From 60f2d63ae4c541849c3fc5d0f1b45c5fd555b208 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Wookey <wookey@wookware.org> Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2017 23:35:04 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Add more logbook entries (Ash typed) --- years/2016/logbook.html | 358 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-- 1 file changed, 340 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-) diff --git a/years/2016/logbook.html b/years/2016/logbook.html index 4b5be4e87..265521c70 100644 --- a/years/2016/logbook.html +++ b/years/2016/logbook.html @@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ this tip, kicking walls hurts with no foot protection] <p/> <p>Callout book entry</p> <div class="callout">07:00 +1</div> -<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-06">2016-07-06 to 07</div> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-06a">2016-07-06 to 07</div> <div class="trippeople"><u>David</u>, Becka, Julian</div> <div class="triptitle">Tunnocks - Kracken</div> <p>We got to the entrance at 10:45am and started the long descent leaving behind a plateau @@ -574,6 +574,44 @@ we left for the next party. We met the team in question at the camp whilst eatin dinner (~4pm). A long prusik followed.</p> <div class="callout">07:00 +1</div> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-06b">2016-07-06</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Elliott</u>, Peachey, Nathan</div> +<div class="triptitle">The pitch formally known as "Haydon's pitch" -> "Long Drop"</div> +<p>Sorry for the write-up delay!</p> +<p>After Haydon had headed down the hill, Nathan, Peachey and I took over the 'project'. Haydon +had said he had dropped ~60m to a large ledge, before getting a 6 second drop off it! Of course, +we didn't believe him.</p> +<p>We tidied up the initial traverse, before Peachey went off to get bolting. As Haydon's team (the +lazy, good-for-nothing *!?#*!?'s) hadn't surveyed squat, Nathan and I got on with it. Approx 50m to +the first ledge, which then forms the take off to a >120m pitch! Balcony has some surprises yet...</p> +<p>From the LHW, a short traverse takes you to a pitch head proper. Approx 25m down, working towards +the right, a good sized window gains access to "ICU with a view". Chock stones provide a chossy floor +on which to stick up a bothy.</p> +<p>I found Peachey in the ICU, having a good garden and looking slightly taken aback by the scale of +things! After re-supplying him with kit, he set off down a rift that leaves the ICU from the North. +Masterful bolting from Peachey saw us ~60m further down a lovely section of rebelays. The pitch follows +the RHW (looking from the ICU), pulling you away from the initial, pretty loose rift. The passage is +4-6m wide, but runs N-S from the main shaft, towards the North for ~80m.</p> +<p>Peachey had got cracking on the next drop, but we ran out of hangers and rope.</p> +<p>NB This actually occurred over two days!</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 17.5 hours (total)</div> + +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-06c">2016-07-06</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Rob</u>, Alice, Katey</div> +<div class="triptitle">Hilti-a-Plenty exploration - rigging trip</div> +<p>Underground by 11am. It being Alice's first expo, we wanted to give her some experience of rigging in +Austria and this seemed a good choice being close to the entrance, quite deep but not too deep and promising +quite a few leads to push later. Alice rigged very well - safe, tight, high and functional rigging all round +and efficient to. Once at the bottom, we decided to have a look around at the leads and what had allready +been surveyed.</p> +<p>First we went left from the bottom of the pitch series to a small bouldery chamber, from there we went +left and along a tightish passage to a draughty aven. Quite a promising lead via a traverse over the aven and +into a small phreatic crawl was left. Then we went back to the small bouldery chamber and went up a vadose +ramp to Spunge Chamber (4 pots in a row), this back to find some excellent mud formations. Then back to the +bottom of the Hilti-a-Plenty pitch and turning right to the large bouldery chamber with many leads. Leaving +pushing for another day, we then headed out.</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 6 hours</div> + <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-07a">2016-07-07</div> <div class="trippeople">Andrew, Sioned, Becka</div> <div class="triptitle">Balcony</div> @@ -657,6 +695,22 @@ low bit in the middle. Continued a bit beyond the "b" entrances, but decided to finish with oversuits.</p> <div class="timeug">T/U: 2.5 hours</div> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-08b">2016-07-08</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Rob</u>, George and Frank for a bit.