Caves of the Lot November 20, 2006
Posted by chris in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so farAfter the outing to Doubs it was inevitable we had to have another go at this diving underground thing. After all the Dordogne is supposed to be one of the best places in the world to do it!
We were based in Gramat at the hotel “relais de gourmands” near the train station. If you need to stay somewhere its highly recommended as is its very fine restaurant, however, the restaurant was not open either Sunday or Monday night, a PITA if you turn up late hoping to get something to eat…
Instructor Pat had arranged to meet at the hotel on Saturday morning at 8.30 (much to my annoyance – why so bloody early huh?) Thankfully when we arrived breakfast was laid on and after several coffees things seemed better. Everyone else had (as usual) driven through the night while Kelly and I had a pleasant night’s kip in the Ibis Hotel about 40km away. Pat was overly enthusiastic as ever and running about like a 20 year old instead of acting his age (a year younger than me – like kinda old man…) He had spent the “night” (well from 4am) asleep outside…. The Belgian Paras are obviously well ‘ard blokes J
After grabbing some cheese, ham and red wine for lunch we set off for the first dive. This was to be the Source de St-Sauveur. We were joined on this trip by Oli, another IANTD instructor, but a cave virgin. Oli had a GPS unit in his Merc van and so we all followed him. After stopping to look at the map a few times we eventually found the place. Map 1, technology nil.
The source is down a road with a no-entry sign on it. You then go through a gate, also with a no-entry sign on it. About 400m down a dirt road you arrive at a little parking area. On another gate was a sign in French and English “cave diving is temporarily suspended at this site due to high levels of silt. Parking beyond this notice is prohibited.” Hmm… not a good start. We walked down to the entry point. There were three vehicles parked there, one French another UK registered and a Belgian car. A group of divers were in the water with a collection of stages and scooters.
Cave diving lesson 1. Never, under any circumstances whatsoever, take any notice of any signage, official or otherwise. Road signs apply only to other people.
Kelly and I were first in. We started kitting up only to find the left valve knob on my twinset had been broken during the journey. I swopped it out for one off a stage but now we were a bit late and the time pressure stress was building up. Entering the water I found one of the zip ties had broken on the helmet mounted light. De-kit and back to the van. By now I was well stressed. Breathing like a train I started the dive. Pat in front, me in the middle, Kelly at the rear. I like to have a few breaths off the backup after a couple of meters and this time it felt wrong. I had replaced the bungie with some thick surgical tubing and it made the 2nd stage feel funny in my mouth as the tubing pressed against my lips.
Pat was annoyed with the kit faff and was trying to make up some time. I was being rushed and his lights were soon disappearing into the darkness and I was even more uncomfortable trying to keep up.
At 23m there is a constriction, maybe about 50m into the system. I took one look and turned round. I signalled to Kelly to carry on and to Pat that I was canning the dive. I barely glanced back as I returned up the line to the daylight. At 4m I made a safety stop and laid on the bottom of the entry pool watching the little fish. What a twat I thought. It was my fault – the kit should have been checked earlier. I should have carried a spare knob in the toolkit and I should have made at least one test dive with the kit after fitting the new tubing to the backup reg.
Pat and Kelly passed the constriction and then after a while turned back. On the way out she did her blacked-out mask drill. We had done this in the training dive in the lake but Pat wanted to do it in the cave environment as well. I was going to have to play catch-up for the rest of the trip.
After lunch we were to dive the site a second time. Pat decided that he would take me on my own and everyone else buddied up for a pleasure dive. His patience had returned and he decided to deal with my apprehension and take it easy on a no-drill, just for fun dive. He need not have bothered - I had made my mind up to go through the constriction on the safety stop of the last dive, but I guess it was the right thing to do from his viewpoint.
We set off again down through the murky water of the entry pool, past the little fish and tree branches. The cave entry looms up like a sinister black void, a point of no return, the last thing you will ever see. What ever persuaded anyone to go in there in the first place beats me. Crazy. Once inside the white limestone reflects the torchlight and the atmosphere changes. The viz improves as you enter the clear spring water flowing out. Beneath you is a gravel floor sloping down to the constriction at 23m.
Pat went through and turned to watch me. I was through the constriction in a single fin kick. With my stomach touching the gravel I passed through easily without the tanks touching the rock at all. The other side the passage is large, maybe 3-4m in diameter. The floor changes to pure white limestone and it is surprisingly light, almost “airy”. The passage drops very slowly to 70m in the distance. The plan was for me to turn the dive as I hit thirds. My no-deco time was fast running out and I turned a little early but we had made a good 100m penetration. With the current now pushing us out the exit was far quicker than the entry. At the constriction I still had 4 minutes no stop. My early turn was over-cautious.
