Tham Pha Phueng - NA0043
19.433078,101.067405
Location
Tham Pha Phueng is sign posted where the H1291 turns off the H1080, 40km away from the cave. The cave is at the bottom of the doline between the Security Development Project headquarters (1km away) and Ban Mani Phruk (500m fom the village). Just where the road starts to climb up to the village some concrete steps lead down the slope towards the cliff that can be seen to the west. A good path leads to the cave entrance which is a one minute walk from the road.
Description
Although it can't be seen until you are nearly there the entrance is impressive, located at the base of a 50m cliff of white limestone, 30m wide by 15m high. A concrete path and steps descend the initial slope of large boulders for a few metres. From the entrance the cave drops steeply with a boulder floored passage which is up to 50m wide and 30m high. There isn't a fixed route up and down this boulder scramble, with seemingly a different route taken each time. Only 70m from the entrance, by ascending the slope on the left hand wall one reaches the start of the Entrance Series. This is a passage averaging 2 to 3m wide and 5m high that reaches a boulder floored chamber after 100m. Straight ahead the passage chokes, but there is a way on low down on the right that ascends for 100m to a choke. Taking the left hand branch at the end of the boulder chamber leads into the main part of the series. It consists of narrow rifts which loop back to the start of the Entrance Series (via a 5m pitch), to an alcove overlooking the Main Entrance and a high, ascending rift that is higher than the Main Entrance. The Main Passage stays big and impressive for about 300m until it levels out and narrows into a rift. On the left a 2m high climb into a low bedding plane soon closes down. After another 25m the top of a 7m pitch is reached at a depth of -97m below the entrance. Descending the pitch drops into a large streamway. The main route is to head north, down the slope of calcite cemented boulders and back under the pitch. A large pool can be traversed around on the right hand side and just past the pool a small inlet in the right hand wall has been pushed for about 75m, but has not been surveyed. This fine stream passage descends at 12¦ to 20¦, trending westwards with a mainly smooth, clean washed limestone floor which is occasionally broken with short cascades and boulders. This passage gets larger and after 135m a canyon inlet on the left is the bottom of the Vadose Oxbow. The passage continues to descend and after a further 200m the stream flows over a couple of small plunge pools and then drops down a very large pitch, named Fitch Pitch in memory of Shepton Mallet Caving Club member Terence Fitch. The top of this pitch is at a depth of -165m. The inlet above the black flowstone on the right hand wall (approximately 100m before Fitch Pitch) has been climbed into via a 4m climb. After 80m of walking sized rift the passage, named Black Stal Passage, turns north and closes down into a flat out muddy crawl which hasn't been pushed. Back at the bottom of the 7m pitch a large passage heads south-west along a ledge with some small gours and other formations. There is a 3m drop on the left hand side of the passage down to a streamway, but the easiest way to reach the stream is to continue along the high level, down a 2m drop (where a handline is very useful) and then descend where the ledge ends into the Vadose Oxbow. The Waterfall Inlet Series is reached by following the stream back upstream to the inlet passage. This can be followed for 100m, passing below a 7m waterfall pitch, to a boulder choke. 20m back from the boulder choke it is possible to climb up and then traverse into the passage at the top of the waterfall. This passage heads south for 50m before heading north-east along a straight rift. A 4m drop can be free-climbed to eventually reach the bottom of a pitch estmated at 6m that has not been ascended. Back at the start of the Vadose Oxbow heading downstream the passage is a high and narrow vadose canyon. There is a 2m cascade and a couple of other drops which can be free-climbed, but a 3m pitch requires a rope and SRT equipment unless you are a very competent climber. After another 2m cascade the canyon opens up as it joins the main passage, 200m upstream of Fitch Pitch. At Fitch Pitch, the ledge on the right hand side can be rigged with a traverse line. This reaches an alcove above the pitch from where another traverse can be rigged along the wall to reach the large stal boss and inlet stream on the other side. This traverse is protected with three spits. NB: be careful of loose rocks on the wall of the traverse û these fall down Fitch Pitch. On ascending the wet flowstone slope a very fine gour filled passage was found. After about 60m the passage becomes filled with breakdown, some of which is very loose and crumbly. About 90m from the pitch there is an inlet passage from the north which is the start of the Muddy Oxbow network of passages. One large passage heading east loops around to rejoin Gour Passage near