In our series on the subject of micro-adventures, Daniel Zuberbühler and Pascal Haltiner from Fajro show you what a micro-adventure takes and present ideas for excursions. In today's post, the two of them take you underground, into a cave. They show what it takes to explore caves and what to look out for.
A contribution by Daniel Zuberbühler and Pascal Haltiner from Fajro - with the support of Seat to Summit
Equipped with a headlamp to explore a cave and experience the darkness so that you can no longer even see your own hand in front of your eyes is an extraordinary experience. There are tons of mysterious places under the surface of the earth to be discovered and explored by you
When exploring caves, you will discover new worlds and many exciting surprises in the light of your headlamp. So that you can explore caves on your own, we give you some tips and show you the easiest way to find caves near you.
How to find a cave for your next micro adventure
Silence and darkness, narrow crevices and large cave chambers, cool temperatures and light-shy animals. Exploring a cave is a really cool micro-adventure.
There is almost certainly a cave very close to you.
To find the cave for your next micro-adventure, there is a Turbo thanks to Overpass helpful toolthat you show all the caves listed in OpenStreetMap in your area. Place the map on your area of residence and then click on "Execute". The caves are listed on the map with a blue circle.
This is what you need to look out for if you want to explore a cave on your own
Before you start and throw yourself into the next micro-adventure, we will give you some tips on the way. The dangers and risks of cave exploration can only be calculated to a limited extent. You should therefore never underestimate caves. Anyone who enters a cave enters a world with the dangers typical of caves such as darkness, cold, wet, falling rocks, narrow passages and a sometimes confusing and labyrinthine terrain.
And since there is no cell phone reception in caves, you are completely on your own in the event of an emergency. Having the courage to turn around before you reach the end of the cave must be the creed.
This equipment is needed for your cave exploration
As with any micro-adventure, we recommend that you take as little as possible, but also as much as necessary.
- Accompaniment: Caves should not be explored alone. We recommend starting this micro-adventure with at least two, or even better, three. So you are better equipped in the event of an emergency.
- Headlamps and flashlights: In addition to the company, lamps are the most important thing. We recommend that you pack two lamps per person. A headlamp and a powerful flashlight. First insert fresh batteries or check whether the batteries are really fully charged.
- Clothing and equipment that protects you from the cold and wet: The air temperature in caves is usually between 6 and 10 degrees all year round. In addition, it is often relatively humid and dripping from the ceiling. Remember that any creeping and scrambling spots can put a lot of strain on your clothing and equipment. We therefore pack all the equipment that we do not carry in the Hydraulic dry pack 35l. Alternatively, a roll bag (Ultra Sil View Drysack) be used.
- Helm: There are always bottlenecks to overcome in caves. We recommend wearing a climbing helmet to prevent your skull from buzzing afterwards. It is also slippery due to the moisture - one more reason to wear a helmet.
- First aid kit: We always have a first aid kit with us. Waterproof packed in First Aid Dry Sack.
- We also had our cooking set on our tour (Sigma pans from Seat to Summit) included. Below we will explain how to cook a pizza in the pan.
Pure adventure in the Furgglen cave in the Alpstein
We set out and explored a first cave for you. After the cave query at Overpass turbo we decided on the Furgglen cave and got on the train to Brülisau. When we arrived in Brülisau, only 800 meters separated us from the cave entrance.
After almost two hours we reached the entrance of the cave and got ready for the adventure ahead. The Furgglen Cave is one of the largest caves in the Alpstein Mountains and has been explored over a length of 456 meters.
The entry point looks quite modest, but right behind it is the first really beautiful and spacious cave dome.
This is followed by a short bottleneck and a small climbing passage and we are already in the next cave chamber. We turn off the headlamps for a moment - total darkness - impossible to see the hand that is even touching the tip of the nose. We turn the lights on again and venture further inside.
Beautiful rock formations and small stalactites open up in the light cone of the lamps.
Every now and then you have to make yourself small for a bottleneck, but immediately afterwards there is another large chamber to discover. After about 15 minutes we are in a large cave chamber. The further path now leads through a dark hole, which can only be overcome by crawling. This bottleneck is a bit too narrow for us and thus the end of our exploration tour in the Furgglen Cave. We are on our way back and are looking forward to the pan pizza.
Pan pizza as a well-deserved meal after the micro-adventure "cave"
A cave exploration should be rewarded with a nice outdoor meal. Why not with a pizza? The only thing you need is a stove, a frying pan and the ingredients. The recipe is very simple: put some flour in the pan, lightly fry the pizza dough on both sides until it turns a little brown.
Prepare the pizza dough in the pan
As soon as the dough is ready, briefly switch off the cooker. so that you don't burn the pizza while you are filling it. Now cover the pizza dough with your desired ingredients on the hotter side. Then turn on the stove again and bake the pizza on a low flame in 3-5 minutes. To ensure that the cheese melts well, we recommend that you cover the frying pan. Buon appetito!
Series of articles with ideas and tips for micro adventures
Now it's your turn. Over the next six months, with the support of Sea to Summit, we will introduce you to one micro adventure per month and let you immerse yourself in the world of micro adventures. As part of our series of articles, we will give you monthly tips for your outdoor excursions until the end of the year. Until then: Call your friend or delight your girlfriend, go out with your family and pack your backpack. Now is the right time for a little big adventure. We'll see you outside!
Fajro specializes in experiential pedagogy and action-oriented learning, nature coaching, accompanying development processes and jointly exploring new paths. We are outside and make use of nature as a living space of experience.
When we at Fajro speak of micro-adventure, we mean the pleasurable and playful immersion in nature. An immersion that will sooner or later take everyone, young or old, out of their daily grind - into a world full of voyages of discovery and deceleration. Micro-adventures should open up the little wonders that are often unseen on the doorstep and inspire individuals and families to go outside. Having time for yourself, with friends or for family is almost as valuable as gold in our current reality and if you don't have enough time for big adventures, then you should just make them smaller. With the series of articles we would like to invite you people to brave the outdoors and immerse yourself in many micro-adventures.