News and cave exploration around Matienzo during 2022
A map with area names can be found here.

Section links    • Easter  • Pre-summer • Summer • Autumn • Christmas / New Year

The list below shows links to those 53 sites which were extended or newly discovered over January and February, or which have had surveys, references or descriptions updated, photos or movie clips added, or entrances repositioned using a GPS.

Arredondo 0733 Vallina, Cueva;
Bustablado 0791 Molino, Cueva del (resurgence); 1099 Cárabo, Torcón del;
El Naso 0059 Molino, Cueva del; 0188 shaft; 1827 cave; 2484 shaft; 2884 dig; 3142 resurgence & sink; 4514 hole;
El Rincón 4892 resurgence;
Fresnedo 2769 shaft;
Garzón 5078 Buena Onda, Cueva de la (LC225);
La Colina 0089 Grajas, Cueva de las;
La Secada 0081 Carcavuezo, Cueva de; 0513 Ladies Pot (mp); 0543 Seis Pozos, Cueva de; 0880 Two and a Half Fat Ladies;
Llueva 3334 Road Works Pot;
Muela 0487 Statua, Cueva;
N Vega 2665 dig;
Ogarrio 0003 Collusa, Cueva; 0286 Mazo 5, Cueva del; 0961 Mazo, Cueva del; 5151 Chopo, Cueva del; 5152 shaft; 5153 Lluriangos, Fuente de;
Ozana 0027 Oñite, Cueva;
Riaño 0105 Riaño, Cueva de; 0107 Hoyuca, Cueva; 0765 cave; 3269 hole;
S Vega 0036 Vera Negra, Torca de la; 0048 Reñada, Cueva-Cubío de la; 0333 Azpilicueta, Torca de; 1005 cave; 1902 cave; 2081 Muérdago, Torca del; 2973 cave; 5089 Dos Árboles, Cueva de; 5090 depression; 5154 sink; 5155 shaft; 5156 shaft; 5157 shaft; 5158 shaft;
San Miguel 3280 Joe's Lost Cave;
Seldesuto 0490 shaft; 0763 Vaca Loca, Cueva de;
unknown 0908 shaft;

• January / February logbook

Juan Corrin 6/3/2022

Introduction

  After two years without an Easter expedition due to Covid it was great to get back to Matienzo with an expedition and the office set up at the back of Pablo's Bar. About 35 cavers visited Matienzo spread over nearly five weeks during and after the Easter period. In late March, when the first members arrived, water levels were a little high following some good weather. However, as they arrived, rain, snow, hail and lightning set in which curtailed the planned work on high level sites. When cavers attempted to get to the Hazas de Cesto area, they were confronted by 4cm of snow and hail on the road over Fuente las Varas and down to Solórzano and then lightening started with more hail  - they retreated to a bar instead! By the time the main contingent arrived the following week the weather had turned much better, with warm to hot sun and little rain, it only turned poor for the odd day at the end of the expedition. But the early wet weather did put up water levels and curtailed some work in Reñada and Fuente de Villanueva.
   The permit for 2022 is similar to that in the past few years but, given the Covid situation since 2019, there is still a lot of work to be done in the Hazas de Cesto and Ribamontán al Monte areas as far as the motorway, and especially around Monte Llusa.
   Due to the better weather early in the year and the late Easter, vegetation levels were much higher than previous Easter periods and this greatly affected the ability and speed to explore some of the dense and prickly jungle in the Monte Llusa area!
   During the Easter period, 33 new digs and caves were found and recorded. Some have been pushed but work (pushing, digging etc) for a number is still needed. Some 81 sites were visited with over 120 trips/digs made during the expedition. In total over Easter nearly 3km of new cave were fully surveyed (see table) being the best Easter expedition since 2016.
    The main finds this Easter were in

• Torca del Muérdago (2081) where, following the 560m found at Christmas, a further 1571m were added;
• Fridge Door Cave (1800) - extended by diving and climbing into a higher level of sandy passages with nearly 600m of passage added and the prospect of a link to Cueva-Cubio del Llanio (3234);
• Sima-Cueva del Risco (0025) - a new, easier and safer link was found between Pinto Gallery and Dambuster Series and in the connected Cueva Oñite (0027) end, over 200m of inlet passage was added;
• Cueva Vallina (0733) - the complications and links around Zona Blanca were sorted out with nearly 200m of new survey;
• the somewhat squalid Cueva de Bollon (0098) where over 100m were added to the system;
• site 0662 (Tonsillitis Pot) which was extended to 109m long and 61m deep.

   A number of finds are still to be fully surveyed and pushed (capping etc required) including two shaft type caves surveyed to BCRA 2b each over 40m deep: Cueva de la Llusa 3 (5035) and a shaft (5102). Also shaft 5031 is over 50m deep but is still to be surveyed. All three of these sites are in the Cierrolinos area of Monte Llusa.

Southern Sector

    At Cueva Vallina (0733), The area around Zona Blanca and Swirl Chamber is very complicated and it was not clear on the surveys if parts were linked. Also, some passages that the Tortosa group had pushed were not on the current survey. Over two trips much of the issues were sorted out with links made between known sections and 174m of new cave survey was carried out.
   In the South Vega area, the find at Christmas of Torca del Muérdago (2081) was pushed, surveyed and photographed over  the course of nine extensive trips. The cave was extended to well over 2km with a number of leads still to push and survey. The cave is heading south of the Cruz Usaño ridge with the stream section possibly heading towards the resurgence in Hoyo Mortiro. Another possibility is that it turns again and goes SW towards the Cueva Vallina Rio Rioja area. Water tracing in the summer (given suitable water levels) will be considered. The cave, like Cueva de los Cantones (0865), has a number of sandstone beds / lenses that form the impermeable bed of the stream passage that gets lower until it drops the bed into a bigger passage. In this cave the beds dip down to the south and form a number of slides over the slippery sandstone bed (log flumes) that in low water may be fun, but if water levels rise, getting back could be problematic. (The extent of the cave can be seen in an overview survey.)
  The weather turned wet towards the end of the pushing trips and the lower sections were not visited on the final trip due to this risk. Upper levels at first follow a SE trend but then turn SW. It is just possible that these levels may be related to the dry passages found by Jim Lister in Vallina 3.
  A trip into Cueva Codisera (0039) during the early bad weather found the traverse over the drop at the bottom of the entrance slope, and the various climbs/traverses had been very well lined with stainless bolted hangers with security nuts. In 400 Pesetas Passage 18 bats were seen well-spaced out. All but one was at roof level, but one was hanging from a rock on the floor with its head only a few mm from the ground – we concluded it was scared of heights.
  Four previously undescended shafts were visited on S Vega to the SE of Codisera, 5106 and 5109 were descended to chokes and surveyed at 9m and 10m respectively. Shaft 2913 was found to be a free climb in a choked rift 7m deep. Shaft 5162 was found under gorse bushes and, on a later visit, to be a 6m pitch (bolt placed) to a rubble blockage that was dug to an oscillating boulder jammed over an echoing second pitch of about 7m – work is required to remove this to drop the pitch in the summer. In same area two other sites were checked out (2550 & 3131) as well as a overgrown rock floored shakehole (5161) but all were choked with no draught and are poor prospects.
   Two drone flights were made in the Papá Noel area as part of the aerial mapping program.
    At La Rasa (up on north side of ridge above Seldesuto), in site 0662, now called Tonsillitis Pot, a crawl was dug to a pitch head and on a subsequent trip this 21m pitch was dropped and passages at the bottom pushed and surveyed. In total 84m of new passage and shafts were surveyed making the site 109m long and 61m deep. One of the two man team had a heavy cold (or tonsillitis) at the time (assured and tested not to be Covid!) hence the name of the passages and shafts named after the symptoms!
  In the North Vega area four sites were checked out and new photographs added, one (0440) could initially not be found - but was a few weeks later and the grid reference corrected. The others checked out ok (0360, 2666, 2667) with the latter two stuffed with old tyres to block entrances to safeguard cows etc. Three new sites were located, Two Tyres Cave (5159) of 2m to a possible dig & Three Tyres Dig (5160) were to the east of the Arnilla depression and the entrances were again stuffed with tyres. The third was a 4m deep rock shelter cave (5166) with two small holes at back but no draught. At Cueva de Dos Árboles (5089) the site was surveyed to 22m and the rift at the bottom needs checking by a thin person prior to any digging.
  In the Cubija valley, two new sites were located: a shaft (5165) was a blind 1.2m wide pitch of 7.8m behind a strawberry tree, but with no draught; and a 9m deep shaft (5189) that was descended on a ladder that did not reach the bottom, but the base looked choked. A photographic trip also was made to "Wonderland" in Torca del Mostajo (0071).
  On El Naso a number of trips were made to check out undescended or partly explored holes. Sites 0614 and 0615 had not been found in previous years and again 0615 could not be found. It may have been partly filled with rubbish and is now under brambles. At 0614 the GPS point was reported to be an undescended 25m draughting shaft needing work to access. A hole at the back of the shakehole was found with an inward draught. This was dug over two days to access a 3m deep shaft that was draughting in but lost its draught, we think, due to dropping soil down and blocking the bottom. Work is needed to open up the shaft so the bottom can be dug (too small a diameter to dig at present) and will be a major effort. However, the location is important and, with easy access by car, it is a realistic prospect.
   Site 0837 was visited, the grid reference corrected and a couple of photos taken.
   A possible dig 1602 was found at the GPS location and opened up, including removing some bed rock to gain access to a 4m drop into a rock-floored chamber. There was an small inward draught and this site is worth a further look in hot weather to check draught and prospects.
   The shaft 1608 proved hard to find, but the GPS proved accurate to locate the capping rock that had been overgrown so it did not look like anything of interest. The capping stone was uncovered and removed to gain access. The shaft is a 4m drop to where a boulder blocks the way down a further 3m to what looks like a rock-floored chamber. Again it seemed to have a small inward draught, but this needs checking in hot weather. The boulder can be easily removed with the correct gear to gain access, but care needs to be taken not to disturb blocks just below the entrance.
   Photographs were taken of the long rift system 1880 and of the nearby separate rift that seems to be site 1940 given the gps.
   Two new sites were located, a draughting dig 5163 that opens up and is 3m+ deep. It has a good outward draught in hot weather, but given its high location the draught may be local. A 2-3m deep shaft (5181) just below ridge line  was found but not descended and no draught was detected.
   At the entrance of Cueva Coberruyo (0138) below the climbing routes, a possible flint knapping stone was found. Due to the proximity and use of the area by climbers it was removed and reported, as required by our permit, to the Cantabrian Ministry of Cultura and taken on their instructions to the research offices of the Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria. A copy of the receipt for the item is in the logbook.
   In the Muela and La Colina area, work was done to check out possible surface shafts and sites with some pushing / surveying work in the Sima-Cueva del Risco system (0025). In the Risco end of the system, a link was found by climbing up and traversing a rift in the roof of Galeria Arco into Dambuster Series, a safer route into this part of the system. At the other end of the system (Cueva Oñite, 0027) an inlet off the southeast side of Mavrino was pushed over two trips along a tall rift stream passage and along a traverse to a mud / rock choke with tree routes that must be near the surface. This work added 209m of cave to the system.
   On Muela, checking for existing undescended holes found that shafts 1954 and 0803 could not be found at or near the location. At shaft 1795 it looks like the capping rocks have been grown over and so now do not look like a shaft top, this needs opening up and the site pushed. Two new undescended sites were found: shaft 5168 at 5m deep with cow bones seen at bottom and with no draught and shaft 5169, 5m deep in fractured karren area, 3m from a path.
  On La Colina, a surface check on various known sites was made on a day off from pushing Torca del Muérdago (2081). The cave (1027) was found but at about 30m south of the grid reference. A hole at the back of the cave was dug to a fist sized gap through which it looked bigger beyond. The nearby site (1028) could not be found (maybe it also had a wrong grid reference by 30m?). The rock shelter (1029) was found and given a new GPS'd grid reference and cave 1030 was found at the given grid reference but was only 2m long not 6m. A new cave (5164) was located and found to be 8.5m to a fist sized hole with no draught.

