Gourneyrou 2021
Participants: Marc, Steffen K., Olli O., Mats, Aline, Heinke, Steffen B., Marcel, Max, Florian, Tom
Why again to the Gourneyrou? Did you forget something there?
This or something similar could be the questions when it was announced that we are going to the Gourneyrou again this year after 8 years. But why all this? Well, it can be explained quite simply. At our annual meeting we were looking for projects that we could master as a team. Since most of us have never dived the Gourneyrou and there is hardly any usable map material from there and in addition the "old hands" in the Cavebase always told of a lot of fun with the projects, the decision was quickly made that we want to go back to the Gourneyrou. The goal was not primarily to reach the end-of-line, but to return with usable data from the cave to make an appropriate map.
In advance, due to the location and topography of the cave, we had given a lot of thought and planned several workshops to practice things like habitat and dives with appropriate yoyo profiles. Unfortunately, once again Corona threw a spanner in the works during the planning, so that the scheduled dates were unfortunately cancelled for the most part. The project was getting closer and closer and we were getting a bit more nervous. Without all the preparation, does it even make sense to go to Gourneyrou? Should we postpone the project to the fall or just plan a test dive or two and fill the rest of the time with some fun diving? We quickly noticed a certain disagreement in the team, there were many ideas, but none really fit for everyone.
In the end, our plan was to make our way to Gourneyrou, do a few check dives, and then decide on the fly whether to stay at Gourneyrou for the rest of the day or swing over to nearby Gourneyras and dive there. If the conditions were bad there was still the option to rent an apartment on short notice and go to other caves in the area. We wanted to gain first experiences with the location, with the material transport, but also with the cave itself, so that we can plan then if necessary in the 2nd project of the year or 2022 with a better imagination and are ideally prepared. Our decision was made and so it went on June 5, for most of the team, off to southern France. For Saturday the arrival and setting up of the base camp was on the program. Our two Steffens already set off on Friday and were therefore the first to arrive at the base camp on Saturday. After a good 12-13 hour drive, a few rain showers and some traffic jams on the highway, the rest of the team around Mats, Aline, Marcel, Olli and Max arrived almost at the same time at the entrance to the actual dirt road to the Gourneyrou.
Now we're almost there, most thought. But nobody was prepared for the fact that we now had to cover the dirt road at walking pace for another 30-45 minutes. But even this hurdle we mastered without a defective tire or similar problems and so we arrived at the base camp and built our dwellings and the food area. Afterwards we went directly to look for the footpath to the cave. This too was found after a few minutes. However, we were also very surprised at how far it was on foot. The descent from the dirt road to the cave goes over a lot of loose scree down to the Vis, then a little upstream until you can climb to the cave pool. Without material everything well doable and when we had seen the cave pool, all were also directly fire and flame for the "hole". The visibility and conditions looked great. Max and Olli jumped directly times in the Adam's costume in the cave. On the way back Steffen K. Max and Olli stopped by at the Gourneyras. You can just walk up here in the refreshing river. Back in the camp we started our grills and made plans for the next day. The goal was to get material over the footpath to the cave. At this point we planned to start without a cable car.
The next morning we started already at 7:30 with breakfast, we were highly motivated and had a lot planned. After breakfast we loaded the transport vehicle with the required material and transported it the approx. 2 km to the descent point. The sanding bags were filled and the team headed down. Once there, we first installed some ropes to secure ourselves. Thanks to our Kefalonia project last year, this was done in no time. Afterwards Max and Olli prepared for a "Guggerle". We now wanted to know what the situation was like in the cave itself. How is the line situation? How is the visibility? Is it worth to transport more material to the cave? All these questions should be answered in a good hour. The 2 reappeared after the scheduled time and reported good visibility and a halfway intact line. After a brief consultation, we determined to use the project time for cleanup, habitat training, and survey work. So more material had to be transported to the cave. Once back at camp, everyone set up their gyros and needed stages. As with the last few projects, we had a detailed plan of what gases we would need and how many at what locations in the cave so that we would always be able to get out safely in an emergency. The transport vehicle was loaded back up and we headed down again. Anyone who has ever carried a Ready-to-Go-JJ down this way knows in the evening what they have accomplished.
On Sunday, some reinforcements arrived as well. Tom and Flo unfortunately had to make a small detour via Starnberg on the journey, so they could only join us on Sunday. After a short briefing, the two of them were able to get started right away and set up the equipment.
