Matienzo 1982
A summary of the cave explorations which occurred in Matienzo during 1982
Wandering along magnificently stalagmited railway tunnels within easy reach of
ever-open bars had long been a way of life in Matienzo. (That's the place in northern
Spain where there's a lot of wine and no pitches according to the legends). So much for
pipe-dreams; 1981 saw the expedition run out of tackle in the newly discovered Coteron
system, with a repeat performance this year - undescended pitches all over the place and
even SRT being resorted to.
Most of the action centred upon the Seldesuto valley at the southwest end of the
Matienzo depression. Half way along this valley floor is the resurgence Comediante (site
40), behind which lies Cueva Reņada (048) discovered in 1973, an impressive 6km of
passage which in places carries the river. (The source is as yet undiscovered). At a
higher altitude is the 50m entrance shaft to Coteron (site 264) with 5 km of surveved
passage, some of which was known to overlap Reņada below. Further west along the same
hillside is Torca de La Cabaņa (site 36)- most of which lies directlv over Reņada.
Cabaņa was explored in 1974 and then largely forgotten during subsequent years in the
rush to explore the 13km Uzueka system (107) over the northern ridge. At that time this
cave was the longest in Matienzo, but its days were already numbered in this respect.
But having all this to go at wasn't enough for "Squirrel" Wood, so he walked
even higher up the (very steep) hillside and found a cave which soon became the deepest in
the valley at 263m (863ft). Scrambling down bouncing boulders led to a series of pitches
5m, 37m, 5m and 24m into an old stream passage, the only notable horizontal development in
the place. This short section was followed by a 14m damp drop and two further pitches of
60m and 39m into what appeared to be an enormous pit full of thrown-away buildings. Two
further pitches amongst chaos lead to a point close to valley floor level and to the, as
yet undiscovered, Sanatogen Passage in Cueva Reņada. Hovever by this time blackness was
beckoning in nearby Coteron and the heap of ladders was removed leaving site 333, Torca de
Azpilicueta (Ath-pilly-kwaiter - it's the name of an extinct and venomous local brew)
until 1983.
The transfer of tackle soon paid off with the discovery of a through route between Coteron
and Reņada via a lOm pitch, thus instantly creating a 13.6km system with passages still
going. On this trip John Thorp, Steve Martin and John Palmer finally made the bar after
some interesting route findings. As proof of the connection they produced an old diving
flipper abandoned on a ledge several years ago during a Reņada pushing trip and amazed
the locals by drinking champagne from it. To ease the new desperate tackle shortage, Lank
Mills and John Yeadon emerged from retirement and managed to find a by-pass to the only
pitch in Reņada; they also entered the aforementioned Sanatogen passage which, as well as
joining with Axpilicueta, could conceivably join with Reņada II beyond the sump.
Attention then centred upon Bootlace Passage and a black tunnel on the wrong side of a pit
in Reņada. Steve and Phil Papard set off to explore and after some difficult aerobatics
came back with tales of a 500m stampede. It should be explained that in Matienzo, the mere
discovery of caves is not regarded as proof of anything, you have to survey the things as
well - thus it was immediately perceived that Reņada was about to join up with Coteron
again, which it soon did, creating a 4km underground through-trip. And, of course, leaving
lots more to explore some other time.
Meanwhile, in Torca de La Cabaņa, plenty of effort was going into the re-exploration of
the place and in seeking yet another link up in what had now become the local equivalent
of the West Kingsdale System. Cabaņa consists of an open shaft of 27m followed by an
irritatingly awkward 38m pitch to a 8m drop and a superb 40m pitch into the usual vast
tunnel. The explorer descends through the roof of the main passage amongst battalions of
10m stalactites. Various new sections were explored, but a connection with the
Coteron-Reņada System has yet to be found. This was the nearest thing to a disappointment
which occured after the discovery of a total of 7km of new passage, the linking of two
major caves and the establishing of new local depth and length records.
As is usual in Matienzo, the weather was indifferent, quite the opposite of the warmth and
hospitality extended to the expedition by our many friends amongst the people of the
valley. Our thanks once again to our man on the spot, Pete Smith, and to the people of
Matienzo for ensuring that the expedition was a success both socially and speleologically.
amended from an original article in Caves & Caving 18 by Frank
Addis
References: All references up to 1981 are listed in BCRA transactions No. 8, vol.2.
Additional references: Caves & Caving, No.14 and MUSS Journal No.10.