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< title > 1623/204 -- Razordance and beyond the sump< / title >
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< tr > < th id = "kat_no" > 204< / th > < th id = "name" > Steinbrü ckenhö hle< / th > < th
id="status">5/S x< / th > < / tr >
< / table >
< h1 > Razordance and beyond the sump< / h1 >
< h3 > < a id = "razor" > Razordance< / a > < / h3 >
< p > At the bottom of the 47m pitch, a merry little stream is reached (similar
volume of water to the Top Camp waterhole in spate). Upstream was not pushed,
but reportedly leads quickly to the foot of a waterfall [< a
href="qm.html#C2000-204-63" id="qC2000-204-63">C2000-204-63 B< / a > ]. Downstream
quickly narrows to about 50cm wide, and progress is made by constantly changing
level to stay where the passage is wide enough. After about 40m a small cascade
of about 4m is reached, which could probably be free-climbed, but has been
rigged with an SRT line to avoid getting soaked; if the water level rises much
this is still rather aqueous, and probably needs at least one more bolt. The
passage is considerably wider for a few metres below the cascade, but soon
resumes in its previous manner; it is helpful to traverse quite high up in
this section.< / p >
< / p > Suddenly, the head of a pitch, < b > < a id = "blacklightning" > Black
Lightning< / a > < / b > (13m), is reached. The streamway continues past a 2m climb
and 2m pitch leading to the 25m pitch of < b > < a id = "mysterywind" > Mystery
Wind< / a > < / b > ; this is descended via a crow's-nest which gives a dry sloping
descent to the floor, protected by two rebelays. Immediately beyond this is
< b > < a id = "davedives" > Dave Dives< / a > < / b > , an awkward roof-tube climb to bypass a
tight spot; this should on no account be descended head-first. A bolt here
might render the process safer. The streamway continues to the twin pitches of
< b > < a id = "easythere" > Easy There< / a > < / b > (15m) and < b > < a id = "steadynow" > Steady
Now< / a > < / b > (4m), the 2002 limit; the head of the latter is difficult and
tight, but it seems unlikely that the rig could be improved by any alteration
not involving a large hammer.< / p >
< p > 2003 saw further pushing to a short, rather damp down pitch (3m) shortly
followed by a climb up over boulders into a large chamber, < b > < a id = "glud" > God
Loves a Drunk< / a > < / b > , where an (apparently impassably tight) inlet enters from
the right. Immediately beyond this are < b > < a id = "mashtun" > The Mash Tun< / a > < / b >
(p8) and < b > < a id = "copper" > Copper< / a > < / b > (p17). In high water levels these
are both very wet, dangerously so given the cold and draughty nature of the
passage; a deviation around halfway down Copper could potentially help matters.
There may be a continuation at high level via a loony bolt traverse across the
head of Copper [< a href = "qm.html#C2003-204-48" id = "qC2003-204-48" > C2003-204-48
B< / a > ].< / p >
< p > Beyond this the rift becomes tighter and more awkward again, leading to the
head of yet another pitch, < b > < a id = "yeast" > Yeast< / a > < / b > (p10). Shortly beyond
this the bottom of the rift becomes rather tight and an ascending traverse can
be followed, as far as a local widening, the 2003 limit; dropping back to
stream level rapidly becomes tight again, but a traverse line across, < b > < a
id="nordic">Nordic Traverse< / a > < / b > , gives access to a dry fossil passage to
the head of < b > < a id = "thirteenyear" > Thirteen Year Pitch< / a > < / b > (7m), which
drops into a spacious dry chamber. Here a tight and scrofulous-looking rift
leads off to the right
[< a href = "qm.html#C2004-204-03" id = "qC2004-204-03" > C2004-204-03 C< / a > ]
, while the chosen way on is to descend
< b > < a id = "pepper" > Pepper Pot< / a > < / b > (20m) back to stream level. Here the
passage returns to familiar rifty crappiness for a few metres; it is helpful to
take a relatively high level for a while until the passage widens again, at
which point a 6m pitch, < b > < a id = "paster" > Paster of Muppets< / a > < / b > , regains
the stream level. Shortly afterwards, the stream can be followed down to the top
of a short wet drop
[< a href = "qm.html#C2004-204-02" id = "qC2004-204-02" > C2004-204-02 B< / a > ]
or a phreatic widening can be followed upwards. This leads to some key hole
passage, which immediately has a large circular pit in the floor, this can be
descended and the other side can be climbed, preferably with lines. The
phreatic part of the passage then takes advantage of a sloping weakness, which
goes up and to the left. This can be followed to a right hand bend where the
floor drops down with the weakness to < i > yet another< / i > pitch < b > < a id = "butteredscones" > Buttered Scones< / a > < / b > (p20), the top of
which marks the 2004 limit. It is noticeable on the survey that from the bottom
of Paster the passage swings southwards away from the consistent NE-SW alignment
of most of Razordance.< / p >
< p > 2007 saw a big push with several old lags teaming up with new blood to try and
finally bottom the bastard. From the bottom of Buttered Scones, a climb down and a short,
muddy passage reaches the head of a pair of spacious pitches, < b > < a id = "leftzipper" > Left
Zipper< / a > < / b > (p12) and < b > < a id = "rightzipper" > Right Zipper< / a > < / b > (p12). In flood
