Meghalava 2002 - 200+ Kilometres and Ongoing!
by Tony Jarratt and Annie Audsley
"
The Underground Atlas
- Middleton &
This year's annual expedition to NE India was once again
efficiently organized in the
The first week saw two teams at work in the Garo Hills of western Meghalaya and the Cherrapunjee/Laitkynsew area of the East Khasi Hills - two hour's drive SSW of the capital, Shillong. The Garo team had well over a day's rough drive to reach their patch, to find that food and accommodation were basic to say the least. Over to Annie ...
It was a select team
of Mark, Daniel, Peter, Lindsay, Jorg, Annie, the driver, Bud and his assistant
who found ourselves in the tiny village of Asakgre following two days of
rattling jeep ride, sharing a late night feast of boiled potatoes and eggs
around the campfire. We had come to
recce a new area in the West Garo Hills and were now wondering what this place,
hidden deep in the jungle at the very end of an old Shaktiman track, would
reveal. The next day the crowd of
curious villagers who gathered around the dilapidated government Inspection
Bungalow (IB) where we were staying, told us that there were indeed many caves
within walking distance of the village (good start!). The local people proved to be incredibly
helpful and generous; the headman, BIen Marak, and his two brothers, Erok and
Hellindro, offered to act as guides and we recruited two others to cook for
us. Throughout our stay there were
always people around, bringing cooking pots, or offering such things as bananas
or a remedy for a sick stomach (honey and rum - yum), or just sitting around
the fire while we overcame the language barrier with bottles of beer and
port. For all of this they refused any
payment; they were fantastic people.
The area around the
village was one of low-lying, thickly jungled limestone hills with stream caves
developing horizontally, and frequently with a maze-like confusion of
criss-crossing side pasages. Blen and
his brothers showed us several small caves which they had themselves
exploredfully with the aid of smoking torches. They were intrigued to come back in with us to see the passages more
clearly with electric light. These caves
were surveyed quickly by us splitting into two teams and things got
particularly exciting when we had to drag Mark away from surveying the lower
reaches of Mendi, whish were lacking
in oxygen, and when Daniel found some mermaids (?) in the streamway of Kimrang.
More extensive than
these was Kholjong Cave, with a
stream the size of which led Mark and Daniel to conjecture about the
"longest cave in
Danged was the largest
cave which our guides knew of and had an impressive entrance at the base of a
cliff which led into a large streamway. Mark, Jorg and I set off down a canyon which branched off the main
stream and soon emerged into a vast, square passage, dominated by the ''fallen
megafreighter" boulder, and increasingly thick with bats. Thousands of them flitted out past us like
big furry fairies (or something). We
drew and photographed them for the record and continued onward over slimy,
smelly boulders and a trickle of stream. Daniel's disembodied voice ahead led us to think that we were coming
back round to the main stream but we never met up with the other team who had
been stopped in their tracks at the head of two waterfalls which fell into the
bat passage. The stream disappeared into
what may be ongoing (grovelly) passage and so we climbed up instead into a series
of large, round and sparkly chambers but had to turn round before reaching a
conclusion. We emerged from the cave to
find the guides very nervous and keen to get away, having heard wild elephants
nearby. We heard them again on the walk
back but were disappointed (and Blen was relieved) not to see any.
After each day's
caving we returned along jungle tracks and through the village. My mind was considerably more blown on the
first day by the sight of this settlement than it had been by running along
through virgin passage underground. Bamboo
huts stood in the red earth with the occasional palm tree and dogs, pigs, goats
and children ran loose among them. On
the edge of the village was a wooden festival house, carved and painted with
human figures, snakes and tigers and which everyone but me (being a girl) was
allowed to enter and have a look around. This was a place almost entirely untouched by the West and it was not
really surprising that the children stared curiously at the aliens who had
arrived in their midst with strange clothes and lights on their heads!
After four days in the
Garo Hills half the team left for Shillong. Mark (to organize the new arrivals from
Your scribe, being on the "Cherra Team" was forced
to stay at our friend Denis Rayen's Cherra Tourist Resort - base for last
year's BEC team and overall superb spot overlooking the jungle covered
escarpments of southern Meghalaya and the vast flood plains of
Feb. 6th and 7th saw a ten person team surveying, exploring, photographing and bat studying in the Krem Soh Shympi/Rumdan system - partly explored but not mapped by last year's BEC team. This impressive horizontal cave eventually yielded 1.428km of generally large and bat infested fossil passages but a nasty, low active streamway below was only partially surveyed and showed little promise of improving. It was while lying flat out in this particularly flood prone spot that we decided a whip round was needed to purchase new spectacles for Rob Harper and to ignore all future "It's a real goer" tips from this man. The writer, Denis and Thomas had the job of surveying behind the advance party but due to a fortunate communications failure ended up leaving the main route and providentially climbing into 203m of superbly decorated fossil gallery ending at the lip of a 14m deep pot (Sunflower Pot - named after a matchbox thrown down to later prove a connection with the lower levels). We had first assumed that this pot would enter the mythical enormous passage beyond Rob's streamway and had hurled huge boulders down it, not realising that it was actually an aven on the main "trade route" through the cave along which the others had recently passed!
