Second statistics (from March 1991 to August 1997)

Right ! We are almost broken in, this inquiry about the Noël pot hole frequenting concerns the visit sheets from March 1991 to August 1997.

The analysis is about 269 sheets.

Here are the results :

• average number of cavers by visit : 5,37

• average time spent underground : 8 h 42

• simultaneous presence : 22 %

• evolution of the number of sheets handed back each year :

Visitors (sheets)	Number
1991	25
1992	37
1993	56
1994	51
1995	50
1996	35
1997	15
Total	269

 

• visitors' origin :

	Departments	number	% total
Alsace	67,68	1	0,3%
Aquitaine	24,33,40,47,64	2	0,7%
Auvergne	03,15,43,63	3	1,0%
Bourgogne	21,58,71,89	7	2,4%
Bretagne	22,29,35,56	0	0,0%
Centre	18,28,36,37,41,45	1	0,3%
Champagne-Ardenne	08,10,51,52	10	3,4%
Corse	2A,2B	0	0,0%	France
Franche Comté	25,39,70,90	8	2,7%
Ile de France	75,77,78,91,92,93,94,95	74	25,1%	89%
Languedoc-Roussillon	11,30,34,48,66	25	8,5%
Limousin	19,23,87	0	0,0%
Lorraine	54,55,57,88	2	0,7%
Midi-Pyrénées	09,12,31,32,46,65,81,82	26	8,8%
Nord-Pas de calais	59,62	0	0,0%
Normandie	14,27,50,61,76	1	0,3%
Pays de Loire	44,49,53,72,85	0	0,0%
Picardie	02,60,80	1	0,3%
Poitou-Charentes	16,17,79,86	1	0,3%
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'azur	04,05,06,13,83,84	26	8,8%
Rhône-Alpes	01,07,26,38,42,69,73,74	74	25,1%
Belgium		8	2,7%
Germany		9	3,1%
Great Britain		4	1,4%	Foreigner
Ireland		1	0,3%
Netherlands		6	2,0%	11%
Switzerland		3	1,0%
Czechoslovakia		1	0,3%
Russia		1	0,3%
		295	100%

remark : the total is larger than the number of sheet because there can be inter-club visits.

• reason for visiting :

	ANSWERS		% PARTIAL		% TOTAL
	choice n°1	choice n°2	choice n°1	choice n°2
Photo	29	111	11%	67%	32%
Video	5	16	2%	10%	5%
Walk	192	18	71%	11%	48%
Marking	9	4	3%	2%	3%
Climbing	12	5	4%	3%	4%
Desobstruction	10	4	4%	2%	3%
Survey	1	0	0%	0%	0%
Caving animals	0	0	0%	0%	0%
Geology	1	5	0%	3%	1%
Inspection	6	0	2%	0%	1%
Rescue	1	0	0%	0%	0%
Other	3	3	1%	2%	1%
TOTAL	269	166	100%	100%	100%

• place of visit

PASSAGE	Number entrances	% entrance
Main	222	83%
White	216	81%
Upper	164	61%
Big flow	114	43%
Crabwalk	137	51%
Below	56	21%
Intermediary	69	26%
Total	269

remark : this percentage corresponds to the ration of passage X's visitors to the total number of visitors.

PROTECTION

• The marking...

	makes the moving easier	allows to discover stals	is a constraint for the exploration	disturbs the shots
YES	83%	93%	7%	34%
NO	17%	7%	93%	66%
NO OPINION	22%	19%	23%	33

remark : the percentage of "no opinion" corresponds to the ration of the cavers who did not answer the question. We find again in this the fact that ARSPAN members don't fill up the part about the protection in the sheets.

• The marking seems to you ...

	PROTECTION
	Answers' number	% partial	% total
insufficient	22	10%	8%
well balanced	198	88%	74%
penalizing	4	2%	1%
no opinion	45		17%
Total	269

remark : the partial percentage disregards the without opinion. (see precedent remark)

• The door seems to you ...

	DOOR
	Answers' number	% partial	% total
useless	2	1%	1%
necessairy	131	62%	49%
obligatory	80	38%	30%
no opinion	56		21%
Total	269

• varied questions :

	Is this protection solution effective ?	Are you ready to take part in this kind of action ?	Will you come back ?
YES	94%	86%	97%
NO	6%	14%	3%
NO OPINION	17%	38%	34%

REMARKS & CONCLUSIONS

• The average number for a group has increased a little from 4,7 to 5,4 , but many clubs make little teams. From this point of view, nothing particular.
  

• The time spent underground 8 h 40 corresponds to an average time between :
  - these who do the « classic » visit of the bottom (» 6 h)
  - these who do shots (12 to 15 h)
  - these who do only the intermediate passage (» 4 h)
  It is worth noticing that one club declared they visited the whole cave within 1 h 30. Well done ! ! !
  

• For the groups' origin, the facts become clearer, we find the following distribution :
  - ¼ from the Rhône-Alpes area.
  - ¼ from the Ile de France area.
  - ¼ from the south of the France (PACA, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées).
  It's important to notice that the foreigner cavers are 11 % of the visitors and it would be judicious for that reason to make a visit sheet in English.
  For anecdote, we had the visit of a Czech group and a Russian group.
  The Noël pot hole takes a European size...
  

• For the Noël pot hole's frequency, the sheets are helpless because they are numbered when we receive them. We don't really know how many groups visit the pot hole, how many receive the questionnaire and how many return it. We should perhaps do a cross-check with the reservation book...
  The only information in the returned sheets, 22 % of the teams met other groups.
  Knowing that we can have two visits on the same day, we can estimate about 15 % the non authorized groups. Some sheets indicate that clearly...
  We may wonder :
  - why not ask the permission when asking is enough to be allowed in ?
  - do all the groups book ?
  - is our system right ? (any difficulty to get in touch with us ? welcome availability, ...)
  

• The main purpose for the visits is walking in and taking photos, whose actors tell us about their shots and videos. We notice an increase in visits with « geological theme », it would be interesting to have these studies' results, or even to learn this science.
  Other novelty, the setting up of the inspection's visits / marking and state of the cave checking. Otherwise still, and happily, desobstruction and climbing sessions which give some hopes in the bottom of bat's crabwalk and in sarrianais' passage.
  A visit organized to make watercolours in the intermediate passage is interesting to mention, with the use of natural clay (taken on the spot ?).
  

• In accordance with purpose of the visit, the most frequented passages are the main passage and the white passage. We are often asked to mark the area situated between the junction of the white passage and the big flow bottom, to protect the big gours.
  Moreover, in view of the frequency in the terminal crabwalk, it would be right to think about a way to protect the bats' remains.
  At last, we can notice a light slight increase in the visits in the intermediate passage, without major damages for the moment.
  

• For the marking, all the visitors agree to say it is globally well balanced. However there are some possible improvements (see above).
  All the cavers (who return their sheets) say that, in spite of minor damages, the pot hole is well preserved and that they have pleasure to come again...
  However, they remain reserved about the efficacy in the lengh of time and doubt about the continuation of such an action...
  

Globally, the statistics confirm what we could feel on the spot and at the time of various talks.

think nevertheless, that after a long time (5 years of analysis), it's perhaps time to improve the sheet's questionnaire, to shorten some parts (weather, air current,...) and to direct it on the following points :

- how did they know about Noël pot hole ?
- do they know ARSPAN ? what do they think of it ?
- do they come back ? How often ?

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Download statistics 1991-1997 (pdf in french)

Download statistics 1991-1999 (pdf in french)