</div> +<div class="triptitle">Dropping pitches and finding more</div> +<p>Frank brought his spade/shovel along in case of digging potential, but unfortunately his +illness prevented him from achieving this. Then me and George went to the pitch down the sandy +ramp and climb. I bolted the pitch and put George on book. It turned out this was a bad idea. 14 +legs of shit later we derigged and left for Spunge Chamber. We tried to find survey stations but +they were not especially well marked. We found station 73 and got started. Turning left at the +t-junction we passed an aven on the left and down a 2m climb to 5x5m borehole passage. Excite! +First we went right down hill to a dripping pitch, which could also be traversed to a continuation +beyond.Then we went uphill to a pot which could be dropped (pretty draughty) or traversed over +to the right for another horizontal continuation. We did a bit of an exposed traverse to a straight +on lead, heading up a 5m climb to an uphill ramp to a big draughty pot. Around 150-200m in the book +then out.</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 9 hours</div> + <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-09a">2016-07-09</div> <div class="trippeople"><u>Jenny</u>, Olly</div> <div class="triptitle">16-JB-01 Hohle der guten Hoffnung</div> @@ -676,6 +730,18 @@ undescended. Surveyed out. Cave drops a surprising 40m (over 80m of survey) all without gear.</p> <div class="timeug">T/U: 3 hours</div> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-09b">2016-07-09</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Rob</u>, George</div> +<div class="triptitle">Annoying resurvey and no Cashback (Pitch is now called Young Love)</div> +<p>After discovering lots of easy horizontal passage the day before, we returned to get that +sorted. After 11 long legs. we popped out in the big bouldery chamber. We later found out that +Nathan had surveyed this passage - quite annoying. Then we went to bolt the pitch at the end of +cock piss partridge - pre-emptively named Cashback. Cashback appeared to be a premature prediction +as the aven crapped out into an immature meander immediately after we got to the bottom. George +then bolted the pitch below the Cock Piss Partridge, which also crapped out immediately. Then out. +Still lots to go at!</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 6 hours</div> + <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-10a">2016-07-10</div> <div class="trippeople">Olly, <u>Jenny</u></div> <div class="triptitle">171, near old top camp - surveying</div> @@ -698,6 +764,16 @@ down to our camp to check we were safe - thank you!</p> <p>Callout book entry. Have rope + spare drill battery on surface if needed</p> <div class="callout">20:00</div> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-10b">2016-07-10</div> +<div class="trippeople">Nat, <u>Rob</u></div> +<div class="triptitle">The Non Rescue - 1st Response Team</div> +<p>Team were overdue in Tunnocks so me and Nat headed down to camp with the grab bag and first aid +kit. Underground by 8.45. Arrived at Kraken for 11.45 to find rope caught up beneath the overhang +rebelay on a ledge. Then started to head out. Rope at the bottom of magic glue got wrapped around +a large boulder - be aware of the rope catching on the boulder when you ascend the pitch. Out +reasonably sufficiently after waiting to see that Mark D could untangle the rope from Magic Glue.</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 7 hours</div> + <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-11a">2016-07-11</div> <div class="trippeople">Ashley, Luke, Alice</div> <div class="triptitle">Balcony - Long Drop</div> @@ -710,11 +786,50 @@ down to our camp to check we were safe - thank you!</p> <p>Callout book entry.</p> <div class="callout">20:00</div> -<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-11c">2016-07-11</div> -<div class="trippeople">Chris, Peachey, Rob, Katey</div> -<div class="triptitle">Tunnocks - Kraken Camp</div> -<p>Callout book entry.</p> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-11c">2016-07-11 to 13</div> +<div class="trippeople">Chris, Peachey, <u>Rob</u>, Katey</div> +<div class="triptitle">Camp - Tunnocks master cave and unprecedented depth potential!</div> +<p>A most amazing trip, which despite being shortened by the rescue of the previous day, managed to provide +much new cave and a lot of new prospects. We arrived at camp for 1.15pm and ate some noodles and soup. Off +down Octopussy for 2pm. Headed to the bottom of the 30m pitch bolted by Anthony et al on the last camping trip. +After a quick reconoitre of the area we split into 2 surveying teams.</p> +<p>Myself and Chris initialy headed in a Northwards direction into a rather nice and very pretty chamber with a +number of very nice stalactites and a wonderful poached egg on the floor. On the far side of the chamber was a +7-10m climb which Chris started but then encountered too many delicate calcite crusts/flakey formations to continue. +Predicting that we might well drop into the passage from somewhere else anyway, we left it behind for another trip +(which there hopefully will be, a lead ramping up heading north and strongly draughting in Tunnocks is not to be +sniffed at!). Then we headed on toward where the others were surveying in the other direction. Chris soon decided that +if we caved ahead we could easily back survey to them and thus avoid the frowned upon scoop - little did we know of the +wonder that lay ahead. After a lot of sprinting along a muddy boulder floor (with an additional handline on a particularly +treacherous mud slope that Peachey and Katey descended with