the start of the narrow canyon. Another small passage heads west from Muddy Oxbow and is not surveyed, but is thought to be near the end of Black Stal Passage. If these two passages could be linked then the traverse over Fitch Pitch would not have to be rigged to reach the impressive Gour Passage. Just past the muddy inlet it is necessary to scramble down the breakdown boulders to reach the stream again. The passage narrows into a high canyon which is keyhole shaped with a wider section at the top. A couple of 2m cascades can be climbed and after 100m there is an awkward 3m cascade. Above this climb Gour Passage continues up a series of climbs of between 2m and 5m. Gour Passage ends at a chamber, with some small inlet passages, which is directly below the large entrance passage. The approach to the pitch head of Fitch Pitch is protected with a long traverse, using 4 spits to a Y hang rigged from a stalagmite column and a spit. NB: be careful of loose rocks on the wall at the pitch head. This allows a descent of 11m to a rebelay, with a deviation rigged from a spit a few metres below the pitch head. From the spit rebelay another 7m descent lands on a ledge. This upper part of the pitch is damp so to get away from the water a traverse was rigged along the ledge for 5m, utilising 5 spits. At the end of the traverse there is an 8mm spit and a 10mm through bolt for a Y hang down the free hanging, 109m deep, lower part of the pitch. NB: use a rope protector or tackle sack to protect the rope just below the Y hang. After descending 7m going round an arÛte gives access to a wall of better rock with a slight overhang. Two bolts have been installed for a Y-hang rebelay to slightly break up the big pitch. The total depth of Fitch Pitch is 127m making it the biggest descended pitch in Thailand. The bottom of the pitch is at -293m. At the bottom of Fitch Pitch is a 30m diameter circular chamber where the water runs into a shallow streamway and then down a couple of small holes in the floor. The passage continues beyond these sink holes and after a few metres there is a large hole in the floor on the left with a very narrow rock bridge. This passage joins up with the main stream passage below the second roped climb. Continuing past the large hole the canyon-like passage gets gradually deeper with some muddy sections. A short climb up a partly detached rock flake on the right reaches a large ledge which leads to the camp and the Fossil Series. The stream passage starts to descend more steeply, down a couple of short easy climbs to the first roped climb (anchor on the right hand wall, 1m above the floor). Beyond this a knee deep pool and a couple more easy climbs lead to the second roped climb (use the 8mm anchor on the left hand wall at shoulder height as the anchor on the right hand wall is not suitable). Opposite the top of this climb is a large stal slope with water running down it, this is the end of the ôrock bridgeö passage. The passage now continues as an active streamway, with pools and short drops for which several short lengths of rope or slings are useful. The next drop is in two steps; the first is free-climbable, the second can be aided by a hand-line attached to a chert knob. The following climb can be aided by a hand-line tied round a natural rock arch and the next drop (P6) has an 8mm anchor at shoulder height on the right hand wall, but a second anchor should be added here for safety. After the 6m main drop it is best to continue on the rope down a couple more short drops. Beyond this the passage levels out for a while, with some sections of wading. The stream passage continues for another 200m down a couple more short climbs to an area where it necessary to traverse over deep water. The streamway continues as a vadose passage down a series of climbs of between 2m and 4m (which were rigged with ropes) to the top of a P10. This is soon followed by a P20. From here the streamway continued as a straight vadose passage heading south-west down a series of climbs (C3, C4, C6, C5 and C6), many of which were rigged with ropes, to a sump at -447m below the entrance. This sump can be bypassed by a passage on the right to a continuation of the rift passage. After a few more short climbs (C2, C3, C2 and C3) the cave eventually sumps at a depth of -466m below the entrance. From the bottom of Fitch Pitch, to the right of the streamway (facing downstream), by staying close to the wall of the main chamber a ledge system can be followed which leads to the sandy floored camp and the start of the Fossil Series. Just before the camp a sandy slope on the right leads to a short oxbow passage which may have another passage leading off from it. The fossil passage is a large, well decorated, level passage, starting with a sandy floor, which is crispy in places. The passage is high, but has deep undercuts where the passage meanders. Approximately 70m from the camp an area of boulder breakdown is reached. Staying close to the right hand wall leads to a small stooping height tube-like passage which has been explored, but not surveyed, down a couple