The North-East Sector including The Four Valleys System

   In La Secada,  Two and a Half Fat Ladies (0880) was dug on two occasions, the first solo and the second with a team of three. Some 40 bags of fill from the dig down at the end of the crawl were taken out. The dig (5045) above Pablo's barn was dug on one occasion, about half a metre more digging is needed to be able to see down the draughting drop ahead. Also dug were cave 1292 that had a slight draught, and the bottom of Superfostato (0200) where there were signs of flooding and it would be interesting to visit in wet weather.
   The somewhat squalid Cueva de Bollón (0098) was pushed on three occasions, the first solo and the second with willing helpers, who were less willing after the trip. But, on giving a certificate to exempt the bearer from any further trips into the cave after a second squirm,  two happy cavers returned to push and survey the finds adding 107m to this cave first pushed (but clearly not fully) in 1974. It shows what persistence can achieve in well-known caves. Two older sites were searched for, shaft 0229 could not be found but 0295 was found with the old grid reference and description accurate.
  At Fresnedo, the cave 2414 was dug in the entrance crawl with the aim of removing pooling of water, so making future digging easier.
  At Riaño, in Fridge Door Cave (1800), Jim Lister continued his diving push following the two year break due to Covid. It had been hoped that Mark Smith would join him from Hong Kong, but he was confined to his flat and not allowed out due to the strict lockdown Covid laws in place, so solo diving and pushing was needed. As expected, the water levels were high and flooded at the bottom of the entrance. Jim had planned for this, and the tight bypass section was dug out to allow Jim to fit through in a wet suit and start the dive and push the continuation in sump 2.
    On a second trip sump 2 was passed and higher level passages found, which were pushed and surveyed on a third trip adding 589m to the cave. These high level passages are on the same level as some at the western end of Cueva-Cubío del Llanío (3234) and about 90m away. It seems very probable these passages are all part of the same system. It was decided the best option would be to try to dig from the Llanío end and, if a connection was made, all the leads left open in higher levels in Fridge Door Cave can be pushed from that end.
    To start this process digging took place in Llanío at a draughting tube towards the west end of the system off High Pulse. Good progress was made but more needs to be done in the summer. If this link can be made it is even more useful to dig out the connection between Fridge Door Cave and Cueva de la Espada (0103). If these links can be made it would put the Four Valleys System at about 71km in length. (Videos of Jim's work in Fridge Door Cave can be found near the base of the site 1800 description.)
    A surface search above these upper passages in Fridge Door Cave only found a group of 4 small draughting digs (5191). A further dig was carried out at a draughting, sandy dig beyond The Hub - an easy dig towards an area with no known passage. A GoPro pushed in ahead shows it's worth continuing.
  Using SubPhone Entrance (4536), two trips checked out possible leads in the area south of the Ski Slope - none went any distance, one requires digging and one local connection was made. On another trip an aven was climbed 20m to a draughting choke above the Ski Slope and then some progress was made in "We Were Not The First"  above Torno Inlet - easy digging and more work is needed in this area.
  In Cueva Hoyuca (0107) a visit to Pig Trotters Chamber  removed an old, now rusty, ladder.

Northwest Sector

   At Quebraduras, east of the main road in Solórzano, five new sites were identified in an area of forest where access is difficult. The finds were adjacent to either open track or field thus needing limited jungle bashing.
    Site 5173 is a depression with two small caves of 2m and 3.5m sloping down to a flat floor and probably closing down - but it would be useful to check the draught in hot weather. Shaft 5174 could be worth a dig at the base of its open 5m deep rift, but the bottom was filled with decaying dead animals! Shaft 5175 was the deepest of the five being about 12m deep with pitches of 3m, 2m and 5m to a cross passage that chokes both ways. Shaft 5176 was 9m deep with a jammed block at 3m, but looking down the remaining 6m the chocked floor could be seen. Ffinally, shaft 5177 is a 4m drop to where the way on is either down over debris that needs removing or through a slot that needs opening to a continuation that draughts out. The floor could not be easily seen but was disto'd to 5m.
    In addition, two known caves were visited, site 4038 was surveyed to 23m in length with one resident bat, but few digging prospects, and Car Parts Cave (4039) that has had a dismantled car dumped in the 7m deep shaft. It looks like there may be some small continuation but the car parts would need to be removed first. A check for a draught in hot weather would be useful - it is not worth digging if there is no draught.
   At Hornedo, a trip into Torca la Vaca (2889) via BigMat Calf Hole (3916) was made to push and survey leads beyond Bathtime Baby in the lowest level below Scafell Aven. Water levels were found to be too high, and the team looked at leads in the area of Tuna Can Corner, a small draughting find that closed down..
  At Navajeda A possibly promising dig (5172) in a large depression at the side of road was found but not yet dug.

