Album / Mirolda '2004

The team
1. Stoletov Konstantin [steward] (Novosibirsk Diggers)
2. Pilyugin Maxim (Novosibirsk Diggers)
3. Schwartz Yuri [trip leader] (Novosibirsk Diggers, SSG)
4. Lieberman Sam (Novosibirsk Diggers, RRCPC)
5. Chizhov Andrey (SSG)
6. Favre Gerald (SSG)

Introduction. It all started in May 2003. Warmed by a spring sun Gerald and I were drinking red French wine at the entrance of Grotte du Huguenot and talking about caves, caving and small things. Somehow Mirolda that was a world deepest cave at that time popped up in the conversation. It turned out that in the eighties Gerald spent quite a time working there in the side fossil system, not the record one, but still rather deep (-800m), technically difficult and more excitingly with numerous unexplored passages. After another glass it became crystal clear that we should organize a trip there as soon as possible. A year later...

27.05.2004 (Thursday). Finally we are doing that. I am picking up Sam in Geneva airport and after a short rest we both go to Geneva Caving club (SSG) to get the gear, with which the club has agreed to sponsor us at the rate of 500CHF. The expedition in return has committed to make topography of the system parallel to Galerie du Shunt. The French group from Lyon claims its discovery some 20 years ago, but neither the map was made, nor the side passages explored. Nobody has been in the system since that time. The same evening Kostya calls from Samoens. Had been too lazy to get Swiss visa, he flew from New York to Paris, then went to Annemasse through Lyon by train and after by bus directly to Samoens. We agree to pick him up there tomorrow at 16:30.

28.05.2004 (Friday). We are leaving Geneva one and a half hours later then planned. Starting from 4pm Kostik begun to blackmail us with a threat to get drunk if we would not come in time. The man of his word by the time we met him was indeed drunk as a lord and only miracle has saved me from multiple injures after his cheerful greeting. In half an hour we are at Vallon d'en Haut the small village at the foot of the mountain Criou. That is the end of the road my Honda could handle, so we start our foot ascent, while Gerald keeps driving his Toyota Previa loaded with all our food and equipment "as far as possible". Half way up we see Geralds car and take a part of the load. Around 20:30 we reach Chalet Criou, the small village of 14-15 huts where we intend to make our surface base camp. Gerald owns one of the small huts, while the rest of us have occupies mountain refuge, which is free at that time of the year. One more trip down to Geralds car and up with more equipment and beer and the daylight is gone. Fondue welcome party and interesting conversation with Daniel Colliard (mister Mirolda), who came with his son around midnight, complete the evening.

29.05.2004 (Saturday). In the morning the entire team goes up to Mirolda entrance. The sky is blue and the sun is shining over the Mont Blanc at the opposite side of the valley. It takes us about half an hour to reach the place. Sam, suffering from the consequences of Yorkshire fever, wisely decides to stay on the surface for monitoring his health condition, which might be getting worse after yesterdays ascent with a heavy load. Around 11am the rest with the load of equipment (ropes, hanger plates, bolts, Hilti perforator, gas stove and some food) starts the descent. The entrance part of the cave till the place called "Le Carrefour" (The Crossroads) is permanently rigged by Colliard and Co. At "Le Carrefour" Gerald gives the right direction and starts to climb up. This time his mission is over. The rest continues down till the first vertical drop. At the beginning of the system in the side passage we find an old storage of Cyril Arrigo and Laurent Dumont, who have been making their climb in the cave year 2000. There is about 40 meters of rope and some ten hanger plates, which we decide to use. We split in 2 two men teams: Kostik with Max (The Lucky Bargees ) and I with Andrey (The Wrekers). After lunch made of magic American dehydrated food Kostya and Max start to climb back while I and Andrey begin to rig. Further down the cave the ropes and anchors are more then 30 years old. In many cases anchors are simply disintegrating at the attempt to be unscrewed. We rig 3 steep slopes before P5, the pitch itself and stop before P9. I hoped that we might be able to reach The Grand Traverse the same day, however it turns out that there are many more obstacles to rig then indicated on the plane. The most unpleasant discovery is that those obstacles are taking much more rope and hanger plates then simple vertical pitches. Around 8 pm we return to the base camp. In the meantime Kostik and Max brought up the rest of the equipment and food from Gerald's car.

