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GROTTE DE MOTIERS - Juny 2008

After having spent a couple of enjoyable days at the Congress of Cave Diving in Saint-Nazaire-en-Royans, I transfer to Switzerland for the exploration of the second sump in the cave of Môtiers.

The cave was explored by Jean-Jacques Bolanz as far back as 1985, to the depth of -102m. At that time, diving on open circuit was certainly more tiring than today's diving on closed circuit. At the end of the dive, it was necessary to transport all of the cylinders used out of the cave to refill them, while today it is sufficient to replace the filter and the two small 3lt. cylinders from  the rebreather. Years later, when Jean Jacques began to use the new machines, he was stimulated to continue the exploration using both the semi-circuit “Recy” and the closed-circuit “Voyager”, but different problems that cropped up prevented him from doing so. Now it's up to me to follow his guide line.

Monday, June 2 time flies, while I evaluate what equipment I would need for the exploration and then I store it adequately in the caving sacks ready to be carried into the cave. There would only be seven willing participants who would help me with the transportation, therefore I carefully choose just the indispensable materials among those available.

At 17.00 I am in the parking area near the cave, where also the other cavers arrive promptly on time. Greetings and presentations, then we set off towards the cave, which is five minutes on foot from there. We cross a short stretch of plain, then a few dozen meters up a steep path until we arrive at the foot of a magnificent waterfall, on the left of which is the entrance to the cave.

The cave of Môtiers, developed in the limestone massif of Travers, shows us all its geological grandeur, but not only this, it can also be connected with the story of an earlier past, witnessed by a plaque in memory of Jean Jacques Rousseau which was put on the boulder that lies at the entrance of the cave. It seems that the writer had spent a few days seated at the foot of the waterfall to draw up his Lettres écrites de la Montagne. Published in 1762, his two major works were banned both by the Parisian Parliament and by the Council of Geneva and thereafter they were also indexed by the Church. So, to avoid arrest, Rousseau escaped to the Prussian principality of Neuchâtel and once he had obtained political asylum, remained in the town of Môtiers.

To penetrate into the bowels made of sump waters of the cave of Môtiers, we have to cross a dry area of about half a kilometre. Each of us carries a sack on his back containing the cylinders, the regulators, the reel, the lights, etc.. We move on into the large tunnel, which slightly rises at first, and then walk along a horizontal stretch where we pass our first narrow passage, through which I can barely move, because of the closed circuit "Copis” on my back. We climb a small wall helped by a rope which has knots at regular intervals, then continue along a horizontal stretch up to a second restriction. There, I am forced to take off the "Copis" and ask for help to get it through the narrow passage. Then we reach the "Lake of Mud" which has this name because it is a stretch of gallery thirty metres long characterized by a floor which is completely covered by mud and which is ready to swallow up boots, socks, gloves and anything else which can be dropped by the unlucky adventurers. I hesitate for a moment before putting my feet into the muddy lake and as soon as I advance, I sink up to my knees in the mud. Loaded with the rebreather and even with the boots which were a size too big for me, it is a daunting task to free myself from that mud trap. At last I manage to go back a couple of meters and, once out of that unfortunate situation, I decide to cross the tunnel from the opposite side, which seems more solid to me. The correct choice. Finally we reach our destination: the first sump. The entrance pool is calm and inviting, it seems to be waiting for someone to make a ripple. Unfortunately, the clay also covers the slide like point of access, so it is not is difficult to imagine that the visibility would be impaired once I entered the water. I arrange all the equipment for the following day’s dive and foreseeing that I would have little time at my disposition, I prepare everything ready for immediate use. I remove the protection covering the individual pieces and assemble them, being careful not to allow mud to enter inside either the cylinders’ valves or the primary regulators. Then I test the rebreather: link the two oxygen and trimix cylinders together and carry out all the checks necessary to verify that nothing was broken during their transport. My "Copis" is completely covered in mud but intact. At the end I am satisfied because I managed to pack all the equipment necessary for deep diving in just eight sacks, one for each of us, even if not all of them are of equal weight: Altogether, we brought two 20lt.cylinders, one 15lt., two 10lt. and two 3lt., their own regulators, one reel for the progression and one for security, the lights and other small accessories. It’s time to go back and the return journey is much faster because we have nothing to carry. After leaving the cave, we descend to the river to rinse our suits, then we all drink a beer for friendship and solidarity.

