Cave Abstracts

by The Editor

United Kingdom

Survival Bag for Potholers. The Yorkshire Post describes a bag designed by Mr. Donald Robinson, Leader of the Leeds section of the Cave Rescue Organisation. The bag is made of expanded neoprene, is insulated and waterproof and is closed by a zip fastener running the whole of its length; the mouth of the bag fits snugly round the patient’s neck and a built-in thermometer enables a constant check to be made of his tem­perature.

Exposure. The British Mountaineering Council and the Association of Scottish Climbing Clubs issued in November 1964 a joint circular describing the dangers of exposure, the signs and symptoms of incipient exposure and the methods of treatment. These notes are issued as B.M.C. Circular No. 380 and copies can be obtained from: The Assistant Hon. Secretary B.M.C., c/o 74 South Audley Street, London, W.1. Price: up to 20 copies, postage only. 20 copies and over, one penny per copy, postage paid.

Into the Dark. In New Scientist, No. 446, 3rd June, 1965, C. Lewis Railton gives a short survey of what there is about caves and potholes that attracts so many people from all walks of life and of all ages. The sounds made by water, the silence when water is absent, the formations, the history of the cave and of the water that made it, flowing possibly from hills and valleys now non-existent. The study of fossils and of existing animal life, the bacterial origin of ‘moonmilk’. The tracing of underground rivers and the specialised adventure of cave diving. Finally the thrill of breaking through into new caves and passages and perhaps through two or three hundred centuries.

New Caves await the Scientists. New Scientist, No. 432, 25th February, 1965, reports a previously unknown system of caves leading away from the shaft of a disused lead mine near Wrexham. The caves are being kept closed to the public under the aegis of the Wrexham Caving Group until scientists have studied them in their untouched state. The article goes on to point out that limestone caves offer exactly the right conditions for the preservation of bone. In Britain the vast majority of fossils found are of animals such as hyena and brown bears of the last 100,000 years. Some specimens have been found dating back hundreds of millions of years, but for a hitherto unex­plained reason no caves have been found in the United Kingdom having any samples of the intervening tertiary period which began about 70 million years ago. (cf. Y.R.C.J., Vol. IX, No. 31, page 203 and No. 32, page 333.)

New Ground in Dan-yr-Ogof. The Observer, 17th April, 1966, reports a big discovery by members of the South Wales Caving Club in Dan-yr-Ogof. The new system, reached by crossing four underground lakes and after a 500 ft. crawl, is reckoned to be at least 1½ miles long. It contains some fine formations and a 100 ft. cascade.

Swildon’s Hole, The Mendips. During 1965 members of the Independent Cave Diving Group successfully passed an obstacle which had held up exploration since 1962, this being Sump 7. It was passed by using explosives and this made possible the passage through four further sumps toi a 50 ft. deep Sump 12. The total length of the new passage is some 1,200 feet, with a vertical drop of 30 ft.

Switzerland

Le Gouffre du Petit Pre de Saint-Livres. Les Alpes, Quar­terly Revue for the 4th quarter of 1965 contains an account by Jean-Paul Guignard of the discovery and development of this, the second deepest pothole in Switzerland. The entrance, on the south-facing side of Mont Tendre in the Jura Vaudois, was discovered by three young cavers from Le Sentier in 1957. It lies at the base of a low limestone cliff and at that time was an insignificant hole surrounded by scrub. Echoes indicated the existence of an immense cavity. Explosives were necessary to enable an entrance to be made and even so there is a tight squeeze down a fissure before the cave begins to assume impressive proportions. Exploration by the Lausanne and Neuchatel sections of the Societe Suisse de Speleologie during the period 1957—1959 quickly carried the depth to 270 metres. Cylindrical pots of 40, 80 and 90 metres follow each other in quick succession. At 250 metres depth there follows a tortuous descending passage with narrow places and stalagmite barriers; in 1962 a depth of 300 metres was reached and in 1963 a party was stopped at 360 metres by a 35 metre pot. Meanwhile an alternative entrance was made and in July 1964 what appeared to be an impenetrable fissure was reached at 426 metres. Petit Pre is thus second, in Switzerland, in depth only to Gouffre de Chevrier, 504 metres, above Leysin. Petit Pre, with its exceptional depth, its geographical and geological position, poses a number of questions in respect of its exis­tence, its formation, its age and its relationship with the geology of the district, which are discussed briefly in Monsieur Guignard’s article.