30.05.2004. (Sunday). In the morning Sam is flat. His worst predictions about Yorkshire fever came true. He feels himself ill and sick. I hate waking up early Andrey is another pair of shoes he is a trained mountaineer this guys are used to start early. However we both leave the base camp for the cave at 7 am. We rig P9, P5 and the slope after. At the head of the P10 Kostik and Max, who have left the base camp at 11am, "The Lucky Bargees", join us. In half an hour we all stand at the beginning of the Grand Traverse to discover that we have only four hanger plates left since Kostik and Max forgot all their plates in the base camp. After a short lunch on the platform at the beginning of the traverse we agree that Kostik and Max will install the remaining plates and rig as much as they can while I and Andrey will start our climb back. The control time for "The Lucky Bargees" is set for 5am tomorrow morning. By 4pm Andrey and I are in the base camp. The weather got worse. From time to time outskirts sink into thick fog. Sam got better and started active work about the house. He cleaned the hut, sorted all expedition food and gear. By ten in the evening it gets completely dark, however Max and Kostik still have not return to the camp, though the amount of work they could possibly do needs three hours at maximum. By the midnight the perspective of the rescue operation becomes quite vivid. As agreed we set up to wait for the morning light trying get some rest before difficult day.

31.05.2004. (Monday). The sunrise is at 4:30, Max and Kostik still did not show up. Andrey and I take a sleeping bag, first aid kit, some food and gas stove and start to the entrance. Sam is staying in the base camp to call for full scale rescue if nobody shows up by the evening. In half an hour we are at the entrance. Changing into caving suites, filling the lamps with carbide takes 15 min more. All of a sudden we hear the noise of the party progressing along the passage towards the entrance. "Show me this motherfucker, who pulled up the rope to the shelf at P15!" with those words we see the head of Kostik. Everything turns out to be very simple. Yesterday, ascending last I pulled up the rope with my tackle bag to the shelf 5m above the bottom of the first pitch of the entrance cascade. In couple of hours after we left them "The Lucky Bargees" had spent the remaining four hanger plates and started their ascent to discover that the rope at the beginning of the entrance cascade was well above their reach. Jumping, screaming and swearing did not help. At this desperate point one of the two (who would now name me the hero) got the bright idea to go back to the Grand Traverse, take the perfo and climbing gear, fetch few hanger plates from the already rigged pitches and climb the wall to get the bloody rope. No sooner said than done, in six hours Kostya got the rope and after solemn tea the couple went out just in time to meet their rescuers. To summarize the disastrous outcome of the long day, Kostya and Max made full power 19 hours trip with the minimal yield. The precious power of the perforator's batteries is spent for nothing and the heavy drill itself now again has to be transported down to the traverse. The already made rigging is partly damaged, the time lost and worst of all there was nobody but myself to blame. Still after all nobody was injured. We are going the base camp to take a nap for the new plan for "The Wreckers" is to go overnight to catch up with the time.

1.06.2004. (Tuesday). Rigging the Grand Traverse is a key step of the entire project. Before it is done the exploration of new system and simultaneous work of two teams is impossible. We live the base camp around 8pm Monday evening. Some time is spent to restore the damaged rig and now we have to pass the traverse. It takes us five hours on the wall to make it. The first battery has gone just at the last anchor. Hard work, though we only had to change the old setup. It must have been very difficult and scary for Gerald to traverse here for the first time! After the traverse starts spectacular large freatic passage called Galerie Hasselblad, which later turns into large "Galerie du chenal de voute" (The Gallery With Gully On The Roof). Formally there are no pitches along the way however many deeps and steep slopes obstruct it. All obstacles are rigged with an ancient rope. We are not changing anything, we simply do not have spare time and rope. After a quick lunch in the middle of "Galerie du chenal de voute" we are leaving the tackle bag with the climbing gear and perforator accompanying that with a note to Max and Kostya. By now they must have left the base camp and may soon pass here to start their work in "Le Double S" (The Double S). After less then an hour of walk we are at the junction: above is "Le Double S", straight ahead, after a narrow orifice lays the new system to explore and to map. However, that is too much for today, we are turning home. On the way back we are passing the tackle bag left for Kostik and Max. The note is still in place indicating that they have not been here yet. We soon meet them at the traverse, quickly discuss the plan of their work, wish a good luck and start our slow climb to the surface. This time we are attaching the rope at the bottom of the famous Ð15, no more feats of arms. At noon our 16 hours underground trip is over. The weather is ugly, it is raining and foggy. At the base camp sprightly Sam serves hot tea. The rain became stronger in the afternoon, however we don't care we take a nap. The evening starts with loud swearing of "The Lucky Bargees". They returned home wet from top to toes. As it turned out in case it is heavily raining outside there is a strong shower on the entrance cascade. Beside that Max had forgot the map of the cave in the base camp so folks took the wrong passage at the exit from Husselblad, and spent couple of hours for nothing crawling in the mud with three heavy bags. Nevertheless today they managed to climb and rig "The Double S" and P15 which is a pretty good job.

