Raggejavreraige
Encyclopedia
Raggejavreraige is a cave
located above the Hellemofjord (Tysfjord
, Nordland) in northern Norway
. It is the deepest cave in Scandinavia
and the only known deep cave north of the Arctic Circle
.
. Within the impermeable rock are three two-dimensional stripes of marble that run from the top of the plateau to below sea level (the fjord is 450 metres deep), and continue on the other side. Raggejavreraige is located on the south side of the fjord within the westernmost stripe. In places the cave occupies the entire width of the marble, which does not exceed 30 metres.
Road access ends at the Arctic village of Drag (via Bodø
), from which scheduled boat service is taken to the settlement of Musken
. Accommodation at the local school and arrangements for trailhead drop-off and pickup by motor-boat can be arranged here. A stiff hike on a good trail gains 600 metres of elevation to the upper entrance area.
RJR’s dominant feature is the 152 metre Storstupet (“Big Shaft”). All of the water falls down a parallel shaft only a few metres away; the Ulvgangen (“Wolf Walk”) traverse across the cascades at the mouth of this wet shaft to the dry Storstupet. A pulldown descent of Storstupet is complicated by its low angle (about 80 degrees), and many teams prefer to detackle this pitch
from above. Halfway down Storstupet is a window connecting back with the wet shaft, so descending cavers can enjoy all of the sound and fury of the wet shaft in relative comfort. All of the water from the parallel shaft sinks into the floor at its bottom, and is not seen again in the cave.
RJR’s other major shaft is the impressive, 100 metres Litlestupet (Little Shaft), reduced to 30 metres by a partial bypass known as Knivgangen (Razor Passage). Unlike Storstupet, Litlestupet is dry, quiet and free-hanging.
As there are three entrances, cavers conducting a through-trip from the upper entrance at 582 metres above sealevel can exit the Mistral exit (80 metres above sea level) or the lowest exit (in a cliff a mere 3 metres above sealevel).
Doubts about the accuracy of the cave survey
(stated depth was anywhere between 575 metres and 630 metres) led to a resurvey of most of the cave by Stein-Eric Lauritzen and others in 1991, which corrected the depth of the cave to 580 metres (entrances at 582 metres, 80 metres and 3 metres above sea level, with the low point of the survey at 2 metres above sea level). The cave is known to resurge below sea level.
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
located above the Hellemofjord (Tysfjord
Tysfjord
Tysfjord or Divtasvuodna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Ofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kjøpsvik...
, Nordland) in northern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. It is the deepest cave in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and the only known deep cave north of the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
.
Regional Setting
Generally the area is a vast plateau exceeding 700 metres elevation above sea level that is incised by a steep-walled fjordFjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
. Within the impermeable rock are three two-dimensional stripes of marble that run from the top of the plateau to below sea level (the fjord is 450 metres deep), and continue on the other side. Raggejavreraige is located on the south side of the fjord within the westernmost stripe. In places the cave occupies the entire width of the marble, which does not exceed 30 metres.
Road access ends at the Arctic village of Drag (via Bodø
Bodø
is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...
), from which scheduled boat service is taken to the settlement of Musken
Musken
Måsske/Musken lies halfway along the long and small Hellmofjorden, part of Tysfjorden. The village is not far from Hellemobotn, in Finnmark, where Norway is at its narrowest. From Hellemobotn, it is just six kilometres from Sweden....
. Accommodation at the local school and arrangements for trailhead drop-off and pickup by motor-boat can be arranged here. A stiff hike on a good trail gains 600 metres of elevation to the upper entrance area.
Cave Description
Surface water atop the plateau sinks where it encounters the marble, but the accessible entrance to “RJR” is some 100 metres away, a short distance above the shallow valley floor. This entrance is not particularly distinctive, but it’s strong, inward draught erases any doubt as to its identity. The cave consists of about 2 kilometres of passages that alternate between steep rifts or shafts and horizontal or low-slope passages.RJR’s dominant feature is the 152 metre Storstupet (“Big Shaft”). All of the water falls down a parallel shaft only a few metres away; the Ulvgangen (“Wolf Walk”) traverse across the cascades at the mouth of this wet shaft to the dry Storstupet. A pulldown descent of Storstupet is complicated by its low angle (about 80 degrees), and many teams prefer to detackle this pitch
Pitch (vertical space)
-Climbing:In rock climbing and ice climbing, a pitch is a steep section of a route that requires a rope between two belays, as part of a climbing system...
from above. Halfway down Storstupet is a window connecting back with the wet shaft, so descending cavers can enjoy all of the sound and fury of the wet shaft in relative comfort. All of the water from the parallel shaft sinks into the floor at its bottom, and is not seen again in the cave.
RJR’s other major shaft is the impressive, 100 metres Litlestupet (Little Shaft), reduced to 30 metres by a partial bypass known as Knivgangen (Razor Passage). Unlike Storstupet, Litlestupet is dry, quiet and free-hanging.
As there are three entrances, cavers conducting a through-trip from the upper entrance at 582 metres above sealevel can exit the Mistral exit (80 metres above sea level) or the lowest exit (in a cliff a mere 3 metres above sealevel).
Exploration
Norwegian geologist Steinar Foslie visited the RJR area in the late 1930s, and noted the presence of sinking streams resurging at sea level. In 1968 British caver David Heap of the Kendal Cave Club and Ulv Holbye (after whom Ulvgangen is named) led a school party to about –180 m partway down Storstupet, which was descended the next year by a KCC party on winch, completing exploration of most of the cave and exiting via the middle entrance. The connection between the two lower entrances was made by a British team in 1979.Doubts about the accuracy of the cave survey
Cave survey
A cave survey is a map of all or part of a cave system, which may be produced to meet differing standards of accuracy depending on the cave conditions and equipment available underground. Cave surveying and cartography, i.e. the creation of an accurate, detailed map, is one of the most common...
(stated depth was anywhere between 575 metres and 630 metres) led to a resurvey of most of the cave by Stein-Eric Lauritzen and others in 1991, which corrected the depth of the cave to 580 metres (entrances at 582 metres, 80 metres and 3 metres above sea level, with the low point of the survey at 2 metres above sea level). The cave is known to resurge below sea level.