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NEWS OF THE AVALON-TEAM - 2003
NOVEMBER 2003
30/11/2003: It continues behind the sump in the "Fagnoules"!
 The
month november has been a fantastic one for Caving club Avalon. After the
very recent discoveries in Chawresse, Grotte des Emotions and Bois de Waerimont,
the icing on the cake followed yesterday, in the Chantoir des Fagnoules
(ex-Goelasnuf). This time with two Belgian cavedivers as the "stars
of the day".
Michel Pauwels and Jacques Petit both passed
the narrow terminal sump (13 m) and a second shorter sump (5 m). Then, during
several hours, they explored a big continuation that totals appr. 200
metres in length. A big fossil gallery (between 3 and 10
m wide !) was explored, as well as an active part. The most
spectacular bit was an 8 m. high waterfall in which the main river crashes
down, before it finally disappears into a new sump. This new sump
will most certainly be one of the goals for the next exploration, which
is scheduled in two weeks.
More information about the
cave and the dives can be found here (you can even see a 30 sec. videoclip
of Jacques, surfacing again after the succesful dive, and very excited!).
 15/11/2003:
The terminal sump of the Grotte des Emotions has been passed... dry!
The Grotte des Emotions ends with a sump, dived in 1997. Trying to bypass
this sump has been one of the most difficult projects we ever undertook.
This dig was soon called "the Pigs Hole". We started working in 1997, and
this dig has, over the years, been one long series of disappointments, frustrations
and risks. But SC Avalon has one very important rule: once you've started
something, you must go on to the bitter end!
And indeed, 6 years later, more precisely last Saturday
15/11/2003, we had the great pleasure to get passed that damned sump.
After the "Pigs Hole" we visited about 75 metres of quite big gallery, that
had been partially seen by the divers in 1997. So the adventure continues.
Read more about it here!
WINE SALE 2003
You can contribute to the exploration of new Belgian caves
by supporting Caving Club Avalon!
Indeed, SC Avalon is again selling wine. Yes, exploring
caves costs a lot of money and by buying some of this excellent wine you
can support us. Our "connaisseurs" have chosen a red, French
Merlot 2002 and a white Galetis (the same as last year). The price
is also unchanged: 4 Euro per bottle.
And of course, each bottle has again an original label,
designed by Annette. These labels are really becoming collectors items!
Make sure you don't "fall dry" on the upcoming Christmas
days. A box of 6 bottles only costs 24 Euro (elementary maths) .
Thanks in advance and cheers!
Chawresse-Veronika
Yesterday Rudi and I discovered and surveyed 90 m in the Chawresse (during
a long and difficult 11 hour trip). The cave system has passed the 5 km
mark and now measures 5015m. We remind you that we are (since
many years now) resurveying the entire cave system. This work is finished
for appr. 80 %. The old figure for the cave was 2700m, which clearly
shows the need for a resurvey.
We will give more information about this exciting new discovery
on the "Journ? de l'Explo" (Brussels, january 2004i)
OCTOBER 2003
360? Panorama
Here you can see a beautiful 360?
panorama of the Anialarra mountains (Pierre-St-Martin)
Articles & Docs ... new section
In this new section of our site I plan to
put some articles about caving (in PDF-format) that I have witten over the
past years, mostly for publication in several caving magazines.
SEPTEMBER 2003
Sima de las Puertas de Illamina...BU56 (-1408m) - a succes!
 Bottom
the BU56 in less than a week... it was ambitious. But we
did it, and it was just fantastic. The biggest, deepest, longest
and most spectacular cave we ever did. But not the toughest, nobody surfaced
as a zombie, because the preparation, the execution and the team were "the
Avalon-way". But, we worked for 7 days in a row, all the way,
the speed throtlle pushed down to the floor.
Saterday 18/9 we carried a lot of gear to the entrance (a
3,5 hour walk). Sunday 19/9 did this again, and on top of that we already
rigged the entrance pitches all the way to -380m. On monday, we went
down the cave and that evening we slept at -800m, in Salle Roncal.
Tuesday we made a 14 hour bottom-trip to the sump at -1325m. We were six
and all six arrived at the sump (sump? A giant, boiling jacuzzi, yes!).
