Sima del Ternero (K901)
K901 3D Line Survey to the base of the ramp leading into Sala de la Resurreccion: rotate the image using the mouse.
Found in the first days of the 1990 expedition,
this cave can be described as comfortable and spectacular. Wondering down
through extensive, clean-washed pots, the rope work is both enjoyable and
pleasing to the eye.
Location
X: 341,35 Y: 4784,19 Z 1910 m
Depth -367 m
Surveys
Description
A small opening in the side of a shake-hole gives direct
access to the 16 m entrance pitch, rigged off naturals. A narrow 40 cm rift leads from its base
to a 3 m drop down on to the narrow head of a 39 m pitch. One rebelay and
deviation later sees the snow covered bottom. A short slope gives access
to a 40 m free-hanging blind pot with a small, shitty
rift at the bottom. The way on involves a difficult climb up, or
alternatively a 10 m pendulum from 10 m up to gain a large window.
Through this, a parallel pitch drops in to a boulder chamber -
a confluence of diverse ascending
rifts, with one scree slope which goes up
and up.
The way on is via a short climb and loose slope to a hole
with a drop of 19 s via 10 m and 32 m pitches.
From the base the cave closes down but for a narrow
way through to the upper part of a 41 m ramp. Here, the main perception is
one of darkness, accompanied by the boom of
resonating voices.
Although it begins in the previous rift, it is from this point where the
cave is seen clearly, to be formed along a major fault. Follow this fracture
down an uneven ramp of 41 m inclined at 65º to a large chamber
Sala de la Resurreccion
whose floor
is a collage of immense blocks and whose vaulted ceiling gradually looses
height to finish abruptly. At the base of the ramp a blind 20 m pitch joins
the water.>
At the far end of the chamber, and between blocks, descends a 23 m pitch.
After squeezing down 3 m between unstable blocks, the broadest and most
dangerous, uneven ramp of 105m follows. At the start, the shattered rock
and the stones break free just by looking at them, forcing the rigging to
be deviated towards the left. The ramp becomes steeper towards its base,
forming 15 and 21 m pitches. At the bottom a covered rift starts, choked
by boulders and rocks.
Geology Notes
Although it can be traced back to the base of the parallel shaft, it is in
the large chamber and the 105 m ramp where speleogenesis along the line of
a major fault is most clearly observed. This fracture, which is clearly
visible in the limestone, is of approximate direction E-W, has a dip of
60-70º N, and would surface to the south of the Canal de Capozo and parallel to it.
How to Find
Located in K-Area, 45 minutes from Vega Huerta. To reach it, take the
gully from the refugio and the spring nearby down towards Capozo. When
this gully ends and joins another major channel in a wide and stony area.
From here go up to the right to a kind of more or less flat shoulder at
the foot of the Cotalbin watershed. This platform is bordering on a very
developed area of pavement, at the start of which, the cave is situated on
the edge of a wide shake-hole.
Bibliography
-
Top Camp Log Book, YUCPC, 1990 in English.
HTML
-
Expedicion Picos - 90, SEII, in Spanish.
PDF (28MB)
-
Kaos de Bloques No 4 1992, SEG in Spanish.
PDF (73 MB) (Cover)
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