Description

Noël's Cave located in the Ardeche in the town of Bidon (07) remains among the "classics" of the region.

Renowned for its volumes (rooms, galleries, chimney,...) and its varied concretions (pillars, gypsum flowers, eccentrics ,...), the Noël's cave remains a fragile that is for each respect...

Excentric panel in the Superior Passage

 

Entry

A narrow 31m pitch, a little hand-line and a some meters jump give access to a big 90 m pitch, an immense cleft positionned north which the main passage bumps.

 (for the material, to see the rigging's sheet).

 

The main passage

About 650 m development, the medium diameter is larger than 10 m and some ceilings are at more than 30m high. At the beginning, the passage is cluttered up by clayey massifs with clay firtrees, then after a little low passage under a rocky bridge, little dry gours occupy the ground an enormous stalagmitic pillar behind which on the right, the white passage's junction is.

The distance in the main passage become more undulating in the middle of blocks and big stalagmits.

After some ten meters, a 4m climbing give access to the big gours area which is jumped over in going along the right rock face.

The big flow passage begins on the left at the calcification flow's top about fifteen meters high

In going along the flow on the right at the bottom we go on in the main passage which is always occupied by dry gours. A little waterfall flowing from the ceiling is one of the alone water arrivals of the cave system. The passage with beautiful dimensions is ended abruptly and go on by a crabwalk (1,5m x 2m) covered with tiny cauliflowers very white and with a real bat cimetery.

The crabwalk is finished by a clayey pitch with a dangerous access.

Before the crabwalk, on the right, a 7m climbing allows to go to the upper passage.

 

The upper passage

At the climbing's top, we go to the exit then after a crossing above the main passage on a rocky bridge, we take a big 200 m passage (12m x 12m) decorated by varied stals (helectites, straws, candles and dry gours).

The ceiling falls progressively then gets up and it's the floor which come back up to a calcification flow which blocked the crossing.

 

The white passage

With dimensions a little more modest than the main passage (8m x 5m) the white passage is decorated by numerous very delicate stals : white cauliflowers, orange crystals, needles and gypse flowers. The ground is cluttered by little stones in slabs and the ceiling shows very beautiful bells.

The passage's bottom is not much stalled and is finished after 300 m on a stalagmitic dome.

 

The big flow passage

At the big flow's top, a narrow crossing (0,5m) arrive to a little very stalled room.

Then by a sloping down, we arrive in a passage (8m x 8m) with a ground covered with cristallized dry gours which is finished after 150 m on a calcification flow.

 

The sarrianais' passage

The crossing to the lower passages is to 20 m of the pitch's base, on the left. A 2 m high climbing followed of a sloping down arrives to the two little passages' junction (1,5m x 2m).

The left one finishes quickly on a little columns' store ; the right one is covered with little cauliflowers and arrive to a bigger passage decorated with stalactites.

A 2m high jump, in front of a superb flow, goes, on the left, to a passage cluttered up by big blocks which arrives to a calcification's vast flow. At the bottom of this, on the right, we can see a big filling of gravels, shingles (quartz and micaschistes), sands and clay.

In the flow, a about 20 m high pitch followed of a 4 m high jump give access, by a low crossing, to a room cut across by a big cleft.

At the bottom of the room, we go on by a low lightly coming back up passage (2m x 1,5m).

After some meters the ground is covered with white calcification and the progress goes on cross over white stals to a stalagmitic massif blocking the crossing.

 Nota : As in the plateau's numerous swallow holes, CO2's presence is frequent.