CP19b

The CP19bis opens with a horizontal crawl 40 cm in diameter. Five metres further on, one reaches a small chamber 4 m high, from which the cleared crawl departs downwards. At the base of the P10 is a small chamber 6 m high. The dimensions become more substantial, and the continuation is almost nothing but a series of shafts. The Puits des Forceps (P15) begins with a narrow, high meander; a widening of the meander allows one to slip along the rope to reach a fractioning point, and the base of this shaft flares out into a long meander intersected by two steps. a new meander (Méandres des Sabres), of completely different morphology, begins: of keyhole cross-section, progression is made in the upper part. The walls of this meander, covered with dry earth, would seem to mark the end of progression, but about fifteen metres further on, the meander deepens over the Puits du Disque (P15). The meander widens and a very rare echo suggests an enormous void. At the base of the Puits de la Résonance (P42), the change of rock indicates our arrival on the Hauterivian layer.

In the Méandres des Sabres, the upper part of the meander is occupied by sabre-shaped concretions attesting to a significant upstream-downstream draught; excentrics line the upper part of the walls.

At the base of the Puits des Forceps, a small trickle of water flows at the base of the two steps. In the chamber of the Puits de la Bouffe (P22), an inflow of water is handy for "restoring" oneself. The upstream of the narrow, crumbling meander feeds water to the meander of the Galerie des Reptiles.

The entrance is accessible all year round, provided one digs out the snow, which generally does not disappear until July. After the entrance crawl and the small chamber 4 m high, one covers ten metres of ramping, a P3, another cleared meandering crawl, the P5 of the n°2 ladder, narrow passages over 5 m, and one arrives at the P10 fractioned by a circular ledge at mid-height. One then slips into the meander of the Boue: pleasant and wide in its first half, its last 30 metres, located after the window, are narrower and wet. One reaches a small chamber at the top of the Puits de la Pluie (P20), extended by an R6 and by the Puits Cayin (P10). At its base, an impassable active meander departs to the left, and the continuation is found in the fossil meander to the right, at the top of a 2-metre climb. After about ten metres of progression and a flat-out crawl over a few metres, one arrives above the Puits des Deux Tonnes (P21), whose access had had to be cleared; beware at the head of the shaft of unstable blocks, due to the nature of the rock, which could in time still come loose. At its base, one reaches a fine 2.50 m diameter forced conduit, with a meandering floor in which the Puits de la Bouffe (P22) opens. The Puits des Forceps (P15) is traversed in the middle part of its narrow, high meander, the anchors being situated 2 m above; the rest of the descent is made very freely, and one understands the toponymy (Forceps) of this shaft on the way back up. One passes the Puits de l'Echo (P8) to arrive at the Puits de la Résonance (P42). The junction is made at -209 m; a dozen metres further on, one arrives by a narrow, crumbling meander, descending by small steps, into the Galerie des Reptiles. One then has on one's left (towards the East) the meandering section that begins, and on one's right (towards the west) the fossil crawls towards -224 m.

We are in a fairly high chamber with an inflow of water handy for "restoring" oneself.