Summary
During the Lebanese Expedition of 2002, nine cavers from Spekul explored the caves of Jeita, Afqa and Faouar Dara. In Dara, the deepest cave of the Middle East, a new gallery of 320m, “Spekuls’ Inlet”, was discovered in the downstream part of the master cave. It is heading east and ends 600m right below the ouadi in the entrance area. Low water levels allowed us to further explore the final ‘sump’; three wet crawls with gallery passage in between them finally end onto a 15m wide ‘real’ sump. Close to the main resurgence of Afqa, desobstruction in a drafting choke gave way to some 150m of typical Afqa maze ending on another choke. During the through trip of Jeita Grotto, pictures were taken in Chaos Chamber.
Introduction
Faouar Dara was once the sixth-deepest cave in the world. It remains the deepest cave in the Middle East today. Local cavers reached the bottom during the glory days of the 1960s. The lower entrance is the sinkhole of a seasonal river, the Ouadi el Manzoul. Further south in the valley, along the same axis, lies the upper entrance, a chasm featuring a series of about twenty shafts, the deepest of which, the Puits Sami (P110), gave the first explorers quite a hard time. At the bottom of these vertical drops, an underground river can be followed down to –600 meters. It is blocked by siphons both upstream and downstream. Numerous deep pools dot the spacious intermediate meanders, requiring appropriate clothing or equipment. Although some traces of previous expeditions remain, the cave is very clean, and with its gleaming appearance, the underground river is fabulous. Its discovery was a dream debut that veteran Lebanese cavers still speak of with emotion. Despite numerous trips to Lebanon since 1995, and despite being very well-documented on this cave, it was not until 2001 that our club visited the chasm for the first time.
History of Exploration
1955: Discovered by Sami Karkabi (Speleological Club of Lebanon).
1957: The SCL reached a depth of -225 meters, a record for the Middle East at the time.
1961: The SCL mapped the cave down to -250m.
1962: During a five-day “Himalayan-style” expedition using equipment imported from Europe, the SCL reached the bottom and mapped it: -622m!
1965: New expedition to the bottom of Dara. Dye tracing with 50 kg of fluorescein, mapping, and discovery of the collector’s tributaries
1968: Mapping of the bottom in cooperation with the Yorkshire Ramblers Club; attempt to ascend the “Grande Cheminée”
1972: the Lebanese-Belgian team (SCL-Spéléo Club de Belgique) did not go beyond –450m, due to “lack of training among the Belgians” according to one source, “due to lack of time” according to another.
There is mention of a Polish team that reportedly visited the cave using ascenders. However, in 1992 the French found only three bolts in the entrance shafts.
1992: The Lebanese-French team equipped the cave using alpine techniques, drew up a new topographic map (-602m, 4km of development), and compiled the equipment log.
2000: Over several consecutive weeks, a Lebanese group (ALES) reached the bottom and explored only the upstream section. They mapped these galleries and noted that the French map published in Ouat Ouate 7/8 was misoriented. Although it is now obsolete, they replaced the old winch mast at the top of P110.
2001: The Lebanese-Belgian team (SCL-Spekul) descends into the cave to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the SCL. A few Lebanese members arrive at Camp Tony (-450 m); the Spekul team reaches the bottom, but there is little time left for exploration. Sampling at all depths for Fadi Nader’s doctoral thesis (KUL).
2002: The Belgian team (Spekul) explores the downstream siphon, the ceilings of the downstream collector to the climbing mast, and discovers a new 320-meter gallery.
Dara 02, the rematch…
In September 2001, five members of Spekul set foot in the Dara underground river following an expedition with the SCL. Since they still had to clear out the cave and other caves were still on the itinerary for that expedition, there was not enough time for further exploration in Faouar Dara. Impressed by the beauty of the cave, it was decided to return in September 2002 with the goal of exploring the ceilings of the collector.
Effective organization and a fairly strict schedule were necessary to make the most of our ten days in Lebanon, where we also wanted to visit other caves. To minimize the recurrence of logistical, cultural, physical, and political issues that often arise when collaborating with local clubs, we felt it was best to organize everything ourselves. This, of course, came at the cost of a loss of atmosphere and local color. A major implication of this plan: 240 kg of equipment (11 kits with 400 m of rope, 100 anchors, and personal gear for seven people) had to be flown in from Brussels. Two participants, 10 carabiners, and 300 m of rope were already on site.
We relied on the French route guide, which was of good quality (be sure to bring two spare short ropes). Ten new bolts were installed, and the protection is (and still remains!) rather sparse, especially at greater depths.
