update

years/2009/2009logbook.txt

@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ Rigged the first pitch of the entrance series, while watched by Becka and Tony.
 
 T/U: Jess 1 hr, Emma 0.5 hr
 
-===2009-07-22 and 2009-07-23|161 - Rigging G| <u>Edvin Deadman</u>, Ian Walker, and Anthony Day (23rd only)===
+===2009-07-22|161 - Rigging G| <u>Edvin Deadman</u>, Ian Walker===
 
-Two trips into G in which we managed to get a decent (25min) route from the Bivy to entrance and rigged as far as the bottom of Knossos.
+Two trips (this and on 23rd) into G in which we managed to get a decent (25min) route from the Bivy to entrance and rigged as far as the bottom of Knossos.
 
 [rigging guide]
 
@@ -24,12 +24,17 @@ Also rerigged and rebolted permanent ropes on Bounce rift.
 
 T/U ?????
 
-===2009-07-22|Tourist trip to Mammuthohle| <u>Julian Todd</u> Aaron (Julian's Dad)===
+===2009-07-22 and 2009-07-23|161 - Rigging G| <u>Edvin Deadman</u>, Ian Walker, Anthony Day ===
+
+2nd of two trips into G in which we managed to get a decent (25min) route from the Bivy to entrance and rigged as far as the bottom of Knossos.
+
+
+===2009-07-22|Tourist trip to Mammuthohle| <u>Julian Todd</u>, *Aaron Todd===
 Note: this is the place to take parentals to show them what it looks like underground.  Its cold, but the loop they take you round has a lot of steps to warm you up a bit.  Get a tourist card from the office and get it cheaper.  The cable car leaves from abover Obertrain - about 15 km cycle from Bad A. in forest.  There's a rough track that cuts corner from where another show cave has its booth.  We didn't go to Eishohle, instead caught the cable car up to top and walked around admiring the view at the 5-fingers and eating our sandwiches.  On the way back there was a cat playing with a snake. The snake wasn't having fun.
 
 T/U 50 minutes
 
-===2009-07-25|161 - Rigging G|<u>Ian Walker</u>, Edvin Deadman, Gareth Philips ===
+===2009-07-25|161 - Rigging G|<u>Ian Walker</u>, Edvin Deadman, Gareth Phillips ===
 Third trip into 161 to continue rigging. Passed Knossos and rigged Yapate traverse and staircase 36 (both red 9mm) also Strange Downfall (red 9mm) and Strange Upfall (white 11mm to the lip of the pitch and 9mm red thereup).  Edvin was foolish enough to trust the insitu rope on strange upfall and so we avoided a detour to Vom pitch :) Then rerigged pipeless entrance pitch/climb and 3m pitch/climb (black sling and white 11mm respectively). Got as far as the Bridge and returned to surface taking full tacklesacks of crap on way.
 
 T/U 8hrs
@@ -81,9 +86,9 @@ D - left branch of final bit of passage
 C - pitch at end of branch of final passage - p10?
 B - left hand branch of passage off to right of ?? bit of passage
 
-===2009-07-26|204 - Pussyprance| Becka Lawson, Kathryn Hopkins, Jess Strirrups, Gareth Phillips, <u>Jess Hatchett</u>===
+===2009-07-26|204 - Pussyprance| Becka Lawson, Kathryn Hopkins, Jess Stirrups, Gareth Phillips, <u>*Jess Hatchett</u>===
 
-My first trip to SteinbrŸckenhšhle. Went down 3 entrance pitches including 1 pitch over a snowplug - need to skirt around this to the left. I was confused by the solid cliff of snow which initially faces you. The final entrance pitch is a monster pitch, it's massive. Very exciting to descend. A short walk after this is Merry Fucking Christmas, a miserable crawl which freaked me out quite a bit but is mercifully short. Jess S and Gareth were kind and reassuring about it and it's actually fine after the first time because you now what's coming.
+My first trip to Steinbr<EFBFBD>ckenh<EFBFBD>hle. Went down 3 entrance pitches including 1 pitch over a snowplug - need to skirt around this to the left. I was confused by the solid cliff of snow which initially faces you. The final entrance pitch is a monster pitch, it's massive. Very exciting to descend. A short walk after this is Merry Fucking Christmas, a miserable crawl which freaked me out quite a bit but is mercifully short. Jess S and Gareth were kind and reassuring about it and it's actually fine after the first time because you now what's coming.
 