North Sector

  At Hazas de Cesto, two new sites were found at a time of high water levels: a resurgence (5187) that will be worth a look in dry weather, and a 6m undescended shaft (5188). At El Rincón, the resurgence (4892) was dug with good progress, but more work is required. On a second visit to dig and survey the water levels were far too high. Work will progress in the summer.
   The Ribamontán al Monte area is shared with the Club Montaña y Espeleología La Cambera. At Monte Llusa, a surface walk, checking sites found from maps and LiDAR prints, was made from near the high parking spot on the east side of Monte Llusa working down to the east of Villanueva. The high growth of the jungle stopped access to some locations and most sites accessed proved un productive. Only one site of any interest was recorded, a pit (5167) 5m deep on the uphill side but only 1m on the downhill side, with the bottom choked. This area needs checking out in late winter prior to spring growth.
  Nine sites were investigated around Cierrolinos, with three going to over 40m deep. Cueva de la Llusa 3 (5035) was pushed over 5 trips that involved opening up the top of various pitches including those of 3m, 8m and 15m with complications of climbs to parallel shafts and tight rifts. The site has a BCRA 2b survey and is about 45m deep and requires more work to open out tight rifts, etc and to fully survey.
   Shaft 5102 was dropped but the top is loose mud and rock needing great care. This shaft was sketched to BCRA 2b and is about 42m deep to a choke. Shaft 5031 was rigged and dropped with an extra "Y" hang at 8m near a hole in the wall that needs opening to reach a larger passage beyond. At the bottom of the pitch, at about 60m depth, the passage curves round to right to a rubble fill. There is a draughting crack on the left wall that can be opened up. The site is still to be surveyed.
  Torca de al Basura (5060) was checked and two high level possibilities were found in this 10m deep site. These are the likely source of the good  draught, but were not pushed.
  Five new sites were located: 5171 a draughting collapse not yet dug; 5178 a draughting hole in the north corner of the depression, a major dig through earth and boulders; 5179 draughting digs at each end of a limestone outcrop in a depression; 5180 a cave with a dig down a slope needing bedrock removing to make progress and 5183, a small cave 20m to SW of 5060 is 3.5m deep with a small draught, and now needs digging.
  To the NW of Garzón a dig 5170 was found but is still to be fully assessed. Further northwest, at Villanueva, the major resurgence (that we have called Fuente de Villanueva (5023) feeding the stream in the village, was surveyed but the water was too high to reach a climb up found in 2020. The high water level probably explained the lack of draught that had been found in previous years. Jim Lister dived the sump with a single cylinder and reached a large underwater passage with a cobble floor. Being on a single set, he tied off his line and retreated, planning for a fully kitted up dive in the future. Unfortunately, a few days later after heavy rain, the water had become cloudy and risen to cover the dive base to such a depth that further diving was not possible. This will be a major objective for the summer.
  The following work in La Estrada (Anero) was carried out with the agreement of La Cambera and work in Moncobe with the club G.E. Pistruellos.
  At La Estrada (Anero) just north of the motorway lies an old mill and water pumping station fed by a significant gated resurgence (5184). The water is likely to originate, at least in part, from the Cierrolinos / Monte Llusa area. Up a side stream towards the motorway, a cave was found above where the stream emerges in boulders. This cave (5185) clearly floods, given the mud covering most of the cave. It was not surveyed but is about 25m long in total and leads to an upward dig with a possible small draught and, below, what looks to be a sump pool about 2m deep.
   Cave 5192 was found just north of the stream emerging from 5184. It has a strong outward draught coming over a deep pool with the cave seen continuing beyond.
    In Moncobe, the Pistruellos club reported to us that they had carried out a dye test from Hoyo de la Encina (5182) to Cueva la Verde (4486) at La Cavada. A surface walks up the Bencano Valley checking for possible leads failed to locate the shaft 3755. This site was also looked for in recent years and not found so it is assumed it may have been filled in.

Easter Expedition account by Phil Papard, 3rd May 2022

Additions (included below)
• Photos received from Nigel Easton for explorations in 4265 , 5031, 5111, 5114, 5115, 5116

Survey updates
0025	Risco / Oñite	Complete (ARi, PS)
0098	Bollón (with 1452)	Complete (ARi, JC)
0662	Toncillitis	Complete (ARi, PP)
0733	Vallina	Complete, as much as currently possible Catalanes (Vicente et al / JC - in hand)
1027	cave	complete (SCo, DAr)
1029	cave	complete (SCo, DAr)
1800	Fridge Door	complete (JL, JC)
2081	Mistletoe	in hand (SCo, DAr) Overview survey
2889	Vaca	sketch linked from description (JCa)
3234	Llanío	complete (TR, JC)
4038	cave	complete (PP, GS))
5023	Villanueva resurgence	preliminary (JL, JC)
5035	Cueva Llusa 3	complete (PPa, PP)
5102	shaft	complete (AL, PP)

The list below shows links to those 119 sites which were extended or newly discovered over the Easter period and into May, or which have had surveys, references or descriptions updated, photos or movie clips added, or entrances repositioned using a GPS.
All updated except #2081 (description, final survey) (4/6/2022)

Arnilla 5159 Two Tyres Cave; 5160 Three Tyres Dig;
Arredondo 0733 Vallina, Cueva; 4286 Prado, Torca del; 4808 cave; 4835 cave; 5194 Lleres, Cueva de; 5195 cave; 5196 cave;
Barrio de Arriba 4265 shaft; 5114 shaft; 5115 shaft;
Cierrolinos 5031 shaft; 5035 Llusa 3, Cueva de la; 5060 Basura, Torca de la (LC186); 5102 shaft; 5171 collapse; 5183 dig;
Cubija 0071 Mostajo, Torca del; 0357 cave; 0358 cave; 1484 cave; 5165 shaft; 5166 cave; 5189 shaft;
El Camino 0085 Cuevona, Abrigo de la;
El Naso 0079 Wendy, Sima; 0138 Coberruyo, Cueva de; 0534 dig; 0614 shaft; 0615 shaft; 0837 shaft; 1602 dig; 1608 shaft; 1880 rift; 1940 cave; 2125 shaft; 3229 shaft; 5163 dig; 5181 shaft;
El Rincón 4892 resurgence;
El Sedo 0025 Risco, Sima-Cueva del;
Fresnedo 2414 cave;
Garzón 5170 dig; 5178 dig; 5179 dig; 5180 dig;
Hazas de Cesto (west) 5187 resurgence; 5188 shaft;
Hornedo 2889 Vaca, Torca La;
La Cavada 4486 Verde, Cueva la;
La Colina 1027 cave; 1028 shaft; 1029 cave; 1030 cave; 5164 cave;
La Estrada (Anero) 5184 resurgence; 5185 cave; 5192 cave;
La Rasa 0662 Tonsillitis Pot;
La Ruela 5182 Encina, Hoyo de la;
La Secada 0098 Bollón, Cueva de; 0200 Superfosfato, Cueva; 0229 shaft; 0295 cave; 0880 Bingo; 1292 cave; 1452 Hole in the Road; 5045 dig;
Llaneces 5193 cave;
Moncobe 3024 cave; 3755 shaft; 5190 digs - 3;
Monte Llusa 5116 shaft; 5167 shaft;
Muela 0159 shafts - 3; 0489 Espino, Cueva del; 0803 shaft; 1795 shaft; 1954 shaft; 5168 shaft; 5169 shaft;
N Vega 0360 Cuvia de la Vega, La; 0440 shaft; 2666 shaft; 2667 shaft;
Navajeda 5172 dig; 5186 shaft;
Ozana 0027 Oñite, Cueva;
Quebraduras 4038 cave; 4039 shaft; 5173 caves - 2; 5174 shaft; 5175 shaft; 5176 shaft; 5177 shaft;
Riaño 0107 Hoyuca, Cueva; 1800 Fridge Door Cave; 3234 Llanío, Cueva-Cubío del; 3302 cave; 5111 shaft; 5191 digs - 4;
Riva 5110 Fuente la Pila, Sima de la;
S Vega 0039 Coquisera, Cueva de; 0265 Copudia, Cuevas de; 0267 Overhang Cave; 2081 Muérdago, Torca del; 2550 shaft; 2912 hole; 2913 shaft; 3131 shaft; 5089 Dos Árboles, Cueva de los; 5106 shaft; 5109 shaft; 5161 dig; 5162 shaft;
San Antonio 0713 Aguanaz, Fuente;
Solórzano 3994 Dos Casas, Sima;
Villanueva 5023 Villanueva, Fuente de;

• Easter logbook

Introduction
   About 33 cavers visited Matienzo, spread over six weeks, during the driest period in Cantabria for 60 years. Although the number of cavers were similar to previous years, some could only spend a short time in Matienzo and, given the spread over the period, it meant numbers were low at any one time.
    Due to the work involved in setting up and maintaining the office in Bar Germán as well as giving full tackle support in the onsite store, it has been decided to limit the fully supported expedition next summer to the last week in July and the first three in August. People are welcome to come at other times, but they will have to be prepared to be self-contained but with full tackle available on request (i.e., not in the campsite store).
   Given the above number limitation, this summer was the most successful for many years with nearly 4km of passage found and surveyed. The most important finds being: over 2km surveyed in Torca la Decepción (0252 / 4732), which linked to the Four Valley System; Fuente de Villanueva (5023) which Jim Lister and Mark Smith pushed via a number sumps to nearly 800m. Jim and Mark also pushed Fridge Door Cave (1800) to add almost 400m to the system with a possible dry entrance located using Ron Taylor's SubPhones, and a likely link to Cueva Llanio (3234) which now seems to be a only few metres dig away.    With the dry weather, it was possible for a relatively dry (well, a few inches of air space) access through the normal sump in Cueva de Lolo (3991) to push the passage first found by Colin Hayward diving the sump in 2016. This added a further 91m to the site.
   After many years, a start was made to update the survey of the Sewers of Doom in Cueva Carcavuezo (0081). About half the half kilometre surveyed was new, so this, together with Torca la Decepción, brought the Four Valleys System to over 70km long.
    During the summer, 12 new digs and caves were found and recorded. Some have been pushed but work (pushing, digging etc) for a number is still needed. Some 87 sites were visited, and 150 trips / digs made during the expedition.

S O U T H E R N    S E C T O R

   At Cueva Vallina (0733) the Catalan cavers organised by Espeleo Club Tortosa undertook pushing and surveying work in Vallina II, camping in the cave. The survey error spotted in Vallina ll earlier in the year is in the process of trying to be resolved. The details of the work undertaken by the group is not reported here but will be reported on the website when available.    Rupert Skorupka undertook some preparation work for diving but had to return to the UK before pushing could take place. In the area to the west of Vallina, photos of the entrances and inside Cueva de Colorado 1 & 2 (1393 & 4277) and site 4808 were taken.

