UMPIEH (Krem)
25.205000,92.385000
Description
NOTE 1: phiah (Khasi; verb) to split, to rift (SINGH, N 1906: 156); cleave, rift (SINGH, N 1920: 74, 442). ba pia (Khasi; adjective) heavily; more than enough [to eat or to carry] (SINGH, N 1906: 160). ba pi-ê (Khasi; adjective) full or swollen [as an overful stomach] (SINGH, N 1906: 160). ba pihia (Khasi; adjective) short and fat (SINGH, N 1906: 160). NOTE 2: inshallah (English, loanword), ough gawd (exclamation), from the Arabic "in sa'Allah", if God wills it.NOTE 3: inlet (English, noun) 1 a small arm of the sea, a lake, or a river. 2 a place or means of entry [an air inlet]. 3 (chiefly in tailoring and dressmaking) an inserted piece of material« (OXFORD DICTIONARY 2005).
The cave entrance (in one way or another 0.5 m by 5 m large) has an inexplicable shape, faces an unidentified direction, and gives access to the relic of what once had been a stream cave passage (currently abandoned by flowing water), which appears to lead within a caving distance of 30 m from the entrance to a boulder blocked continuation. Quite contrary to the first impression, however, a complex system of descending movements may not only result in mastering to negotiate a way downwards through the boulders, but also gives access to walking-sized cave passages combined with hands & knees crawls, which lead more or less directly to a cave chamber with a waterfall and secondary calcite formations (speleothems) identified as flowstone. From this Waterfall Chamber alone, the first 400 m of a »children sized« cave passage were not only sucessfully surveyed and mapped but also explored to a degree. ETYMOLOGY: The origin, history and meaning of the recorded cave name »Krem Umpieh« is shrouded in the thick fog of the abode of clouds. Little doubt, however, remains that the "krem" or cave is named after an "um" or stream of water called "Pieh" or so (note 1). SITUATION: At an unidentified location in an unspecified setting. APPROACH: The cave entrance to Krem Umpieh can be reached from the village of Thangskai (25°11'45”N: 92°22'35“E) with the help of a GPS combined with divine assistance --THY will shall be done, a.k.a, Inshallah (note 2) -- if supported by benevolent guardian angels. It takes half an hour's walk in an unidentified direction along a 4WD track past a »cement factory« or, perhaps, a "pajwa thang mawshun" (lime burning kiln) which was understood to exist at an unidentified location (without GPS position). At an estimated walking distance of 100 m from an unspecified point somewhere on the track lies a relatively »large« (sic!) doline without identified dimensions at a spot without any GPS position. The apparent main cave entrance seems to lie on the west side of the doline, but gives, at a first glance, the impression of being blocked. The actual cave entrance is either somewhere east of the doline or, perhaps, in it's eastern part (Bäumler, G 1999.02.15 personal communication). CAVE DESCRIPTION: »Krem Umpieh« (or so) has been identified, if You knw what was meant to say, as an »Inlet cave« (note 3) characterised by a »[cave] passage sometimes almost reasonable, mostly a little below reasonable« (Sandford, E 1999 Mss: IB Logbook 99).
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1999.02.15: A knowledgeable but unidentified guide (no name mentioned) ushered Brian D. Kharpran Daly, Georg Bäumler, Christine Jantschke and Herbert Jantschke into the cave, which they all entered and partly surveyed, mapped and explored to a degree. Then they exited, moved on, and never returned.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.7 | THEH (Krem Quarry U) | ||
| 0.7 | MOIONG QUARRY CAVE | ||
| 0.7 | MOIONG QUARRY CAVE, 2nd | ||
| 0.9 | SHRIEH, Chiehruphi (Thloo) | ||
| 0.9 | PYRDA, Chiehruphi, 3rd (Krem) | ||
| 0.9 | SARANG, Chiehruphi (Krem) | ||
| 1.0 | PYRDA (Scherzer) 1st (Cave at) | ||
| 1.0 | PYRDA MINE PIT (2015.01.07 Scherzer) | ||
| 1.0 | PYRDA (Lindenmayr) 6th (Cave at) |