In the evening we stoked our grills again and put our heads together what we have to do the next days. Tired from the first day, we all quickly fell into the tents. Monday morning started at the same time again, breakfast, material set up, vehicle loaded, departure at 9 o'clock. What sounds a little like the Bundeswehr can also be a lot of fun. For Monday we planned to set up the habitat. For this we had brought along our habitat, some pitons and a Nemo impact drill. The goal was to set the pitons with the Nemo and then build the habitat on them. Unfortunately, we weren't as lucky with the setup as we had hoped. The drill and the hooks did not want to harmonize so properly and also the Nemo made problems and filled up. Thus the construction of the habitat moved for the time being into the far distance. Another task was to dive the cave to the narrows, which Wilke and Tobi had told us about from past projects. The narrows are located behind the first bend in the 20-30m range. Max and Olli prepared themselves for this. When the two came out of the water again, they affectionately called the narrows "barn door". What was a bottleneck 10 years ago with the PSCR is no longer a problem for a CCR.
Also on Monday reinforcements came again. Heinke and Marc had mastered the journey from the far north and east. Unfortunately, Marc had torn a tire on the dirt road, 50m from the base camp. There one notices how fast it can go. Fortunately he had a full spare wheel in his bus and together with Olli the tire could be changed at this inconvenient place. The two also set up a nice spot at the base camp.
In the evening the planning for the next day was again on the program, as well as the obligatory barbecue. Here and there, however, there were also a few noodles.
A surveying workshop was on the agenda for Tuesday morning. Not everyone in the team had much experience with the mNemo. So after breakfast we quickly stretched a few ropes and Olli gave us a briefing on its functions.
After a few dry runs, we straightened out the rest of the gear and headed back to the cave. We had a tight schedule, so that all team members should get into the water, do their tasks and we could use the available material effectively. As it is, with a schedule not everything always works ideally, there is sometimes a delay or even the one or other small defect. A project like this not only demands everything from the team. The material also has to take a beating. Nevertheless, we were able to meet our target well. While Mats and Schüssi laid new line and fetched old stock from the cave in the front area, Marc, Heinke and the 2 Steffens were able to do appropriate line work further in the cave.
Max and Olli also started the survey on the new line. After a long day, we all found ourselves back at base camp. After a cool swim in the Vis, we got back to planning.
The team quickly agreed that we should build a ropeway after all. For material transport as well as for emergencies, the half day of construction would be time well spent. No one wanted to imagine how we would drag a diver from the pool up to the road in case of an emergency.
We planned the next morning for the setup. Since Florian and Tom unfortunately already had to leave on Thursday, we decided that the two should do the first dive on Wednesday while the rest of the team set up the ropeway. Since we had to set up both the mountain and valley stations, the valley team was able to help the 2 with the equipment and boarding and then start setting up. Meanwhile the mountain team took care of the installation of the wire rope and the possibility to bring it to tension. At 30°C really a sweaty affair. As planned, the whole station was in place within the morning and we were able to rope down the rest of the material comfortably, thanks to gravity. No comparison to the walk! During the set-up we suddenly got a visit from the fire department. They had planned a rescue exercise at the Gourneyras for the next day. For the rest of the day we had a few dives on the schedule. However, we also noticed how exhausting the construction was, so we preferred to postpone one or the other dive. You wouldn't believe how delicious a few fried potatoes can taste in the early afternoon. Nevertheless, one more team went into the cave to continue surveying. Also the material of Tom and Florian had to be brought back up. Everyone in the team lent a hand.
On Thursday, the two "early drivers" set off. For the rest of the team, it was business as usual. Measuring, cleaning up the line, collecting a little video footage. We had our hands full. Especially the thick climbing rope, which has been in the cave since 1997, was a bit of a challenge.
Friday was supposed to be our last day of diving. Planned was a long dive by Olli and Max, as well as the transport of all the equipment to the top. It was clear to help Max and Olli into the water first. Since both use the JJ in "Gourneyrou-Config" (with 2x7l) they were grateful for any help.
After the two had descended, the rest of the team occupied the bottom, middle and top stations. While at the bottom station the material was loaded into drag bags and attached to the ropeway, the middle station had to rehang the material once. At the top station, we pulled the material up by hand with a lot of man and woman power. Here you felt every kilo and every meter. After some sweaty loads we decided to pull the heavy equipment by car. In between we had luckily some break, because we had to wait for Max and Olli. The two had planned to survey the cave up to the "barn door". Because of the planned dive time they reduced their ppO2, which of course caused a lot of deco especially in the deep area. In total, the dive went 7 hours, 5 of which were in deco alone. But the two reached their goal and even measured up to 30 meters behind the "barn door". After the two surfaced safe and sound, the rest of the team moved the material further up. The last step was to transport the material from the top station the 2km back to the base camp and then the big sorting had to be done. We finished the evening again with delicious barbecue and isotonic drinks at the campfire. Satisfied with what we had achieved and visibly exhausted from the day, everyone fell into their tents.
Saturday was all about cleaning up, the cars had to be loaded, the garbage collected and the tents dismantled. Everyone worked hard and after the last missing car keys were found, we could start our journey home. Now we had to survive the 3km long dirt road again without any damage. Once back in "civilization" we visited a supermarket. Afterwards it was time to go home and prepare the material for the next project.
In this sense
Your Cavebase.
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