South Vega
   No work took place in Torca del Muérdago (2081) other than de-rigging the site due to the work needed at Torca la Decepción so the search for higher levels will be left until next year.
   At Torca del Dron (4669) the sandy dig on the side of the main pitch was dug for 10m with a good draught. The site was found to be a partly filled phreatic tube and must have been a major water course at some time. The dig is seen to continue at least as far as a bend and is considered a good prospect.
At Cuevas de los Adillos (0034) a 31m long passage at the end on the right was opened with a small draught and a dig where the cave can be seen going on into the hill side. Also dug were sites 1390 (Twin Streams Dig), 1344 and 0477 where some progress was made but more work is required.
   Twelve old sites were checked, and new GPS coordinates taken (four during drone and 360° photographic visits and site checking sessions), and four new sites / digs were located (5199, 5200, 5201 and 5203) with the latter dug a little. Cueva de los Dos Árboles (5089) was pushed and two chambers found, and a number of short passages located that closed down. This site is of a fossil nature and, given the lack of draught and no open leads, it is now considered a poor prospect.
   At site 0476 (now called Goat Shaft) a goat was rescued at the request of a farmer. The animal had been down for over a day and seemed ok on exit.
   Two through trips were made from Torca de Coterón (0264) and then Torca de Azpilicueta (0333) both to Cueva-Cubio de la Reñada (0048). It was noted that an extra bolt on the Coterón entrance would make access and the pull through safer. Also, the first rope pitch in Azpilicueta rigged for pull through is the tight pitch on the right after the first pitch / ladder - and not the one straight in front with SRT attachment points on the roof. Also, trips were made into Surprise Cave (3309) and Cueva-Cubío de la Reñada (0048) the latter to train the next generation of digging and pushing tigers.

Seldesuto
   The dig at the end of the Fossil Route in Torca de Corcada (0780) was worked on and 14m was surveyed back to the previous end point of the survey. More work is needed at this important site. The shaft 1124 was found to need bolting if done on SRT to avoid rub spots, so it was not pushed. It would be best either to take bolting kit or use ladders.

Las Calzadillas
    Given the amount of time since the last visit, it was assumed the lorry stuck down the entrance to Lorry Pot (1776) would have partly rusted away and allow access below. However, it was found to have just slipped further into the hole with more rock and rubbish dropped on top of it – too dangerous to try to descend! Whilst the in area, shaft 0374 was looked for but not found. It seems GPS location is wrong and a further wider search is needed.

Cubija
   At Torca del Mostajo (0071), the remaining leads in the MUSC Series were checked out. The lead looked good at first but closed down, a passage only sketched in was surveyed at 81m. A ladder was used on Shunt Pitch but getting up proved difficult and not better than SRT!
    Also in the area, Cuvia del Campo (0076)was used to check out a GoPro Max with 360° video. The strongly draughting dig (0813) sited next to the bends in the road as it leaves the valley was dug on five occasions and, given the draught and location in a blank area, it is a good prospect. More capping/digging is still needed at this easy-to-reach site.

El Naso
    This area saw a lot of work but only 144m of new cave / survey. Sites Sima Wendy (0079) and 0877 were surveyed and photographed, but no good digging prospects noted. Site 1608 looked from the description to be a good prospect but, after removing a boulder blocking the way on, the supposed chamber below did not exist and ended in a floor of boulders – digging here would be a major operation and not worth the effort. The dig 5163 found at Easter was opened up into an old rift system with a second possible entrance (5198). However, to open up this hole would need a lot of rock removing and, in any event, was considered not worth the effort. Site 5163 was surveyed to 27m.
    A new dig (5202) was found together with a stuck calf, which was rescued – now called Calf Dig – but, with no draught, it's a poor prospect. Shaft 1544 was checked out hoping that the state of previously reported dead animals would have ameliorated. It had not, as there is now even more rotting animals in plastic bags. However, the site was checked and surveyed.
    The strongly draughting Palindrome Dig (0535) was dug and capped on three occasions, but it became clear that there is no solid bedrock in the dig and digging down may undermine some of the blocks. This site is a good prospect if a massive engineering exercise is adopted, but not worth the effort while other prospects are easier to attack. A small hole in a path was noted nearby - it seemed to have been capped over. The site, now called White Rabbit Dig (5206) was opened up into an old cave fragment, very well decorated on all walls and floor, but with no easy dig and no draught.
    On a hot day, a number of possible digs were checked for draughts, 1602, 1880 and 0968 had no draught as did 1614 but the latter did draught at Easter. It seems possible that the digging has dropped enough soil to block the draught.
    Cueva del Molino (Agua, 0059) was used on a number of occasions for checking out use of GoPro Max; calibration of DistoX and training in the use of SexyTopo; to take some locals on a tourist trip, and to take future cave tigers on further training trips. An old TV was removed from the cave.

El Sedo, La Colina, Cubilla and Ozana
   The main work was in Sima-Cueva del Risco (0025) where the area around Dambuster series and Where Have All The Spiders Gone were investigated and possible climbs into the roof were noted. However, with slippery mud, bolting will be needed. Also noted were some sandy passages above Arco Gallery that need pushing. At the end of Tali Series, the pitches previously found were dropped into a calcited rift that went for some 50m to an ongoing lead, needing further work.
    To the north of the walk above the Risco waterfall area, a cave (Ant Hole, 5197) was found and opened up to a 6m drop needing a ladder. This is still to be investigated, but it's a poor prospect as there is little to no draught.
    A number of caves in this area: Cueva de Jivero 2 (0017); Cueva de Tiva (0026); Cueva Oñite (0027) were used for checking photographic gear, taking children underground (future caving tigers) and a tourist-type trip with locals.

T H E   N O R T H - E A S T   S E C T O R   including the   F O U R   V A L L E Y S   S Y S T E M

La Secada
   Torca la Decepción (0252 / 4732) lived up to its Yorkshire co-name (as I had hoped). The initial disappointment last year followed five years of very hard work from many people, digging and capping to the head of an exciting, draughting 40m broken pitch. Below, the passage ended at a calcited rift and squalid, wet, tight crawl.
    Like the Yorkshire pot exploration by Bob Leakey - who stripped off to push a tight wet crawl, pushing the spoil with his feet - in Matienzo, our person who likes squalid wet crawls, managed to dig his way through this crawl this summer in a similar fashion, but not naked! This opened up the system. It allowed exploration of 2km of open passage, linking to Armageddon and Rocky Horror in Cueva Hoyuca as well as a complex of passages to the south under the main valley in the wood above the Mushroom Field. Also explored were passages going east and west.
    The Giant Panda entrance (2591) to Cueva Hoyuca (0107) was used to carry out a through trip to Torca la Decepción via Armageddon. It was not possible, without risk, to remove an overhead boulder to gain access to Armageddon from the Decepción side. The team in Decepción had previously thrown a rope over the said boulder, and this was found on the through trip. The boulder was then removed and the trip completed.
    There are still passages to explore in the system although we need to find a wet weather way to bypass (or modify) the squalid crawl as, in normal and wet weather, it's likely to be impassable, especially on the return. There are several options to do this. Hopefully, with further exploration, we may even find the hoped for higher level passages that may go out of the valley and above the Mushroom Field area.
    In Cueva de Carcavuezo (0081) work started surveying the Sewers of Doom a very complex maze area stretching below the Coke Run. The survey started well with over half a km surveyed. About half of this had been previously surveyed but we don't have a digital record of this - it only appears on one paper survey. More work is needed and volunteers to help will be welcome.
    Digging was carried out at the good draughting digs Socks (1017) and Cueva Superfosfato (0200) as well as solo digging at the non draughting dig of Bingo (0880). There was also a photographic trip into Cueva las Cosas (0084).

Fresnedo
   Two trips were made to the Knotted Rope Series in Cueva Fresnedo 2 (0841). The old access rope was replaced, but the proposed climb to a high level passage proved to be an alcove. One pitch was dropped but did not go anywhere. This area of the cave needs (re)surveying as, at present, there is only a centre line.
    The dig 2522 that should link into Cueva del Torno (2366) was looked at on a hot day to assess for digging next year. It was confirmed the main draught comes out of the bottom of the entrance dig and not from the sandy crawl which draughts a lot less. This will be the digging site for 2023.

