Fundación Espeleosocorro Cántabro ESOCAN

Event sponsored by Luca Chiarabini Memorial. This sponsorship has been granted in the framework of the LUCA MEMORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION, world edition thanks to the authors of the winning photos who have voted for the Garma Ciega International Camp to be sponsored. And special thanks to Juan Ignacio Montero Martín for his support to this candidacy.

On the occasion of UNESCO’s celebration of the International Year of Caves and Karst, of which we are «partners», we are going to programme a series of interesting activities.

One of these activities will be the celebration of an International Camp that will aim at Garma Ciega.
In 2020 four ESOCAN volunteers participated in the Berger 2020 camp organised by Remý Limagne and the French Caving Federation. One of the objectives of our participation was undoubtedly to do some good caving. The other was to know first hand (benchmarking) what they do so successfully in Villard de Lans, taking the Gouffre Berger as a reference.

Undoubtedly, the main objective with which we set up the Fundación Espeleosocorro Cántabro, ESOCAN, was to provide legal coverage to a group of people who are loyal and disinterested in cave rescue. But we immediately realised that we could be a very good tool for the training of speleologists through our School of Speleology.

The good reception that this Foundation has had in the Alto Asón region makes us indebted to the support and recognition that the people of the region give us. So much so that we feel committed to the development of the region and the fight against the depopulation that inland Spain has been suffering.

From the very beginning, it was clear to us at the School of Speleology that training can be a powerful tool for local development. Thus, in 2016 we presented our strategy for the development of tourism in the Alto-Asón region at FITUR.
In essence, the strategy consists of training professional guides who know our natural resources in such a way that, by attracting clients from their place of residence, they can bring them here to carry out their activity.

More recently, in 2018, we presented our GeoKarst project in collaboration with the Cantabrian Valleys Geopark project, a candidate for UNESCO World Geopark, aimed at highlighting our geological heritage, both superficial and subterranean, associated with karst. We hope this project will see the light of day this spring.

This same year 2018 we collaborated with the University of Cantabria in the Design of the Marketing Plan for Cantabria as a Speleological Tourism Destination.

In the diagnosis made in this study, a series of opportunities appear based on international orientation, positioning in caving tourism and the development of caving products by levels of difficulty.

In the same document a series of strengths are detected based on the practice of speleology and the positioning that the Alto Asón region has among Spanish speleologists, but at the same time the low level of knowledge that foreign speleologists have of our potential.

The objectives of the aforementioned marketing plan include the segmentation of the sport of caving into three segments: a segment that is already provided for by active tourism companies in the region and surrounding areas. Another «classic» segment is provided for by sports clubs, and a third segment that was once catered for by clubs and which has been abandoned in the region for some time now, that of speleological activity on large verticals that are not considered to be traverses.

The aim of this project is to develop a high-level sporting activity, facilitating logistics for the participants and encouraging the practice of «committed» caving. Going down to the Garma Ciega siphon or doing the Cellagua-Garma Ciega traverse or vice versa involves a high level of technical, physical and psychological commitment. It is not an activity for everyone. It is aimed at athletes with a good physical, technical and psychological preparation, which will require detailed planning. We provide the infrastructure: bivouac, ropes, anchorages, etc. However, this does not negate the need for the participants to make a responsible and objective self-assessment of their abilities and a careful planning of the activity.
I am interested and would like more information

Organised by:

Fundación Espeleosocorro Cántabro, ESOCAN

 

International Camp:

Dates: 1-31 July 2023.

The Cave Rescue Foundation of Cantabria (ESOCAN) shall place the vertical progression ropes at the entrances to Garma Ciega and Cellagua some days before the international camp takes place. A bivouac for 10 people will also be set up in the Sala de los Titanes.

Participants are required to registrar prior to the event. They must have a sports card that can cover any rescue task, or a private insurance.

Garma Ciega and Cellagua belong to the Mortillano System, the second largest cave system in Spain (140 km. development). It is also the system with the biggest height difference in the upper course of the Asón river, reaching -930 at the siphon of Garma Ciega. Both caves join at -450, at the Sala De los Titanes.

REGISTRATION

The registration fee is 20 €. The money will be used to purchase and replace the ropes needed for the camp.

Registrations are done on an individual basis, but within a team. You’ll need to fill in the following web form.

REGISTRATIONS

Registrations will be considered complete only when payment has been confirmed.

Payment can be made through our payment platform: click on the photo.

