Shadows Under the Snow
April 19, 2005 10:40 AM   Subscribe

The Jura's made of karst limestone and, in many places, riddled with holes. Luckily, hidden holes that surprise hikers are tucked away in the dark forests -- on the open pastures, where cows of economic value wander all about, there are far fewer holes, and those holes that remain are curtained all about with barbed wire and, sometimes, stone walls.
posted by breezeway (22 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
What is this, a travelog post? Well, I can offer that I first learned to cross-country ski in the Jura. Now what?
posted by ParisParamus at 10:53 AM on April 19, 2005


As a vegetarian I refuse to have anything to do with limestone.
posted by seanyboy at 10:55 AM on April 19, 2005


Is the travelog question a crack, or are you really asking someone to spare you the trouble of clicking the links, PP? I'm just curious.
posted by breezeway at 11:03 AM on April 19, 2005


Also, I really loved the Jura, but lamented how deforested it seemed to be. On the other hand, seemingly deep in the forest, we skied by this kind of rustic lodge that served food, and in which one could even sleep overnight.
posted by ParisParamus at 11:12 AM on April 19, 2005


Geez. You really think I'm a troll--very sad of you.

I don't understand what kind of discussion the poster envisions developing. Shall we discuss conte cheese? SNCF discounts to the region? What?
posted by ParisParamus at 11:15 AM on April 19, 2005


I love caves and mountains! This spring break, I got to spend the better part of a day exploring Fitton cave in Arkansas with my dad and some of his students (Dad's a geologist), and last summer I got away from my undergrad research servitude long enoug to hike/climb 14ers in Colorado for 10 days. After reading through the links and doing a little googling of my own, I would jump at a chance to explore the Jura. Karst cave formations are beautiful, and the plethora of holes in the Jura along with the mountains makes the place fantastically cool in my book.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 11:27 AM on April 19, 2005


Paris: I don't understand what kind of discussion the poster envisions developing.

Don't bother posting then. You're coming across as snide.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 11:31 AM on April 19, 2005


PP, I said I was just curious. I meant it. I know you're a troll, but I didn't assume you'd come here to troll. I really just wondered if you were being inexplicably sarcastic or inexplicably inquisitive.

I figured a few people might like this. The author and his friends are particularly interesting, and Mr. Peck is an expert on Jura holes. Is it still a travelog if you've lived somewhere for 27 years?

As far as discussion is concerned, suit yourself. My posts rarely garner much discussion. They tend to be of limited interest to the MeFi general population. Often, though, someone happens by with something quite interesting to add.

Thanks for passing through.
posted by breezeway at 11:32 AM on April 19, 2005


I liked it. "Drs Pirri and Peck falling into small holes."
I'd rather see something new than read another political flame war.
posted by D.C. at 11:33 AM on April 19, 2005


Holes in the ground are cool. Nice post, thanks :) (And I'm not being snarky...I really like holes in the ground.)
posted by bwilliams at 12:03 PM on April 19, 2005


I went through the entire series of Dr Pirri falling in various holes, it's cute :)
thanks
posted by infini at 12:18 PM on April 19, 2005


Geez. You really think I'm a troll--very sad of you.

Well, it's like the story of Pavlov's dog, really.
posted by clevershark at 12:19 PM on April 19, 2005


Maybe PP is voicing his frustration with the fact that the website referenced is a maddeningly childish and inarticulate, uninformative catalogue of washed out pictures of snow-filled depressions in the ground.

The topic itself seems interesting enough, but I just found I had wasted ten minutes looking for some more scientific explanation and review of these things, how deep, history of fatalities, etc. I mean, christ, a year doesn't pass without word of someone falling into a tree well and dying here in Oregon. Are these things underground caves? Sinkholes sixty feet deep?

Maybe I just didn't see it.
posted by docpops at 12:36 PM on April 19, 2005


Childish? Inarticulate? Uninformative? Maybe you just didn't read it.

For a supplementary scientific explanation, follow the second link in the post. It's there for you.

You want me to tell you about sinkholes in Oregon? That's not what this post is about, doc.

Give me a good reason why I should tailor my posts to your tastes. And tell me about it on MeTa, not here. If it isn't worth a callout there, move along.
posted by breezeway at 12:58 PM on April 19, 2005


Give me a good reason why I should tailor my posts to your tastes.

You shouldn't breezeway. I was remarking that the website was irritatingly devoid of information, for all its pictures. I tried hard. I did read the second link, but again, not much to chew on. I did go find this, though, and am the wiser for it, so thanks.

Sorry if this seemed like a call-out. There's a perennial MeFi debate about the utility of multi v. uni-linked posts, and the opinions are obviously varied, but this FPP illustrates why I don't care for the more logorrheic version.
posted by docpops at 1:18 PM on April 19, 2005


These guys are seriously bored.
posted by uni verse at 1:28 PM on April 19, 2005


I see Paris' point.

Heh. That was a really boring website. For a second there I thought it was going to be something like, oil drilling results in destabilization of lime shelf, causing massive sinkholes. But then...it was just some old guy in snow shoes up to his knees in a little hole in the ground.

Best of the web?

meh.

I would have made it:

Sink holes? Sink holes!
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:45 PM on April 19, 2005


I avoided the About link when I wrote my FPP because of popups and similar annoyances. I realize it is more informative than the science link I did post, but I hate having my browser taken over by junk.

What you wrote didn't just seem like a call-out, doc. I'm not hypersensitive, I'm just reading your words: a description of how bad my links were, followed by a lament for what you felt was lacking.

It's discouraging. Particularly when my posts are as innocuous as they are. I make them that way on purpose to avoid just this sort of situation: I think you're wrong, but I don't want an argument. We're on the internet, so one will likely ensue, no matter how we try to avoid it.

It all boils down to this. I really like this website, and it's about something I never heard of before. I bet there are other people out there like me who might like this website, and learn something.

There isn't a perennial MeFi debate on the multi- vs. uni-link conundrum. There is a perennial MeTa debate on it.

And I have a solution:

If you come across a post you think is missing something, and it's worth your time, add what is missing, be it a link, a comment, a picture. If you don't think it's worth your time...

It's not worth your time.
posted by breezeway at 1:49 PM on April 19, 2005


Well put.
posted by docpops at 2:27 PM on April 19, 2005


I love me some holes in the ground. Nothing gets my blood pumping like Karst. And when they say "bowels of the Earth" they're not kidding. some of the deepest caves in europe are in Switzerland. I've got a good friend who moved there for the caving 6 years ago, and she's happy as a clam. You gotta be strong and tough to do those caves, and you need rope. Lotsa rope.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:20 PM on April 19, 2005


Cool stuff. I can never get enough pictures of caves and sink holes. It's like tornado footage.
posted by Toecutter at 5:36 PM on April 19, 2005


I enjoyed seeing all the holes and found most of the captioning to be rather charming. I really wanted them to go into the holes, however. Like, I really want to go climb down that national natural monument one. It sounds as cool as the giant ice cave near Salzburg (no pun intended).
posted by ddf at 8:22 PM on April 19, 2005


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