of short climbs to a Y junction; left leads to a static sump with calcite floating on the surface while right leads down to a low crawl which was not pushed. Back at the entrance to this passage a sandy crawl on the left under the boulders leads to the continuation of the main fossil passage (it is also possible to scramble over the boulders). Ahead is another area of boulder breakdown that can be bypassed on the right via a well decorated stooping height undercut. A large boulder in the passage can be passed on the right at an area with a fine cracked mud floor. Just beyond this is the first inlet on the left hand side which has been surveyed for 250m in a northwards direction to where it became too low. This passage appears to be heading back to the chamber at the foot of Fitch Pitch. This passage is not obvious on the way in (it is easier to spot on the way out), so is marked by an arrow in the mud floor. The main passage continues to meander with deep undercuts. Just beyond a small pool, about 350m from the camp, a short climb down on the right hand side (hand-line useful) leads to a narrow, but high, rift passage. This passage goes for 30m to a static, perched sump -311m below the entrance. The main fossil passage continues for another 300m, narrowing slightly and becoming increasingly muddy at another area of boulder breakdown. Huge boulders almost completely block the passage, but a small window on the right hand side leads through to a small chamber amongst the boulders. Just beyond this window is a boulder marked with survey station '40'. On the left at this point are the Bypass Pitches. Continuing ahead you emerge from amongst the boulders into a large passage facing a steep wall with very prominent bedding planes. Going left here leads to a hole in the floor which was looked at briefly, but is surrounded by loose boulders and is likely to connect to the Bypass Pitch series. To the right the large passage continues with more scrambling over large muddy boulders. Staying near the right hand wall a shallow hole in the floor on the left was being used by several bats as a roost. Beyond this a larger hole in the floor was looked at, rocks thrown down took approximately 4 seconds to hit the floor, but the top was all covered in flowstone so is not ideal for bolting. Beyond this a muddy ledge overlooks a very large drop (again, rocks fall for 4 seconds). A rift in the floor on the left probably runs back to the flowstone hole, but this area is covered by large boulders and mud so it is difficult to get a clear idea where the solid floor is. A muddy slope leading up to the right was not explored. On the far side of the large chamber a huge stal boss can be seen. The sound of dripping and running water can be heard, but it was not possible to see where it was coming from. The top of the pitch was examined with a view to rigging for SRT with the left hand wall being the only real option. However, as everywhere was covered with mud and with lots of large boulders near the top it was decided not to attempt this. Back at survey station '40' is the start of the Bypass Pitches. A single anchor in a large boulder on the left protects the main Y-hang for the initial drop which leads down to a re-belay on the right hand wall just below a large stal ledge on the left. This descends to a deep pool and a further couple of drops to a large ledge with another deep pool. A Y-hang on the right hand wall allows progress to continue down a couple more stal drops with a single anchor re-belay on the right hand wall at the first ledge. The pitch ends at a well decorated chamber with a muddy floor and the passage continues round a right hand bend, down a white flowstone slope and across a couple of gour pools to a waist deep pool. After this a 2m climb on the left leads to a small round chamber. Opposite the climb is a short step down into another round chamber with a deep pool. An anchor at shoulder height on the right hand wall protects progress along a submerged ledge that leads around the right-hand wall to the opposite side of the chamber where a window looks out into a large chamber (the same chamber which was seen from the top at the end of the Fossil Series). An anchor on the right is followed by two Y-hangs on the left hand wall which allows a free-hang to the steeply sloping stal floor of the chamber at the bottom of which was a sump pool. Although a large stream enters the chamber from mid-way up the left hand wall there appears to be no way of getting to it and no passage was visible. It was not possible to explore the chamber from where the rope descended due to the steep stal slope, but it may be possible to climb up by placing bolts for protection or it might be necessary to traverse 8-10m left at the top of the pitch and then drop down. The rift passage seen in the floor at the end of the Fossil Series was not seen from the base of the pitch nor was the end of the Fossil Series itself, but a light and aural connection has been made in the terminal chamber between the top of the big pitch and the bottom of the Bypass Pitches.