Or via bank transfer to our TRIODOS Bank account:

ES04 1491 0001 2421 4922 4327

Should the access to the caves be suspended due to bad weather conditions, the registration fee will not be refunded.

The maximum number of people authorised to enter by each one of the entrances is 10, on a ‘first-come-first-served’ registration basis. Once the number has been reached, those dates will be closed.

Preference for bivouac will be given to groups coming up from the Garma Ciega siphon.

Participants will need to coordinate in order to share the bivouac, keeping in mind that maximum capacity is set at 10 people.

Prior to entering the cave, on the afternoon of the previous day, participants must show up at the Tourist Information Office in Ramales de la Victoria, in order to have the entrance and (approximate) exit dates and times recorded, as well as the objective pursued. Once out of the cave, the organisation must be notified.

This is a high level activity, so participants must be aware of the risks involved.

Cellagua:

In summer water conditions, you get wet at the P80 base and at the P58 base in the Cellagua Canyon. If the external weather is very wet, water will fall from the top of the P80 to the bottom of P58., progression can be difficult or impossible.

Cellagua Sink: X: 454.427 / Y: 4.786.363 (EPSG 25830)

Arrival point with vehicles. Going up higher may compromise the vehicle and get you trapped in case of rainfall.

Track to the Cellagua Sink:

Garma Ciega

Garma Ciega X:  454.022  / Y:  4.786.895    (EPSG 25830)

Track to Garma Ciega

 

This is the original profile of Balart’s topography. Until the Comedor, the survey doesn’t change. From there on, a side track gets you to the Sala Blanca.

If the weather forecast justifies it, access to the caves might be forbidden as long as the rainfall risk remains.

In case of rainfall, progression from the Sala Blanca to Titanes might be severely compromised.

TIPS AND ADVICE

Plan your activity in advance, carefully and systematically. Check, adjust and prepare your equipment in detail. This is an activity with a high degree of commitment.

There will be no base camp; participants are free to choose their accommodation in the villages of the upper course of the Asón river. Click on the picture to plan your trip.

La recepción e información de entradas y salidas se centralizará en la Oficina de Turismo de Ramales de la Victoria.

Reception and information on entrances and exits will be centralised at the Tourist Office in Ramales de la Victoria.

Bad weather conditions might condition the activity. These are caves with an active water course, which, in case of water fall, could block the exit. There are areas that are especially dangerous in the event of a rising in the river level (Gallery of La Ratonera, etc.).

Go in the cave only if you are physically, technically and psychologically fit.

All participants, in addition to their personal, full vertical progression equipment, must carry a thermal blanket, food, lighting and warm clothing in order to withstand the temperatures inside. It might also be interesting to carry a portable stove, sbit and alcohol gel.

The minimum group size to go in the caves is 2 people, 4 being the ideal. Groups of more than 6 people might slow down the progress.

All participants must be familiar with self-rescue techniques.

It is recommended that every participant carries a 12/13 spanner.

No one should be left alone; the group will adjust the speed to the slowest member.

Each participant must take their waste out of the cave and leave the bivouac in a perfect state.

Every participant must, within their means, help any team in trouble, even if it might compromise the objective of their activity.

Out of courtesy, priority with ropes will be given to the climbing team.

A the Titanes bivouac, priority will be given to the team coming up from the siphon.

Any damage detected in the facilities should be reported to ESOCAN, in order to get it replaced it as soon as possible. The replacement might be entrusted to a participating team, if they accept it.

Can you drink water from the underground river? This is a personal choice; it is water that has not been treated, but it might be used. All along the cave there are water inflows where fluids can be replenished.

How to manage possible jams at the first vertical section of the entrances? Firstly, plan the timetables in advance, talking to the different teams. Getting up early is a good principle of prudence.

At the Titanes bivouac, at -500, there will be awnings for 10 people using mats, but not sleeping bags, gas or food. There also be a waterproof container with a “complete” first-aid kit, which should be respected for the benefits of participants.

Don’t forget to inform of any damage in the facilities on your way out.

Once outside, you should notify the organisation about it following the established channel.

In the event of bad weather conditions, the organisation may temporarily close the access to the caves.

Authorised routes to follow are Cellagua–Garma Ciega (and vice versa) and the way down to the Garma Ciega siphon. Any other plan must be notified and authorised by the organisation. Leaving these tracks might complicate any posible rescue.

Quitting is the most intelligent decision you can make in case of fatigue, too long hours, etc. The goal of these activities is not reaching the siphon but going back home having enjoyed the whole process.