That night we slept again in our -800m camp. The next day, wednesday,
another 14 hour trip to get out of the cave and because we were still feeling
fit (humm... fit??) we de-rigged the biggest part of the entrance pitches
too. And we got out two kitbags full of garbage and old ropes from other
caving parties (there is still the equivalent of about one
hundred kitbags of garbage waiting to be removed.. but we did
our part of the job!). In total we stayed 62 hours in the cave, of
which 38 hours of real progression.
Thursday and Friday we carried everything back to the valley again...
heavy stuff. Saterday evening 20/9 we were back in Belgium!
 So,
a hectic week. But what a cave! Incredible, awesome. Everybody started with
some idea of the cave, having read some descriptions of it. But when
you are hanging on a tiny stalagmite, 20 metres high in Canyon Belagua at
-1100 m, while a raging river howls beneath you, white water passing by
at speeds of over 60 km/h, the air virbrating.... then you
know what the discoverers of the cave meant when they wrote "emotion
guaranteed".
But, it must be said that the water levels were still very
high, because only 5 days before, one of the biggest floods since 13 year
devastated the region.
And then the location of the entrance. What a magnificent spot. 2000m high,
the roof of the Pyrenees. Beautiful weather, 7 sunny days in a row. But
please, for the next couple of weeks, don't talk about Mars or Snickers
bars or Grannies biscuits anymore because we just hate that food now!
It was a very intense week, with a high adrenaline and endorfine
production, and it flew by as in a dream. A dream that ended to soon.
We made a lot of pictures, and we have a lot to tell. So
please re-visit these pages in the next weeks for some more pictures and
a detailed story of our trip.
Participants: Annette Van Houtte, Mark Michiels,
Rudi Bollaert, Mario Lebbe, Paul De Bie, Koen Mandonx
AUGUST 2003
The BU56 project
A bunch of crazy Avalon members will very soon make an attempt to bottom
one of the worlds big classic caves: the BU56 (-1408m).
Click here for the "avant-premiere"
SUCCESSFUL ANIALARRA EXPEDITION...
Our 7th expedition was one of the best ever. It was quite difficult, but
we are all happy with the results. Here you
can read a first report about what we did and found there.
JUNE 2003
THE TERMINAL SUMP OF FAGNOULES HAS BEEN PASSED!
 Coup
de th?tre, yesterday 29/6/2003 in the Chantoir des Fagnoules
(discovered by Avalon in april 2002 and also known as "Goelasnuf").
Exactly one year ago; (see Hotnews 2002) Lucienne Golenvaux attempted
to dive this sump. After 7 meters it was totally blocked. At that
time, this was a big disappointment for us all!
But yesterday, after several tries, Michel Pauwels managed to get
through the sump, which proved to be very narrow, 15 m. long and with a
severe squeeze halfway. After another short sump, Michel could
walk into a gallery (2 x 2 meter) that he followed for about 30 meters.
There he returned, but the gallery still goes on!
For us this is great news. There is real hope that Michel
will be able to explore a big cave system behind this sump.
Click
here for a live report of the dive (in Dutch!)!
The distance to the resurgence is over 3 km. and the depth
potential is +/- 135m! In the cave a real streamway appears at -20m.
The total length is +/- 700m. To be continued...
 THE 7th ANIALARRA EXPEDITION ... AND THE BU56
In a few weeks, end of July, the 7th Anialarra-expedition
begins. Organized by Avalon but with participation of members these clubs:
Avalon, Hades, Marginal, De Grotters, Styx, Speleo NL. The expectations
are high; last year we did a big discovery: the Réseau Nostradamus. In that
giant galery there are probably many more things to explore. And maybe,
we will finally finish that dig in AN60, with a depth potential of over
400m.
After this bit of "training" in and on the Anialarra, five
die-hard Avalon members return to the mountains there, to make a classic
trip in the BU56-Puertas de Illamina. With its -1408m of
depth this cave is still the deepest of the PSM-massif; and once (in
1980) it was even the deepest of the world! It is a huge cave, difficult
and with a very spectacular underground river. To bottom this cave with
only 5, possibly 6 people is ambitious. We only have one week time; everything
must work out exactly as we planned. But we'll do our best.
MAY 2003
TROUGH-TRIP OF THE VERNEAU: A SUCCES
14 years after our first through-trip in 1989 of the Verneau (Doubs,
Frankrijk) we repeated this magnificent experience. One of the
longest through-trips in Europe (8500m long and +380 m of denivellation);
in a beautiful underground streamway.