 Below Merry Fucking Christmas are several other pitches - 204 is a fairly vertical cave, and we descended to approx 230m overall. One of the pitches is a second massive monster pitch, free-hanging really deep and awesome. Another is a much hyped tricky squeeze which is ot nearly as bad as I expected (either up or down) 2 more pitches to the pushing front, bored now alcohol time, byebye.
 
@@ -125,7 +130,7 @@ Trip into Silent Fellow Chamber to investigate QM at bottom of slope.
 
 [diagram]
 
-===2009-07-29|161 - Nostalgia Trip to Satan's Sitting Room| Steve Jones <u>Julian Todd</u>===
+===2009-07-29|161 - Nostalgia Trip to Satan's Sitting Room| Steve Jones, <u>Julian Todd</u>===
 
 After not getting woken up with a mug of tea in bed, Julian disobyed orders and went to 161 to check out the ??? of surveys being transcribed into tunnel from original 1990s notes. Walk to G harder with pack on. Pitch down easy. Crappy crawling to 5-ways, then investigated multiple routes to F-entrance that would avoid bounce rift. Loads of QMs on theis route no one is interested in. Last 50m at entrance extremely crap and shingly. Then went back and found completely loopy route too flat out and dirty. Pothole passage is easier. Chamber with Between the Thighs needs looking at again to work out how the bridge bit figures in drawing. Before Steve fell asleep, we moved on to Knossos, got lost in Tower Blocks, worked way through ancient history - Yapate. Did the Stranges. Repton drawing not as bad as expected. Corrected some lines on the map (need an area fill to represent flat out crawl). Found a carbide pig in Pipeless (no one seems surprised this has pasted for 15 years without any moisture ingress to gassify and blow off the snoopy loop seals), which Steve carted out. Met the others at the Bridge before Satan's Sitting Room, took photos, got behind Anthony's party, verified Lead Mine was still there, didn't find way in Endless, got out pretty slowly to sunset at F.
 
@@ -138,7 +143,7 @@ So M+H headed to D whilst N+S headed to the pitch just below the entrance. Put b
 Stomped aorund on surface for a bitm fund M+H
 Cairned route from D to G - 30 mins, then headed back.
 
-===2009-07-25|Tunnocks| Noel Snape, Holly Bradley <u>Steve Jones</u>===
+===2009-07-25|Tunnocks| Noel Snape, Holly Bradley, <u>Steve Jones</u>===
 
 Strolled up hill. Warm. ???Got caving hats??? Heard rumours of Tunnocks rope - took in 100m + re-rigged - this gets you easily to snow slope, need 20m of rope for bottom bit. More fettling then N+H huddled in bothy while S rigged Caramel Catharsis. Home for tea and medals.
 
@@ -151,7 +156,7 @@ Pushed windiest lead (left at bottom of pitch to popcorn, careful climb up rift,
 
 T/U 8.5 hrs
 
-===2009-07-29|258 - Usual Suspects| Gareth Phillips <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
+===2009-07-29|258 - Usual Suspects| Gareth Phillips, <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
 
 Despite an actue shortage of rope due to unusually high levels of caving keenness, I managed to snaffle a 60m rope and a drill , plus Tunnock's hadn't yet fallen prey to "we need to derig and 258 isn't on the missions statement" so I arm-twisted Gareth into heading for the big pitch that we'd  somehow avoided descending in the past 2 years. Re-rigged entrance rigging (again) on the way down and then used our 60m to rerig caramel catharsis which freed up two 44m ropes for pushing. Used Frank's two spits from 2008 to put in traverse line down to the ledge which is drippy but spacious then 2 naturals to the two pitchhead spits. It all looked deep and scary so I graciously allowed/forced Gareth to head down - and down. Surprisingly iy hung free so he tied the 2 44m ropes together and finally got to a ledge of wedged vulder about 75m down. We were still 30m above the deck and out of rope but since we had the drill we put in a backup and 2 pirchhead spits for the next hand down to the chamber. Both the spits I set (on the left hand wall) cracked the rock which makes 4/5 I have drilled being duff, hmph. Probably a combination of shite rock and me not blowing enough dust out of the holes. With only one 30m tape we couldn't survey the pitch but it was looking really good so we left it partly rigged and carefully prussiked out. We took out the lower 44m rope and Gareth drilled a rebelay spit just belwo ledge. Exit to levely sunset.
 
@@ -171,7 +176,7 @@ Holly and Mike looked at the small passage underneath the climb to Mostly Mud. T
 
 T/U 10.5 hrs
 
-===2009-07-30|161 - Silent Fellow| Edvin Deadman <u>Ian Walker</u>===
+===2009-07-30|161 - Silent Fellow| Edvin Deadman, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
 
 Further trip to what is now Solid rock precipitated by availability of drill more thatn desire to cave. I myself was perilously close to bimbling the day away after yesterday's nerve-wracking dangling sesh.
 
