Vacska Cave

Vacska Cave is the largest section of the Ariadne cave system, which once alone was longer than the other five caves belonging to the system combined. The deepest and highest points of the cave system are located here. This cave contains the largest chambers and stalactites of the Danube‑Lowland region. Its length is 7400 m.

Description

It is located in the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in the area of Pilisszentlélek. Its entrance is on the steep slope of the Csévi ridges above Klastrompuszta in the Pilis Mountains, at an altitude of 459 m above sea level. It received its name from the wildcat that helped locate the cave.

Exploration History

The cave entrance was discovered in 1999 by members of the Ariadne Karst and Cave Exploration Association following a wildcat, but the further exploration of the 13‑metre cave only began in the summer of 2007 together with the St. Emeric Cave Exploration Association. In June 2008 the two smallest explorers succeeded in squeezing into the cave’s first larger chamber, the Rose Hall (“the patience Rose Hall”). Essentially the first, almost one‑kilometre section of the cave was explored, up to the 85‑metre‑deep Lush Canyon and the Nagykőháti Hall, which at that time was the largest known chamber in the Pilis. From then on the exploration proceeded for two years at a speed that surpassed all expectations.

On August 2 the nearest endpoints of the Secret Passage Cave and Vacska Cave were located, allowing the three‑metre‑long solid clay fill to be breached. With this, the length of the Vacska–Secret Passage cave system exceeded one kilometre.

In October it was possible to get through the Main Draft Pipe 40 metre long, airy shaft, behind which the passages of the Endless Abyss stretched for almost one kilometre. On 11 January 2009, under the low point called the Lóz Canyon, after removing the clay fill, a 60‑metre deep pit series requiring rope techniques was uncovered, bringing the cave depth to 130 metres. Later the siphon was excavated here.

On 8 March, beyond the Slide Wall, following the main draft as well as the bat markings, a hall 10 metres wide, 15 metres high and 50 metres long was revealed, which was named the Milepost Hall. From the hall, almost two kilometres of passages were traversed without branching, discovering a whole series of similarly large chambers. These are currently the largest cave chambers in the Pilis. In summer the siphon was spontaneously swum through, which began as a filming attempt but ultimately became the third free‑airway siphon swim in the history of Hungarian speleology that led into an unknown siphon. Unfortunately, no significant new passage was discovered beyond the siphon.

On 12 December 2010, after great effort, the Vacska–Hideaway Path cave system was linked with the Lad–Girl–Ariadne cave system, thereby forming the Ariadne cave system. The longest part of the system was the Vacska Cave with its then approximately six‑kilometre length. Still at the end of December of that year, beyond the Secret Passage of Hell, at the terminal point leading towards the Gift Cave, significant progress was made by exploring the Wolf Chamber. In the summer of 2012, at the end of the T‑branch, the narrow passage was excavated, allowing passage through where the notable 150‑metre long FiFa branch, known for its special formations, was revealed.