nothing - naughty!) we arrived at a point where we were +presented with two routes - a narrow slot up and a way down among boulders. I took the slot, but before that we noticed +that both routes had one thing in common - we could hear a massive amount of water up ahead, of a magnitude very rarely +found in this cave system. After coming out through the slot, what I saw was just incredible - the absolute essence of +why caving is such an amazing exploratory sport. An absolutely huge passage, at least 15x20m width for height, and +sloping steeply down at around 45 degrees. For those who have been to Octopussy, think slighty less asthetically pleasing +in terms of true borehole shape but overall far more impressive. The roar of the water was by this time was truely +impressive - similar in size to Penyghents streamway. Caught up with exploration fever, Chris and myself climbed a long way +down the boulder ramp until Chris got a hold of himself and decided we were being unnecessarily silly and, the grip of +exploration fever having ebbed away, we surveyed back to the junction where we met Peachey and Katey. Almost unable to +contain our excitement, we told them of our findings. They then headed off up a ramp in the opposite direction to see +what could be found (apparantly a lot of passage) while chris went to fetch the 100m of Anthony's 9mm so we could rig +this thing properly and safely - we were conceivably 800m deep if not more! I was ??? with bolting it, and soon we we +were down, albeit with a few annoying rub points en route!</p> +<p>After dropping this ramp, we headed down through the slippery boulder slope below the master cave only to find the +most amazing development at the bottom: an upward ramping phreatic borehole 4x4m and certainly getting bigger! By now +it was long after 10pm and only getting later, so we resolved to survey the scooped passage tomorrow and headed back to +camp for a welcome tea. In bed by 1am. Up at 8am and needing a shit - the facilities are excellent! The camp overall is +excellently thought out and organised. Many noodle and oatso along with a great water supply, make for a wonderful stay. +After breakfast we headed back to the lead for a survey accompanied by some excellent photographs in Octopussyand at ???. +2 hours of surveying later, myself and Densham had arrived at a steep boulder slope (slippery with a long way down) which +at this depth really needed bolting. Leaving it for the next trip we headed back to camp before attempting to head out of +the cave. I unfortunately got to Procrastination at 7pm just as a flood pulse hit the pitch. I was at the first rebelay when +the pulse hit and luckily was prepared to change over quickly and descend back to Bring on the Clowns to wait it out for 12 +hours until we made a break for it at 8am the next day after a rather restless night.</p> +<p>After making a break for it after a long 12 hour wait, I was swiftly out for 10am to meet with Luke and out the entrance +series. Overall a truly memorable and excellent trip, one of my best ever and one to remember my whole life!</p> <div class="callout">09:00 +2</div> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 48 hours.</div> <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-11d">2016-07-11</div> <div class="trippeople">Fleur, Pete, Nathan</div> @@ -754,10 +869,32 @@ we were past the Tap Room and Keg Series, so had an uneventful exit.</p> <div class="timeug">T/U: 12 hours</div> <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-12a">2016-07-12</div> -<div class="trippeople">Nat, Becka, George</div> -<div class="triptitle">Tunnocks - Champagne on Ice</div> -<p>Callout book entry.</p> -<div class="callout">09:00 +1</div> +<div class="trippeople">Nat, Becka, <u>George</u></div> +<div class="triptitle">Tunnocks - Derigging and pushing Champagne on Ice</div> +<p>Set off with the intention of derigging traverse beyond Arctic Angle and pushing Nat's lead ("What would your Mother say") +before finally derigging the Champagne on Ice pitch series and derig traverse beyond Arctic Angle and WWYMS. Off to a flying +start I forgot both drill batteries, only realising at the bottom of Champagne on Ice. Subsequently, myself and Becka went to +replace slings on Andrew's traverse past Arctic Angle with rope cut from excess length of the existing rope and salvaged a +couple of hangers from the traverse. At ~14.30 we went to meet Nat to see if progress had been made on his bolt-less bolt climb. +WWYMS is easily found by bearing left at the 1st junction after the P5 (probably longer than 5m). The way after this is cairned +at major junctions and involves a traverse around a large ~30m hole. We discovered that Nat had bravely/foolishly allready reached +the top of the climb some 6/7m above the traverse previously rigged on another trip. The new rigging differed in that it comprised +completely of extremely sketchy naturals with not a bolt or reliable belay in sight by virtue of my forgetting to bring drill +batteries. We tentatively followed Nat to the top of the traverse/deathtrap - see below for updated rigging diagram.