Day one had passed well and I had made one dive out the two. The pattern was set.
Sunday morning was the Fontaine du Trouffe. The entry is a small pool at the side of a dirt track. Once again it is necessary to pass the no-entry signs in order to get there! The start is a squeeze and Pat had, once again decided that I would go first. (Why oh why oh why?) I followed him down to the entry point in the clear blue water. It took him a minute or two and juggling the bailout he sort of went in sideways. I stuck my head in and soon found that this wasn’t going to work. The only way in is fins first. I turned and began to slide into the tiny aperture. About half way in Pat held my leg – I’m sure he was only trying to guide me in the right direction but to me it felt like I was being pulled through. I popped out like a cork and canned the dive. Kelly slipped though effortlessly as I watched her from the surface. Again I found myself annoyed at myself.
I watched the others as they each managed to get thought the squeeze. Even Oli who like me was no fan of small spaces and had been equally as nervous as me the day before.
I was left outside the cave as everyone else was having a great dive. Pat’s missus Sophie and their dog were surface cover so we chatted for a while. Although she is an accomplished tec diver she doesn’t do caves. Ahh…. a sympathetic ear from a pretty young woman. As she and the dog wandered off up the track it struck me how stupid I was. I should have dropped in again and just practiced the squeeze a few times before the last buddy pair had left. I had been worried about getting out and knew that Pat would stay down to oversee everyone leaving me to exit on my own. But with the knowledge I could do that it would have not been an issue. After all, all the other blokes were bigger than me.
About 20 minutes later bubbles began to emerge and a torch light flickered the other side of the hole. I could just make out a yellow helmet. It was Kelly. She was on her own and as I expected Pat was running exercises with the others. It was my chance. With her watching me I returned to the water and once again backed into the squeeze. Kelly had said keep to the right of the hole and I could now feel this was the correct way in. The tanks were scratching on the rock above me and the drysuit inflator pressed into my chest but a gentle push and I was through.
I exited the way I had come in and the exit was much easier. Smiling to myself I entered the cave again, this time Kelly followed me and we passed the second constriction into the entry chamber. Big OK signs all round. I looked in front of me. Bugger. The backup reg was hanging down loose and not under my chin as it should be. Kneeling on the bottom I asked Kelly to watch me and put the thing back on. I took off the helmet and then pulled the reg over my head. Brilliant dick-head, now the mask is over my mouth not my eyes and I have no gas. In front of me is a bloody great squeeze, I’m in a cave and cannot see or breathe. Twat. I pulled the mask back up a bit and replaced the primary reg.
The mask skirt is all over the place now so the easy answer – take the thing off and put the necklace over my head. Now put the primary back in my mouth and re-fit the mask. At first I cannot get the mask to seal and it refills as quick as I clear it. A bit more jiggling and its sort of OK. I toy with the idea of taking the gloves off but the water is too cold. The seal isn’t perfect but it’s OK to make the exit. I take the helmet back off Kelly and put it on my head just as Pat arrives. He shakes hands and makes a big OK, pleased that I have got in the system. Then asks if I want to do the blacked out mask drill with him. I decline as water is still flooding the mask. The three of us exit.
I’m all geared up now for the afternoon dive but a venue change is suggested and we head off for the Fontaine Saint-Georges after some cheese, sausage, ham and wine…
Saint-Georges is a very big entry pool. There are large fish, even a couple of nice sized trout. Again parking is easy and the dive a short walk from the car. Perfect. Kelly and I are to go first and do an OOG exit on the long hose. There is a constriction at 29m after which the cave turns upwards. Kelly and I agree the constriction is to be the turn point for us.
The rock in Saint-George is dark unlike the other dives. It is clear our lighting is inadequate and the atmosphere is not pleasant. The passage is wide but not very high and the drop is very fast. At 25m Kelly has had enough, her tanks are going a bit adrift and she feels spooked. She signals to Pat and we head up while he waits for the others.
On the surface she is now the annoyed one. But we soon have the tanks re-jigged and the set up is much better. She buddies up with new boy Greg for the OOG exercise, but its too much faff for me. More catch-up for me later….
Monday is another day of maps, disputes and GPS as we search for the Trou Madame. This is a shallow system stretching a couple of kilometres into the rock. I had read about this cave earlier and was hoping that we would not dive it as it involves a lot of carrying kit. The cave is the emergence of a river at the head of what is best described as a boulder stream. You walk (well scrabble) up the boulder stream and then into the shallow water at the head until it is deep enough to begin the dive. Today the water was lower than usual and this meant dragging the twinsets through a very low dry passage. It would have been much easier swimming it.
