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Outdoor
Vacation: |
Caving
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| Caving |
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| The underground formations,
caves and galleries are an important component of the Lebanese natural
heritage. There are more than 300 caves most of which exceed 20m
in length. The majority of these caves have been formed through
centuries of water activity within them, creating indescribable
stalagmites, stalactites, pisolites, pillars and draperies.
A few of these grottos have undergone
overhauling to receive tourists, while many others are accessible
to the scholars and the adventurous type.
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Mar
Challita Cave
| Mar
Challita cave (named after a nearby chapel devoted to Saint
Challita), below the village of Qnat, North Lebanon, has been
well known since the Bronze Age. It was explored in the early
fifties by SCL and mapped for some 500m by ALES in 1994. They
ended at a very narrow squeeze just above the water line,
with a strong draft. It was described as follows (4) '...
deux séances de désobstruction au marteau +
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burin,
sans grands résultats. La suite du réseau appartiendra
à ceux qui utiliseront des méthodes plus radicales.'
In September 1996, three of us went down to the squeeze, of
which two large parts on the left side were blasted away,
using two cartridges. Attempts to do the same on the right
side failed, probably because the rock was soaked wet there.
However, the obstacle could be passed in quite a sporting
way. Later on the obstacle was widened just a bit more by
our Lebanese colleagues, whose body-shapes aren’t always
compatible with the sport they’re practicing…
Behind the squeeze, 530m of very beautiful active passage
were found. On top of a red-colored cascade, there are two
ways on. The left and narrower gallery leads to an impenetrable
sump and a too narrow side passage in which part of the water
disappears. On the right side, the main passage is followed
by a wet crawl to end in a large chamber where the water comes
out of a two by two meter sump. Here, a narrow and muddy rift
with icy draft (Mar Charrière) might bypass the sump,
but it requires lots of digging.
One year later, September 6, 1997 we are back at the cave
for filming (the movie was later on given to the local municipality)
and further exploration. The sump was dived by Vincent Coessens
and rigged up to an air bell with plenty of formations. It
is clear that further exploration of this sump would be very
paying and could give clues about the bypass.
The entrance to the cave has now been closed to protect both
the natural and historical richness. Recently we were told
that a group of open water divers explored the sump and reached
a dry passage. Their reports are however very messy from speleological
point of
view, as they did not care about the passage but only about
deep water! |
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| Mgharet Al Hamam (Pigeons’
Cave, Bcharré) |
| Pigeons’
cave was one of the many holes in the 200m deep canyon of
the Qadisha valley. After a closer look from the opposite
side, we noticed a pile of 3 rocks behind a bush in the cave
entrance, which looked like a stonewall. Many caves in the
valley were inhabited in Medieval and even earlier times and
used as hideout. As this cave was not yet explored |
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because of its
high inaccessibility, exploration would be worthwhile. However,
none of us had an explanation on how the inhabitants could
ever have reached this cave…
Together with cavers from GERSL, which have many archeologists
amongst their members, we started the descent towards the
cave. Hanging on the rope at the cave level (but still some
25m away from it), we got more and more convinced that man
piled up those stones.
It took us several weeks
to make it to the entrance, as the cave had to be approached
from the side. Quite a long traversee was rigged, whilst
half of Bcharré town was watching from the other
side of the canyon (the local priest was praying to God
to support the climber).
The cave showed several signs of inhabitation; apart from
two stonewalls, we found a square basin that was dug out
in the floor, and several holes in the walls. Total development
was however very disappointing from speleological point
of view.
The mystery on how people ever got there without using modern
abseil and climbing techniques remains a mystery.
When going up he ropes again, National Security, which had
been alarmed that we were taking away the gold, awaited
us. The only shiny things they found were our survival blankets!
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| Mgharet Merheb (Aaqoura)
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Mgharet
Merheb is another cave on the Aaqoura plateau. It was explored
over more than 100m by local villagers up to a 7m pitch that
gave into the active level. It was explored and mapped (302m)
by GERSL in 1989. They ended in a large chamber with a lake
below a 25m cascade.
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| Hoping to find
the same kinds of galleries as in the nearby cave of Ain el
Libne (this cave develops in the same kind of limestone) we
attempted to climb this cascade. A lot of effort and adrenaline
was put in this undertaking. It took us three days to reach
the top of the cascade and another day to get on top of the
pitch above it, from which a 50m free hang can be rigged.
Unfortunately, the active part gets too narrow very soon,
where the water comes out of a small hole. An attempt was
made to find a high level bypass. This led to the discovery
of a very beautiful fossil meander with some remarkable formations,
which again ended after some 70m. The survey however shows
that both levels are superimposed; a more thorough search
or even a dig might lead back into the active level. Blasting
remains an option in the active part. Climbing the pitch in
Mgharet Merheb is probably one of the most spectacular climbs
ever undertaken in Lebanon |
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