Finally set off up the hill to fetch the remainder of my caving gear at 3.50pm, intending to make a quick return in daylight with the +gear. Olly M kindly came along for the walk and to help me carry. (Perhaps also the best way to ensure that I didn't get lost on the +plateau forever more.)
+ +The walk proceeded quickly and with minimum moaning on my part (due mostly to my empty rucksack). Olly and I deviated from the path to +invesitage a few cave entrances - turning out to be in the 80s. We were rejoined by Julian and Becka shortly afterwards, near the +beginning of the slabs.
+ +Towards the end of the slabs, I did the often done thing of slipping with one of my walking poles. I then managed to kick said pole, +and due to the wrist straps not being used (for safety in case the pole got stuck), the pole was projected forward. The pole slipped, +bounced, then fell. Fell onto the snow plug covering a ~20m deep hole. Rattle, slip, rattle and it was gone. Climbing round the hole +revealed a 10m drop / abseil / climb down at one end, but the rock was far too loose to attempt the climb, so we continued less one +walking pole to the stone bridge.
+ +Eventually we got packed, fed and watered at the bridge, and after pausing to try and firebomb the fly infested facilities [and +using up a substantial proportion of the stone bridge petrol supply in the process—DL], we must have left some time around +7.20pm. With us, Olly and I took some hangers (in case we found my old spits), a sling, karabiner and a ?m long 9mm rope probably +de-rigged from Razor Dance. We intended to get that pesky pole back.
+ +En route, we stopped off at Hauchhöhle to retrieve my caving gear and whilst there, I decided to go caving and retrieve my slings +and krabs from the pitch/climb rigging. This was done quickly, replacing the sling + krab with a club pair, and the other Y-hang arm was +rethreaded through the bomber natural instead of via the sling.
+ +Once out of Hauchhöhle, I found Olly hunting around on the edge of the hole for a second thread / natural belay. Tony appeared on +his way to the bridge, and recommended rigging a scramble down the back end of the hole, where the drop was more, around 10m. We did this, +rigged from the single bit of usefully fixed rock in the vicinity - a bomber thread.
+ +[Diagram, with captions including "fuckwit caver who throws his gear down holes"]
+ +Pole was retrieved very easily by gently abseiling down and going around the snow plug. Very gently prusiking and self-lining completed +the ascent (not wanting to damage the 9mm rope over the ledge. Pole was handed up on the end of the rope to safety.
+ +Rest of walk on the plateau was uneventful, although both my wellies escaped my rucksack bindings and fell down different (but both +shallow) grikes. Thankfully the weather remained dry in spite of ominous-looking clouds. The light was poor by this time, and I slipped +and stumbled more than usual, hurting both of my ankles.
+ +Walking back from the huts, we encountered several bovine obstructions blocking our path. In the first instance, a calf lying down in +the path. Damn. This was not good. We were shortly surrounded by the cattle, who had all stood up and shown an interest. (Including some +with excessively large horns which looked quite pointy.) Thankfully, walking slowly (very) and calmly defused the situation, and a similar +one later on was similarly dealt with.
+ +Got back to car park tired, sore and bruised at about 10:40pm. I suspect I'll sleep soundly tonight!
+ +Plan was to do a quick Hauch trip then a surface wander. Proceeded to bottom of pitch rigged by Earl on a previous trip, where there +was a half-drilled Hilti hole. Drilled this fully, + placed a Y-hang (plus one duff spit that sank too deep).
+ +At the bottom of the pitch is a small (~5m x ~8m) kidney-shaped area of floor. At one end is a rift pitch-head blocked by a large +boulder. I spent a while loosening it, but although it settled slightly it wouldn't shift.
+ +Drill battery unfortunately ran out halfway through the Y-hang. Stuart freeclimbed down it (lunatic) and couldn't get back out again. I +put in a very dodgy deviation + he prusiked out on the previous pitch rope. Apparently it is a ~4m climb initially and beyond this is a +stream rift.
+ +While prusiking out I spotted a window in the side of the shaft. Swinging into this revealed an upwards-sloping tube about 80cm dia; I +wandered up this for 5m or so to a leftwards bend, at which point I decided to come back another day with survey gear.
+ +HOWEVER while carrying out one of the tacklesacks through Doesn't Go Rift I did something rather odd to my back, so I haven't caved +since. Buggeration.
