Avenc Font i Sagué

Through the Mir family of Can Guineu (Sant Sadurní d'Anoia), Faura i Sans learns of the existence of a series of cavities in the Ordal, discovered by Josep Cells, woodcutter and seeker of sparry calcite, from Vallirana. Of one of them they say it is very deep. On 2 August 1908, Faura, accompanied by Francesc Bertran, members of the Mir family and Cells himself, devote a day to sounding all these pits, paying special attention to the “fondo”, located in the barranc de l'Arcada and which his companions decide to name Faura i Sans. The sounding gives some 110 metres of depth and they agree to proceed to explore it fifteen days later, which did not happen. The following year (1909), Faura in his Recull mentions a pit of the Arcada (without providing data) and the avenc Mossèn Faura (granting it the 110 metres of depth sounded the previous year). The crisis that began in 1909 at the Club Muntanyenc and other projects postponed the first exploration of the pit until 3 September 1911, led by Faura and other members of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya with a great deployment of technical means that allowed the descent of the entire main shaft. Faura considered the exploration of this pit as the most serious of all those he had carried out and decided to change its name, dedicating it to his teacher and friend Norbert Font i Sagué who had died the previous year. During the campaign at the Ordal of the Club Muntanyenc Barcelonès in 1936, they visit the cavity again (they call it avenc de l'Arcada or Faura and date the first exploration, erroneously, to 1905) and explore a side route that they calculate reaches 90 metres of depth. Later known as “via ramonage” and which in reality ends at 75 metres of depth. In the first editions of the Ordal map of Editorial Alpina (1950s and 60s) three pits are listed: Arcada, Font i Sagué and Faura, when in reality it was a single one. In this same period of the early years of the GES – CMB is when the qualifier Gran is added to differentiate it from the avenc de l'Arcada del Fondo de les Terradelles (today disappeared), which they come to call Arcada Petita. Over the years different topographic surveys of the pit appear that, little by little, lower the elevation – 120 fixed in 1911. The ERE – CEC (1967): - 113 m.; the GES – CMB (1976): - 105 m. and the SIE – CEA (1979): - 102 m. Recently, on 24 March 2009, members of the UME (Gavà) discover, after a series of technical and acrobatic manoeuvres in the upper zone of the great shaft, a magnificent and well-concretioned side chamber (Sala dels Proscrits). More recently, on 10 June 2012, members of the SES of the GER explore a small window located a few metres above the base of the great shaft and access the middle of a narrow vertical conduit that ascends some 6 metres and descends 5 metres, placing this point as the maximum depth of the cavity at -104 metres.

Troglocharinus ferreri Reitt

Several specimens. Collected by Mossèn Faura i Sans on 3 September 1911.

31 specimens. Collected by Francesc Español on 21 February 1937.

61 specimens. Collected by Francesc Español on 4 April 1937.

36 specimens. Collected by Oleguer Escolà on 13 June 1963.

8 specimens. Collected by J.M. Victoria on an undetermined date, before 1970.

4 specimens. Collected by Lluís Auroux on 31 May 1970.