@@ -185,7 +190,7 @@ Exited in manner similar to entry. Swift and efficient. Had a jubilatory cup-a-s
 
 T/U 10hrs
 
-===2009-07-29|204 - Pussy in Bolts| Emma Wilson <u>Kathryn Hopkins</u>===
+===2009-07-29|204 - Pussy in Bolts| Emma Wilson, <u>Kathryn Hopkins</u>===
 
 We thought we'd have a super-efficient trip having packed all of our gear the previous evening. Unfortunately I realised my battery pack was almost completely discharged when I got to Wolpertinger and so prussiked back out to get another one...
 We eventually reached Painted Lady and out traverse was known as Puss in Bolts and contiunued to traverse around the side of a large chamber. We put in another 8 bolts and reached the possible continuation on the south side - was getting late by this point and it was clear that at least another bolt was needed so we surveyed what we had done and headed out. The traverse is 30m long inttal (although the second half is mainly walking on a sloping ledge and doesn't have many bolts). See later for rigging guide - we plan to leave at least the first part permanently rigged.
@@ -224,7 +229,7 @@ Next bit of passage:
 QMC - hole in floor by r wall level with last small rock pinnacle (survey station 7)
 QMA - extensive (wide) pitch at end of passage, r hand passage drops back into it. Best descended from main passage, but down slot r of large pinnacle (survey station 8).
 
-===2009-07-28|258 - Stone Monkey| Becka Lawson, Gareth Phillips <u>Martin Jahnke</u>===
+===2009-07-28|258 - Stone Monkey| Becka Lawson, Gareth Phillips, <u>Martin Jahnke</u>===
 
 Back to Comedy of Errors, early in the morning after walking up to the plateau to find out more about the avens and pitches at its end. Two passages, one crawl and a small phreatic tube are drafting in but are too small to enter. A small climb down on the left side appears to end blind but in fact a short crawl would lead to a small chamber and a further crawl can be seen ahead - this chamber has not been entered yet - C lead. Near the highest point of the passage, a small hole can be entered. I rigged the pitch head from a natural and descended through jammed boulders to the bottom of a roomy meander (P8). At the right hand end a small meander was entered (climb down) which lead to a small tube in the floor with a stream in it. I took off my SRT kit and entered to find a medium sized pitch below, 1.5m of crawling away. The pitchhead was difficult to enter and to be bolted so it was deemed "too technical to rig" - we're coming back to this!
 
@@ -234,19 +239,19 @@ We finally inspected the hole in the floor of Sombrero Passage that we normally
 
 T/U 8 hrs
 
-===2009-07-28|Tunnocks Surface Features| Frank Tulley <u>Martin Jahnke</u>===
+===2009-07-28|Tunnocks Surface Features| Frank Tully, <u>Martin Jahnke</u>===
 
 Comedy of Errors appears to be above the level on the Tunnock's entrance shaft, giving continued ??? to the hope that we will be able to find a new entrance to the cave. I got location data for the different avens in Stone Monkey relative to the entrance from survex and we tried to locate surface features with the help of a GPS. It didn't work. Very frustrating.
 
-Instead we started to come across numerous untagged entrances northeast of Tunnocks and started cave hunting on a ??? sunny day. Frank entered a small passage at the side of the hill and climbed down 5m. After some digging he forced himself through mud and gravel into a small non-drafting chamber - the ways on were choked. Frank emerged covered in mud - but he wouldn't have fitted through with an oversuit :) The cave was surveyed and called Afenjagdhšhle - Hunting Monkeys Cave.
+Instead we started to come across numerous untagged entrances northeast of Tunnocks and started cave hunting on a ??? sunny day. Frank entered a small passage at the side of the hill and climbed down 5m. After some digging he forced himself through mud and gravel into a small non-drafting chamber - the ways on were choked. Frank emerged covered in mud - but he wouldn't have fitted through with an oversuit :) The cave was surveyed and called Afenjagdh<EFBFBD>hle - Hunting Monkeys Cave.
 