On Tuesday, there are only three of us, but this is not a problem because the only things we have to carry are the suits and the warm under suits. Being light, our progress to the sump is fast. All goes smoothly until we arrive at the siphon, where we are face with a bitter surprise: the water level has risen by around 1.5 m.

Patrick knows that, if the water rises any further, it could close the narrow passage, the lowest in the cave, trapping us inside. What’s more the weather forecast for the following day is not promising and foresees heavy rain. So we decide that I would do just one reconnaissance dive.

I lay a cloth on the ground to keep my feet clean while I am dressing and, when I am ready, I head for the water. I walk across some clay that sucks at my feet and then let myself slip into the mirror of water. José hands me my fins and the 3 stage cylinders which are filled with different gases: a 20lt. containing a 13% oxygen and 80% helium mixture and two ten litres, one loaded with 35% oxygen and 35% helium and the other of pure oxygen. I had chosen the gases according to the size of the cylinders in order to be quicker and more agile underwater. In a moment I disappeared below the surface.

I initiate my progression laying a new line that would later be needed for the topography. The visibility is not good: it varies from zero in the first few meters, up to about one meter and a half throughout the rest of the dive. Inside the galleries, the rocks are covered in clay. If I had breathed with an open circuit, the clay on the ceiling  could have fallen onto me. Fortunately I am using a closed circuit.

The first sump descends gradually to the depth of -30m., continues horizontally for a few meters and then begins to climb almost vertically to reach the surface after about 160m.

In this type of cave it is more comfortable to carry out the exploration when the water level is high, so when the end of the first siphon is reached you are not obliged to climb up out of the water wearing all the equipment, to get to the second siphon. On this occasion there is even too much water, but despite this my progression is easy.

I therefore reach the second siphon without effort, passing the shallowest point which is at -3m. The cave changes morphology and suddenly I am in front of a fracture that descends with a steep slope. I follow Jean Jacques’ old line  when, at around -30m, I see that it leaves the large area to penetrate into a narrower one. I follow it for a few more meters, but when the passage gets too narrow, I swim back to test another hole that I can see which is lower and seems easier to pass. Indeed, I descend and progress without difficulty. Further on, I find the line again and continue to follow it down to about -43m. There I ascend a couple of metres and find a new restriction. I must fix the line firmly to their appropriate points because, in fractures of this type, if the line is not secured correctly, I could have some unpleasant surprises when I come back.

Once that obstacle has been passed, the fracture becomes generous in its dimensions, which favours my progression. I quickly reach the depth of -61m., 290m from the entrance. I decide to stop there, after diving for 30’. The choice is dictated by my lack of knowledge concerning the water system of this cave, therefore I distrust remaining inside it for too long. Even if I have a considerable margin of air autonomy to safely continue my progress, the limit of the dive is determined by an unavoidable factor: that of the weather. I cut the line, leaving a tail fifty centimetres long, so that I can easily attach my line again when I would next return, and then begin my re-entry.

Once I reach the first sump, I do a  little cleaning of the route by removing over 150m of old lines. I surface again in a now  turbid entrance pool after an hour of diving, I hand the equipment to my companions and once out of the water, analyze the future of the exploration with the others. According to the knowledgeable opinion of Patrick it would be better to postpone a new dive for a few days and wait for the weather to stabilize.

While Josè and Patrick pack up the material to carry out of the cave, I rest a while sitting in a muddy corner, with the “Copis” still on my back. Since the water temperature was 7 °, I begin to feel the cold accumulated during the dive, and I start to shiver. “Not too bad” I think to myself “I’ll soon warm up walking back with the “Copis” on my shoulders. On my return, in fact, as if by magic, the cold becomes warm, and the warm becomes hot, and finally, after having overcome all the restrictions carrying my “Copis”, I sweat.

The icy cold waterfall, which is located outside the cave, is very good for a quick rinse of the equipment which is then cleaned meticulously in the river removing all the clay and dirt accumulated during  the time spent in the cave.

Un ringraziamento particolare ai volonterosi partecipanti:
David Christen
Joel Scheuner
Josè Lamblelet
Patric Deriaz
Pierre-Alain
Rémy Wenger
Stéphane Girardin

Gigi Casati

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