Boyd was downstairs getting ready to have another walk to look for cave entrances and as we were having breakfast we decided to have a look at the Grotte du Goueil dy Her as this is a major resurgence and requires good weather to explore safely.
First we drove as far as Arbas as the way to the cave lay between Labaderque and there so that Karen could buy the 1:5000 map showing the surrounding area together with the Felix Trombe- Henne Morte cave system in the small shop there (they also sold the large red guide book by Clement and Vennarecci for €30). Unfortunately Karen couldn't catch what the man in the shop was saying but it seemed that they had sold out.
We returned towards Labadareque and turned off to the right on a narrow road just past a parapente landing site which was signposted for escargots and for a chateau.
Karen realised she had left her SRT kit behind so we nipped back to the Gite, luckily not far away, to get it and then returned to the narrow road.
At the end of the road was a camp site or holiday village and a small private car park plus a second car park with no signs next to a chain link fence. Beyond was a large wooden sign talking about the "Bears" and a wide path. The Shepton Mallet Caving Club journal we had with descriptions of caves in the area mentioned parking at the car park then going upstream for 50 metres.
So we dropped down to the nearby stream and headed upstream. The water was quite low with many large moss-covered rocks and boulders and tree trunks and branches. At least it was shady and cool as we were all kitted up in caving gear.
We passed the stone piers of an old bridge and had passed well beyond the 50 metres quoted by the SMCC journal.
We kept on following the stream deciding that maybe we had parked in the wrong place and maybe we would come to the cave soon anyway. After quite a distance we realised that the cave wasn't going to appear so we turned around and headed back downstream.
When we were in sight of the car I saw there was a step in the stream bed lower down and a small worn path leading from next to the car park down 20 metres or so to the stream. I followed this path and saw that there was a junction in the stream with a second, drier stream bed further away from the car park.
I shouted for Karen but she wasn't near so I followed the second streambed upstream for a short distance and could see a limestone crag with some small black holes beyond some mossy boulders. This looked promising!
I soon found the cave entrance, which couldn't be seen until you were very close as the large boulders hid it. I turned my caving light on, left a bag at the entrance in case Karen cam so she would know I was there and went in. The passage was wide and easy walking soon leading to a slippery climb down with an in-situ handline. The cave didn't look particularly inviting as the floors and walls were covered with a thin layer of mud from the frequent floods.
I walked back to entrance and the back towards the stream junction and found Karen. We returned to the entrance and kitted up with SRT kit and I attached Karen's 11 metre SRT rope to the climb rather than rely on the in-situ handline as the rock looked very slippery and the climb was about 6 metres. It would have been silly to fall and break an ankle here!
We dropped down the rope and found on way led to a slippery, muddy climb upwards with a sheer drop to a low passage and the opposite way led to a walking-sized passage around a zig-zag. This was the way on.
A short distance later we came to a short 4 metre climb up. Karen was soon up this and I began to climb up after her. It was a bit awkward and very slippery. It was a rising traverse with some good handholds but I wasn't confident that I would be able to reverse it safely on the return. We thought about maybe retrieving Karen's rope form the previous climb but there was nowhere to belay it to that we could see.
So Karen went onwards around the corner for a short distance just to have a look and I waited. She was back after a few minutes and clambered back down the climb. She said she had found a slippery ramp which she climbed up which led to a second slippery ramp dropping down the other side. She wasn't confident that she would be able to climb back up again, so had turened around and returned.
We decided to call it a day even if we spent less time underground than we were on the surface looking for the cave!
We drove back to the Gite at about at around 13:00 to find Pete Wagstaff, Paul Thorne, Steve White and Phil Wall had arrived in their hire car after having flown from Stanstead to Pau this morning.
After saying "hello" and showing them where sleeping area (one section of the building upstairs was not to be used) the new arrivals borrowed my map and went off for a walk via Herran and along the nearby ridge.
Looking for the entrance
First climb just inside entrance
Some of the few formations in the cave
The entrance
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