Dwight Peck's personal website

Holes of the Jura, 2003-2004

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



Yep, they're all still there, and here are some new ones

The serious preliminary cataloging of Jura holes took place in 2001 and 2002, but bad habits linger on and there's no shortage of new limestone holes and chimneys in the Jura to keep folks on their toes.

Here's a nasty surprise just below the Chalet du Mont Tendre, nicely wired off, 16 November 2003.

Lest the cows fail to notice that it's there until too late.


On 14 December 2003, Dr Pirri makes his way back to the longitudinal hole near the farm of Petit Cunay.

Petit Cunay


Kristin gazing into the abyss, Bois de la Sauge, 1 January 2004


Dr Pirri finds a nice thought-provoking one alongside the trail off the NE end of Le Noirmont, 15 February 2004.

Dr Pirri? Curb your enthusiasm....


Dr Pirri dives into a little one, lost near the Cabane du Carroz, 22 February 2004


The search for Jura holes continues

Some people become obsessed with Jura holes

Like Kristin (above), come all the way from Boston, USA, to see for herself some of these famous karstic conversation-pieces. Here she's seen charging down into the Creux d'Enfer du Petit Cunay. 25 April 2004.

Newly convinced of the karstic glories of the Creux d'Enfer itself, Kristin trudges up out of the Hell Hollow to find the big thing out on the Petit Cunay meadows.

Kristin displays patience, 25 April 2004, whilst her photographer pauses for a wee and points the way forward over the horizon.

Kristin darts over the headland of Petit Cunay in a rush to see the big limestone thing out on the south side of the meadow (1522m).

Kristin, instincts for Jura holes improving with every visit, senses an anomaly and tests with a skipole before stepping forward.

Good job she did, too.

Here's the big karst thing . . . let's just lean over here for a better look down into its tenebrous depths . . .

Oops!

Once recovered from her brief gravity-driven adventure, Kristin prepares to move on down through the forest, 25 April 2004.

Not without checking out a few more nasty gateways to hell on the way back down the hill towards the car. And then back to Boston for a while.


A few more old friends

A last run round the block, May 2004, as the snow goes off to wherever it goes for the summer

Professor Pirri larking about and plunging into small holes in the landscape on the northeast side of Mont de Bière Devant, 1 May 2004. You'd think he'd know better by now.

Hobson's Choice, or "Buridain's Ass", on the northeast side of Mont de Bière Devant, 1 May 2004 -- you can go left, or you can go right, but you're still probably going to go south.

It's May 2004, lots of the snow has gone downhill. We'll check out a few of our old favorites up here in the Creux d'Enfer du Petit Cunay, 2 May 2004.

OH! A pleasant clearing, with (from this side) a nice little tree in it. OH! (from closer on) not such a nice little tree, after all.

This is the one with the bedspring thrown down in there to keep visitors out.

They're all over the place.

Nope, not this way!!!

And not this way.

A pile of big rocks near the Pré de St Livre, to keep the cows out.

The exposed hole on the southwest end of the Mont Tendre ridge, near La Pivette cabin.
15 May 2004.


The Creux d'Enfer near Grand Cunay

For the past several years we've been wandering all about the various creux d'enfer of the Jura taking wintry photographs. Let's pause for a moment and view one of the creux in summer, or near-summer, 31 May 2004, when it's not all hidden under the snow, etc.

This is the Creux d'Enfer just south of Grand Cunay and just north of the Monts de Bière. A very hobbity looking place, this is.

Hmmm..... Not so bad when the snow's gone, anyway.

Oooohhhh......

Good grief ........

This is all much less frightful looking in the winter. We'll come back when the snow's on it.

A walled enclosure, at about 1540m, about 500m due east of the farm building on top of Grand Cunay

With a big absence of Planet Earth in the middle of it

A long way down


What's next? The holes of 2005.

Dr Pirri nearly plummets out of site in the forest of Grande Rolat, January 2005. Stay tuned.


Feedback and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, . All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 23 February 2004, revised 29 September 2008, 6 February 2014.


Holes of the Jura


Very large holes