Dwight Peck's personal website

Holes of the Jura

The Winter Sport for all members of the family
(except the small ones)


The Swiss Jura is made largely of karst limestone and in many places has washed out in dark holes and chimneys small, medium-sized, and frequently gigantic. There's great sport to be had in seeking them out in the snow, darting up close for a snapshot, and backpedaling frantically, giggling in triumph.

Since the Dawn of the Century, we've been stumbling all about in the forests of the Jura on snowshoes, looking for these things and trying to talk Dr Joe into plummeting down into some of them and waving cheerily back up at us for the perfect photograph. Our luck is holding so far.

Scientific and philosophical introduction

The lads resisting gravity as best they can, January 2002

Bedsprings to keep the cows out, Creux d'Enfer, February 2002

Dr Joe surveying the depths near Grand Cunay, February 2002

Dr Joe and hors de serie holes of spring 2002

Dr Joe and a new crop of Jura holes, spring 2003

Dr Joe achieving penetration, February 2004

Kristin scrambling back out again, April 2004

Kristin measuring the depth of a near miss, Dec. 2005

Dr Joe peering into the Underworld, January 2006

Holes in the forest of Grand Rolat, spring 2007

The Creux d'Enfer near Grand Cunay, June 2008

Autumn hikes, 2011 Winter 2012-2013
Winter 2013-2014 Revisiting old favorites, 10 June 2018

Very Big Holes in the Jura

La Glacière above St George

The Grande Baume du Pré d'Aubonne

The Glacière de St-Livres

The Glacière de Petit Cunay

Grotte à Chenuz

Grand Cunay

Holes of the Jura

Introduction and scientific background

Drs Pirri and Peck falling into small holes

The search for more holes, Swiss Jura, spring 2002

The search for more holes: Grand Cunay, a real biggy

The search for more holes 2002 & hors de série holes

Some Jura holes try to swallow Dr Pirri, spring 2003

Limestone holes yawning before us, winter 2003-4

A few extremely interesting holes, winter/spring 2006

A hole in the forest of Grande Rolat, spring 2007

The Creux d'Enfer near Grand Cunay, June 2008

Autumn 2011 Winter 2012-13 Winter 2013-14

Very big holes: St George, Pré d'Aubonne, St-Livres, Petit Cunay, Grand Cunay, Chenuz, Grottes de Vallorbe, Naye

Dr Joe on the point of disappearing into a lovely great hole in the forest of Grande Rolat, February 2005.

The Grottes de Naye

And the famous Grottes de Vallorbe


Feedback and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, . All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 25 January 2002, last revised 10 June 2018.


Holes of the Jura


Very large holes