The weather was excellent, but thunderstorms had been announced in the late
afternoon. To limit this risk, we started early (7h15) in the Grotte Baudin
en we went in upstream direction (Baudin to Bief-Boussets): this way we
would be out of the very dangerous downstream part of the cave in the afternoon.
Who could have known that in the afternoon... we would already be out of
the cave!
We were six this time (Annette, Paul, Mario, Jos, Mark &
Frank). We knew the cave quite well; we were in good shape and despite our
"high" average age (4 out of the six have passed 40) we raced through
the cave. After only 9,5 hours the first three surfaced in the Bief Boussets
entrance; the other party of three arrived about 1 hour later.
A great trip, something to be repeated. But at a more relaxed pace then,
which would give us the possibility to take some pictures.
By the way, just as in 1989, we used pontonni?es
and not neoprene suits. OK you' get wet but if you keep going then you just
don't have the time to get cold. Neoprene is no good idea in a 8,5 kilometer
trip in which 90% of the time you are walking in dry galleries or only shallow
water. Also interesting: we avoided the dangerous middle part
of the streamway (between Puits du Vieux Fou and Salle du Gnome) by taking
the Galerie de la Cote Jamey, a parallel river which
has been connected to the Galerie Lacuson in 1996. A safe, fast en
very beautiful alternative!
Finally: thanks goes to the Spekulozen because they
were so kind to let us use their ropes in the Bief Boussets!
MARCH 2003
Digging...
Over the past months we have done a lot of work in the area of Liège.
We have a dig going in Grotte Veronika. Wait and see... Then
we have done quite some work in Fissures (with help from GRSC and CRSOA)
in order to find a new upper entrance. Time being, 20 metres of new
gallery but not very much perspectives anymore in that dig. In Perseverance
we are working for weeks and weeks now, 50 metres were found yesterday.
We are asking everybody to stay out of our dig there, because it is a terribly
dangerous boulder collapse. A warning sign is in place.
New picture gallery Gouffre Berger!
In the past you could already admire here a picture gallery about
the Gouffre Berger. I have redone this completely. Instead of 20,
there are now 53 pictures. They are also much bigger and of better quality
than before. So don't wait and
start your virtual trip to
-1000m right now! (to fully enjoy this gallery, a 1024x768 screen
resolution is recommended!)
SpeleoBase 2.4.1 is there!
Several new features make SpeleoBase even more powerful and user-friendly.
Just some examples: there is now a powerful built-in search engine that
will allow you to search caves on any word you like. There are new
print-outs, you can now sort the cave table on any column, there are tooltips
and so on. Download here an give it
a try!
Avalon website honored!
Our site has been mentioned in the "Easy Computing Guide" that gives a short
review of the most interesting Benelux internetsites. On page 398, in between
the UBS and VVS websites (the only two other caving websites mentioned),
the Avalonsite was one of the few outdoorsites to receive three stars.
Cave Protection pages
I have received many, many positive reacties from all over the world, on
our section "Cave Protection" and the Powerpoint presentation
about Cave Protection issues. Thank you all! Volunteers have offered
to translate this presentation in even more languages. Currently it is available
in Dutch, English and French, but Italian, Spanish and Russian versions
are in the pipeline as well! As for me, I feel very happy to
have been able to make a small contribution to the internation protection
of caves!
JAN 2003
MORE CAVE PROTECTION...
The past few days I have been working on this important topic of our website,
especially completing the English translation. Your positive remarks,
from different corners of the world, are a stimulation to keep up my work.
You can now find a unique series of 15 cartoons by Serdu, illustrating the
Caver's Code of Honour, by
clicking here.
NEW IN OUR SITE: CAVE PROTECTION!
I have finally found (or made) the time to make
a big section in our website about cave protection.
Most of it is still in Dutch, but the English translation is going on.
But one the most interesting parts is already available in English: a
big slide presentation, that you can download for free and use in your
club or anywhere you want. The presentation covers most aspect of cave protection,
with dozens of pictures. Even well-trained cavers that already cave in a
very careful manner, might learn some new things of it.. so don't hesitate
and download this now!
Enjoy the reading and "Cave Softly"!
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