August 2006 Trip to Le Gouffre Jean Bernard, Haute Savoie, France
The Gouffre Jean Bernard (JB) is situated near Samoens in the Haute Savoie region of France, about an hour’s drive from Geneva. The cave reaches a depth of -1602m from the highest entrance and has an overall length of approx 21km. Trips to the lower regions of the cave are only possible in winter months due to high summer water levels caused by seasonal glacial melting. However, a large part of the cave is still accessible during the summer and with several entrances into the system throughout its length and depth, numerous through trips are possible.
Our trip had two main aims:
- To attempt a through trip from one of the higher-level entrances,B22, to the lowest entrance V4. This trip would take in a large section of the upper and middle part of the cave, including the main streamway, two siphons (or bypasses depending on conditions) and several kilometres of classic French cave
- To see how far down into the lower section of cave from the V4 entrance we could get before being washed away!
The original plan to wild camp near the V4 entrance was (thankfully) ditched on finding that the Refuge du Folly, situated midway between the car park and the top entrance (1200mtrs vertically apart), and near to the V4 entrance, had vacancies and served cold beer ! So with our space reserved we were on our way.
Week One
Bean and I arrived a week before the rest of the team and having lugged all the ropes, carbide and caving kit up to the refuge we spent the next few days reconnoitring the various entrances and carrying out some preparatory works, comprising of :
-
Locating the V4 and V11 entrances, not easy in near blizzard conditions!
- Route find from the V4 entrance to the siphons and siphon bypasses (including the most important one not shown on the survey or mentioned in any description of the cave, that a French caving contact had told me about ) checking that the necessary fixed hand lines were in place and usable – They were!
- Drinking all the Refuge’s supply of Beer
With the tasks completed we had a few days to play with so we did a V11 to V4 through trip, which would help us with some route finding on the main through trip (A brief note is needed here – When the local cavers advise a hand line for the 30mtr ice toboggan in the entrance, with a 10mtr blind pit at the bottom, take one! I trusted Bean and once again was right in it on sheet ice at a 45deg angle relying on pebbles frozen in the ice, and Beans head, to stop my slide into doom!) Once in this through trip is a great introduction to the mid part of the cave and definitely helped our understanding of the system.
The next day we went downstream from the V4 entrance to see just how far we could get. This was a superb section of cave with great pitches, phreatic ramps and a thundering streamway. All too soon, however, we reached an impasse where too much water halted progress.
On our day off, if you can call it that, we went for a walk up to the glacial lake, about 600mtrs higher up the mountain, and after great days stomping about in the fresh snow returned to the refuge red faced and snow-blind! (Well you don’t expect snow in August!)
Week Two
The rest of the team, comprising Tav, Mak and Simon arrived and after a couple of introductory trips to the lower entrance, and a walk to locate the high level B22 entrance we were ready for the big through trip.
Having previously been given the confirmation, by a visiting Speleo Club Vulcain member that the through trip was rigged with the all-important fixed ropes on the up pitches we were off. Bean dropped the entrance pitch, followed by myself and the others. With the rope pulled down there was no going back now. Ahead I could hear Bean thrutching and cursing and then he uttered my most feared phrase “You won’t like that boy “ I didn’t !! We knew from the guidebook that there used to be a squeeze in the entrance series until it had been removed with explosives. All I can say is that they didn’t do a very good job of it! I eventually passed the short squeeze with lots of encouragement from some ex-friends and some more hands on assistance from Bean!.
There quickly followed a further longer squeeze, not quite as tight, but opening straight on to a 30mtr pitch ! Passing the squeeze involved clipping a cowstail into a loop of rope running through the squeeze and then pushing yourself backwards out into the abyss behind you, where you then had plenty of room to attach your descender. The fixed rope down this pitch had seen better days, a fact you only discovered two thirds down the pitch when passing a section worn through to the core ! Safely down this and the following pitches, we soon arrived at Les Champs Elysees, a fossil main trunk passage. There followed hours of stomping, dodgy rope climbs, rope rubbing pitches, superb helectite lined stream passage, classic French caving and some mud for good measure, before we eventually arrived at a point we recognised from our earlier forays. Route finding had been fine in the most part, particularly as at every major junction in typical French style there was a small metal route marker !
Avoiding the very wet first siphon via the rather muddy bypass, we soon arrived at the second siphon, which we were pleased to see, was low enough to pass. The route out form here to the V4 entrance is via a series of huge steeply ascending phreatic tunnels, fortunately rigged with fixed but very muddy handlines, intermixed with a few short pitches. We emerged to Sunshine and were soon back at the refuge having a well-deserved cold beer or three.
In closing, I would comment that the JB is well worth a visit. A classic French cave in a wonderful setting. I cannot recommend the Refuge du Folly highly enough. The staff were fantastic and we were warmly received and cared for, the food was superb and to cap it all Jean Moatti, the Refuge manager, has his own micro brewery in the kitchen, where strange drinks were sampled on more than one occasion. Go there !!
The team : Mark Helmore (Mark)
Mark Easterling (Bean)
Mark Kellaway (Mak)
Simon Richardson (Simon)
Robin Taviner (Tav)
