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Avenc Quim Solbas

Avenc Quim Solbas

Interessant cavitat de 37 m. de fondària a Sant Llorenç del Munt

Sant Llorenç Savall • Vallès Occidental135m37m

A 37 m deep cavity in Sant Llorenç del Munt, discovered in 2011, with a large 32 m long chamber and a notable flowstone on the W wall.

Characteristics

Location

Located at Els Òbits, follow the path towards Font Flàvia. The path enters a wooded area where, on the left, there is a lone pine tree; at this point, but on the right of the path, there is a passage in the middle of the wood with cairns placed on the branches of the trees. Once through the wood, descend following the cairns until reaching a small col that separates two gullies (ED50, X:418201; Y:4612317). Descend the right-hand gully until finding a small path clinging to the wall, which leads to a point where the wall must be climbed a couple of metres up to a small terrace; the cavity is located at the upper part of this terrace.

Mapa

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Quim Solbas, Avenc

    Elevation: 878 m

    41.656564, 2.016639
    UTM 31T (ED 50) 418216 4612317
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Avenc Quim Solbas - Photo, Sant Llorenç Savall, Vallès OccidentalView image
Click to enlarge

Espeleoindex · CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ · Image © its author.

Image 1 of 12

Description

Morphology

The entrance is in the form of a rock shelter, which makes it difficult to see from a distance; this is also helped by the fact that it is slightly elevated on the crag. The mouth is about 8 metres wide and 3 high, and quickly narrows to form a gallery 11 metres long which at 8 metres reaches its maximum narrowness (0.50 x 0.70). The gallery gives way to a fairly wide ramp with a relatively flat ceiling and roots hanging from it; the rigging starts just at this ceiling. The ramp, 16 metres long, has a ledge in the middle where it can be re-rigged and becomes increasingly steep, and leads to a pit 14 metres deep with a width of 1.8 x 7 metres. Descending the pit, one reaches a wide lateral gallery of the main chamber of the cavity. In a SE direction there is an initially heavily decorated gallery (Sala Blanca), which first rises then descends again while narrowing and ends at 15 metres from the pit. Returning to the base of the pit and heading W, the gallery widens until, after 10 metres, it gives onto the chamber of the cavity. This is 32 metres long and reaches a maximum height of 24 metres, with an average width of 5 metres. Towards the S, the chamber descends until it ends in a couple of narrow, short superimposed galleries, the lower of which reaches the maximum depth of the cavity at elevation -37, ending choked by sediments. On the opposite side, to the N, there is a fairly flat crawl 14 metres long, which follows a couple of joints parallel to the generatrices of the main chamber and ends in a collapse. On the same N side, climbing a flowstone, one reaches a chimney that gives onto a gallery already almost 15 metres above the floor of the chamber; this gallery climbs until it gives onto a new chimney that ends up becoming impenetrable.

Speleothems

The most striking feature of the chamber, and of the whole cavity, is the large flowstone on the W wall. This flowstone occupies the entire height and is partially separated from the wall itself, forming a ledge at 12 metres height in the shape of a pulpit.

Progression

The pit is re-rigged at the same head and also at 5 metres from the bottom.

Other details

The sediments are full of encrusted bone remains, notably the complete remains of a goat right in the middle of the chamber, surrounded by a circle of stones to make it more visible and protect it.

History

Like so many other small cavities of the Sant Llorenç del Munt mountain, this one had been located in September 2011 by the tireless hiker from Terrassa Quim Solbas. On 1 November, together with Jordi Guillemot, they went to take a look and were able to verify that, once past the narrow passage a few metres from the entrance, the cavity continues growing in size, and they decided to return with more companions. On 20 November 2011 a team made up of Salvador Vives, Eduard Badiella, Marc Anglés, Jordi Guillemot, Quim Solbas (SIS – CE Terrassa) and Ramon Suades (UE Sabadell) were able to carry out the first exploration of this beautiful pit.

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Bibliography

  1. Guillemot, J.; Badiella, E.; Anglés, M. (2010-2011).- “Una nova troballa a Sant Llorenç del Munt: L'Avenc Quim Solbas”. Arxiu del Centre Excursionista de Terrassa (116): 422-436. Centre Excursionista de Terrassa. (editat el 2013)
  • Altres dades al web: caudelguille.net (Jordi Guillemot; SIS-CET)
  • També es pot trobar més documentació al blog: espeleobloc (post del 14-2-2012)

Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/