MUSSORIE RIFT CAVE

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 28/03/2016

»Great Rift Cavern … Opens straight off the road with a 60 feet [18 m] pitch to a platform, then another 30 feet [9 m] pitch. Proceeding north about 50 feet [15 m] down a slope one gets into a fine narrow extension of the rift about 100 feet [30 m] in height which, however, soon closes in. Going south down a slope under the platform is a further extension of the rift passing under the road. At the southernmost end climb up about 30 feet [9 m] and reach a small bedding chamber, sloping down. This must be near the surface, but there is no opening. The rift can be traced up the hill as a depression westwards finally reaching an extension of the cave through a fine lofty entrance passage about 100 feet [30 m] long when it apparently ends but a difficult spiral turn under a boulder leads newcomers to the real cave. The newcomers having profanely negotiated the spiral turn, the leader now enters by a straight and easy path through a hole which he has carefully refrained from pointing out. A fine inverted-L-rift is found. Chimney down 30 feet [9 m] then Eastwards to another rift about 30 feet [9 m] deeper. Westwards a tumble of rocks block further progress. In the rift is a pear-shaped boulder wedged by its shoulders, which can be swung like a pendulum« (Glennie 1939 Mss: Preliminery report …, sheets 2-3, item 2). SITUATION: Somewhere at Mussoorie (N30°27': E078°05': 2000 m asl) and possibly somewhere past the "Lion's Paw" (–>Lion's Paw Caves). CAVE LIFE: FAGE (1946: 382) mentions a »cavernicole« (troglobiont) specimen of a female Pholcus (Arachneae: Araneae) captured by Brigadier Glennie (no date mentioned; probably March 1939) inside »de la Mussorie rift cave« which shows great affinities with Pholcus alticeps Spassky 1932 but does not dare to identify specifically due to the absence of a male.