Topic

Only a few decades ago, miners had to get up every morning to dig in a mine for 12 hours to bring back enough money to feed their children. If they were lucky enough, they had a Sunday off to go to church. Today, some people working in front of a computer, go to a mine (understand a cave) on Sunday to dig.... for free. They even pay for it! Such a strange group of people met on Sunday in the car park of the cross-country ski resort above Autrans in the Vecrors. I joined too since the mining in France, unlike in UK, doesn't require a visa and PCR test.

We quickly packed up our stuff and got a bus, which took us a little closer to the mine. Then we followed the ski slopes to the entrance, which is conveniently located right next door. This fact of course attracts a lot of attention from the public. The entrance to the cave was relatively accessible and after a quick purge by Jeff, the path to the cave is ready. We then quickly headed to the scene of the action. 


Figure 1: Team on the way down to the site


As Hervé, Jeff and I were new to the site, we quickly explored the cave and discovered its potential. However, there was no time to waste. The mine managers were getting nervous very quickly and the miners had to get to work: we cleaned the walls and all the mud stored on the construction side and moved the buckets to the bottom of the last shaft. This warm-up task ended with lunch time, which we were allowed to have. At 1 p.m. we were finally able to start working on our actual project. 


Figure 2: It's coming along nicely.


One of the mine managers, Nicolas, actually decided that he would be the best person to dig the mud while the others continued to move the buckets. Bucket after bucket, stone after stone. More buckets and buckets. Much heckling, sighing, swearing. No crying. It was fun. Looking at the mud floor in my spare time, I dreamed of the miners going to church on Sunday. The deaconess was still being filled in behind us, which made me constantly anxious. When the head of the digging line finally got cramps in his fingers, Jeff was called to the scene. The frequency of bucket passes even increased. Bucket after bucket, stone after stone. More heckling, sighing, swearing. It was still fun. The scents that spread rapidly through the gut signaled that the rift was not yet closed and that the draught was still there. This kept our motivation high. When the time came, we stopped for the day. Nicola announces that we have progressed a "good meter". Are we happy? I don't know. Anyway, there are still two meters to go to a corner behind which, hopefully, the shaft opens up... On the way out, there was still a small hole under the rift for us to really get out!


Figure 3: Good memories of my holidays in the Vercors.

Outside, after 7 hours underground, it was already dark and snowing hard. I left before everyone else to keep warm, which of course meant I got lost in the forest. Fortunately, the lights of the Gite de Geve brought me back on track. The mine management seemed to be happy with their Sunday workers and they are allowed to participate in the future. As Jeff concluded, "it's promising".


Team photo at the end of Sunday (from left: Nicolas, Jeff, Herve, Jean and Ales).

PS: The cave is currently about 50 meters deep and thanks to a blasting draft it holds a good potential. 

Fabulous!