On the day we arrived, the entrance shafts, the sump chambers, and the Sami Shaft (P110) had been equipped. The next day, two consecutive teams continued the rigging down to P13 (-400). The following day, the Farra Platform (-550) was reached, which allowed two teams on the fourth day to descend the Robert Cascade to begin exploring the collector at the climbing mast. Several flow channels were climbed in the downstream section, including one 8 meters wide and twice as high as the seven-meter climbing mast. It provides access to a sloping chamber measuring 60 by 20 meters, beneath an enormous chimney at least 100 meters high. The echo there is deafening, and the light from the spotlights is lost in the darkness. We found traces of our predecessors there. A good excuse not to have to draw up the map! The low water level allowed us to explore “post-siphon” in the downstream section; a series of three wet vaults, each followed by a few dozen meters of galleries, finally ends at a true siphon 15 meters wide.
That day, on the right bank of the SCL Gallery, a small water inflow was discovered. It flows into the collector through a narrow crevice, immediately blocked by a flow of rock beneath which water appears on the left side. On the right side, a capricious narrow passage allows one to pass behind the obstacle. Even without a continuation beyond it, we were at least sure we had found the muddiest part of Dara here! But it continues… the passage gradually becoming higher and wider. The gallery was explored for a few hundred meters, with no sign of a dead end.
The next day, the final day of exploration, one team resumed work on the ceilings and removed the equipment from the large flowstone formation. The other team (including Lieve, who descended to –600 meters after three years of inactivity and two pregnancies) continued the exploration and mapped the new passage, which would be named “the Spekul Tributary.” Beyond the narrow passage, 300 meters of gallery extend mainly eastward, following the orientation of a fault. There are beautiful, typical stalactites, with a black band 1.5 meters above the floor marking the flood level. During the exploration, water flowed at a modest rate of 0.5 l/h. The next obstacle is a 4-meter-high shaft that opens back onto the active section. A low passage through the water beneath the shaft is possible. North of the shaft, an easy climb begins beneath a large black hole… The new passage ultimately ends at a siphon, or rather a wet vault deemed too low by the pontoon boat operator. This point is located just 600 m below the entrance area, making this discovery quite interesting. The dismantling took 12 hours, with the full team (9 people).
Despite the new discovery and the potential above the sump, we believe the best prospects lie in the upper sections (between –350 and –500). The draft is stronger there and the temperature is lower. The Cascade Emile chamber seems to us to be the most interesting. We’ll have to go back there someday…
Near the waterfall, the noisy sand quarries operate day and night. Trucks come and go constantly. Some of this coarse sand is carried by the river, making the campsite in its bed very unpleasant. So we camped in the clearing just behind the upper entrance, a secluded oasis of peace, accessible only to the wasps, which were very numerous in the morning. We accessed the cave through the upper entrance. Generally, half the group was underground while the others restocked supplies and rested. Depending on personal preference, the descent is done in waders, a drysuit, or a wetsuit (some Lebanese colleagues prefer a combination of the latter two!). Once the abyss is equipped, it’s possible to descend in two hours, while the ascent takes about five hours. A bivouac is therefore not necessary.
And more
A visit to the Red Chamber in Jeita, during which little Sam Smeyers, not even 3 years old, had his first caving experience
Exploration of a vent at the bottom right of the large Afqa resurgence. After clearing the blockage, a 150-meter network leads once again to a rockfall with a very strong draft.
Crossing of Jeita Cave (12 hours), entering via the tunnel and exiting through the tourist cave. Photos taken in the Hall of Chaos.
Participants
Spekul: Vincent Coessens, Lieven De Bontridder, David De Roest, Koen Mandonx, Steve Smeyers, Manuela van Baars, Dorien Verboven, Lieve Verstraeten. Hades: Erik Van den Broek
Starring: Sam Smeyers
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Karl Willems (Styx) for lending us the equipment, to Pierre Abi Aoun (Wild Expeditions) for the tents, to Sami Karkabi for the topographical details, and to Jean Claude London for proofreading.
Bibliography
SCB, 1972 : Dara 72
Darne, Fabien & Tordjman Patrice, 1993. Expedition Liban 1992. Al Ouat’Ouate (Revue Libanaise de Spéléologie et de Karstologie) nr 7/8, p26-32
Khalaf Danny, El hawa Fadi, Maalouf Samer & Salem Ghada, 2002 : Houet Fouar Dara : Nouvelle Exploration. The Proceedings of the Middle-East Speleology Symposium, Lebanon 2001, p54-57
Topographie
