Huta-6 cave
Upper Galilee
The stalactites of
the “Main Hall”
The route type:
Rappelling into a deep vertical natural shaft
leading to a stalactite cave.
All anchors on the
edge of the shaft are reliable Glue-in bolts. *
Very important! There is no other way to get out from the
cave but to climb up the rope with jumars!
Don’t rely on prusik knots because ropes get muddy and slippery inside
the cave.
Getting there:
Drive east on the road number 85, pass Karmiel and at Rame junction turn
left to road 864 (to Pkiin and Beit
Jan). Drive 5.2km on the road 864 and turn right to a road leading to the druze village Beit
Jan (“Bayt Jan” on Google Maps).
Immediately beyond the main gate of the
village take the left branch at a road fork. From this point the road is marked
with black “trail marks”. Drive till a T-junction, turn right (black and red
marks) and immediately after that turn left (green marks). Follow the road
marked with green marks till outskirts of the village and park your car near
the last houses.
The green marks will lead you to the very
proximity to the cave.
Follow a secondary road that gradually
degrades and finishes of as a trail after 1.3km. Follow the trail for some
150-200m till a point where a side trail marked with “transparent” marks (two
white bars with nothing between) branches left from the main green trail.
Follow the “transparent” marks for some 300m and you are here…
The shaft of the cave is almost invisible
till the very edge so the warning sign placed here seems to be not out of
place.
GPS coordinate of the cave:
32º58'37.4''N; 35º21'12.5''E.
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Site description:
The rappelling station: there is number of prearranged rappelling anchors
(chemical bolts) at the edge of the shaft.
The shaft is 25m deep and it ends in the
“Main Hall” - a spacious underground chamber sheltering some beautiful
stalactites.
The floor of the “Main Hall” is inclined
and the slope is very slippery, so be careful!
To get to the stalactites keep left as
you are descending through the “Main Hall”.
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The shaft is almost invisible… |
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The main shaft |
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Rappelling into the main shaft |
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Rappelling into the main shaft |
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The stalactites of the “Main Hall” |
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The stalactites of the “Main Hall” |
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Instead, if you want to get to lower
levels of the cave keep right as you are descending through the “Main Hall”.
You will reach some wide hole. Rappel for
about
You can build (and I would recommend it)
an intermediate rappelling station on the edge of the last 10m-deep descent. At
least 2.5m long rope is needed.
After enjoying delicious works of
underground art most non-cavers would prefer to climb back to the daylight.
Important: Bear in mind that there are no bolts inside the
cave! If you haven’t a rope long enough to get from the surface to the lower
chambers you must be able to build rappelling stations on natural features. If
you have a 75m rope you can rappel all the way through the cave till the
“Museum” floor but even so it is highly recommended to build at least one
intermediate station in order to reduce “yoyo”-effect while climbing up with jumars!
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An enigmatic warning sign inside the cave: “Ascending
only!”… h'm… |
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Getting into the intermediate chamber |
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A shitty sculptural composition. The best one! |
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“Jumaring” up the main shaft |
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For precise topo
maps of the cave refer to “Sarma” web site:
http://www.sarma.co.il/forums/content.php?221-Пкиин-Пещера-Гута-6
***** - The only one of its kind. A "must
do" trip!
****
- Very interesting, highly recommended!
***
- Pretty nice route.
**
- Inexpressive one.
*
- Do it if you have nothing to do...