Debutant caving – Doubs
Ornans is a nice base for caving, and when you want to come out into the sunshine there are two Via Ferratas close by, as well as hiking and climbing. For children wanting to do some climbing, the crag at Pontarlier is hard to beat. We’ve also stayed in Maiche which is a good base for exploring the eastern part of the departement.
There are two good complimentary guidebooks: Topo Speleo les Belles du Doubs, Tome 1 & 2, and also “Mes premiers petits pas sous-terre dans le Doubs”, although the caves in the last one are very short.
Grotte des Faux Monnayeurs
Nice cave with the possibility of leaving the cave by a 35m abseil from an opening high in the cliff above the cave. Straightforward access, about 400m into the cave there is a deep pool. I waded across this but beyond there was another pool with limited headspace. It had been quite wet, perhaps after dry weather it would be possible to go further.
GPX trace of the route to the cave
Grotte des Cavottes
This is a good cave for older children, much used by the local guides. In fact there is a fence around the cave with a locked gate. It wouldn’t be hard to climb over the gate. There are small passageways (not really small), pitches and traverses. The cave is completely dry and not cold. Here are my notes on the equipment recommended in the guidebook:
| Pitch | Equipment notes |
| Sortie diaclase Duret | Nothing needed, ladder in place |
| Faux-Pas | P-hangers, 5 maillons and sling for chock-stone |
| R7 | P-hangers, 25m rope and 6 maillons |
| P7 (salle terminale) | Spits only |
| P20 = boite aux lettres | P-hangers |
On your way out you can use a zipline to traverse the Salle de Chaos, take a Petzl Speed Tandem Pulley.
The cave is in the small wood a few steps from the parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/t4KzamG2hA74KLAN6
Gouffre du Creux Serré
This was our children’s first SRT cave. First note that it is not the obvious shakehole that you find when following the path. In fact it is about 50m below the path on the right side. For the descent of the first pitch by SRT there are a pair of spits low down, below the main ledge, from which you can rig a free hang. We didn’t descend the P12, the access to it was quite tight although Julie wriggled through happily enough.
GPX trace of the route to the cave
Grotte du Moulin des Isles
Good fun but best with a wetsuit. We had shortie wetsuits under our regular caving gear and it was OK. Be sure to turn down the hill at the fence, the cave entrance is at the foot of the small cliff.
GPX trace of the route to the cave
Grotte du Château (Les Terres-de-Chaux)
Not to be confused with the Grotte du Château de la Roche, which is a wetter cave in the same region. Great cave with a bit of everything, but the description in the Doubs guidebook was a bit sparse which I will try to improve on by describing the route of the round trip, in by the large porch and out by a 20m abseil.
Park on the road and walk down to the pumping station described in the guidebook, then follow the stream uphill for a short distance to arrive at the foot of the cliff with an obvious porch where a ladder gives access to the cave. 25m from the entrance, turn right down a rift with some constricted sections that leads to a twisting passageway with some pretties. Soon you come to the first obstacle the “etroiture en colimaçon”, or twisting squeeze. Awkward but not truly tight.
A bit further on you arrive at the next obstacle, a duck. We found that a handy bucket was provided which we used to bail out several centimeters before attempting it. Apparently in wet weather it can become a sump. Just beyond the duck, take a low crawl on the right to arrive in a small chamber. On the right a passage leads downwards, probably to “Siphon 2” but we didn’t go far enough to find out. In the other direction a scramble up leads through more turns to a small chamber with a slippery 8m climb up on the left with a knotted rope in place. For the children we rigged a belay at the top from a natural thread. Then it was down and to the right, some more turns and to a place where the passageway split and rejoined after about 10m. This is the start of the Galerie Superieure. Initially walking, later stooping and then plenty of crawling leads without any junctions to an exit 20m up a cliff. Some in-situ rings and a glued in hanger permit a pull through abseil to the ground, needing 50m of rope (40m is probably just about enough). Take a couple of hangers to rig a traverse line to the pitch head.
GPX trace of the route from the surfaced road to the cave
La Crochère
The hardest thing about this cave is finding it, the coordinates in the guidebook are wrong, and description unhelpful. I recommend parking at “Salle La Crochère” and walking up past the football pitch until you see a “19 tons” weight limit sign, just past a small chalet. Then head right into the quarry, but make sure you find the correct concrete house, the wrong one leads to a much smaller cave!
Parking at: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hC1JHf6RhrnCYaVM7
We only went as far as the cascade, which had an in-situ SRT rope rigged. The climb is not so difficult but should be protected with a jammer on the SRT rope at least. If using SRT then be warned that for children the pitch head is not particularly easy, but it would make a good ladder pitch. It would be enough to put a short ladder down to make the top of the climb easier.