-IN a depression at the foldline northeast of Tunnocks, several snowfields can be found in late summer. In that area I spotted an entrance between boulders that had just been freed by the thaw. We entered and found a pitch head (covered in frost shattered loose rock). Rigging from two trusty naturals (oh dear!) I could see a large chamber with ice plug below. This was called Schneehuhnhšhle (Snow Partridge Cave) after a bird we saw nearby that day, and as a reference to the snowfields. The cave was verified later.
+IN a depression at the foldline northeast of Tunnocks, several snowfields can be found in late summer. In that area I spotted an entrance between boulders that had just been freed by the thaw. We entered and found a pitch head (covered in frost shattered loose rock). Rigging from two trusty naturals (oh dear!) I could see a large chamber with ice plug below. This was called Schneehuhnh<EFBFBD>hle (Snow Partridge Cave) after a bird we saw nearby that day, and as a reference to the snowfields. The cave was verified later.
 
-We continued our investigations and came across a number of places that deserve further investigation. Finally we entered a cave in the slopes of the hill which was quite drafty and ended in a boulder slope. This cave might terminate somewhere close to Tunnock's but we will need a surface survey to determine it's exact position. This cave has the skeleton of a medium sized mammal in it but without its scull [evil laughter]... hence Kopflose-Gemse-hšhle (Headless Gemse Cave). A very successful trip. Seeing Frank diging out caves made me think that some of the terminal chokes in Tunnock's might not be that terminal afterall.
+We continued our investigations and came across a number of places that deserve further investigation. Finally we entered a cave in the slopes of the hill which was quite drafty and ended in a boulder slope. This cave might terminate somewhere close to Tunnock's but we will need a surface survey to determine it's exact position. This cave has the skeleton of a medium sized mammal in it but without its scull [evil laughter]... hence Kopflose-Gemse-h<EFBFBD>hle (Headless Gemse Cave). A very successful trip. Seeing Frank diging out caves made me think that some of the terminal chokes in Tunnock's might not be that terminal afterall.
 
 T/U 3 hrs
 
-===2009-07-28|258 - Marconian Empire| Frank Tulley, Gareth Phillips, Noel Snape <u>Martin Jahnke</u>===
+===2009-07-28|258 - Marconian Empire| Frank Tully, Gareth Phillips, Noel Snape, <u>Martin Jahnke</u>===
 
 We've extended Tunnocks was off the current survey print-time for a new name for the area past Sombrero Passage in Stone Monkey, the end point in 2008. It's Marconian Empire.
 
@@ -258,15 +263,15 @@ T/U 9hrs
 
 [rigging diagram]
 
-===2009-07-28|Schneehuhnhšhle, Alfenjagdhšhle| Frank Tulley, Gareth Phillips <u>Martin Jahnke</u>===
+===2009-07-28|Schneehuhnh<EFBFBD>hle, Alfenjagdh<64>hle| Frank Tully, Gareth Phillips, <u>Martin Jahnke</u>===
 
-Off to our usual early start (after sitting out the rain) we were joined by Gareth who had just returned from KAninchenhšhle. Gareth and Frank started to survey Kopflose-Gemse-hšhle and connect the surveys on the surface while I bolted Schneehuhnhšhle. Trusting out naturals I set a deviation and a rebelay below in very shattered rock, hoping that it lasts for one trip At the bottom several small streams and trickles enter a very large chamber with a thin rock roof and an ice plug in the bottom. The only way on is at the end of a boulder slop at the lowest point of the chamber. A tiny 40x50cm window down mud led to a small chamber with no way on. My new enthusiasm for digging led me to excavate boulders at the far wall and quickly another chamber could be crawled into with two ways on: one to the left which is a collapsed aven (dead end) and what looks like a horizontal passage ahead (not entered). I then (5:30) remembered that we had a 6pm callout so Frank rushed off and cancelled it just in time (5:57). Huh! We'll be back to survey this. And the crawls below are drafting inwards! Maybe to Tunnocks?
+Off to our usual early start (after sitting out the rain) we were joined by Gareth who had just returned from KAninchenh<EFBFBD>hle. Gareth and Frank started to survey Kopflose-Gemse-h<>hle and connect the surveys on the surface while I bolted Schneehuhnh<6E>hle. Trusting out naturals I set a deviation and a rebelay below in very shattered rock, hoping that it lasts for one trip At the bottom several small streams and trickles enter a very large chamber with a thin rock roof and an ice plug in the bottom. The only way on is at the end of a boulder slop at the lowest point of the chamber. A tiny 40x50cm window down mud led to a small chamber with no way on. My new enthusiasm for digging led me to excavate boulders at the far wall and quickly another chamber could be crawled into with two ways on: one to the left which is a collapsed aven (dead end) and what looks like a horizontal passage ahead (not entered). I then (5:30) remembered that we had a 6pm callout so Frank rushed off and cancelled it just in time (5:57). Huh! We'll be back to survey this. And the crawls below are drafting inwards! Maybe to Tunnocks?
 
