SPIDER CAVE, Sani Gad, 1st

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A south-facing and about 1 m wide cave entrance of inexplicable height (DUCLUZAUX 1993d: 31 -Grotte 1- cave plan) gives access to the first of the five allegedly nameless grottes aux araignées or Grottes des Araignées (DUCLUZAUX 1993d: 30, 31). ETYMOLOGY: No autochthonous, indigenous or locally known cave name has been identified for what Bruno D. collectively christened Grottes des Araignées (Caves of the Spiders). SITUATION: The cave entrance to the 1st cave was understood to lie in an unidentified spatial relation to each of the other four known caves or cave entrances which all lie at unspecified locations at one and the same elevation of 1450 m (DUCLUZAUX 1993d: 31) somewhere above one or the other rive gauche (left bank) of a stream called Suni Gad (DUCLUSAUX 1993d: 30) or Sani Gad (±500 m N29°21'49”: E080°48'40” Central Service Map 68 Bajhang, 1989). CAVE DESCRIPTION: A south-facing and about 1 m wide cave entrance (unknowable height) is shown (DUCLUZAUX 1993d: 31 -Grotte 1 cave plan) to gives access to an initial cave chamber (2 m wide, 4 m long) with a cave floor covered with angular stones. A climb up on the western wall of the initial cave chamber gains a boyau horizontal (cave passage, roundish in cross-section) which leads after a 4 m long grade 1 crawl (less than 1 m wide) towards north-west to a sudden blind end. A one to 2 m wide and high cave passage off the eastern wall of the initial cave chamber ascends 7 m at an approximate angle of 20° towards south-east across what looks like sand, soil or mud and gives not only access to an other blind end and several more or less impenetrable continuations but also to an estimated 2 m high aven culminating with a level ceiling dipping by about 20° north-west. CAVE LIFE: Unspecified araignées ont plus de 5 cm de diamètre (DUCLUZAUX 1993d: 32) or, perhaps, a far western Nepal species of giant crab spider (Arachnidae: Aranea: Sparassidae: conf. Heteropoda sp.).