Riaño
   At Fridge Door Cave (1800), Jim Lister and Mark Smith continued to explore and survey the higher level passages found beyond the second sump at Easter. One area was found that seemed close to the surface (Stairway to Heaven) with some tree roots and snail shells. This site was then located using Ron Taylor's SubPhones, both to identify the possible digging prospects and to adjust the survey.
    We knew that the surveys in both sumps were very likely to be in error as they were taken in almost zero visibility so were more of an estimate, especially with regard to direction measurements. The location proved successful with the site located only 3 - 4m deep a the steeply dipping field but some 40m away from the original survey point. There was nothing on the surface to suggest an entrance at this point but, given this field was pastureland, any holes would have been filled in many years ago.    A little excavation took place below the SubPhone point where it seemed that the cave would have come to the surface. This small dig showed it was possible but, for a full dig, we will first need to get agreement from the farmer to proceed.
    The updated survey of the new finds put the far southeastern branch only a few metres away and at the same level as the far west end of High Pulse in Cueva-Cubío del Llanío (3234). It had been thought the dig at the end of High Pulse was too difficult: it being a downhill, awkward excavation and a long distance frpm Fridge Door Cave. Now that it's only a few meters to be dug, it is a very good prospect for a connection.
    In Cueva-Cubío del Llanío, before the SubPhone location, the traverse to get to the High Pulse area was re-rigged as it had deteriorated and digging was carried out in a draughting passage to the south at the start of High Pulse. This was dug on two occasions and, at first, good progress was made but then it got smaller and proved to be a major task needing capping to progress. Work will now shift to the more promising dig at the end of High Pulse to get the connection. To make access easier and possible for larger people, the squeeze in No Breast Feed Crawl will be modified.
    Some other areas were also checked out mainly at the end and below Terminal Decline but there was no or little draught, and no good digging site was found. There are still some possible roof passages in the area of Pulse Racer to be looked at.
    The surface above the new passages in Fridge Door Cave was examined again but no obvious digs were found other than site 3302 at the base of a small cliff high above the passages. This site consists of a few holes along the cliff line with the most western one the best prospect. But there was little to no draught on a hot day and it was clear that any dig would be a major exercise. No further work is planned.
    It was noted that the Giant Panda Entrance (2691) needs some rock stabilisations work as well as the entrance working on to make for safe permanent access.
    A tourist trip took place in Fuente de la Cuvia (0207) but no other work took place in Riaño this summer.

N O R T H W E S T   S E C T O R   ( S A N   A N T O N I O ,   H O R N E D O ,   C O M P O S D E L A N T E ,   etc )

   The only work in this area this summer was a visit to photograph the entrance to Fuente Aguanaz (0713) in drought conditions, noting that some of the old water pumping structures have been removed, and an attempted trip to Cueva Casillas (1163) in Composdelate where the farmer did not allow access and said there were "no caves in the area"!

N O R T H   S E C T O R

Solórzano
   Cueva de Lolo (3991) is situated through a door in the cliff (now not locked) behind the medical centre in the village. A trip to push past the end sump / duck was made and the cave extended by 91m. With the dry weather, the duck consisted of two 0.5m airspace duck sections to get to the chamber found by Colin Hayward some years previously by diving. The site beyond was pushed through a mud coated passage with a clean aven some 6-8m high that needs capping and bolting to reach a passage seen at top. Further chambers and digs were explored and the site surveyed. Some of the leads will probably be sumped in wet weather.

Hazas de Cesto
    Two sites were checked out to the west of the village. The resurgence (5187) was found to have dried up. The site is on a small fault, the rock on left going in will cap better than that on the right as that has small, mud-filled cracks. A flake was capped allowing access to look into a tight slot that gets a little bigger beyond but needs a lot of capping work to continue.    The nearby shaft (5188) was descended by the most northerly of the three holes on ladder. The bottom drops a little to a rift with sacks on the floor which may contain dead animals. There was no draught and no realistic digging prospect. A sketch in the logbook records the site at 8m deep with a rift on 338° magnetic.

El Rincón
   The resurgence (4892) was surveyed and assessed. Despite very dry weather allowing access to the lower, normally flooded rift, it was clear a lot more digging and capping work is needed.
    It was decided to transfer attention to the resurgence 4867 further round the base of the hill to the north. At this resurgence it was found that the dead animal preventing exploration a few years ago had gone and extensive capping over five Wednesdays opened up the draughting rift for some 13m. This was enough to allow a thin person to crawl into where it got bigger. Here a small chamber, aven and an ongoing small crawl were found with the crawl still to be pushed. One more day capping will allow less thin people to get to the extension, and allow surveying and pushing to take place.

Ribamontán al Monte
   Part of this municipality is shared with the Club Montaña y Espeleología La Cambera. When we get reports or see blogs, their sites are given a number and put on our mapping system, so anybody working in this area has the relevant information to avoid duplication of work. Two areas within the municipality are updated.

Garzón
    The Cambera club found and pushed a few sites during the summer, the most significant being Cueva del Gusnardo (5150) that is about 300m long and over 80m deep at present.

Villanueva
    The major resurgence, Fuente de Villanueva (5023), was dived by Jim Lister and Mark Smith with support from other expedition members. Over four trips, nearly 700m was surveyed in a complex cave with four sumps and higher level passages. The first 2 sumps were often very cloudy partly from local ingress of what appears to be cow slurry! Also, sump 3 was cloudy probably from the diving and work beyond - and was slow to clear. However, it was noted that sump 4 was clear and this may prove to be the main way on. This is a key site and work will continue in 2023.
    A surface walk above Villanueva proved to be difficult due to the amount of undergrowth, with one member getting stuck in the "jungle" for an hour trying to find a route out without getting scratched to ribbons! This made identifying new sites / digs very difficult. Two possible digs / sites were noted 5204 and 5205 and dug a little, but with no draught they are poor prospects. Maybe checking in very early spring may be easier with less undergrowth!

Moncobe (in agreement with the club G.E. Pistruellos.)
El Cubillón (2538) was the subject of a planned diving push by Jim Lister and Mark Smith over 8 days with expedition member support. The work concentrated on the Tilberthwaite Lake sump and the downstream area past the Bassenthwaite Water sump/duck.
    The first objective was at Tilberthwaite where, to their surprise, the water level was higher than last year. Given that this summer was the driest for 60 years, this suggested that the outlet was partly blocked and silted up - as the dive confirmed.    Attention then turned to the Bassenthwaite Water prospect. Beyond the sump, the gravel-floored, low passage near the southern extremity of the cave was excavated and capped over a couple of trips. This gave access to a 20m pitch which was descended to another sump. The route to the pitch top was surveyed to over 50m. (The upstream sump was dived to check it did go, which it did - but was not pursued as it was not the priority.)
    The downstream sump was dived in zero viz and found to go down to -15m. A rift going up from this point was dived on another day and found it closed down just short of surface level. More work is needed to try and find the way on in this sump. Better visibility is really needed.

Summer Expedition account by Phil Papard, 22nd September 2022

Survey updates
0025	Risco / Oñite	Complete (PS)
0034	Adillos	Complete (ND)
0071	Mostajo	In hand (PP)
0079	Sima Wendy	Complete (PS)
0081	Carcavuezo	In hand (4VS, PF)
0252	Decepción incl 4732	complete (PP) [map here]
0477	cave	Complete (ND)
0733	Vallina	Catalanes (Vicente et al / JC - in hand)
0780	Corcada	On centre line only?
0877	cave	Complete (PS)
1344	cave	Complete (ND)
1608	shaft	Complete (PP)
1800	Fridge Door	complete (JC)
2538	Cubillón	In hand (JLi, SCo)
3991	Lolo	Complete (PP)
4892	resurgence	Complete (PS)
5023	Villanueva resurgence	Complete (JC)
5089	Dos Árboles	Complete (JC)
5163	shaft	Complete (PP)
5206	White Rabbit	Complete (PP)

Footnotes
   All updates to lengths, including those surveyed and not surveyed, and notified by other groups has grown the total length over the summer by 6.2km to 413.3km.
   UIS Guidelines for Cave and Karst Protection and a Complete Listing of the Guidelines have been made freely available and the pdfs can be viewed and downloaded from this page.
   There seem to be problems with Issuu, the usual remote viewer for Matienzo logbooks (and some other publications). The summer 2022 logbook is a pdf file which can be viewed directly in a browser, or downloaded. (There is a Chrome extension available to provide a better 2-page-spread view of the pages.)
   Congratulations and best wishes to Chris Scaife and Carolina Smith de la Fuente for taking over from Chris Howes and Judith Calford the - not insignificant - task of editing and producing Descent from their new venture, Stalactite Publishing.
    Free copies of Descent for all Matienzo cavers!?
   JIm Lister has put onto YouTube some videos of his and Mark's explorations in El Cubillón. The links can be found in the Videos 2022 section near the bottom of the #2538 description.
   People who try to spot new holes from aerial videos and panoramas now have another 13 panos and 4 more videos to view - all on the southern La Vega hillside.
   