Societe Suisse de Speleologie. Les Alpes Monthly Bulletin, January and February 1965.

The Societe Suisse de Speleologie celebrated in 1964 the 25th anniversary of its foundation. It owes its origin to the fact that several cavers from Geneva found themselves, at the outbreak of war in 1939, in the same mountain brigade; they persuaded their commanding officer to allow them to form a cave section. To give the enterprise an official basis the S.S.S. was formed. It now has 15 sections and more than 300 mem­bers and produces, four times a year, a bilingual journal, Stalactite. The issue for September 1964 gives the numbers of caves already listed in the cantons of French Switzerland and in the Ticino: —

Vaud	… … 467	Valais	… … 29
Neuchatel	… … 176	Fribourg	… … 13
Bernese Jura	… … 168	Ticino	… … 104

France

Grotte de Saint Marcel, Ardèche. Bulletin d’Information of the Equipe Speleo de Bruxelles, Nos. 20 and 24, give accounts of recent explorations by members of the E.S.B. The cave was first visited by them in 1960 and 1961, when, after prolonged drilling, they discovered a system of three potholes going down to a depth of 71 metres, which they subsequently named “Réseau Pierre Solvay”. (see Y.R.C.J., Vol. IX, No. 31, page 215). Visits in 1962 and 1963 were mainly for reconnais­sance and for clearing obstructions but in 1964 the group dis­covered an entirely new system 800 metres long and containing ten side passages. The 1965 expedition made no new discoveries, most of the time being devoted to further reconnais­sance and to the training of young, newly joined members. One of the highlights of this visit was made by the leader of a revictualling party, who tossed pancakes at midnight more than 3 Km. inside the cave.

Résurgence de I’Ecluse. Two dives were made into this resurgence, which is 200 metres from the entrance to the Grotte de Saint Marcel. The water entering the Ardeche at this point is, in summer, several degrees below the temperature of the river and it is thought that a passage might be forced through the resurgence into the Saint Marcel system. The diver reached a depth of 27 metres and was only stopped by the rope jam­ming when he was 75 metres from the point of entry. He reported that he was in a very big under-water tunnel and that the erosion of the rocks bore evidence of the passage of a large quantity of water.

Belgium

The Pionjär Drill. This portable drill, the ‘Pionjär BRH 60’, made in Sweden, weighs only 35 Kg. (77 lbs.), is 3 ft. 6 ins. high and can easily be carried on a man’s back and taken through narrow places in caves. It is driven by a single cylin­der, opposed piston, air-cooled engine, integral with the drill and the fuel is a 12 to 1 mixture of petrol and oil. A jet of air keeps the drill hole clear of dust during drilling. This drill was used by the Equipe; Speleo de Bruxelles for opening up new passages in the Grotte de Saint Michel d’Ardeche. (Copies of E.S.B. Bulletins Nos. 20 and 24 are in the Y.R.C. Library).

Bats in Quarries. The Hon. Editor acknowledges with thanks a monograph by Guy de Block, of Equipe Speleo de Bruxelles, dealing with this subject, entitled “Notes sur les Chiropteres des Carrieres Souterraines de Lives sur Meuse”. This is in the Y.R.C. Library.

Equipe Spéléo de Bruxelles: Change of Address. Monsieur Guy de Block, from whom information about Belgian caves can be obtained, (see Y.R.C.J., Vol. IX, No. 32, page 309) has changed his address from 54 rue de la Limite, Brussels, 3, to 221 rue de Haerne, Brussels, 4.