It was Winter 2019! The Kandersteg International Scout Centre had long discarded caving as an evening activity for guests... Yet, three shorties accompanied by another, very patient, pinkie decided to explore this cave on a beautiful night of February.
After the amazing experience, they decided to share this place with other adventurous people who may want to explore the beauty of Winter in the Bernese Oberland, by making one of the few caches in town that you can actually find during the Cold Season.
About the Cave:
The Mamilchhöhle (also called Mamilchloch) is situated on a hill behind of Waldhotel Doldenhorn. It goes a few hundred meters into the mountain and it’s the ideal location to have your first caving experience.
Being known by locals for quite some time, the name and current geological composition of the cave suggest it was once used for extraction of Moonmilk, a white, creamy substance found inside limestone caves and used for a variety of purposes, including medicine.
Getting moonmilk from a cave required a two-man, two-day effort and attention to details such as the phase of the Moon, as it was said that our satellite deposited moonmilk in a cave only during the three days of Full Moon. The etymology of ‘Mamilch’ has two possible origins: either it comes from the mispronounciation of ‘Mondmilch’ (moonmilk, in German) or from a deviation of ‘Mannmilch’ (man’s milk), explained by the belief that little men worked in the caves to make sure the moonmilk was prepared to be collected.
Either way, the cave has been vastly explored throughout the years, with people going 200m into the cave to find a strong waterfall and a lake, as reported by the newspaper L’Impartial back in 1906.
The Cache:
The cache consists in a medium container with a lot of scout items available to trade, and it is hidden at the start of the underground corridors.
To access it, head to the first waypoint (where you can park your vehicle) and then start going behind the hotel. At a certain point, there’s a small rope to help you get to the entrance.
Despite being in the very beginning, you should still bring a helmet and old clothes if you’re going to look for it.
After finding the cache, there’s a lot more you can explore (and in Winter you can actually go further than during Summer), but be careful where you’re stepping at all times and don’t trust the ropes or ladders left behind with your life. Those are very old and may not be able to support your weight anymore. That being said, always follow the CITO rule (Cash In, Trash Out) and enjoy Mother Nature’s Work of Art.