The list below shows links to those 101 sites which were extended or newly discovered over the summer expedition or. outside the expedition, have had surveys, references or descriptions updated, photos or videos added, or entrances repositioned using a GPS.
All sites updated 4/10/2022 (Except 0841 Fresnedo 2- in hand)

Arredondo 0733 Vallina, Cueva; 1350 Hoyos, Sumidero de los; 1393 Colorado 1, Cueva de; 4808 cave;
Bustablado 4335 Raza, Cueva de la;
Camposdelante 1163 Casillas, Cueva;
Cobadal 2179 Badger Hole;
Cubija 0071 Mostajo, Torca del; 0076 Campo, Cuvia del; 0813 dig; 0892 Regaton, Torca del;
Cubillas 0026 Tiva, Cueva de;
El Naso 0059 Molino, Cueva del; 0065 Cofresnedo, Cueva de; 0079 Wendy, Sima; 0535 Palindrome Dig; 0614 shaft; 0877 cave; 0968 dig; 1544 shaft; 1602 dig; 1608 shaft; 1880 rift; 5163 shaft;
El Rincón 4867 resurgence; 4892 resurgence;
El Sedo 0025 Risco, Sima-Cueva del;
Enaso 5198 dig; 5202 Calf Dig; 5206 White Rabbit;
Fresnedo 0841 Fresnedo 2, Cueva; 2522 dig;
Garzón 5078 Buena Onda, Cueva de la (LC225); 5150 Gusnardo, Cueva del (LC226);
Hazas de Cesto (west) 5187 resurgence; 5188 shaft;
La Colina 5197 Ant Hole;
La Secada 0081 Carcavuezo, Cueva de; 0084 Cosas, Cueva las; 0098 Bollón, Cueva de; 0200 Superfosfato, Cueva; 0252 Decepción, Torca la (top entrance); 0880 Bingo; 1017 Socks; 1289 cave; 2709 shaft; 4732 Decepción, Torca la (bottom entrance);
La Zuela 4277 Colorado 2, Cueva de;
Las Calzadillas 1776 Lorry Pot;
Moncobe 2538 Cubillón, El;
N Vega 0374 shaft;
Navajeda 1072 Bocarón, Cueva del;
Ozana 0017 Jivero 2, Cueva de; 0027 Oñite, Cueva;
Riaño 0107 Hoyuca, Cueva; 0207 Cuvía, Fuente de la; 1800 Fridge Door Cave; 2691 Giant Panda entrance; 3234 Llanío, Cueva-Cubío del; 3302 cave;
S Vega 0034 Adillos, Cuevas de los; 0040 Comellantes, Cueva del; 0048 Reñada, Cueva-Cubío de la; 0167 shaft; 0177 Cuevuca, La; 0264 Coterón, Torca del; 0333 Azpilicueta, Torca de; 0346 Dog Pot; 0476 Goat Shaft; 0477 cave; 0646 Feet Hole; 1344 cave; 1388 dig; 1390 dig; 1460 cave; 1510 cave; 1511 cave; 1514 cave; 1715 cave; 1887 cave; 2081 Muérdago, Torca del; 2637 cave; 2682 cave; 3309 Surprise Cave; 3310 cave; 3388 shaft; 3761 cave; 4669 Dron, Torca del; 5089 Dos Árboles, Cueva de los; 5199 rift; 5200 rift; 5201 dig; 5203 shaft; 5207 dig;
San Antonio 0713 Aguanaz, Fuente;
Seldesuto 0780 Corcada, Torca de; 1124 shaft;
Solórzano 3991 Lolo (del Secretario), Cueva de;
Villanueva 5023 Villanueva, Fuente de; 5204 dig; 5205 dig;

• Summer logbook

Lloyd Cawthorne (1990 - 2022)
  It was with great sadness and shock that we learnt of the unexpected death of Lloyd Cawthorne at the age of 32.
   Lloyd was born 30th January 1990 and from his early days he had associations with Matienzo as his parents, Bob and Julie, had bought a part share in a house in the village. The family moved from Plymouth to Lliber, north of Benidorm, nine years later and, at Spanish high school he achieved excellent results in the Catalan / Valenciano Spanish Baccaleureate (2005 - 2008). At this time Lloyd and family would visit their second home in Matienzo during the caving expeditions and Lloyd received from Bob his basic caving training on ladder and line.
    After Bob died in November 2010, Julie and Lloyd returned to England where Lloyd went to study Physics at Manchester University, again showing great talent, obtaining in 2012 a First Class Master's Degree with Honours in Physics with Theoretical Physics. He stayed at the University to work at his doctorate (PhD) in nuclear theory, which he was awarded in 2016. He then worked in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at The University of Manchester. He worked as an ambassador in schools and as a lecturer - recently being course co-lead for an Introduction to Nuclear & Particle Physics and Introduction to Programming for Physicists.
    During his time at Manchester he bought a house with his partner Lizzie, and became involved with Rugby Union teams - indeed being responsible for forming the Physics Dept rugby team. He also became heavily involved with the University caving club - MUSC - where he became proficient with SRT.
    During most of his Manchester years, Lloyd would stay in his Matienzo apartment for a couple of weeks in the summer and welcome friends from the caving club. This was "his" group and Lloyd was often the one to gather the team together to dig or push a cave. Probably the longest running Matienzo caving project he was involved in was the MUSC extensions in Cueva Mostajo. Another project was "Socks", a draughting dig excavated over many years with hopes of being a link between Mostajo / site 0415 and the 4 Valleys System. Other highlights included explorations in Torca de los Cañaos, pushing in Simas del Picón and prospecting and exploring new holes, even in the jungle of La Gatuna! Most recently, now with well over 50 visits to Matienzo, he was involved in the discovery, exploration and survey of small passages off the Tali Series in Risco.
    He leaves behind his mother, partner Lizzie, other grieving family members and many friends and colleagues at the University. Matienzo cavers will miss Lloyd's enthusiasm and perserverance.
   His funeral was held at the Manchester Crematorium on November 10th and was attended by many of his friends and colleagues - well over 200 people were present here and at the get-together in the Birch Community Centre afterwards.
   RIP Lloyd.

Introduction
    Three groups (12 cavers) enjoyed dry, generally warm weather throughout October into November. There were strong winds at times, enough to bring down some old trees in Matienzo.

N O R T H E R N     S E C T O R

   In Riaño, work was centred around site 3234, Cueva-Cubío del Llanío. The dig beyond The Hub was excavated on a couple of occasions but the prospects here do not now look promising. The route to the High Pulse dig was made suitable for larger people and, over 4 trips, the dig was left as it veered right with a strong draught. This is close to Fridge Door Cave (1800) and should connect. (At the Sub-phone'd site of the potential second entrance to Fridge Door Cave, a soil depth of 1m was found, suggesting a relatively easy dig. Permission from the land owner / farmer is required.)
    Just 70m to the south of the Sub-phone entrance to Llanío, and a short drop down from the road, site 5227 was found as an open 5m shaft (Cueva Sin Sendero). With a length of 114m and well decorated in places, one part of the cave heads towards the Ali Chamber / Mulu Manners area in Llanío. A survey is being produced.

N O R T H W E S T    S E C T O R

   At Hornedo, site 0978, a walk-in passage with an entrance off to one side into Cueva del Nabo (3357), was re-investigated. A vertical rift up at the end of the cave was opened and a bedding plane was entered to a wide collapse area with no way on. Site 3091 was re-examined and dug, with a slight draught providing slight encouragement.
  A few 360° photos were taken at the lower and middle entrances to Fuente Aguanaz (0713) at San Antonio to document the drought conditions.
  Four trips were spent in the strongly draughting site 3014, west of Peña Encaramada. Although tight sections were enlarged, no new passage could be entered
   A wooded gulley to the north of 3014 was investigated and 4 new holes identified: site 5223, an unexplored shaft into a cave full of farm waste; an abrigo, #5224; site 5225, a rabbit hole-sized dig, and 5226, a small, slightly draughting hole.
   Human activity in the area prevented a couple of sites being found and worked on - 3112, where logging infill prevents access and site 4093 which couldn't be found, probably due to the hole being used as a slurry dump.
   At Cobadal, above a dowsing line from the back end of Fuente Aguanaz, work couldn't continue in Torca de Michelin (3021) as the land owner couldn't be contacted. A search in adjacent woods found nothing of interest.
   Between San Antonio and Villanueva, a couple of new holes were catalogued above the resurgence site 4098: site 5214, a 2m drop for stones in a mud tube with no bed rock, and site 5215 - a small, draughting passage at the base of a cliff face that would take a lot of work to open up.
   Some time was spent on the wooded hillside containing the Cuevas de Iglesia at Navajeda. A supposed dig at the "end" of Cueva de la Iglesia 3 turned out to be another entrance. New site 5220 was opened up and explored over two days - a hands and knees crawl and an excavated low section led to a dig. The excavated entrance at site 5221 entered a 4m flatout crawl to a too-tight left hand bend. At site 5222, large boulders were removed to allow entry down into a crawl then larger passages heading in and out of the hillside - the former a potential dig.
   Across fields and on to the wooded hillside to the southeast, site 5213 was found as a short cave.

Monte Llusa and its surroundings
   It's feasible that all of the caves mentioned in the following paragraphs drain water sinking on Monte Llusa. The largest discovery was in the cave site 5192 at La Estrada (Anero). This cave and the, probably associated, nearby resurgence (site 5184) lie to the west-northwest and just over a kilometre from the summit of Monte Llusa. Tight sections within the flood-prone 5192 were enlarged, encouraged by a resounding echo. However, the passages closed down giving a length of less than 100m.
   The exciting summer finds in the Fuente de Villanueva (5023) - about 2km southwest of the summit - encouraged some more surface prospecting: site 5210, a cave which has good formations, with 5211, a slot and 5212 a 4m wide water source documented for completeness.
    Four other sites were also discovered closer to the summit: 5216, a 2m deep hole; 5217, a narrow vertical slot; 5218, a low cave and 5219, a 2m deep shaft at the base of a very steep-sided shakehole. These were meagre discoveries after the promise of a "kink feature" shown on the map contours.
   A second attempt to find site 5029 (after failure the previous autumn) also failed but easy access paths were found for future prospecting.
   About 1.5km to the east of the Monte Llusa summit lies the wet weather resurgence site 4867 at El Rincón. This was enlarged and explored in the summer but further enlargement allowed a second person to confirm the finds and the possible lead. The site now waits for a push and survey.