 [diagram]
 
 T/U 3 hrs
 
-===2009-07-29|161 - Satan's Sitter surveying|Edvin Deadman, Noel Snape<u>Anthony Day</u>===
+===2009-07-29|161 - Satan's Sitter surveying|Edvin Deadman, Noel Snape, <u>Anthony Day</u>===
 
 Since Edvin and I had built up a surveying backlog after our previous trip to the pitch off Satan's Sitting Room (26th), the plan was that we would survey the pith whilst Noel bolted the drop at the end. However, on arrival at Satan's Sitting Room it transpired that Noel had not hand bolted before so the was a change of plan whereby Edvin went to bolt whilst Noel and I surveyed in. Surveying was slow and cold but otherwise not too bad with pony and disto. Meanwhile Edvin placed a bolt at the rock bridge found last trip in order to go down the other side of it to the continuation we had seen. Two bolts later Edvin was at the bottom of a further 5m drop with a uninviting tight rift exiting. Noel investigated and declared that it would be passable with a bit of hammering - QMC at best. Nobody fancied this, so we deriged and left the rope at Satan's Sitting Room before heading out.
 
@@ -296,7 +301,7 @@ T/U 10hrs
 
 [rigging diagram]
 
-=== 2 August 2009 | Going Nowhere fast - Tunnocks | Becka, Steve, <u>Julian</u> ===
+=== 2009-08-02 | Going Nowhere fast - Tunnocks | Becka, Steve, <u>Julian</u> ===
 
 After many days of fruitless hacking on troggle, then losing my mp3 player sometime in the process of canoeing across Toplitzsee, and returning to hoards of very beery Austrians moving in on Base Camp like leiderhausen-clad apes with camper vans, I was seriously pissed off enough to go caving.
 
@@ -364,13 +369,13 @@ I would like to put on record that I would like a proper canyonning holiday next
 
 <em>T/U 18 hrs, (Mike TA 3hrs)</em>
 
-===2009-08-4|204 Derigging|Kathryn Hopkins, <u>Emma Wilson</u>===
+===2009-08-04|204 Derigging|Kathryn Hopkins, <u>Emma Wilson</u>===
 
 Derigged entrance pitches. Was reasonably wet.
 
 T/U 1hr if that
 
-===2009-08-3|204 On the Prowl, Catwalk|Kathryn Hopkins, Jess Stirrups, Ian Walker, Edvin Deadman <u>Emma Wilson</u>===
+===2009-08-03|204 On the Prowl, Catwalk|Kathryn Hopkins, Jess Stirrups, Ian Walker, Edvin Deadman, <u>Emma Wilson</u>===
 
 Went back with another rope to attempt to get to the bottom of the pitch we had run out of rope on last time. Kathryn and Jess S went in ahead, Jess added extra bolt on traverse whilst KAthryn finished rigging pitch. Edvin, Ian and I followed down about an hour later, when we arrived most of the rigging was doen which was good :) Pitch called Fat Cat. Was narrow at top then opened out below first rebelay. Next rebelay was even more airy :S, this dropped to one of the floors of a multi-level floored chamber. Across pitch looked like there was some horizontal level going off but would probably need more rigging to be able to swing into this and enthusiasm failed us. Put in another rebelay from natural and walked down a rope to another floor of chamber, yet another rebelay led to another level with small slot down - B lead, would need more rope, so not explored.
 
@@ -399,13 +404,13 @@ From there on, things moved quickly (due to the stench of Zeus wee). Edvin, Jess
 
 So that's it: two men on a Zeus caving trip; new cave explored and surveyed; no big dramas; and an efficient and satisfying derig back to the entrance pitches. All in all: a fine trip in a fine cave. Well done Zeuses!
 
-===2009-08-4|204 Derigging|Kathryn Hopkins, <u>Emma Wilson</u>===
+===2009-08-04|204 Derigging|Kathryn Hopkins, <u>Emma Wilson</u>===
 
 Derigged entrance pitches. Was reasonably wet.
 
 T/U 1hr if that
 
-===2009-08-1|Tunnock's - Usual Suspects|Becka Lawson, Ollie Stevens <u>Steve Jones</u>===
+===2009-08-01|Tunnock's - Usual Suspects|Becka Lawson, Ollie Stevens <u>Steve Jones</u>===
 
 S+B headed straight down. Surveyed several loops in complex phreas between chamber + main big passage; meanwhile Ollie "tame dangle-fairy" gave the pitch a few sling rebelays and new bolts.
 