Topographie
SMCC April 2005 - February 2014 - Grade 6-3-BF/1-1-A Published surveys:- ELLIS, MARTIN (2009a, 2009b) - BCRA 3b/2a BOLGER & ELLIS (2009) - based on ELLIS, MARTIN (2009) DUMMER, PAUL (2009) - based on ELLIS, MARTIN (2009) ELLIS, MARTIN (2010b) ELLIS, MARTIN (2012a) Ellis, Martin (2014d) Ellis, Martin (2015b) Ellis, Martin; Laumanns, Michael (2017)
Documents
Bibliography 12/09/2020- +ANON. (2010e) "Hidden Earth 2009: Breaking the Thai Depth Record" Descent No.213 p34-35 +BOLGER, TERRY; ELLIS, MARTIN (2009) "Tham Pha Phueng" Caves Australia No. 178 September 2009 pp12-16 +Bolger, Terry; Ellis, Martin (2015) "An overview of caves and caving in Thailand" Second Asian Transkarst Conference, 6-8 November 2015, Lichuan, China, 5pp ***Bolger, Terry; Ellis, Martin (2018) "An overview of caves and caving in Thailand" Journal of the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association No 110 pp32-37 +CAMPBELL, JO (2009) "Thailand 2009" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Newsletter Vol. 46 No. 1 pp13-17 +CAMPBELL, JO (2009) "Breaking the Thai Depth Record" presentation at Hidden Earth 2009 +CAMPBELL, JO (2010) "Return to Nan" presentation at Hidden Earth 2010 +DUMMER, CLAIRE (2012) "Thailand 2012" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Newsletter Vol. 49 No. 2 pp21-23 +Dummer, Claire (2014) "Thailand 2014" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Newsletter Vol. 51 No. 2 pp46-47 +COLLETT, PHIL (2007) "Cod Tours: Tham Pha Phueng, Thailand" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Newsletter Vol. 45 No. 2 p33 +DUMMER, PAUL (2009a) ôInternational News: Shepton Team Sets New Thai Depth Recordö Descent No. 207 pp26-27 +DUMMER, PAUL (2009b) "Thailand 2010 û Nan Province" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Newsletter Vol. 46 No. 21 p38 +DUMMER, PAUL (2009c) ôA Big Pitch...but Squatty Toiletsö Descent No. 210 pp32-33 +DUMMER PAUL (2009d) "Nan Province, Thailand 2010" GPF Grant Application Form +DUMMER, PAUL (2010) "Thailand 2010" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Neswletter Vol. 47 No. 2 pp36-37 +DUMMER, PAUL (2011b) "Shepton Mallet Caving Club û Nan 2012 û Thailand" GPF Grant Application Form +Dummer, Paul; Goddard, Andy (2017) "Under Doi Phu Ka" Descent, No. 258 Oct/Nov 2017 pp27-30 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (2009) "New Deepest Cave in Thailand" Caves Australia No. 176 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2005) "Some Caves in Thailand Part 1" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Journal Series 11 No. 7 pp294-321 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2007) "Thailand Beckons" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Newsletter Vol. 44 No. 4 p78 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2009a) ôThailandÆs Top Twentyö Shepton Mallet Caving Club Journal Series 12 No. 4 pp140-232 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2009b) "Ban Mani Phruk Expedition 2009" Shepton Mallet Caving Club www.lulu.com/content/7704965 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2010a) "Thailand's Deepest Cave Now Even Deeper" www.thailandcaves.shepton.org.uk/nan-expedition-20… +ELLIS, MARTIN (2010b) "Thailand 2010" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Newsletter Vol. 47 No. 2 pp37-40 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2010c) "Ban Mani Phruk Expeditions 2009 & 2010" Shepton Mallet Caving Club www.lulu.com/product/paperback/ban-mani-phruk-expe… 45pp +ELLIS, MARTIN (2010i) "Shepton in Siam" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Journal Series 12 No. 5 pp262-269 +Ellis, Martin (2011d) "Ban Mani Phruk Expeditions 2009 & 2010" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Journal Series 12 No. 7 pp342-369 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2012a) "Ban Mani Phruk Expedition 2012" Shepton Mallet Caving Club 39pp +Ellis, Martin (2014b) "SMCC Nan 2014 expedition" www.thailandcaves.shepton.org.uk/smcc-nan-2014 +Ellis, Martin (2014d) "Ban Mani Phruk Expedition 2014" Shepton Mallet Caving Club 53pp +Ellis, Martin (2015a) "Ban