On the 8th we had planned to visit the unique living rubber
tree bridges located in the jungle below Laitkynsew and then check out a
supposed resurgence at the nearby
Prospecting in the hills of Meghalava.
After a straight line distance of some 250 metres, from
where we could still see daylight from the entrance, we reached the head of a
10 metre pitch caused by a choke in the floor of the main drag where it briefly
narrowed down. This was descended on the
following day and the main passage followed on down dip to a deep lake where a
traverse and short ladder climb gained the far shore without too much of a
wetting. Huge wedged logs proved the
power of the stream in flood conditions and prompted the appropriate name of
"The Log Flume" for the main passage. Beyond the lake the cave continued in fine style with a 45 metre free
climb down a sculpted rock wall - The North Face - providing great sport. Here we temporarily lost the stream and
reached another pitch - about 20 metres deep but passable with a 10 metre
ladder. Both pitches are actually more
easily passed by free climbing with a traverse line, the cave being
particularly well endowed with jug holds and ledges. Beyond, the bore passage entered the ceiling
of a huge, gloomy and mist filled chamber some 25 metres deep. Bats circled in the Dantesque regions below
and with hopes of returning to follow gigantic river galleries all the way to
On the 10th, feeling decidedly fragile, three of us laddered
the pitch to the floor of the immense chamber where a huge sand dune and an
area of massive collapse marked the apparent end of the accessible system.
Martin named this The Desert of Despond. Another look around here next year, without the burden of a rum
hangover, may yield a way on. At 1.077
km long and just under 200 metres deep this system is now one of
Lots of other small caves were looked at around Mustoh village and there is plenty more to do in this very pleasant area. The locals are very friendly and helpful, especially the village youths, two of whom, Alban and Shampoo (honest!) were taken on a photography/derigging trip in Krem Umjasew and bottomed their first cave with extreme ease, being natural born cavers. They were so good that Lump sneaked a large rock into their tackle bag to slow the buggers down a bit!
Our surveyed total in this area was 2.3 km and on the 13th we regretfully left the Resort to join up with the main team at Sutnga in the Jaintia Hills. A stomach bug had now made it's unpleasant presence felt on both us and the Garo team and persisted throughout the expedition, getting almost everyone - including at least one of the Meghalayan lads. A flock of hopeful looking vultures gathered daily by the roadside to check on it's progress!
At Sutnga we established ourselves in the LB (inspection bungalow) where most of the recently arrived team had already spent a couple of days, investigating leads in the Krem Umthloo system but finding little of interest. On the 15th "Peter the Pirate", our one eyed Austrian bolting expert and I decided to attempt the climb up Shrimp Pool Aven located at the end of the main upstream passage in Umthloo. We abseiled in via the already rigged 40m deep Krem Myrliat and soon reached our objective where, after various entertaining but futile attempts at lassoing and sky hooking ledges 5 metres up, we gave up and Peter used our Makita battery drill to put in three bolts. Technology hits Meghalayan caving! From the top, 6 metres above, a superb potholed streamway - Captain Hook's Canyon - was followed until lack of time and another 5 metre climb caused a halt. We returned next day intent on mapping a kilometre or so of horizontal stuff but were soon brought back to reality at the base of a c.l 0 metre high aven located just around the comer from our last survey point. I partly free climbed this before handing it over to Peter and the Makita for a more professional job. After an hour's hard work he gained the top and Fiona and I joined him at the base of yet another soaring shaft - Black Spot Aven. A narrow chimney at one end was again bolted up by Peter to gain an airy ledge with a rift/aven at one end which our knackered bolter suggested I have a look at before we headed out for our jeep rendezvous as time was now pressing.