@@ -413,7 +418,7 @@ O joined us; B then found a much safer route to main drag (up climb as per 28/7
 
 Surveyed passage heading S/E from where large phreas is entered. Traverses onver 1 pitch (QMB) and found another (QMA) to 2 junctions on R. 1st R: 1m passage, no draught: QMA. 2nd R leads to silend black space, long fall, QMA - no draught though. So carried on in main passage. Leads to pitch - could be traverses and has strong draught - QM A.
 
-===2009-08-2|Tunnock's - Usual Suspects|Becka Lawson, Julian Todd, Mike Richardson, <u>Steve Jones</u>===
+===2009-08-02|Tunnock's - Usual Suspects|Becka Lawson, Julian Todd, Mike Richardson, <u>Steve Jones</u>===
 
 After much faff got to top of US to find Mike heading out owing to knot-pass not-fun times. Julian proceeded to smoothly and cheerfully descend and we allmet at the bottom. We headed to the S/E and S started rigging traverse whilst J+B surveyed up N?W phreas. Traverse leads out into complex chamber area. Several possible leads at floor level need a proper ????. Walking passage on R left as QMA.
 
@@ -428,33 +433,33 @@ Meet Wook at pitchhead. With my bothy which I had left at the entrance. Grrr. P;
 
 T/U 17-18hrs, Mike 3hrs (see also Julian's write up)
 
-===2009-08-2|Tunnock's - Just for a Laugh|Martin Green <u>Steve Jones</u>===
+===2009-08-02|Tunnock's - Just for a Laugh|Martin Green <u>Steve Jones</u>===
 
-===2009-08-3|Tunnock's - Stomach ULSA|Noel Snape, <u>Mike Richardson</u>===
+===2009-08-03|Tunnock's - Stomach ULSA|Noel Snape, <u>Mike Richardson</u>===
 
 Down Tunnocks to continue Holly and Noel's push down the Stomach. Took down 60m of rope plus drill, arrived at final bolt from previous trip, added y-hand (1 bolt each) and dropped the pitch - some to-inf and fro-ing to get the wider parts of the rift. At the bottom of pitch used natural to descend three c2s (bottom two are free climbable). Rift continues for a few metres until floor drops away again and will need rigging to carry on. Grade A lead.
 
-===2009-08-3|Tunnock's - Alphabet Soup|Wookey, Andrew Atkinson <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
+===2009-08-03|Tunnock's - Alphabet Soup|Wookey, Andrew Atkinson <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
 
 Surprising degree of enthusiasm for caving today given that almost everybody stayed up until dawn on the rescue (thanks guys...). I fancied something mellow so we headed off to cross off easy QMs in Tunnocks and improved the survey (took the full print out with us and scrawled on it). Sorted out a mess in Germknodel and surveyed 50m each in QM30C and in QM37B
  (34B is a pitch). Return to Usual Suspects to remove the final bits from the rescue and I dragged the srtetcher out as my penance. Saw Andrew's disto-x/PDA combination in action underground for the first time - impressive though probably no faster than trad surveying.
 
 T/U 6 hrs
 
-===2009-08-4|Tunnock's - Goody Goody|Holly Bradley, Andrew Atkinson, <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
+===2009-08-04|Tunnock's - Goody Goody|Holly Bradley, Andrew Atkinson, <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
 
 Dragged in a drill and rope to check out more QMs. Checked on the Usual Suspects water level - siilarly damp (still raining). Started with a QMB nearly opposite Naughty Naughty in Dubious Pleasure and hit the jackpot - it startedas a crawly/stoopy passage and gradually got larger and even had crusty stal formations. Traversed over a blind pit and then a larger drippy pitch on the right. At the next pitch the ledge looked too teetery so Andrew put in a traverse line on naturals (needs 20-25m). Then hit an even bigger pitch which Holly and I excitedly lobbed a couple of big rocks down before Andrew screamed stop at us. Spoil sport. "There's a rope". Oops. We'd managed to come to the eyeholes visible level with the main hang ledge in Usual Suspects. Got around to the second eyehole and then hit a short but monster section of phreas - maybe 15m wide with a howling gale coming out. We teetered up a vast pile of rocks semi-stuck together to end up overlooking a giant pitch. Unfortunately in the wet conditions we couldnt' see down as it was filled with a fine mist and the disto-x struggled too. Surveyed 350m - a fine trip. The end section seemed to have way too much cave and too little rock holding it all up.
 
