Contents
Speleologists want to prove that there is a connection between two Bernese cave systems – that would mean that the Hölloch in the canton of Schwyz would no longer be the largest cave in Switzerland.
The Hölloch in the Muotatal is the longest cave in Switzerland. So far, a good 210 kilometers have been explored. But now the place of the Primus is contested. Because a cave in the canton of Bern is said to be even bigger.
Convinced cavers
Specifically, it is about the Siebenhengste-Hohgant cave in the north of Lake Thun. She is currently in second place with 164 kilometers. But other cave systems are grouped around them. Including the Bärenschacht, 84 kilometers have been measured.
There must be a connection between the two caves somewhere.
Nobody knows the Bernese cave system better than cave explorer Rolf Siegenthaler. The man from Burgdorf spends whole weeks on expeditions underground. For him there is no doubt: “Somewhere there must be a connection between the two caves.”
Legend:
Over 80 kilometers of the Bärenschacht have already been explored. Approximately two kilometers are re-measured every year.
SRF
“Finding the merger of the Hohgant-Siebenhengste-Höhle and the Bärenschacht would be a highlight,” says Rolf Siegenthaler. A highlight that probably only comes along once in the life of a speleologist.
60 years ago, farmers looking for spring water discovered a man-sized fissure in the karst rock above Beatenberg: the Bärenschacht. It descends 940 meters down to the level of Lake Thun and consists of three vertical, chimney-like shafts and long corridors. So narrow that the researchers sometimes have to crawl or even crawl.
Definitive proof is still missing
Deep inside the mountains, the speleologists are looking for the big merger. But not only. «Everyone who descends here has to deal with himself. Caving is a school of life,” says Christian Lüthi from Interlaken, outside of the cave he works as a forest engineer.
Civil engineer Myriam Homburger adds: “You can’t study day-to-day business deep in the mountain, you have to concentrate absolutely on your actions, otherwise it will be dangerous”.
Legend:
He knows the Bärenschacht like no one else: Rolf Siegenthaler often spends several days in the Bärenschacht.
SRF
Around 500 meters are still missing for the connection of the two cave systems Bärenschacht and Hohgant-Siebenhengste. Water stains have already shown that the caves are connected. “But for it to really count, a person must first go through and measure the connection,” says Rolf Siegenthaler.
Suddenly you see, the corridors lead on!
For a long time, a siphon that was 400 meters long and 23 meters deep and filled with water represented an insurmountable obstacle for the cavers. Cave diver Michael Höttl managed to dive through the siphon once: “The moment of surfacing was incredible. For years it was over in the murky water and suddenly you see, the corridors lead on!»
When will the merger succeed?
Cave diving conditions were poor last winter. Getting the diving material to the siphon deep inside the mountain is a major logistical challenge. The researchers therefore do not dare to predict when the merger of the two karst cave systems could succeed.
But there is no doubt that at some point they will be able to prove that the Hohgant-Siebenhengste-Beatenberg cave is the largest connected cave system in Switzerland. Until then, the Hölloch in the Muotatal remains in first place.