Plaine Morte glacier - the voyage within

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 www.avocado360.com
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