 T/U 9 hrs
 
-===2009-08-5|Tunnock's - Frankly Freezing|Andrew Atkinson <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
+===2009-08-05|Tunnock's - Frankly Freezing|Andrew Atkinson <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
 
 Expo dinner day so it had to be a shorty (though we got an 8:30am underground start). After hinting heavily all morning, I managed to persuade Andrew to derig Usual Suspects since we'd lad 4 hours of dry for the first time in forever. He got wet but the rocks we'd lobbed down yesterday had missed the rope. Then did a short survey in Frankly Freezing before it all got a bit chilly. I slogged out with 150m in Big Bertha whilst Andrew skipped along with more rope and the metalware.
 
 T/U 5 hrs
 
 
-===2009-08-6|Disaster boys in the canyon of doom|Noel Snape, Steve Jones, <u>Julian Todd</u>===
+===2009-08-06|Disaster boys in the canyon of doom|Noel Snape, Steve Jones, <u>Julian Todd</u>===
 
 Noel most keen on canyoning. Steve came too and got the best wetsuit leaving me with the 7 piece homemade. Gave lifts to Martin and Holly and 2 bikes to return via Ischl - Bla Alm canyon (Holly went up Loser too).
 
@@ -463,7 +468,7 @@ Changed at midday. Martin walked to tope with us and was able to translate memor
 Ian writes...
 3.5hrs to lose a new tacklesack, 2 ropes and a set of prusiking gear! Good going!
 
-===2009-08-7|KH - Solid Rock|Becka Lawson, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
+===2009-08-07|KH - Solid Rock|Becka Lawson, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
 Team Vertical+Wook and Andrew - see separate write up
 
 Lugged all my kit over to 161G for a fresh assault on KH. Enthusiasm was noticeably lacking this morning from just about everyone but somehow no-one found an excuse big enough to jack. Hmm.
@@ -493,7 +498,7 @@ T/U 10hrs
 
 [rigging diagram]
 
-===2009-08-8|KH - Far too Far|Becka Lawson, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
+===2009-08-08|KH - Far too Far|Becka Lawson, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
 Team Vertical again +Wook and Andrew - see separate write up
 
 Clearly not having been put off yesterday, Becka again joined me in a shaft dropping trip in KH. That this trip happened al all is a conundrum, as we hadn't a plan until we all got to SSR! Wookey and Andrew were dead-set on going to the bitter end of East Anglia and suggested that Becka and I drop the great black hole at the end of Far Too Far (a big wet-sounding undescended pitch - C1992-161-19).
@@ -508,7 +513,7 @@ T/U 10hrs
 
 [rigging diagram]
 
-===2009-08-9|Tunnocks Derig|Frank Tully, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
+===2009-08-09|Tunnocks Derig|Frank Tully, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
 
 A trip into Stone Monkey to recover the 30m rope at the far end and to derig out from there. My first visit :- a very interesting place, glad I took the chance to see it! Packed all the derigged gear into the tacklebags, except the entrance pitch (92m) which we paellaed out in one go.
 
@@ -521,7 +526,7 @@ A very enjoyable trip.
 
 T/U 5 hrs
 
-===2009-08-9|KH - East Anglia|Wookey, Andrew Atkinson, Martin Green, <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
+===2009-08-09|KH - East Anglia|Wookey, Andrew Atkinson, Martin Green, <u>Becka Lawson</u>===
 
 The three of us were still keen for our third KH assault in three days, then Martin piped up that he wanted to come along too since Ian had bailed out to help on the Tunnocks derig. Under Ian's expert tuition we'd pretty much sussed the route finding by now (the walk to the entrance is at least as tricky). Martin mashed his fingers struggling with the 2m pitch before the Bridge - I know its all of 2 prusiks but pretty please can it get a proper rig if/when people return there? Martin wavered about heading straight back but there was a definite lack of enthusiastic volunteers to shperd him out so he was cajoled onwards. "Are we nearly there yet?" An onwards. We finally got to the down pitch (C1993-161-03) then up pitch that Wookey + Andrew had dropped then climbed yesterday. Wookey set off to descend the pitch beyond and dangled on rope for several hours squealing exitedly that drills were excellent gear. He ran out of rope 50m down then he and Martin derigged and surveyed out. Meanwhile Andrew and I started our survey from yesterday's down pitch and up to the head of Wookey's pitch and down a small horizontal passage which eventually mud-filled. The place is stuffed with pitches - the initial down pitch at C1993-161-03 continues large and deep below two huge wedged boulders where we got off to climb up. There's also a pitch to the right of Wookey's over a rok spur, though this might connect to Wookey's. However, spurning these obvious downs Andrew spied a traverse/climb up the rock spur "The Natural Ways", made significantly trickier because he could only use the right side of the arrete as the others were directly below him. After quite some time he shouted he'd got to the top and then I was left babysitting the rope whilst he had a swift scoop to check it was worth me coming up! It was...
 The traverse is well-rigged on naturals though a couple of spits at the top would be good. It tops out at a ledge with a pitch beyond that, again, likely connects to Wookey's pitch. However, far more interesting a final step led into wide walking/stooping phreatic passage. We whizzzed a survey up until it was 7pm and time to go home. Back to chivvy MArtin and Wookey out and tyo pack up the mounds of gear and derig what we could. Hard work until Repton where we dumped much of the gear ready for the 11/08/09 trip then poor Martin was flaging so a slow exit in the early hours and finally back to camp at 3am. Fortunately we'd already planned on taking the next day off.
@@ -530,7 +535,7 @@ T/U 15hrs.
 
