BRAGPOCHE no. 4 (Cave on)
28.858300,83.852800
Description
A dark shadow, shaped like a garrulous mouth, is visible on clear days on Bragpoche from as far away as Jharkot. This shadow shelters the entrances to both Bragpoche Cave No. 4 and –>Bragpoche Cave No. 5. SITUATION: At an altitude of 4800 m (barometric) on the southern flank of Bragpoche (note 1) and already in the North Mustang district, hence in the restricted area (beyond the reaches of trekkers following the Applepie Circle), and in a location overlooking the entire Dzong Khola draining the bowl-shaped beyul of the Muktinath valley to the orographically left (locally eastern) bank of the Kali Gandaki.SETTING: On the one-hand side at the contact of a Jurassic (Lias) calcareous sandstone resting on a Rhétien (BORDET et al. 1971) arenaceous limestone (note 2) an on the other along a synclinal and to a limited degree water-bearing tectonical disturbance of which the south-eastern part has disappeared (glacial denudation?). Nowhere on Bragpoche I came across any dissolution forms (karst) except minute pitting in one site (Chabarbu) at 4550 m asl which, however, well may originate from differential weathering controlled by lithological irregularities.CAVE DESCRIPTION: A triangular shaped cave entrance, 4 m wide and high, gives access to the lower cave (No.4) and leads to a 6 m long ice cave passage, which has formed in arenaceous limestone, and lacks a fully aphotic zone. The tectonically controlled cave walls expose, sorry, »durchstreichende Schichtflächen« (disrupted bedding?) marked with frost shattered layerheads. CAVE CONTENTS: On 20th April 1992, almost a third of the cave was filled with collapsing ice formations.A dark shadow, which is shaped like a garrulous mouth, is visible on clear days on Mt. Bragpoche from as far away as Jharkot. This shadow at an altitude of 4800 m (barometric) shelters both Bragpoche Cave No.4 and –>Bragpoche Cave No.5. Situated at the contact of arenaceous limestone (BORDET et al. 1971: "Rhétien" = Rhät) with overlaying calcareous sandstone (Lias) in a synclinal, to a limited degree water-bearing tectonical disturbance of which the south-eastern part has disappeared (glacially denuded?). The lower cave (No.4) has a triangular shaped cave entrance, 4 m wide and high, leading to a 6 m long ice cave passage in arenaceous limestone. The tectonically controlled cave walls expose, sorry, "striking strata surfaces" (in German: durchstreichende Schichtflächen) and frost shattered layerheads. Almost a third of the cave was filled with collapsing ice formations on 20th April 1992.
NOTE 1: The mountain, in Jharkot called Bragpoche (Tibetan, large rock) but »Montagne du Dzong« (private language) by BORDET et al. (1971), rises, depending on the maps used, to a height of 5105 m or 5214 m asl. NOTE 2: On an ascent to the peak I had the impression that the Jurassic arenaceous limestones age (BORDET et al. 1971: Lias) are sandwiched by calcareous sandstones (Rhät), which folded in small angles. Most of the mountain's surface, however, I found covered with diamiktic scree consisting not only of loose and well-rounded pebbles but also of crumbling glacial and frost-shattered debris (GEBAUER 1993a).
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1992.04.20, Easter Monday: H. D. Gebauer found a way to the cave entrance, entered and mappped.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | BRAGPOCHE no. 1 (Cave on) | ||
| 0.0 | BRAGPOCHE no. 2 (Cave on) | ||
| 0.0 | BRAGPOCHE no. 3 (Cave on) | ||
| 0.0 | BRAGPOCHE no. 5 (Cave on) | ||
| 0.0 | BRAGPOCHE no. 6 (Cave on) | ||
| 0.0 | BRAGPOCHE no. 7 (Cave on) | ||
| 0.0 | BRAGPOCHE no. 8 (Cave on) | ||
| 2.7 | BHOTE U | ||
| 3.4 | TSELE 'CAVE SYSTEM' |