BLANG, Kseh (Krem)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

The south-west facing cave entrance roughly 8 m wide and 10 m high (Audsley, A U 2010.02.10 Mss: Krem [deleted: Salang 4] Blang), which some took as a mind-boggling cave entrance which is 10 m long (note 1), faces south-west and gives access to some 270 m of relatively large (or so) and relic cave passage below a short slope (Audsley, A U 2010.02.10 Mss). In one final analysis, the cave passage is peculiar insofar as it is very well decorated with secondary calcite deposits (speleothems) in the shape of nice to look at and very easy to photograph stalactites, stalagmites, curtains (calcite flags) and cave pearls (pisoliths), which allow boys to play over and over again with their picture taking toys: Important: Krem Blang is an ideal photo cave [because it allows outsiders to take the usual pictures away and back home that show an] easy access, spacious dimensions and [not too] full of Meghalayan cave beauties (ARBENZ, T 2012: 196). As matters the obvious presence of visible speleothes, there are unspecified kinds of relatively impressive calcite formations throughout the whole [hole?] along with sandy floors with large, dry pools of cave pearls with delicate crystal fringes (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010).EVALUATION: Relic cave of high and wide dimensions which probably used to drain surface water from the adjacent valley in monsoon conditions. The entrance part crumbled, leaving a high dam of rock that sealed the cave off from the valley and forming a bowl-like depression (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss). ETYMOLOGY: Outsiders recorded this nice to photograph caving item initially as Krem Salang 4 (Anonymous et al. 2010.03.29 Mss: Diary (current) 2010.doc; Brooks, Simon J et al. 2010.03.29 Mss: Survey summary.xls). Due to inexplicable circumstances, however, the cave was renamed Krem Blang (Audsley, A U 2010.02.10 Mss: Krem [deleted: Salang 4] Blang; Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss) without any given reason.Annie-how, the Khasi cave name -Krem Blang- translate as Goat Cave (Audsley, A U 2010.02.10 Mss) or, literally, as Cave [of the] Goat simply because the Khasi noun -ka krem- is one of the Khasi words for a cave and ”ka blang- (feminine) or -u blang” (masculine), often abbreciated as -ka lang / u 'lang- (SINGH, N 1906: 13, 108), is short for -ka 'langkhasi / u 'langkhasi- and -ka 'langsohmoh / u 'langsohmoh- (SINGH, N 1920: 203) and signifies a goat (OLDHAM, T 1854 / 1984 appendix C: lxi; SINGH, N 1906: 13; BLAH, E 2007: 118). Anonymous et al. (2010.03.29 Mss: Diary (current) 2010.doc: 10th February) mention an over-reduced Krem Blang / Krem Khung in one breath (as if it were one single cave with two cave entrances) but this apparently single item are actually two distinct caves of which one is Krem Blang (Kseh) and the other Krem –>Khung (Kseh). Anonymous et al. (2010.03.29 Mss: Diary (current) 2010.doc) accidently created in two cases (February 15th, 22nd) the cave name Krem Balang (note 2), which would be based on an unspeciied adjective (note 3) and render this caving item either a Concerted Cave or Cooperated Cave (note 4), a Congealed Cave or Solidified Cave (note 5), a Goat-like Cave (note 6), or a Grassy Cave (note 7). SITUATION: Unknown. The GPS position, which has been recorded for the entrance to this cave, indicates a spot which lies not only at linear distances of 1200 m SSE from the village of Umkyrpong (central road junction 25°26'04”N: 92°34'48”E) and 895 m west of the village of Kseh (St. Joseph church near 25°25’24.0”N: 92°35’32.9”E: circa 880 m) but also at about halfway between the lower reaches of Krem –>Tyngheng in the west and south-west and the upper reaches Krem –>Labit (Kseh) in the north-east. APPROACH 2010a: Follow river [without identified name] downstream, south-east from camp [note 8]. Cross dam [without identified GPS position] and continue on the other side on a path heading south through paddy fields with an escarpment on the east (left-hand) side. At an apparently unidntified point (without recorded GPS position) turn off to the east (left) and climb the escarpment where it gets slightly lower and curves away from the path to the SE (GPS point N25,25,27.2 / E92,34,57.7) generally 'round so that you approach the cave from the South. [deleted: Turn left & follow path between karst then turn left again when the path peters out in front & you pass a large boulder on the left] (Audsley, A U 2010.02.10 Mss: Krem [deleted: Salang 4] Blang). APPROACH 2010b: Veering left [east] from National Highway 44 that connects Meghalaya’s capital, Shillong, to Tripura, our four-wheel drive vehicle takes three-and-half hours to traverse 40 km of what couldn’t even charitably be called a dirt track to reach Umkyrpong village about 150 km north-east [in a direct line 72 km ENE] of Shillong [25°34'N: 91°53'E]. … After a half-kilometre trek through paddy fields and up a hillock, we arrive at the cavernous mouth of Krem Blang (MAZUMDAR & DUTTA 2010).APPROACH 2011: Fro the 2010 camp in Unkhyrpong follow the river downstream, SE from the camp. Cross the dam and continue on the path on the S-side through paddy fields, heading South, with an escarpment on the E-side. Turn off the path to the East and climb the escarment at the point where it gets slightly lower and turns away from the path towards SE ( at GPS position