 Wook: pitch notes: "6 Mile Bottom". Initial clean pitch of 11m to sundy shelf. Window into big rift - 10x5m. Bolt in centre of rift. About 12m down shaft on West, wall has a couple of passages. Can take survey onto here before lower rebelay put in - needs bolt to retain rope! Reelay 10m off the floor. Continues in fine form at the bottom - next bit is 14m, then more. Very reminiscent of Gaffered series - QMA.
 
-===2009-08-9|KH - East Anglia and derig|Becka Lawson, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
+===2009-08-09|KH - East Anglia and derig|Becka Lawson, <u>Ian Walker</u>===
 Team Horizontal+Wook and Andrew - see separate write up
 
 We had previously decided that our final pushing trip would occur on the Tuesday and the we would attempt a full KH derig to leave Wednesday free for bivy fettling and gear carrying..
@@ -565,11 +570,11 @@ A great finale to a great expo :)
 
 T/U 11hrs (Wook 13hrs).
 
-===2009-08-4|Damp Squib|Steve Jones, <u>Martin Green</u>===
+===2009-08-04|Damp Squib|Steve Jones, <u>Martin Green</u>===
 
 We descended Tunnocks with a Makita drill with the aim of picking up some rope from the start of Stone Monkey. Not knowing the location og the new entrance to Stone Monkey I went around a long loop for 20 minutes to find Steve having already found the bag. We continued onto Just For a Laugh to look at pitches. The first near station justforalaugh.12 looked a little wet and appeared to have audible connection to the pitch near justforalaught2.1 which was considerably drier. I rigged this pitch with a natural thread in the floor as backup, and a y-hang across the rift. Additional passage may be reachable over the top of this pitch ot from a rift a metre of two down. At the bottom a narrow rift to a pitch went off as well as a small window to a parallel clean washed shaft, with a small stream coming in. I tried to rig out og this water with a wide y-hang and a rebelay out from the water. But this was in rain due to an aven further alonf the shaft making it drippy. I descended going down several ledges, that the original stream goes down. At the bottom a rift went off, which quickly becomes too tight, along with some small phreatic passage which also closed down. I retreated now slightly damp to survey out with Steve derigging, taking all the gear back to the bivy (all new bolts were greased).
 
-===2009-08-7|KH - 3 Wise Men re-rig and beyond|Andrew Atkinson, <u>Wookey</u>===
+===2009-08-07|KH - 3 Wise Men re-rig and beyond|Andrew Atkinson, <u>Wookey</u>===
 
 Ian has covered most of the trip so here's out specific bit. Given only 30m rope plus a tiddly bit to rerig 3WM we left the lower old rope protecting the 8m climb and part re-rigged the traverse-proper. Slightly worrying hanging over a big drop on very aged string, but all was (of course) well.
 
@@ -595,7 +600,7 @@ T/U 9.5 hrs
 
 Oh yeah, and we rigged bounce rift as a tyrolean (wee, put in the bolts).
 
-===2009-08-8|KH - East Anglia, Grimes Graves|Andrew Atkinson, <u>Wookey</u>===(also with Becka and Ian - see other write up)
+===2009-08-08|KH - East Anglia, Grimes Graves|Andrew Atkinson, <u>Wookey</u>===(also with Becka and Ian - see other write up)
 
 After leaving Ian and Becka at impressive black space of what was to become So Far Away we dragged sacks of rope to the far end. First a couple of easy (hand!) bolts to get started. Despite not being able to remember when I last put in a hand bolt (4 years ago?) I won the race :) Andrew set off and I went looking for survey stations and checking for QMs. At soily junction passage goes 4m to look down hole. Drauhting out and probably descendable so should be a QMC. Checked out streamway further back and decided too tight without capping. Impressive echo for tiny slot though.