GURU gSANG PHUG 2: stream cave
28.676100,83.594400
Description
NOTE 1: The cream coloured tufa coating of the cave walls led PAVEY (1976b) to believe that the cave »developed totally in a tufa deposit« (PAVEY 1976b: 5) or »cave developed in a pure white tufa« (PAVEY 1976b: 8 item 9).NOTE 2: When H.D. Gebauer and G. Bäumler surveyed and explored the cave in March 1993, there were no medals, certificates or diploma around, only speleothems en masse.
Water splashing secondary calcite deposits (speleothems) and chaotic heaps of boulders coated with tufa / travertine, once fallen from the overhanging boulder-clay cliff face but now cemented together and covered all over with tufaceous calcite, hide at least three penetrable squeezes in the back of a relatively wide and wet hemispherical hollow (rock shelter) at the southern end of the crescent shaped cliff site of Guru gSang Phug. The three squeezes give access to at least 30 m of active underground streamway running more or less parallel to the cliff face. The streamway is rather small sized, mostly just fitting man-size, with a maximum width of 2 m, but amazingly beautiful. The solitary cave passage is thickly coated all over with bright cream coloured calcareous tufa deposits (note 1). A solitary calcite flow has mixed-in orange tinted streaks of iron-oxide, apparently only to enhance the cave's aesthetic appearance. The atmosphere, however, is chilling and the air and water temperatures must be close to the freezing point. The energetic white-water streamway emerges from numerous inlets and cascades in an irregular winding manner round calcite masses and gushes whirling into a sump in a 5 m long pool, at a distance of about 25 m from the upper inlets, and 10 vertical metres lower. According to local lore, this sump is the first of altogether nine pools and siphons, and a visiting cave friend once recommended a neoprene suit or at least some woollen clothing (RUBINSTEIN 1988b). The streamway however resurges to daylight only a short distance away and about 6 m below the sump.In the rather dry spring conditions of 17th March 1993, the total flow of the cave stream was estimated to 20-30 ltr/sec. In late October 1970, WALTHAM (1971f: 59) had estimated a total flow of 2 c.f.s. (cubic feet per second) equalling about 60 ltr/sec. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1971.1: »One cave needed a short ladder to get into it [–>Guru gSang Phug Meditation Cave], and [another cave, the Guru gSang Phug Streamway Cave] led to a 50 foot long decorated stream passage [note 2]. However the water resurged [–>Guru gSang Phug Travertine Cave] from under the tufa about 200 feet [61 m] below the caves, and although interesting as tufa caves they were disappointing caving wise« (COWARD 1971c: 68-69). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1971.2 (WALTHAM 1971f: 59): »The Kursangmo [sic!] springs and caves are formed in a single tufaceous layer of till, and are accessible only because the same bed is topographically weak and therefore forms a notch and ledge in the cliff. This ledge, about 25 feet [7.6 m] wide, is formed on tufa covered boulders and is very thickly overgrwn; even denser bamboo jungle makes it impossible to see what is just below the platform. At the back of the ledge, there are dozens of spouts of water pouring out of the cliff and cascading onto the tufa floor. Some of the water springs from small fissures in the boulder clay cliff, other water spouts pour from small caves in the tufa layers and still more flow down the inside of great hollow tufa stalactites. The tufa is pure white, solid calcite with a considerable variation in porosity, though the outside layers are soft, dirty grey and mossy. Over a length of about 200 feet [60 m] the cliff face is liberally covered with a variety of large but dirty tufa stalactites, colums, bosses and flowstone; the formations are up to twenty feet [6.1 m] high and are nearly all active. At the back of the ledge, nearly all the water flowing out of the cliff sinks back into it, and at, at least, three points entry can be gained to an active streamway. Though nowhere more than about eight feet [2.44 m] in cross section, the Kursangmo cave is extremely beautiful as its entire walls, floor and ceiling are pure white tufa; furthermore this is all pure white except t one point where it is bright orange due to staining by an iron-rich inlet. The stream cascades over flowstone covered boulders for a distance of about 80 feet [24.4 m] to where it enters a lake which sumps after 20 feet [6.1 m]. Its total flow is about 2 c.f.s. [60 ltr/sec], derived from a whole series of inlets, as the cave runs parallel to the cliff, just below the ledge level, collecting the waters of various springs. Depth of the cave is about 30 feet [9.14 m] and the water returns to daylight from a talus slope at a level about 20 feet [6 m] below the sump« CAVE DESCRIPTION 1976: »At Kursangmo [sic!], west of Larjung, there are a series of caves developed totally in a tufa deposit and the longest of these is only 30 m« (PAVEY 1976b: 6). »Kusangmo [sic!] Caves … An active stream cave with a stream passage cascading to a depth of 9 m over a length of 25 m to a lake which sumps after 6 m. Cave developped in a pure white tufa, no bigger than 3 m square in cross-section« (PAVEY, A 1976: 8 item 9).
Documents
Bibliography 24/07/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1970, late October: »Tony, John and Lacpa« (BOWSER 1971: 23) of the British Karst Research Expedition to the Himalaya 1970 (WALTHAM 1971f: 59) visited some of the »Kusangmo Caves« (BOWSER 1971: 23) or »some caves near Larjung« (COWARD 1971c: 68). 1976 January: Andrew PAVEY (1976b) and John Dunkley (London) may have visited »a series of caves at Kursangmo« (PAVEY 1976b: 6) or »Kusangmo« (PAVEY 1976b: 8 item 9) as he reports cave dimensions which are not mentioned in any of the bibliographical references he lists. 1993 March 17: H. D. Gebauer and Georg Bäumler mapped, explored and photographed.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | GURU gSANG PHUG 3: dry cave | ||
| 0.0 | GURU gSANG PHUG 4: dwar | ||
| 0.0 | GURU gSANG PHUG 1 | ||
| 0.0 | GURU gSANG PHUG 5: tufa cave | ||
| 1.2 | KOKETHANTI (Cave at) | ||
| 3.4 | GHHOUBRA GOMPA | ||
| 5.0 | CHUKSANG CAVE | ||
| 5.0 | GOMPA U | ||
| 5.0 | PYUNG KYU U |