2.06.2004 (Wednesday). It rained all night and keeps raining in the morning. Nobody relishes taking cold bath at the entrance cascade and then spend entire day in the cave been wet and cold. Andrey calls his wife with mobile and asks to look up the weather forecast. She replies shortly saying that it will rain all the day but it is going to change during the night and be sunny next few days. After debates we decide to sacrifice planned photo trip and wait till tomorrow. What could be better in the caving expedition then staying out of the cave in the warm sleeping bag drinking wine and Extra Fine Excrements of Johnny Walker while reading truly delirious detective book "Da Vinci code" borrowed from sober Sam.

3.06.2004 (Thursday). It is the last trip of the expedition though the true exploration is yet to be started. Both teams start early in the morning to work as long as possible. Kostik sets the time limits. Tomorrow evening he must be in Lyon to take the train for Paris early next morning. With no adventures we reach "Le Double S". Careful Max insists that we set up the check point in 12 hours at this very place. I argue that the time is too short but yield to the brutal force. Andrey and I go to map the new gallery, Kostya and Max climb up to explore the new pitch after "Le Double S". The new gallery turns to be the whole little system with two 4 meter drops, several pitches (P17, P8, P4, P5) and unpleasant traverse above the vast fault. It also appears to be much longer then anticipated, at some point we start to think that we might have missed the junction with main system and went further down or in the new side passage. Despite all the fears we keep descending and finally see the old red dynamic rope, exactly the same as in "Gallerie Husselblad". That should be the R5 at the main system. The circle is closed. The loop does exist. It is also true that we are not the first to close the loop. All the way down we have seen the old (how old?) ropes on the pitches. The way they are rigged makes them likely to remain untouched since the pioneer descend. To avoid the risk we always put our ropes trying to use natural anchors or the old artificial ones if they looked safe to save the time. We had to put just one new spit at P17. It is time to return back and make topography. Clearly we will not be able to make it within the control time but we must deliver the map to work off the sponsor's money so we decide to break the rule. Half an hour past the control time we finish the topography and meet Kostik who went down to check if we are still alive. He and Max rigged and descended the new pitch (about 15m deep) in the "Gallerie u Shunt". The short passage that starts from the bottom of the pitch soon ends with 5m drop with the narrow crack at the end. Kostik squeezing through the crack was able to see the larger gallery with the rope placed on the opposite wall. Likely that was a junction with the system I and Andrey was working in. Taking our data together we may conclude that the entire system of passages around "Gallerie u Shunt" consists of three loops.

4.06.2004 (Friday). We feel tired and thus are very slow on the way up, nevertheless by 9am after 25 hours underground we are out. Two hours of quick sleep and we set to descend from Chalet Criou down to the road loaded with all this countless gear. Gerald, where are you with your magic car? At the same time Tanya and Zulya start from Geneva with Andrey's car to meet us. Somehow by 4pm we manage to get down alive. Max, Andrey and Zulya go directly to Geneva while I Tanya and Sam are driving to Annemasse to bring Kostik to the train station. Nobody new the time-table so we arrive 15 minutes after the last train to Lyon has gone. I have to keep the word and drive Kostya to Lyon myself. It is not far, about 150km one way but it is damn ugly to drive on the highway after only 2 hours of sleep in two days. I try to change with Tanya, but it turns out that she has left her license at home. After hard wrestling with sleep we reach Lyon without accidents. Ciao Kostya! ?Hasta la vista baby! On the way back we finally decide to break the law and switch driving with Tanya. It should be pretty safe nobody ever heard of someone being checked on the highway in France. I drive to the nearest petrol station to change and get right in hands of vigilant French gendarmes. They check my driving license and car registration; make alcohol test and inspect the trunk full of dirty gear. Timely warning, we do not want to change anymore so I drive back home myself.

5.06.2004 (Saturday). It is Tanya's birthday. Sam and I make a present and indefinitely postpone the wash of dirty gear in our bathroom. In the evening we go to Saint-Sergue to see the festival of Russian bardic songs.

6.06.2004 (Sunday). I get rid of Sam leaving him in the depths of Geneva airport.
The End.

Conclusions. It was a great trip without fatal adventures. We have changed the rigging all the way down from "Le Carrefour" till P15 after "Le Double S" except ropes in the Hasselblad gallery. Only the very last rope in Hasselblad is changed. The pitch with the question mark in the "Gallerie u Shunt" is inspected. According to Kostik and Max the chimney above this pitch does not look promising. Also the new gallery parallel to "Gallerie u Shunt" is mapped. All in all we have mapped 242.5m of passages with total elevation of 92m. In the future it would be interesting to check the chimney on ones left just after exit from the "Grand Traverse". A lot of water goes out of it during high water season like spring. There are also some interesting new galleries coming from the right in the new system. From them the most interesting is the meander joining from the right side at the platform at P17.

Yuri Schwartz, 4.12.2004 - 25.02.2005, Geneva (Switzerland) - Highland Park (USA)