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conditions the stream re-enters from a window [C2007-204-29 C] part-way down Left Zipper
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and makes Right Zipper extremely wet. A short section of comfortable walking passage
heading almost due north inevitably gives way to more rifty thrutching, passing an
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inlet on the right [C2007-204-30 B] where the stream re-enters. This marks a return
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to the previous south-westerly line of the passage. After a few metres, a climb down
at a corner if followed by a squeeze to reach the head of < b > < a id = "holyhandgrenade" >
The Holy Hand Grenade< / a > < / b > (p3), an irritating little pitch with an awkward pitch-head.
8 metres further on are a pair of short, splashy pitches separated by a wet ledge:
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< b > < a id = "unicum" > Unicum< / a > < / b > (p7) and < a id = "zwack" > < b > Zwack< / b > < / a > (p5). The next
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100m of passage is a ruler-straight muddy rift running to the south-west. After some
narrow sections it is possible to climb up into a large roof tube, which gradually
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descends to a balcony overlooking the final sump, < a id = "nowbethankful" > < b > Now Be
Thankful< / b > < / a > . Here the wind from Razordance goes up a large aven above the sump
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[C2007-204-31 X], while a long bolted traverse, mostly on the left-hand wall, gains
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access to < a href = "#silkroad" > < b > The Far East< / b > < / a > .< / p >
< h1 > The Far East< / h1 >
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< h3 > < a id = "silkroad" > The Silk Road< / a > < / h3 >
< p > A slippery climb down from the traverse over the sump (an extra bolt would be
a good idea) gains a keyhole-shaped inlet passage with an elliptical roof tube
and narrow floor trench. Like Razordance, the passage draughts towards the
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sump. The passage here is The Silk Road, and runs south-east along the strike for about 30m before
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turning north-east and heading up-dip in a series of steep meanders for a
short distance. An unpleasant 3m climb up marks a return to south-easterly
progress. The passage briefly splits, with the stream flowing through a pool
in a low section while a large oxbow to the left provides a trivial bypass.
Just beyond the oxbow is a junction. < i > Straight ahead, going upstream, 40m
of stooping and crawling over muddy cobbles leads to a chamber where the
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stream emerges from a tight inlet [C2007-204-32 C] with an obvious passage
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visible 7m above (which can be reached from beyond < a href = "#khyber" > < b > Carry-on
up the Khyber< / b > < / a > )< / i > .< / p >
< p > Back at the junction, the left turn leads up an abandoned series of dry
cascades, < b > < a id = "khyber" > Carry-on up the Khyber< / a > < / b > . Ten climbs of
varying difficulty and ranging in height between 2 and 4 metres pass a lead
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on the left [C2007-204-33 ?] to reach a relatively well decorated section of
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walking passage. This becomes a sandy crawl which branches; to the left is
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unexplored [C2007-204-34 C], straight ahead reaches a hole overlooking the
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continuation of The Silk Road, while to the right quickly reaches a loose
2m climb down into the same place. < i > Right here is a 3m climb down followed
by a short section of passage to the head of a 7m pitch back to the inlet at
the foot of Carry-on up the Khyber< / i > . To the left, The Silk Road continues as
4m wide passage with a rocky floor, passing a stooping-height passage on the
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left [C2007-204-35 A]. After 60m, a gap between boulders leads into a 30m-wide
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chamber, < b > < a id = "forbidcity" > The Forbidden City< / a > < / b > .< / p >
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< p > The Forbidden city is a boulder-strewn chamber of fine
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dimensions, reminiscent of Knossos in Kaninchenhö hle, sloping
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upwards to the North west and the exit into the < a href = "#gobitrail" > Gobi Trail< / a > . Near, but below
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and to the right of the Carry-on up the Khyber
entrance, is a rocky crawl which leads into a wide but choked space
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below the Carry-on up the Khyber passage. There is at least an aural
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connection up to that passage. This may be the closest point to Siberia in
Kaninchenhö hle, but is clearly a long-term dig.
