SPELEOLOGY

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26396, 14 April 1951, Page 3

SPELEOLOGY

Cave Men New and Old. By Herbert Cateret Translated by R. L. G. Irv ng. Dent. 178 pp. Subterranean Climbers. By P'erre Chevalier, k Translated by E. M. Hatt. Faber. 223 pp. Speleology is most likely to be encountered by New Zealanders in cresj-wora-puzzles or .quiz sessions. Tne French, though, go in for it wi.h some enthusiasm, and Clubs for speleologists have, sprung >up, or, rather, jumped down; all ovd? France. Speleology, to end the mystery, is the art and science’ of climbing into and exploring caves. No part cular specifications are given in the books under review for a cave to be worthy of the attention of a serious speleologist, but one gathers that it must be d-ep, dark, frightening, and vast before it can qualify for the sport. Ihe most, famous French cave-explorer living is Mr Casteret, who has already wri ten several books on his experiences. In his latest work he describes with some hair-raising detail the ■xploration of the “Pot-Hole” of the Dead Woman in the Pyrenees. At first it looked like a simple job that would bring only a small team of climbers close to death. But the cave branched out surprisingly. one set of galleries opening below the other, until the original party -had to call in more and more help. In the end the army itself appeared under the scene, a camp was set up at the mouth of the cave, another 800 feet below ground, and still the cave went down deeper and deeper. At 1460 feet the bottom was at last reached. The explorers went down vertical shafts on ropes and ladders, paddled through underground rivers, climbed through waterfalls, and did all manner of things that give one the shivers. In some concluding chanters the author, who led this expedition below the earth, writes of the cavemotif in religion, literature, mythology, and folk-lore While the Pot-Hole of the Dead Woman was being explored and led to a French depth-record, another party attacked the Dent de Crottes system of caves in the Isere massif. Unlike a “pot'-hole.” this system of caves covered a wide vertical area as well as going down pretty deeply. The party was led by Mr Pierre Chevalier, and the present book is in effect a log of the exploration which has already been conducted for several years, led to the mapping of 17 kilometres of Underground passages and halls extending to a depth of over 2000 ft, and is. not yet complete. One merely marvels at the courage and endurance of these enthusiasts who are climbing deeper and deeper to establish reCords or to put themselves against the totally unknown and unsuspected. Their 'incredible feats have their rewards in underground palaces that make the Waitomo caves look like a suburban bungalow in comparison. Both books are well illustrated and are certainly well worth reading for their account of a fascinating underworld and for the adventures that revealed it to man. New Zealand alpinists who might feel that climbing above ground offers no more rewards since the recently accomplished world-record series ofclimbs by Mr Andrew Anderson, of Otira. who has conquered all seventeen above--10, 000-foot peaks in the Southern Alps; might consider turning below-ground to establish new world-record climbs in reverse. REPRINTS