S O U T H E R N     S E C T O R

Seldesuto
   An exploratory walk off the main tracks up from Seldesuto eventually reached new site 5209 where a short dig should open up possibilities seen about 9m down.

Caves north of Arredondo and around Bustablado
   Guy Simonnot has updated his files about the caves over Cueva Vallina and to the south of the MCP permission area and kindly shared the information - over 300 sites. This includes additions to previous descriptions with surveys and photos, and notes about 79 new-to-us sites (#5232 - #5310). His 100-page Word document has been added to the MCP bibliography / webography, but not published (Simonnot G, 2022). A copy can be viewed on request.
    These new sites and older sites with significant additions have been listed below (areas: Alisas, Arredondo, Bustablado, Garma de los Trillos, La Azuela, La Garma, Las Piqueras, Llances, Piluca, Riva, S Vega and Seldesuto. Descriptions have been added thanks to Google Translate.
   Guy also reported the removal of obstructions in Torca de Rotura (0753) to access a couple of short pitches linking into Cueva Vallina near The Canyon. Further details will appear in due course, but a survey elevation and photos can be seen on the description page for Rotura and a Survex centre line with the connected caves here.
   A French team has also been busy in Torca XLs (0517) but they have been unable to find the draught.

O T H E R   N E W S

   Pete Smith gave a presentation on the Friday evening of a weekend of talks and activities "II Jornadas Espeleo-Cantabria" (2nd - 4th December, 2022). Vicente from the Espeleo Club Tortosa also gave a talk on explorations in Cueva Vallina. The publicity graphic for the event can be seen here and an article in the Diario Montañés.
   Andy Quin wrote on the MCP Facebook page:
   Around 50 people from 6 or so Speleo groups attended last night's event in Arredondo. Julie and I joined Pete Smith from the Matienzo Caves Project. The evening started with an inauguration of a Speleo Library in the newly refurbished 'old' school adjacent to the main venue. Following the principle of repurposing existing buildings the main venue is situated in a building originally housing the local Guardia Civil section. The building now contains a number of small but high quality cavers' type bunk rooms, bathrooms and kitchen along with the main meeting room.
    The two main talks saw Vincent from the Tortosa group giving an entertaining overview of activities in Vallina in which he highlighted the nature of positive collaborations and of course the contributions from Matienzo cavers. It appears that the camp in Vallina is a semipermanent feature and available to all who wish to help with explorations. Vincent's talk and following questions clearly highlighted the need for more work in the South Vega System.
    Following on, Pete Smith gave an excellent presentation of the recent explorations in the Matienzo area featuring the main discoveries and other areas of activity over the past few years. The main sites featured include, Vallina, Muérdago, Risco, Fridge Door, Dron, Villanueva, Sima Wendy and of course Decepción. Pete's talk was much appreciated by all in the room.
   Published on December 13th, the Federación Cántabra de Espeleología has produced a very comprehensive account of the weekend's activities including many photos. The weekend's activities included installing a "path" through Tree Gallery in Cueva Coverón (0002)
   In November, Spanish groups carried out some work in Cueva Mostajo (0071), replacing traverse ropes and putting in new anchors. This will be detailed in the Christmas / New Year update below. Also in the Christmas / New Year update, there is more information about the October visit.

C O N C L U S I O N

   This Autumn Update has significantly altered the statistics for the website and the documented holes. Apart from the 216 sites listed below, another 142 have had minor amendments.
• The number of documented sites has jumped from 5208 to 5310
• The total documented passage length has risen from 413.3km to 415km.

New surveys and survey updates
0733	Vallina	Catalanes (Vicente et al / JC - in hand). To include Rotura 0753 (GS)
0753	Torca Rotura	centre line with Vallina
1748	site SCD 2005	Complete (P&SD/GS)
3602	Orcones SCD 2034	Complete (SCD)
4296	SCD 2058	Complete (GS)
4297	SCD 2058	Complete (GS)
4371	SCD 2145 (Min)	Complete (GS)
5192	resurgence	Complete (PS)
5196	SCD 2980 Cementerio	Complete (PS)
5227	Sin Sendero	In hand (AL)
5256	SCD 2965	complete (MU)
5262	SCD 2972	complete (GS & MU)
5268	SCD 2991	complete (MU)
5274	SCD 3234	complete (MU)
5278	SCD 3296	complete (MU)
5284	SCD 3303	complete (MU)
5285	SCD 3306	complete (MU)
5303	SCD 3417	complete (MU)

The list below shows links to those 216 sites which were extended or newly discovered over the autumn visits or, outside the expedition, have had surveys, references or descriptions updated, photos or videos added, or entrances repositioned using a GPS.

Alisas 1075 shaft; 4246 Hoyón 2, Torca del; 4249 Gallinero, Torca del; 4811 Campas, Cueva de; 4814 Cerrada, Cueva; 4815 Bidón, Sumidero de; 4828 cave; 5281 shaft; 5285 resurgence;
Arredondo 0043 Escarabajo, Cueva de; 0733 Vallina, Cueva; 0752 Rotura, Hoyo de; 0753 Rotura, Torca de; 1393 Colorado 1, Cueva de; 1745 Portillejo de Tocornal, Torca de; 1747 Arroyo, Fuente del; 1748 Barro-Barro, Torca; 1749 Dioses, Cueva de los; 1752 Llaneces, Hoyo de; 1756 Fuentes; 1757 Sumidero de Fuentes; 1758 Orbitolines, Cueva de; 1759 Lledes, Hoyo de; 1820 Cisterna, Cueva de la; 1824 cave; 1945 dig / shaft; 2031 caves; 2114 cave; 2115 Camino 1988, Cueva del; 2147 shaft; 3271 Cenagosa, Cueva; 3274 LBT X, Torca; 4287 Naranjo, Cueva del; 4288 cave; 4289 cave; 4295 Tocayo, Cueva del; 4296 cave; 4297 cave; 4302 Juanjo, Torca de; 4306 cave; 4308 Curva, Cueva de la; 4312 Bani 5, Torca; 4313 Murciélago, Cueva del; 4314 shaft; 4315 shaft; 4316 Fragón, Cueva del; 4318 Ruina, Torca de la; 4320 Antena, Torca de la; 4323 Regada, Torca; 4330 sink; 4334 Gran Abrigo; 4338 Hoyo 1; 4339 Casa, Hoyo; 4345 cave; 4346 shaft; 4347 shaft; 4371 Min, Cueva de; 4372 Minimax, Torca; 4382 Vallina (bottom entrance), Cueva; 4383 Labrada (& sink), Fuente; 4808 cave; 4822 resurgence; 4834 Herrero, Hoyo de; 4840 Meses, Sumidero de; 4841 shaft; 5135 Rasa, Cueva de la (Vallina); 5194 Lleres, Cueva de; 5195 Cementerio, Cueva del; 5196 Cemeterio 2, Cueva del; 5252 Tufo, Cueva del; 5253 cave; 5254 cave; 5255 shaft; 5256 cave; 5260 cave; 5261 cave; 5263 cave; 5264 shaft; 5265 Cerezo Silvestre, Torca del; 5266 Castaños Muertos, Torca de los; 5270 shaft; 5271 cave; 5273 cave; 5274 cave; 5288 Lirón. Torca del; 5290 sink; 5293 sink; 5296 cave; 5305 shaft; 5306 shaft; 5307 Meses, Fuente; 5308 shaft; 5309 shaft;
Bustablado 0727 Molino, Cueva del; 0791 Molino, Cueva del (resurgence); 1194 Plata, Fuente de la; 1195 sink; 1196 Jaral, Cueva del; 3602 Orcones, Sumidero de; 4279 Orcones 2, Sumidero de; 4282 Manchega, Fuente; 4335 Raza, Cueva de la; 4337 cave; 4344 shaft; 4352 Garganta, Cueva de la; 4355 cave; 4362 Hoya, Torca de la; 4365 shaft; 4374 Vecina Molino, Cueva; 4375 cave; 4376 Vecina Molino 2, Cueva; 4380 shaft; 4381 cave; 4825 shaft; 4830 cave; 5228 cave; 5229 cave; 5230 Cubillo; 5231 Morgue, Torca de la; 5232 Falla 1, Torca; 5233 Falla 2, Torca; 5234 Falla 3, Torca; 5235 cave; 5240 cave; 5241 cave; 5242 cave; 5250 Molino, Cueva del (2nd entrance, shaft); 5251 cave; 5257 shaft; 5258 shaft; 5259 cave; 5262 Corvera, Cueva de la; 5272 cave; 5284 cave; 5287 cave; 5310 Morterón de Cortizuelas;
Camposdelante 3021 Michelin, Torca de;
El Rincón 4867 resurgence;
Entrambasaguas 4098 resurgence; 5214 dig; 5215 cave;
Garma de los Trillos 4364 Asiáticas, Torca de las (LC169); 5239 Jaula, Torca de la;
Hornedo 3091 shaft;
La Azuela 4277 Colorado 2, Cueva de; 4278 Colorado 3, Cueva de; 5289 shaft; 5291 cave; 5292 sink; 5294 Bolso, Cueva del; 5295 Colorado 4, Cueva de; 5297 cave; 5298 cave; 5299 cave; 5300 Higuero, Cueva del; 5301 cave;
La Estrada (Anero) 5192 cave;
La Garma 5275 shaft;
La Gatuna 0978 cave;
Las Garma 5267 shaft; 5268 shaft; 5269 cave;
Las Piqueras 5276 shaft; 5277 shaft; 5278 shaft; 5279 shaft; 5280 shaft; 5282 shaft; 5283 shaft; 5286 shaft;
Llaneces 5193 Fuentes, Cueva de;
Monte Llusa 5029 cave; 5216 shaft; 5217 dig; 5218 cave; 5219 shaft;
Navajeda 4459 Iglesia 3, Cueva de la; 5186 shaft; 5213 cave; 5220 cave; 5221 cave; 5222 dig;
Piluca 4843 Encina, Torca de la; 5236 shaft; 5237 shaft; 5238 shaft; 5243 Sombra, Hoyo de la (a & b); 5244 shaft; 5245 Tres Cerditos, Torca; 5246 Calera, Sumidero de la; 5247 Heno, Hoyo del; 5248 Endrinos, Sumidero de los; 5249 Dos Ojos, Hoyo de los;
Riaño 1800 Fridge Door Cave; 3234 Llanío, Cueva-Cubío del; 5227 Sin Sendero, Cueva;
Riva 0517 XLs, Torca; 4666 SCDX, Torca; 5302 Solores, Fuente de; 5303 resurgence; 5304 resurgence;
S Vega 0049 Somo, Torca del; 2584 dig;
San Antonio 0713 Aguanaz, Fuente; 3014 cave; 3112 shaft; 4093 cave; 5223 shaft; 5224 cave; 5225 dig; 5226 dig;
Seldesuto 5209 shaft;
Villanueva 5210 cave; 5211 cave; 5212 cave;

