecutive floor. Higher and higher I got, along the way equipping myself with a flight unit. Somehow, against all odds, I got to -1.
And then I got destroyed by some swarmers.
From this experience, I learnt about how important it is to know where you're going.