+ +[Sketch elevation of Pie Series, which was later properly surveyed]
+ +Olly wasn't feeling too well, so he did some surface stuff whilst I went into Brave New World to retrieve the hangers, skyhook, slings +etc, and to carry a bag of rope down to The Ledge ready for the next day.
+ +Went down to the top of Keg Series with lots of rigging gear + drill. Olly did some more gardening (but there is still lots of loose +stuff around) and went down; rather than heading straight down the pitch like last time, he swung across into the passage ~ 1/3 of the way +down. The horizontal passage only went a few metres before becoming choked to the right, and rejoining the pitch on the left. Anyway Olly +rigged down a different shaft leaving on the left that rejoined the direct pitch at the bottom + nicely avoided water + loose rocks. At +the next pitch head I foolishly remarked that it would be nice if it sumped round the corner, so we could look somewhere nice (+ less +loose).
+ +The next pitch was actually nice, less loose + BIG, it was rigged with a deviation + a knot pass, but needs more/better deviation(s). +This took us down to another ledge 25m below, from here Olly rigged a 3rd pitch (with a deviation in) that after 25m reached a really big +ledge with (for the first time in a while) a solid rock floor. Olly went down a short, 5m pitch, whilst I commented on how big and +therefore significant this passage/pitch series was. At the bottom Olly found a sump and I felt guilty for wanting one earlier...
+ +[Editor's note: Blanks were left in the above description to be filled in later, but it seems noone did so. The above numbers are +extracted from the survey data but it's not clear to me exactly where one pitch stops and the next starts - these are my best guesses. +—DL]
+ +I climbed down to check it really was a sump (it was, and not a very impressive one at that) whilst Olly looked at a small passage +going off the other way till it got small; I came out and looked there - after a short crawl (~5m) it met a small stream passage which I +followed for a short way till it felt small + committing - the passage does however continue. Meanwhile Olly had found a more promising +lead by climbing above the sump and following a tortuous vadose canyon downhill until it got bigger and became another pitch series; we +decided to leave this for next year and surveyed out to the top of Keg Series.
+ +On the middle big pitch I had a bad feeling about the rope rubbing so was prusiking fairly gently. Once I was ~1/2 way up I noticed the +rope was caught round a flake above the deviation and was rubbing lots + lots over a fairly sharp edge. This made me scared, lots. I +wished we weren't using 9mm rope too. I shouted up to Olly what had happened + that I was going to prusik very carefully, unless he had +any bright ideas for what to do. Olly suggested I prusik very very carefully. I carried on up, past the knot pass, cursing Olly's rigging +(sorry) till I got to the deviation which I clipped into (keeping my jammers on as well). Despite the deviation being on a dodgy small +spike with a retired sling I felt a whole lot safer and pondered what to do next. The only option me or Olly could think of was to pass +the deviation so I could up-flick the rope, then prusik gently past the rub point. I was careful not to look at the rope until past the +rub, because that was how Olly said cartoons work! Anyway the rope was only a bit furry, I didn't die and we exited the rest of the cave +uneventfully.
+ +Walked towards the high point approximately west of 76 and the bivvy. Just below (on the east side) of the high point we found a series +of 3 entrances along a fault/joint; we called this 2004-05. They were 10m to a ledge, then seemed to go deeper, but we didn't have tackle +and I couldn't get the top to drop there. [I think that's what this says—DL]
+ +2004-05: [sketch]
+ +Continued further, going back to the bivvy, but further north than the outward route. Found a rift below a line of small cliffs - +2004-06.
+ +2004-06: [sketch]
+ +Shortly later we found another entrance which was going to be 2004-07, until I found paint (90/5) and a tag (175), so we continued on +until we say a walk/scramble-in entrance on the right. This has a drawn up survey and is 2004-07. [Arrow pointing into a blank +space marked "GPS".]
+ +Further still back, we came across a large chamber with collapsed roof and two entrances. We forgot to survey it at all put it was +photoed by Olly and GPSed. [Another arrow into the blank space.]
+ +We then walked back to where Tantalus Schacht should be and didn't find it, but did allocate 2004-09, which is a shaft with "a +good drop and rattle" - sorry no photos or survey, but it was GPSed.
+ +P.S. Olly's GPS seems to have lost these coords, so we'll have to refind them next year.
+ +