Autumn report by Juan Corrin, 24th November, 4th December 2022

• autumn logbook

New information from the Autumn visit
Another set of digs and finds from the Autumn visits is included below.

W E S T   a n d    N O R T H W E S T   S E C T O R S

Navajeda
   Site 5186 was investigated down over dumped metalwork to a small chamber with the remains of two bikes - a total of 9m depth with a mixture of rock and earth walls.

San Antonio
   Five digging trips took place in Cueva CTB (site 3012) in the autumn. First the entrance had to be reached: previous slurry dumping had invigorated the plant life making for energetic access. The slurry at the entrance had degenrated to soft soil. The draughting "point-of-interest" from 2009 was enlarged and eventually through a draughting enlargement to another draughting, narrow section.
   Due to a misunderstanding, the descriptions for sites close to 3014 were mixed up in the autumn feedback. The correct descriptions have now been associated with the correct site code, (See 5223, 5224, 5225). Two other sites have also been documented close by: site 5318 and 5319 - a roomy cave ending at a boulder choke.

Cubija, Enaso and Bosmartín
   
   The new cave 5317 was surveyed for 10m.
   A team of various Spanish clubs have relined three traverses and replaced bolts in Cueva de Mostajo (0071). The details, including diagrams can be found in the Mostajo description.
   At Bosmartín, previous confusion around sites 0594 and 3479 was cleared up when both sites were seen and confirmed to be in the correct positions. Further south, exploration down a supposed 10m pitch in site 0889 was left for another time when the drop turned out to be more like 25m. The nearby 0890 was explored, surveyed and photographed, closing in at 16m depth at the base of a bouldery slope.
   To the west above Torca de la Babosa (0062), sites 1299, 1300 and 1301 had their entrances photographed as did site 1528, further out on Enaso.

N O R T H E R N   S E C T O R

Riaño
   The resurgence for the Cuvia cave (0207) has finally been given its own number (5320) and grid reference, and site 3702 moved to a more correct position.
   Some attempt was made to recover a digging tray from 4173 but the team were defeated by the undergrowth. They did find Cueva Sin Sendero (5227). See the Autumn, Riaño account.
   In early January, La Cambera bottomed a couple of sites at Cierrolinos, to the south of Monte Llusa. The shafts had been previously documented by the MCP. The holes are 5013 (LC227, called Torca de los Urodelos) and 5101, LC228, called Torca de los 5 Cráneos). A nearby hole / dig, LC229 (Torca Non Binaria, 2211) has yet to be positoned.

S O U T H E R N    S E C T O R

El Camino
   A survey of the Abrigo de la Cuevona (La Cuevona del Camino, site 0085) has been carried out putting the length of this shelter at 47m and highlighting a possible high level passage.

Alisas / Trillos
   A visit to the Trillos area with shafts down to the east from the Alto de Alisas. All were difficult to locate and none were descended. Sites 4120, 4121 and 4092 were seen as possible reasons to return to area for exploration. Site 4242 was identified as being site 4123 with the former in the wrong position.
   Two new entrances were documented at a twin shaft (5315 and 5314).

Las Calzadillas
   Site 4683 was inspected and two new, narrow, draughting slots documented: 5316 and 5317.

Moncobe
   About 100m down to the northeast from the summit at Moncobe, site 2757 was descended to find it more complex and difficult to dig than suggested by the description. Some material was removed but a bigger team with capping gear is required. New site 5312 was discovered just above.
   Back below the high level track, site 5311 was documented, a low cave that became lower and more awkward after 16m.
   To the west of El Cubillón, site 3901 was returned to and a new downward dig started at the base of the entrance slope.

South Vega   
   Below Beralta, Torca de Muérdago (2081) is now complete with survey and updated description.

New surveys and survey updates
0085	Cuevona	complete (PS)
0890	shaft	complete (PS)
2081	Muérdago	complete (SC & DA)
5317	cave	complete (PS)

O T H E R   N E W S

   More photos of the summer work at site 1390 (the twin streams sink) have been received. 
  Another agreement with the Club Montaña y Espeleología La Cambera means that we will again be sharing the exploration area Ribamontán al Monte to the south of the motorway in 2023. This area includes land to the west and southwest of Monte Llusa (Cierrolinos) and Villanueva.
   The task of updating the list of the World's Longest Caves has been taken on by Paul Burger after the death of Bob Gulden. New lengths of caves over 10km have and will be emailed to Paul for his updates. The Four Valleys System at just over 70km long is currently 45th in the world rankings and the 8th longest in Spain. (January 8th update).
   Early in January, a new way of looking at Upper Palaeolithic cave art (lines, dots and Ys - possibly a proto writing system) created a bit of a stir. The open access article from the Cambridge University Press can be seen from the MCP Facebook page or downloaded as a pdf.
   The MCP Accounts for 2022 from Susan Martin can be found here.
   A MCP pre-2023 Expeditions Meeting will be held on 18th February. Details can be found on the MCP Facebook page.

   Explorations and further work by Jess Eades and Martyn Grayson over this period will appear in a future update. (At least 0571, 0637, 1108 and 4950.)

The list below shows links to those 51 sites which were extended or newly discovered over the Christmas / New Year (and autumn) visits or, outside the expeditions, have had surveys, references or descriptions updated, photos or videos added, or entrances repositioned using a GPS.

Alisas 0637 Torete, Torca del (LC204); 4120 shaft; 4121 shaft; 4123 shaft; 4125 dig; 5313 shaft; 5314 shaft;
Bosmartín 0594 shaft; 0889 hole; 0890 cave; 3479 shaft;
Camposdelante 3021 Michelin, Torca de;
Cierrolinos 2211 No Binaria, Torca (LC229); 5013 Urodelos, Torca de (LC227); 5101 Cinco Cráneos, Torca de los (LC228);
Cubija 0071 Mostajo, Torca del;
El Camino 0085 Cuevona, Abrigo de la;
El Naso 1528 cave; 5317 cave;
La Rasa 1108 Cable, Torca del;
La Secada 1299 dig; 1300 shaft; 1301 dig;
Las Calzadillas 4436 dig; 4683 shaft; 5315 dig; 5316 dig;
Moncobe 2757 shaft; 3901 dig; 5311 cave; 5312 dig;
Navajeda 5186 shaft;
Riaño 0207 Cuvía, Cueva de la Fuente de la; 3234 Llanío, Cueva-Cubío del; 3702 dig; 4173 Shelob, Cueva; 5227 Sin Sendero, Cueva; 5320 Cuvía, Fuente de la;
S Vega 1390 dig; 2081 Muérdago, Torca del;
San Antonio 3012 CTB, Cueva; 3014 cave; 3112 shaft; 5223 shaft; 5224 cave; 5225 dig; 5226 dig; 5318 dig; 5319 cave;
Seldesuto 0571 shaft;
Trillos 4092 dig;

Xmas / New Year report by Juan Corrin, January - March 2023