Aven-Grotte du Trou qui Fume

The entrance, on a crumbling slope, leads to a small low gallery that winds along in a very lively keyhole shape. At the bottom of this gallery, on the right, a keyhole-shaped passage can be climbed for a few metres. At the bottom of the first small pit, a rising chimney can be seen on the left. Another small clay chamber shows, on the opposite wall, several openings that seem to lead to fairly narrow descending continuations. The main continuation is higher up: you climb 2 metres to a small window, then the descent resumes, a little narrow at first then widening. Lower down, a rather special spot allows you first to cross a small blind pit, then to pass onto the left lip of another pit which opens out in the first third of the P30. Across the P 30 a bridge has been thrown, made of two round iron tubes joined to each other by scaffolding cross-braces; it is above the void and moves a little. The P 30 is a fine, vast pit. At the bottom of it, the continuation is on the opposite wall: it is fairly narrow but seems to descend still further for more than a dozen metres.

The P 30 has some fine flowstone.

At the bottom of the first small pit, the rising chimney seen on the left seems to drain a lot of water in heavy rain; this flow crosses the small chamber and heads towards an enlarged continuation at floor level. This passage follows the water flow and looks promising.

The first small pit (P 6) to be rigged is at the level of the keyhole-shaped passage. The enlarged continuation at floor level begins with a short down-climb and then continues 4 metres lower with a pit (2 bolts, one AN with a rope ring); this passage has not been descended. Back at the bottom of the P7, you climb slightly to reach the other small clay chamber. For the main continuation, follow the discreet arrows: climb 2 metres to a small window (AN on the left), then resume the descent; a few metres lower, a brand-new spit allows the C 60 to avoid rubbing too much on the ceiling. At the rather special spot (2 anchors + 1 AN with a rope ring in place), you first cross a small blind pit (reinforcing bar) then pass onto the left lip of the other pit. On the bridge, you have to stand up on it to rig the pit by going to get an AN above the small window (sling to secure yourself) then, higher up on the left, 2 anchors allowing a fine free-hanging Y all the way to the bottom; other possibilities exist on the right but are distinctly less elegant.

The keyhole-shaped gallery is very lively: frog, toad, butterflies, mosquitoes, spiders, etc. According to the documentation, there is scope here to descend much further; the continuation at the bottom of the P 30 is to be seen later if motivated.