VERY LOOSE TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH L.S.D JOURNAL.
LOCATION:
From Caseton de Andara go towards the Pozo de Andara,
then take a left on the path which goes through the Mazarassa Mine
Zone. The entrance is the highest (T145), it is very easily located
by its large dimensions (8m by 15m). The opening is at 1840m altitude
at the left of the path. (see sketch of the zone).
DESCRIPTION AND EXPLORATION:
In 1979 LUSS descended the first two
pitches, but did not go any further. They stopped at a large
labyrinth of mine galleries. Later, we went approx. 1km more of
canals.
5/8/81 - on the advice of the English we rigged T145 again. The entrance pitch (13m) is truly imposing; vertical rock face on all sides. The second pitch (15m) of more modest dimensions, giving immediate access to a network of mines. These galleries, one section of 2m by 2m, are interesting because you are able to rejoin the pitches. We decided to follow the pitches that were heading downwards the most. At about 150m from the entrance and 1Om from the crossroads, we stopped at the top of a drop of 5m. At the bottom of which a room of 3m by 5m was found obstructed by a snowplug. 3 metres above our heads was a passage, piled with boulders and rubble held back by three beams. The back of the chamber is reached by sliding under the snowplug for about ten metres, then a new opening allows one to go by foot along a pretty walk, 2m wide by 3m high The Walk of the Metamorphosis. This goes as far as a pitch of 6m which draughts strongly. Our basic prospecting clothes (trainers and shorts) did not allow us to descend the cave any lower, we reclimbed to the surface to announce the news.
6/8/81 - Equipped with 400 metres of rope, we returned quickly to the terminus of the previous day, to equip a way through some annoying openings, to the level of the chamber, we secured a block suffeciently big to permanently prohibit aecess under the snowpatch... After P6 it is a pitch of about 10 metres at the bottom of which it is necessary to let oneself descend on a slide of snow to the summit of the following pitch, a P30 of very elongated form. Its width at the centre is 1Om and its length supersedes 20m.
At the bottom there is another snowpatch on which it was necessary to resume the same gymnastics onto a fallen rock to a sloping duct. Two successive pitches of 7 and 13m into a circular chamber of 15m diameter. The chamber extends to N.O (?) along a lightly concreted path leading to the top of a 4Om pitch. A climb of 3m precedes 2 superb cylindrical pitches of 10m and 7m. At 265 we were permitted to walk along a passage of 2m and 5m high which leads us exactly 100m further to the end of our exploration. A thin trickle of water runs along the path, with a very strong draught.
The noise of a waterfall was clearly heard which water flow was not comparable to the water already encountered. Some metres upstream an impenetrable inlet was found. Bottom at -293m
8/8/81 - we surveyed the cave. At the top of P40 a series of parallel pitches fall again to -265. At the bottom we cleared some rubble in just over an hour, permitting an advance of 2m. This led to a miniscule pool. More noise was heard beyond, but explosives were needed, we derigged and exited, discovering two more entrances FT16 and FT17.