Mani Phruk Expeditions 2012-2014, Nan, Thailand" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Journal Series 13 No. 4 pp146-185 +Ellis, Martin (2015c) "Thailand's Longest and Deepest Caves: A Caving Guide" Martin Ellis, Shepton Mallet ISBN 978-1-326-43857-9 84pp +Ellis, Martin (2015d) "Caves of Doi Phuka National Park" privately published, April 2015, 81pp +Ellis, Martin; Laumanns, Michael (2017) "Thailand" in Laumanns, Michael; Price, Liz (eds.) (2017) "Atlas of the Great Caves and Karst of Southeast Asia: Part 2 Myanmar - Vietnam" second edition, Berliner Hohlenkundliche Berichte Band 67 pp241-292 +Goddard, Andy (2016) "Thailand Expedition 2016" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Newsletter Vol. 53 No. 2 April 2016 pp40-43 +GOODDEN, CHRISTIAN (2000) "Trek It Yourself in Northern Thailand" Jungle Books (Halesworth), England ISBN 0-9527383-2-5 414pp +LAUMANNS, MICHAEL; PRICE, LIZ (2011) "A General Assessment of the Great Caves and the Karst of Southeast Asia" Proceedings of the Asian Trans-disciplinary Karst Conference, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 7-10 January 2011 pp404-419 +Sandford, Estelle (2015) "Thailand 2014" The Belfry Bulletin No. 553 Vol. 60 No. 2 pp6-16 +Sandford, Estelle (2016) " Back to Thailand with the SMCC again" The Belfry Bulletin No. 559 Vol. 60 No. 8 pp6-10 +Thoma, Alex (2014) "H÷hlenforschung in Thailand" H÷hlenpost No. 144 pp12-21 +Tournier, Thierry (2012) " Echos des profondeurs +tranger: Thailande" Spelunca No. 127 p7
History
The first speleological investigation was in April 2005 by a CSS/SMCC team who explored and surveyed to the top of Fitch Pitch at -167m. 2005-04-01 (M. Ellis, D. Smart, T. Bolger, N. Anderson) 2005-04-02 (D. Smart, T. Bolger, N. Anderson) 2008-01-27 (M.Ellis) 2008-12-24 (M.Ellis, I. Hollis, T. Bolger, P. Sompilavong) In February 2009 a SMCC expedition rigged Fitch Pitch and explored the streamway below to -306 m making it the deepest known cave in Thailand.The Gour Inlet passage and Vadose Oxbow were also surveyed. 2009-02-12 (M. Ellis, C. Dummer, J. Campbell, P. Collett) 2009-02-14 (M. Ellis, C. Dummer, P. Dummer, P. Collett, T. Bolger) 2009-02-18 (M. Ellis, C. Dummer, P. Dummer, J. Campbell, I. Hollis, A. Manners, T. Bolger, P. Collett) A second SMCC expedition in February 2010 pushed the streamway below Fitch Pitch to a surveyed depth of -343m. The Fossil Series was explored to a big pitch (4 second drop, 35m across) which was bypassed by a series of pitches to reach a pool at a depth of -367m to reinforce Tham Pha Phueng's position as Thailand's deepest cave. 2010-02-24 SMCC (M. Ellis, P. Collett, S. Howe, I. Hollis, C. Dummer, P. Dummer, K. Batten) The third SMCC expedition in February 2012 pushed Gour Passage to a conclusion, explored Muddy Oxbow and the Fossil Series side passages. The Lower Streamway was explored past the 2010 terminus to a pitch estimated to be 20m. This took the depth of the cave to 388m and the length to 3,596m. 2012-02-16 SMCC (M. Ellis, A. Htwe, Y. Sopha, I. Hollis, P. Collett, J. Campbell, P. Dummer, S. Hall, M. Clayton) In March 2013 a small team of SMCC et al. found and surveyed the Entrance Series. Combined with a resurvey of the main passage above the P7 this brought the depth of the cave to 404m and the length to 4,258m. 2013-03-19 (M. Ellis, P. Collett, G. Washburn, T. Wyderka) 2013-03-21 (M. Ellis, P. Collett, G. Washburn, T. Wyderka) In February 2014 the fourth SMCC expedition explored the Lower Streamway to a terminal sump at a depth of 466m below the entrance and giving the cave a total vertical range of 476m. Surveyed extensions to the Entrance Series and the Waterfall Inlet Series took the length of the cave to 4,750m. 2014-02-26 SMCC (M. Ellis, S. Howe, E. Porter, M. Clayton, C. Dummer)
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2 | Sink NA0093 | ||
| 0.3 | Sink NA0094 | ||
| 1.2 | Cave NA0141 | 105 | 7 |
| 1.4 | Cave NA0100 | 14 | 326 |
| 1.5 | Cave NA0095 | 5 | 2 |
| 1.5 | Cave NA0096 | 64 | 27 |
| 1.6 | Shaft NA0097 | 9 | 9 |
| 1.6 | Huai Nam Dan Sink - NA0046 | ||
| 1.7 | Tham Nam Dan - NA0045 | 100 | 39 |