Fromagere network
From 1963 onwards, further attempts were made to find new entrances higher than the Berger. These included La Fromagère, under the impetus of Jean Lavigne in September 1966 and following the interpretation report by C.Arnaud and G.Lucas based on the 1962 phototectonic study of the Sornin plateau.
With the contribution of the Cannes caving club (Claude Lamoureux) The 1st attempt to force the cat-flap at -32M.
Blasting (with permission from the Engins town hall) reveals a crack into which, after many contortions, Monique Lamoureux manages to squeeze her way to the start of a beautiful shaft.
This first victory set in motion a whole program with the aim of …
In 1967, a collaboration between the Centre de Spéléologie des Gorges de l’Ardèche, the Centre de Spéléologie de Cannes and the Association Nationale des Guides et Moniteurs de Spéléologie aimed to resume exploration of this chasm.
In September of the same year. After 8 days of dynamite clearing, the ^passage was opened at -32m over a length of 15m. On the 24th, two teams descended and discovered the large shaft at -175 m.
On October 22, they descended it and reached the large shaft at -270 m. They stop due to bad weather.
For the multi-year exploration, two log cabins on the left of the lapiaz will be built as a surface base camp.
Exploration was also facilitated by the construction of the access road from the Croix Perrin for the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. Materials were brought to the site in 2CVs.
The 1st hut was built in June 1968 to accommodate up to 25 participants in August and September.
The 2nd, more comfortable, in 1969. They were dismantled in the 1980s, as they were no longer really useful for expeditions.
From August 24 to September 7, 1968, an expedition was organized with 25 participants.
On August 26, we reached -340m. Progress is halted by a flood and 4° waterfalls.
On September 6, 3 light teams (12 cavers) were formed and reached -400m, but with the discovery of a lateral network (white network) they were interrupted by the arrival of new waterspouts.
There were to be many more expeditions, and it wasn’t until autumn 1979 that the rest of the cave was discovered.
Some fifteen metres before the final siphon at -370 m, a short climb leads to a tube spotted during Fred Vergier’s dive of the siphon in 1978.
The following year, Bernard Faure of the S.G.C.A.F. unblocked this ventilated tube, giving access to the rest of the chasm down to -902 m. (see details of explorations on the Aubenas caving club website).
The year 1979 came to a dramatic end with a flood in December.
On October 13, 1990, Frédo Poggia plunged the 200 m siphon in the upstream tributary – 1000 of the Berger chasm and exited into the Fromagère, creating a network of over 25 km and 1271 m of vertical drop.
The junction between the 2 gouffres is now underwater.
In September 2016, after 463 m of descent, a new entrance to the plateau called Delta 35 was connected to the -660 m tributary of the Fromagère river.
Since 2021, another team has been trying to link the Fromagère chasm with the Berger chasm “on foot”, avoiding the siphon.
It’s a succession of searches, failures and blockages to reach the apotheosis.
Caving is another world, a virgin land where there’s no one, disconnected from the outside world. You don’t know where you are, which direction is the right one? There’s no telling where this will lead, as the environment is hostile, damp and cold, with the constant danger of flooding.
It’s often a highly committed return trip. Months, years of waiting, each time the motivation to achieve a first is the strongest motivation to return.
They go up a shaft for 20 m. and end up in a gallery that turns out to be nothing …. go through a fault … a cat flap leading to a shaft … this time it’s good …. and then nothing.
They come up against a siphon. An attempt is also made to dive. It failed after only three minutes underwater. It turns out to be impassable.
Another disappointment.
By the end of 2023, they had surveyed more than a kilometer of new galleries, but had not managed to make the junction.
These attempts led to the making of a film: “On a marche sous la terre” by Alex Lopez, with Cédric Lachat and David Parrot.
It’s only a postponement.
Disappointed at not going any further, the quest for the unknown drives them to persevere.
They still believe they’re there, and they’re turning around because, given the topographical readings, they’re not far off.
The solution? Pump the water out of one of the siphons they’d been arrested on.
December 29, 2024: a historic first! “(Cédric).
After fourteen years of battle, and 50 hours underground, Cédric Lachat and David Parrot have finally realized their dream.
“I’ve been working on this for a really long time, with a lot of despair and hope. We didn’t know if we’d find anything,” says Cédric Lachat.
“We often wonder what we’re doing here. It’s cold and we’re exhausted. […] The day you find it, it’s both a relief and a joy, because you know that, behind you, you’re going to discover places where no one has been before”.
The junction is finally established “dry” with the Berger, 58 years after the start of explorations in the Fromagère.
What a first!
Video of the junction between the Berger and Fromagère chasms (Engins chasm)
Photos : Collection Jean Lavigne, Alex Lopez