N25°25’27.2’’ / E092°34’57.7’’). Facing the escarment turn left and follow the path between karst boulders gradually round so that you approach the cave from the South. About 100 m uphill a small platform is reached from where the 8mw x h10m large entrance lies in a 30 m deep depression (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010). APPROACH 2012: From the 2010 camp (N25º25’45”: E92º34’59”) outside of Umkyrpong, go to the creek south east of the camp. Proceed downstream, cross the concrete dam and continue on the path through paddy fields, heading south, with an escarpment on the east side. Turn off the path to the east and climb the ecarpment at a point where it gets slightly lower and turns away from the path toward the south east (at N25º25/27.2”: E092º34’57.7”). While facing the escarpment turn left and find the start of the uphill track. It leads between karst boulders and curves round so that you approach the cave from the south. About 100 metres uphill a small platform is reached, from where the 8 m wide by 10 m high entrance lies in a 30 m deep depression (Arbenz, T 2012.07.03 Krem Blang_Book.doc). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2010a: At a first glance, the cave entrance area of Krem Salang 4 (Brooks et al 2010.03.29 Mss: Survey summary.xls) gives the impression of looking like an ongoing cave (Anonymous et al. 2010.03.29 Mss: Diary (current) 2010.doc: 10th February 2010). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2010b: Having surveyed and explored the cave, Audsley (2010.02.10 Mss: Krem [deleted: Salang 4] Blang) points out to have noticed a relatively Large relic passage below a short slope. The entrance itself is roughly 8 m wide and 10 m hgh. Roughly 40 m in, [there is a kind of a] -squeeze- past stal on left to continue. [The] Cave reads generally N-E [either from north to east or, perhaps, from the entrance towards north-east] for [deleted: 272] 273 m before being blocked with stal. The passage remains a fairly constant width of roughly 7 m to 9 m. It is very well decorated with speleothems. One side passage is soon blocked with mud. CAVE DESCRIPTION 2010c: Almost ten words combine the three well-tested phrases beautifully decorated and relatively very large passage of unidentified dimensions or comparison for scale (note 9) with blocked with stal at the end (Anonymous et al. 2010.03.29 Mss: Diary (current) 2010.doc). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2010d: It’s freezing when we wake up at the crack of dawn. Planning for the day starts soon. … We’ve been embedded with a team of six to go into Krem (Khasi for cave) Blang, which, Brian tells me, is one of the easy caves. Fraser Simson [Fraser E. Simpson] of Aberdour in Scotland, an inrepid caver and photographer, finds ‘Wellington boots’, miner’s helmets and LED lamps for the two of us. After a half-kilometre trek through paddy fields and up a hillock, we arrive at the cavernous mouth of Krem Blang. … A few steps into the cave and it gets pitch dark [note 10]. Our powerful LED lights strapped on our helmets guide us into the deep recess of the large cave. Fraser stops and gestures, we approach a patch he’s pointing out -- to my amateur eyes, it appears as if a few dozen miniature diamonds and pearls, all perfectly rounded, have been strewn carelessly on the ground. “These are crystal pools. You’ll often find cave pearls at such pools,” says Fraser. Angie’s chamber -- more than seven metres high, six metres wide and extending up to 50 metres -- forms the central part of Krem Blang. It’s named after Angie Arbenz, another veteran of this expedition. Sparkling calcites -- white when pure and red when contaminated by ferrous oxide -- punctuate the cave walls. Ever inchof the cave lighted by my LED beam offers a fascinating and varied view -- finely sculptured stalactites and stalagmites, serrated formations created by millions of drops of water trickling in super-slow motion over centuries, hanging curtains (linear deposits created by miniature streams of water coursing their way over soft limestone and sandstone rocks), vertical stacked formations, and much more that defies description -- that cannot be rivalled by any human creation. Past this ‘chamber’, the cave narrows and we have to squeeze past (what I’ve named) Fraser’s corridor, crawl over ‘David’s pit’ (another christening by me), slither down a crevice and emerge into ‘Annie’s Ballroom’ (named after Annie Audsley, an expedition veteran from Edinburgh, UK). A group of stalactites bunched together in the ceiling of the central portion of this ‘ballroom’ looks like a huge chandelier. An archway leads away from this to a maze of corridors. We step gingerly past crystal pools and cave pearls, east our eyes on the impossibly intricate formations and designs carved by water on the cave walls, floor and ceiling (MAZUMDAR & DUTTA 2010). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2011: The cave is a single large [sic! unidentified dimensions] relic passage below a short [sic!] slope. It heads generally NE for 273 m, slightly sloping down before being blocked by calcite formations. The passage remains a fairly constant width and hight of w7 m x h9 m dimensions for almost the whole length. About 50 m into the cave a short [sic! unidentified length] but easy [sic! unidentified grade] squeeze through calcite formations has to be negociated [sic! qua: negotiated]. The end of the [accessible part of the] cave is formed by an impressively decorated chamber with calcite formations blocking all possible ways on. The main passage requires careful cavers -- the floor is full of beautiful cave pearls. A climb into the roof at stn 1/6 above a large [sic! unidentified size] boulder slope gives access to a rather unstble chamber and to daylight. A side passage heading off from stn. 1/xx is [sic! qua: continues] soon blocked with mud (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2012 The cave is a single large relic passage below a short slope. It first heads north west then turns and trends generally north east for 273 m, sloping down slightly before being blocked by calcite formations. The passage remains at fairly constant width and height dimensions of 7 m by 9 m for almost the whole length. About 50 m into the cave a short but easy squeeze through calcite formations has to be negotiated. After this the passage turns and the cave opens up again to a straight 200 m long gallery. A short distance after this a boulder slope on the south east side leads up towards the roof. Here a short, free climbable three by one metre wide pitch extends 5 m up to a very unstable chamber and an exit to daylight. Back in the spacious main passage, another 30 m reaches Angie’s Chamber, the next ighlight of the cave. The floor is covered with beautiful crystal pools and cave pearls, requiring very cautious steps from the caver. Along the walls clusters of high stalagmites and columns form bizarre groups of picturesque calcite formations. Another 20 m further on a (dry) inlet with calcite floor joins the main passage. It comes in from the north west and arrives on top of a great flowstone and stalactite formation called The Fireplace. Visits up the inlet should be avoided or at least performed with caution and footwear removed. From here the end of the main passage is soon reached, but the cave continues. A short scramble and crawl to the west leads into an impressively decorated chamber named Annie’s Ballroom at the end of which calcite formations block all possible ways on (Arbenz, T 2012.07.03 Krem Blang_Book.doc). CULTURAL HISTORY - human use: None known (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010) because the the cave is an excellent spot for cave photography [note 11](Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010). Krem Blang is an ideal photo cave: easy access, spacious dimensions and full of Meghalayan cave beauties. However, great care needs to be taken of the speleothems, especially where camera locations and flash light setups are concerned (Arbenz, T 2012.07.03 Krem Blang_Book.doc).CAVE LIFE: Unfortunately it remains unknowable if the alleged presence of crickets, millipedes, bats, spiders, woodlice (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010) was observed or was inadvertently copied from an other file.ighlight of the cave. The floor is covered with beautiful crystal pools and cave pearls, requiring very cautious steps from the caver. Along the walls clusters of high stalagmites and columns form bizarre groups of picturesque calcite formations. Another 20 m further on a (dry) inlet with calcite floor joins the main passage. It comes in from the north west and arrives on top of a great flowstone and stalactite formation called The Fireplace. Visits up the inlet should be avoided or at least performed with caution and footwear removed. From here the end of the main passage is soon reached, but the cave continues. A short scramble and crawl to the west leads into an impressively decorated chamber named Annie’s Ballroom at the end of which calcite formations block all possible ways on (Arbenz, T 2012.07.03 Krem Blang_Book.doc). CULTURAL HISTORY - human use: None known (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010) because the the cave is an excellent spot for cave photography [note 11]ighlight of the cave. The floor is covered with beautiful crystal pools and cave pearls, requiring very cautious steps from the caver. Along the walls clusters of high stalagmites and columns form bizarre groups of picturesque calcite formations. Another 20 m further on a (dry) inlet with calcite floor joins the main passage. It comes in from the north west and arrives on top of a great flowstone and stalactite formation called The Fireplace. Visits up the inlet should be avoided or at least performed with caution and footwear removed. From here the end of the main passage is soon reached, but the cave continues. A short scramble and crawl to the west leads into an impressively decorated chamber named Annie’s Ballroom at the end of which calcite formations block all possible ways on (Arbenz, T 2012.07.03 Krem Blang_Book.doc). CULTURAL HISTORY - human use: None known (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010) because the the cave is an excellent spot for cave photography [note 11](Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010). Krem Blang is an ideal photo cave: easy access, spacious dimensions and full of Meghalayan cave beauties. However, great care needs to be taken of the speleothems, especially where camera locations and flash light setups are concerned (Arbenz, T 2012.07.03 Krem Blang_Book.doc).CAVE LIFE: Unfortunately it remains unknowable if the alleged presence of crickets, millipedes, bats, spiders, woodlice (Arbenz, T 2011.02.22 Mss Krem Blang 10.2.2010) was observed or was inadvertently copied from an other file.