I managed to free climb up another 10 metres or so to reach a huge, double level chamber with routes up between massive boulders where it was easy to lose the way. Leaves and other debris indicated a nearby entrance and, on looking up, I saw daylight at the top of an inaccessible, c.15 metre high aven. Another daylight aven nearby seemed climbable so I summoned the others to join me for the escape attempt - later proved to have been a bad move! A bolting/free climbing ascent of this aven was attempted but it was now dark on the surface and this, plus a large overhang put paid to the writer's efforts some 8 metres up. We were now well overdue and decided to retreat via Krem Myrliat from whence we emerged two hours late at 9 p.m. to later meet a prospective rescue team who had just arrived at Tongseng village. After apologising all round we gratefully drank the emergency beer supplies thoughtfully provided and were driven back to the LB. for a very late meal. Despite all this it had been a classic and enjoyable trip and we had virtually connected the main streamway entrance to this 12 km system - to provide one of the world's finest through trips - but where was this entrance? A note typed in German and stuck on the LB. wall gave the answer. Last year Thomas Matthalm and team had investigated two interconnected surface shafts situated near the V-shaped ancient monoliths on the footpath to Krem Myrliat but had not descended them due to lack of equipment. This was Krem Ryman and was visited next day by Peter, me and the expedition stomach bug. While the bug and I sought out a cosy patch of jungle Peter abseiled down one of the open pots to pass the terminal bolt of the previous day a mere 6 metres from the surface! Bugger, bugger, bugger. Another couple of bolts and a bit of climbing would have seen us out in plenty of time - or even better; if my German had been up to scratch or I had studied Daniel's magnificent cave data book more closely, I would have realised this was the main sink and we could have explored it from the top down! Such is life. The connecting passages and chamber, aptly named "Life is a Drama" from a slogan seen painted on a Shaktiman truck, were later surveyed and yet another entrance pot 40 metres deep found.
The v-shaped monoliths and the dolmen at Tongseng.
On the 20th
Meanwhile other team members had been shown and had partly
surveyed the huge stream
As more caves are discovered and surveyed along the limestone
ridge the picture becomes clearer and the connections more likely. With vast, low lying areas on both sides of
this ridge the extreme age of these caves becomes obvious and the writer has a
pet theory that they were formed by a mighty river originating in the Himalaya
to the north - possibly the proto Brahmaputra before it eroded it's way around
the north west side of Meghalaya and then south to the Bay of Bengal. The original catchment area for the ridge is
now the country of
Cherrypicker Pot proved to be a 42.7 metre free hang to a
ledge and further 8 metre pitch - over 50 metres in all and awesomely
photogenic. Walkie-talkies were used for
communication on this pitch as the echo chamber effect made ordinary speech
unintelligible. Mark used another of our
toys, a petrol powered rock drill, halfway down the pot to put in a rebelay and
the noise was incredible - like someone ascending the rope on a Harley-Davidson! At the bottom a pleasant stream passage was
surveyed by Lindsay and the writer for 230 metres to end at a low and squalid
section which soon sumped. Here Mark
swore he saw a fish which he recognised from the previous year in Umthloo! Our hopes for an easy way out via Krem Ryman were now dashed and once
again we were late back for supper. Another "rescue party" swung into action that evening, not for
us but for Yorkshire Dave, Annie and Nicola who had cocked up their jeep
rendezvous point and were later found having walked several kms back towards
Sutnga. Communications are a big problem
in this fairly remote area with poor roads and teams exploring different areas
at the same time. Next year we plan to
take more walkie-talkies and hired satellite 'phones. One possible problem with walkie-talkies is
their use near the
Thomas, Brian K.D. and team had meanwhile been pushing a 1.323 km long resurgence cave reported to have a resident ghost - Krem Wah Shikar. A beautifully decorated and very roomy river passage had a variety of inlets - one of which Thomas and I explored to reach a second entrance. A picturesque grotto halfway along was named Suppliers' Chamber as both discoverers happened to coincidentally own caving shops called Bat Products! Funny old world ... The resident ghost was obviously a bit miffed and pinched one of my socks in revenge. Thomas placated it with the offering of a Coconut Crunchee biscuit (pronounced bisquit by Peter) and the sock later mysteriously reappeared at the LB.
This was obviously a playful and friendly wraith. In the remote and somewhat spooky Lakadong area which some of us had briefly visited last year Martin, Mark, Shelley and Dan were confronted by something else altogether. They had set a precedent during their first week in Shillong by finding the body of a recently murdered teenager floating in a river. In Lakadong their main aim was to descend two c.50 metre potholes located near the village and neighbouring immigrant coal miners' encampment. Surrounded by the usual horde of curious villagers they rigged the first pot and were not unduly surprised to hear the sounds of people apparently working in the depths below. These were obviously colliers who had entered from another, unknown entrance. After shouting down a warning Dan abseiled into the depths to stop short of a group of at least six people at the shaft bottom. The shouted warning had been unnecessary as his new acquaintances had very obviously been dead for some time, and probably not by accident. There was no other access to the pot. Without getting off the rope our now thoroughly discomfited hero rapidly changed over and headed for the sweeter smelling surface to report to the locals that this reputedly 700 metre deep hole could not be bottomed due to lack of tackle!