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In the Southern corner of The Forbidden City is [C2007-204-36 X].< / p >
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< h3 > < a id = "gobitrail" > The Gobi Trail< / a > < / h3 >
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< p > A large (8m wide) bouldery passage leads off from the upper end of The Forbidden
City heading steadily uphill and north-north-west. There is one
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notable climb up a large sloping rock which needs a little care (handline).
Just after the climb a passage leads off
to the right ("Silkworm"), which is the quickest way to < a href = "#crouchingtiger" > < b > Crouching Tiger< / b > < / a > . The main passage drops to being a low crawl
to reach a complex T-junction 110m from The Forbidden City. Down to the
left is < a id = "entertheflagon" > < b > Enter the Flagon< / b > < / a > . To the right a
rocky passage carrying a strong draught leads downhill and south into the < a id = "crouchingtiger" > Crouching tiger< / a > .
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Straight on is a small passage [C2007-204-45 B].< / p >
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< h3 > < a id = "silkworm" > Silkworm< / a > < / h3 >
< p > A short passage connecting the < a href = "#gobitrail" > < b > Gobi Trail< / b > < / a >
to < a href = "#crouchingtiger" > < b > Crouching Tiger< / b > < / a > , shortcutting the
crawling and complex junction at the end of the Gobi Trail. Halfway along is a
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6m aven [C2007-204-39 X]. At the same point there is a tight connection to near
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the start of < a href = "#crouchingtiger" > < b > Crouching Tiger< / b > < / a > .< / p >
< h3 > < a id = "crouchingtiger" > Crouching tiger< / a > < / h3 >
< p > < / p > A tight passage on the right apparently connects into silkworm (aural connection?).
After 40m at a 90left corner is the junction with < a href = "#silkworm" > < b > Silkworm< / b > < / a > (off to the right).
< / p >
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< p > Beyond here the passage is full of unusally fine light-coloured
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sand, from which the area gets the Gobi Trail name. It is
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comfortable but not particularly large, with some crawling and
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stooping where the sand fills much of the passage. [C2007-204-37 C]
and [C2007-204-38 B] are along here.< / p >
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< p > After 70m an aven 20m+ high is reached where water can be heard at
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the end of the rift [C2007-204-39 X]. The strong breeze continues down
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the passage which now gets rather smaller being
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stooping and crawling all the way. It winds for 90m to a short 2m drop
into a small chamber where there is a 4-way junction. A crawl leads off
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uphill to the left (East) with a strong outward draught[C2007-204-40
A]. A keyhole passage comes in from the South [C2007-204-41
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A], up which most (all?) of the draught goes. And a low passage heads down to
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the West [C2007-204-42 B].< / p >
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< h3 > < a id = "entertheflagon" > Enter the Flagon< / a > < / h3 >
< p > Left at the end of the Gobi Trail is < a href = "#crouchingtiger" > < b > Enter the Flagon< / b > < / a > . 50m of passage leads
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past a climb [C2007-204-45 B] on the right and [C2007-204-46 C] on the left]
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to a point where a vadose canyon intersects. 5m back from this junction is a
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short loop looking over the canyon passage. It contains [C2007-204-47 B] on
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the right. Right (up) along the canyon leads to a 6m aven,
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reasonably climbable with some gear [C2007-204-48-B]. Left leads, via a climb
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down, to a continuing rift which heads towards the left zipper/right zipper
area in Razordance. The phreas clearly continues over the top of the vadose
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canyon [C2007-204-49-B] but it would require some effort to reach it.< / p >
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< h3 > < a id = "survey" > Survey< / a > < / h3 >
< img style = "padding: 2pt; border: 2px solid #000" src = "smallsurveys/fareast.png" alt = "Survey" / > < / div >
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