Kelly starts the day with a migraine and decides that an hour’s sleep in the car is needed. I just look at the logistics and can the thing point blank. After some food everyone begins the marathon task of porterage and kitting up. Kelly and I help out with lamp duty and watch the guys depart. We decide to suit up and have a look at the shallow part of the pitch. Without scuba gear it is possible to wade at least 120m into the system making us about 180m from the outside world.
After that Kelly goes back to sleep. The planned dive is about 2 hours and going in as far as the third air pocket. After nearly 3 hours Sophie is a little worried and I decide to sit in the cave and listen out for activity. My main torch is already flat from the morning so I use a battery powered backup. To conserve batteries I decide to turn the torch off while I wait. It is pitch black, it makes no difference whether your eyes are open or closed and the only sound is the occasional drip of water from the roof falling into the pool. It is easy to imagine things in the darkness – all of a sudden it is a cold lonely place to be, my grip on the torch tightens – it is my only route out. As I sit there my thoughts turn to Penny Glover, what a sad way to go, cold and alone in the utter darkness. I turn the torch on and once again can see the now familiar pool and entry point.
After a while I can hear bubbles. Then voices. It is Pat and Greg, they are discussing an exercise. After a second or two the voices turn back to bubbles and then silence again. I leave the cold of the cave and go report to Sophie that all is well and they are nearing the end of the excursion. Kelly is asleep in the car curled up in a ball. I walk along the track for a while in the stunning scenery of the region and then for a while at the side of the water. It is full of life, birds and insects dart about and the water gurgles over mosses and water plants. Ferns draw their moisture from the spray, their roots perilously clinging to the tiniest of cracks in the bare rock. It is a stark contrast to the inside where there is only bare rock and virtually nothing alive at all.
Soon everyone is back and chatting excitedly about the dive. They have been nearly a kilometre. Kelly and I talk about buying some lighter tanks to do this kind of dive, Pat sells carbon composite 300 bar tanks and I wonder if this might be a sensible way to go. The twin 10 Fabers are just too heavy for hauling over his kind of terrain for an old git like me. I wish I was 20 again, I grew up on a farm and would have taken this in my stride. I guess 20 years of business lunches and working in an office have taken their toll.
Tuesday morning and Kelly’s migraine has cleared. It’s the last day and we head for the Emergence du Ressel for our final dives. Kelly still needs to do some reel work to finish and I have that as well as the blacked out mask and the OOG exit. It will not be possible for me to finish today.
The site requires a scrabble down the river bank with the kit, but nothing like the day before. After three days of grey and drizzle the sun comes out and it turns into a beautiful day, one of those fine days of autumn that rival anything the summer can offer.
The cave emerges into a river about 20m downstream of the entry and egress point. The river is icy cold but the water in the cave about 12 degrees like the other caves. Again we are first and Pat gets Kelly to do her reel exercise on the way in and me to do the OOG exit on the way out. As Kelly ties off the line she drops the torch but carries on. I recover it and stick it in the bellows pocket of the drysuit. After 40m Pat is happy with the line laying and we go in a bit further just for fun. We turn after about 40m and head back out. At the reel we begin gas-sharing and we swim out. I take the lead as I know Kelly is only on her backup torch.
After a few minutes we are blinking in the strong sunlight and back on the surface of the river. The guys are there ready to start their dive. Pat is happy with both exercises and we agree to go back in and recover the reel after they have been in for a few minutes.
We let the guys go off on their dive and then return to the cave. It is like the earlier ones a pure white limestone and so it feels bigger and lighter than it really is. The strata of the rocks are at an angle and the passage is an odd shape. It’s big enough that it would be easy to lose the line in poor viz. Kelly and I go back inside about 100m where there is a huge area of boulders that have fallen from the ceiling. After a good look round we turn and head out again, meeting some French divers on their way in. Kelly reels back in and I wait behind her watching the line slowly recover. For the first time in the four days in notice that my breathing has dropped back to my normal open water level, I think about it for a moment and try to breathe slow and deep. Kelly’s errant finning as she struggles with the huge reel annoys me – at last!! – a normal dive moment. I smile to myself.
All too soon the daylight shows though and in front of us the green murky water of the river replaces the crystal clear water of the cave. I look at the computer to decide if we should make a small stop but already we are just 2.2m deep. We swim along the bed of the river to the exit point where Sophie and the dog are sunbathing and reading a book (well not the dog reading of course). Kelly de-kits in a hurry and rushes off for a pee leaving me to chat to Sophie. “What’s it like”? “More rock” she smiles – “not truk lagoon then”? she and I are agreed that this is not our preferred diving. “Its good practice for wrecks though”. We agree. She looks at me “if you can do this then you can do anything”. I nod my head and at last figure out why I am here.
We go to the Ardeche in February and hopefully I will do those last two exercises…