They quickly thanked the crowd for their assistance and escaped to the tranquillity of the local LB. Two days later a second shaft which lay in the edge of the jungle some distance away was visited. Once again this was rigged and descended and though an awesome place seemed to be ghost free. On reaching the bottom though it was apparent that the spirits were only taking the day off as another rotting corpse met the startled explorer's eyes. Yet again a rapid retreat was made. Apparently the deceased was a local woman thief who raided nearby villages but then made the fatal error of stealing from her own people. Justice can be simple and swift in these remote areas and a 50 metre pothole is as sure as a gun or rope to ensure that the sentence is satisfactorily carried out, with the added benefit of no body disposal problems.
Apart from these gruesome discoveries the team were surprised not to find large, horizontal galleries at the base of these pots. More reconnaissance work needs to be done in this theoretically important area hence the authorities were not informed of the quantity of dead people found. It is most unlikely that they would be interested anyway, especially if these were the bodies of immigrant miners who seem to be regarded as a sub species of the human race.
During the expedition many more smaller caves were explored,
surveyed and occasionally dug into by sad people with no mental control. Dan and Fiona undertook more
biospelaeological research in the Krem
Kotsati/Umlawan system at Lumshnong and in Krem Liat Prah. Paul
continued with the ongoing video project and he, Lump and others took many
still photographs, particularly of cave life and entrances for record
purposes. Daniel, Thomas, Mark and Dave
wore their fingers to the bone typing data and diary notes into the
indispensable computers. Ruben and Ronnie reminded us all what it was like to
be young and several times almost became candidates for a Lakadong ropeless
abseil trip. Dorien mutinied after a few
days and returned to
With less than eleven months to go plans are already in hand for next year's trip. Brian K.D. and Gareth William were introduced to the very influential high priest of the pagan, animist "Old Religion" which is apparently still practised in the Tongseng - Shnongrim area alongside Presbyterianism. This very knowledgeable and friendly English speaker showed us several caves, pointed out sacred caves which it was suggested we keep out of and offered to find us a camp site in the middle of the area for next year. Most of those present will return on the slim hope of finding some " ... karst features of outstanding significance."
Seventy sites were recorded this year giving a surveyed length of 22.598 kms and putting the total Meghalayan cave length at 204.598 kms. This article is written from the viewpoints of two BEC members and fuller accounts of other peoples' experiences will appear in Descent, the Grampian S.G. Bulletin, etc.
Participants:
India: Organizer - Brian Kharpran Daly (GSG/MA), Shelley & Lindsay Diengdoh, Dale, Teddy & Ronnie Mawlong, Gareth William Lyngwa (all MA), Denis Rayen, Adora ThabaiTyler, Larsing Sukhlain, Phiban Kharumlong, Brian Khyriem, Batkupar Lyngdoh, Abraham Sangma, Alban Bakash (Mustoh village), Shampoo Rapmai (Mustoh), Sunny Lyngdoh, Baba Mawlong, Darimika Bariat, Lija and Eleanor Lyngdoh.
Gt. Britain: (absent organizer - Simon Brooks (OCC/GSG), Leader - Mark Brown (SUSS), Annie Audsley (BEC/SUSS), Nicola Bayley (RFODCC), Tony Boycott (BEC/UBSS/GSG), Paul Edmunds, Dan Harries (GSO), Andy Harp (RFODCC), Tony Jarratt (BEC/GSG), Jayne Stead (GSG), Fiona Ware (GSG), "Yorkshire" Dave Hodgson (GSG), Martin "Lump" Groves (SCC), Andy Tyler
With the assistance, hospitality and support of a host of cooks, drivers, village headmen, guides, dhobi ladies, small boys, partygoers and members of the Meghalayan Adventurers' Association - especially Donboc Syiemlieh and Bung Diengdoh. Not forgetting (an impossibility!) Maureen Diengdoh and the ever cheerful Ladies of Shillong. Thanks also to Wells St. John's Ambulance for the donation of a Neil Robertson stretcher, now resident in Shillong and hopefully never to be used in anger.
References:
Caving in the Abode of the Clouds - Report of the 1992 & 1994 Expedition
Caving in the Abode of the Clouds - Part II - Report of the 1995, 1996 & 1997 Expeditions (both available from BAT Products)
Various articles in the BB, Descent, GSG Bulletin, International Caver, Caves & Caving, etc.