Plaine Morte glacier – the voyage within

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The entry. The moulin is still free of snow. ©avocado360

After abseiling for about 50 metres, we hit snowy ground. Now we enter darkness. ©avocado360

Abseiling into the moulin. In summertime, a waterfall thunders down here. ©avocado360

Farther down, the snow almost prevents us from continuing. We need to do some digging. ©avocado360

Through a small hole, we finally reach a horizontal gallery. At the beginning, walking upright is still possible. ©avocado360

But soon, we have to revert to crawling on all fours on the ice. ©avocado360

It’s pitch dark. It is a comfortable 0 degrees. Cave researcher Frédéric Bétrisey explores the way ahead. ©avocado360

The corridors are filled with a snow-water mix, which is still liquid in autumn. We crawl underneath it. ©avocado360

Base camp on the glacier. It’s significantly colder here than inside the caves. Minus 25 degrees. ©avocado360

Strategy consulting in the kitchen igloo. Will we be able to find the drain? ©avocado360

The gorge in the ice. This is where the lake basin drains and where the water has cut deeply into the ice. We assume the drain to be at the end, however, it is covered in snow. ©avocado360

We find another hole in the gorge. Is this leading anywhere? ©avocado360

Indeed – the snow that fell at the beginning of winter did not block the hole entirely. ©avocado360

A dark shaft leads into darkness. ©avocado360

Suddenly, we see light coming in from above. We assume that we are inside a covered moulin. ©avocado360

We have reached the water. We carefully move along the ice. Ice floes are swimming in the corridor. ©avocado360

The faint source of light is above us. The ceiling does not seem to be solid. The corridors disappear in the water. ©avocado360

The team. ©avocado360

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