1332: Juan Lombrero, Cueva de
S Vega 30T 450616 4795062 (Datum: ETRS89. Accuracy code: G) Altitude 379m
Length 1533m Depth 195m
Area position : Logbook search

Updated 19th February,18th April 1999, 6th December 1999; 14th May 2000; 3rd June 2000; 21st January, 3rd May 2001; 20th May 2006; 7th May 2007; 6th January, 23rd June 2011; 1st July 2018

An opening at the back of a depression. Climb down to the entrance (which can draught out very strongly) where a steep descent on boulders leads to a low, wide passage to a 2m drop into a chamber. A drop on the right of the southern passage leads to draughting sandy crawls. This was enlarged in 2006 but the draughting way on can be seen too small for 3m.

The Pedro's Pot area was pushed during Easter 2007 to p16 and a p25 ending at a rift. (The survey may now be a little suspect around the main chamber area as there appear to be different views about the size of the main chamber - see sketch and survey).

A small hole leads down into the second chamber. At the bottom several holes draught in but are all too tight.

A too-tight rift has been enlarged and very tight squeeze passed into the side of a pitch, 25m above the floor. Climbing up reaches some rock spikes and an eyehole back into the chamber. Dropping down passes a passage 7m above the floor and at the base there is a hole which needs enlarging to give access to the top of a 25m pitch.

A climb up to the left of the enlarged rift enters passage to a 15m pitch which draughts from a narrow slot at the base. A hading rift enters 8m down. At the pitch there is a route back into the first chamber. The cave was pushed for another 800m in the summer of 1999 and the above description needs tidying up and rewriting.

At the eastern end of the large passage below the second pitch a crawl leads to a 20m pitch dropping into a chamber, Down Under. This slopes down to a huge block, Australia, where a 42m pitch, rigged off the block and a deviation 3m down drops into a chamber about 30m high. At the lowest end routes down in a choke may be close to Breakdown Chamber in Reñada (site 0048), but no way through can be found.

In Down Under, a traverse to the right leads to climbs up a bouldery ramp ending at a large choke. Routes to the left and right (draughting) could perhaps be pushed further.

At Easter 2000, various extensions were made from Hammerless Pot, but not surveyed.

At Easter 2001, at the western end of the cave was pushed, near the start of the final chamber, down a 126m broken pitch. The drop can be broken into stages of 13, 12, 30 (landing on a drippy ledge with a rebelay under a small chokestone), 26 (to another ledge with an aven inlet), 6, 18, a free-climb of about 15m and a handline climb of 7m. At the base the water entered a tight 3m high rift which could be seen to enlarge but becomes smaller again.
At the top of the 126m pitch, the passage heads east into the Good Friday the 13th Extensions. These are entered via a traverse from a 10m pit. The passage is varied going over some undescended holes and muddy climbs to a small phreatic "Sanatogen-type" passage. This ends up splitting 3 ways: the left nips in, the right seems to leads back in an awkward return loop and straight ahead leads to a draughty, sandy floored chamber. This was excavated and passage entered that required digging in 2 more places until Stop and Go Series finally ended at a bedding some 5 or 6cm high. This would appear to be very close to Hammered and Hidden Holes.

A hydrology diagram for the South Vega System can be seen here.

Reference: anon., 1998d (logbook); anon., 1998c (Christmas logbook); anon., 1999a (Easter logbook); anon., 1999c (logbook); Corrin Juan, 2000 (survey); anon., 2000b (Easter logbook); anon., 2001a (Easter logbook); Corrin Juan, 2003a; anon., 2006b (Easter logbook); anon., 2007b (Easter logbook); Corrin Juan, 2007a; León García José, 2010 (Volume 1 and Volume 2) (line survey and photo)
Entrance picture: top of entrance   down entrance climb 1  2
Underground picture(s): hammering through  maypole  entrance slope  lined climb
base of second pitch  chamber base second pitch   first chamber   ladder up
top first pitch   deviation first pitch   top second pitch   deviation second pitch
near head third pitch   chamber base second pitch
Detailed survey: Easter 2007 pdf (Scan for 07 batchesEaster 2006 pdf   1:1000 (Easter 2001)  1999   original
Line survey:
On area survey:
Survex file: download 3d file (Easter 2007) (Amended magnetic declination December 2013 to align with Eur79 grid and coordinates altered to fit ETRS89 datum, April 2014.)
Passage direction rose diagram: 1/7/2018

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