</p> +<p>From the top of the climb, following the draft/draught? leads to a 2/3m climb down, continuing emerges into large hading rift +and good "A" lead requiring rope to continue further. The only other alternative passage atop the climb leads to a large aven +(very drippy at far end) with stream descending 10-15m through hole in the floor (?c).</p> +<p>On the descent, after having surveyed as far as possible, Becka knocked a fairly integral natural belay off the wall with +suprisingly little effort. As a result the rigging was modified to allow me and Nat to get down "safely", see bolow.</p> +<p>To avoid monumentous clusterfuck this was left rigged but using the rope to ascend beyond the bolted traverse should be done +so with EXTREME CAUTION or not at all due to the nature of the naturals it is backed up to. Rather cold and glad to be alive we +began the return journey, derigging the traverse and P5 on the way. Upon arriving at the bottom of Champagne on Ice pitches (~19.00) +Nat reported hearing a flood pulse. At the bottom of the 15m hang we encountered a waterfall not previously reported that rendered +the pitch impassable without getting soaked. We waited ~5 hours in bothy at a ledge below for water to ease. Eventually prussicked +out when flow was weaker but still involved swinging under very drippy section. Higher up was still a bit drippy but not too unpleasant. +Everyone out of the cave by 03.30. Several empty tacklesacks were left below the wet section and one full sack. Drill was brought out +with some hangers.</p> +<p>Nathanael should not be allowed to rig unsupervised in the future.</p> <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-12b">2016-07-12</div> <div class="trippeople">Nathan, Elliott, Alice, Luke</div> @@ -784,16 +921,59 @@ we were past the Tap Room and Keg Series, so had an uneventful exit.</p> <div class="callout">22:00</div> <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-16b">2016-07-16</div> -<div class="trippeople">Elliott, George, nathan, Michael</div> -<div class="triptitle">Tunnocks - Kraken, 1 night</div> -<p>Callout book entry.</p> -<div class="callout">09:00 +2</div> +<div class="trippeople">Elliott, George, Nathan, <u>Michael</u></div> +<div class="triptitle">Kraken Camp - pushing Song of the Earth (258)</div> +<p>Down to camp</p> +<p>Being the 6th? camping trip to Kraken, we supposedly had a lot of leads to choose from. Getting to camp was easy enough, +there being almost twice as much rope as passage length along the way. Eliott, Nathan and George descending using stops were +faster than me with my rack, and we went underground at 10.30am and arrived all at Kraken camp by 2.45pm. A brief rest and +some noodles and we were set to go pushing.</p> +<p>Pushing</p> +<p>We went down Octopussy to the gear dump, Elliott bringing up the rear and replacing the 100m line on Octopussy with a 50m +one as the lower section was nicer by comparison. At the gear dump we put together a pushing bag with drill, battery, hangers +and such, with the new liberated 100m pushing rope. This was taken down as yet unnamed "Luke's Pitch" (Indian Rope Trick).</p> +<p>Coming to the start of SOng of the Earth, we left the drill for whichever team needed it, and split up. Nathan and George +took a phreatic tube going upward, and Elliott and I went to find the deep end of Song of the Earth, hoping to push the cave +even deeper.</p> +<p>Song of the Earth continued as a large phreatic tube angled downward at apptox 30 degrees, heading almost exactly west. The +floor was treacherous boulder choke, covered in a layer of slippery black mud. After about 100m of similar passage, with the +occassional rock arch or muddy helictite, it came to a large chamber approx 20m high. The climb down into the chamber was tricky, +but when there the black mud dissappeared from the boulders. A depression in the floor looked to be the filled in way on. Skirting +around the depression and a large boulder pile showed two passages on the far side. The first was a short way to a solid mud sump +that currently marks the lowest point of Tunnocks at -903m, obviously impassable.</p> +<p>The second lead went to a small squeeze with a gravel floor with a howling gale coming through. Not wanting to stop there, we +dug the squeeze until it was large enough to pass through (Don't Stop Me Now). this entered another vedose passage now leading +upward and north east, obviously a different passage feeding the large chamber. We only followed this a short way because we ran +out of time, and headed back to camp.</p> +<p>On the way back, we found another 20m of rope had been tied to the end of the shortened Octopussy rope. Apparantly Nathan and +George had found the rope a bit too short, and had spent 40 minutes digging footholds to get up to the rope. We were all back in +Kraken camp by 10.30pm.</p> +<p>Faffing</p> +<p>Intending to get up and do some pushing before heading out, we agreed to get up at 8am. However it turns out we were all very good +at faffing about, so no caving got done in the end. It didn't help that Nathan and George crapped out all their leads except ones that +needed bolt climbing, so the only viable lead (Don't Stop Me Now) was a 4 hour round trip from camp. Instead we opted to wait around +for a bit to see if the next camping group arrived before we would leave. By 1pm noone had arrived (they had intended for a 6am start) +so we opted to go out.</p> +<p>Nathan went first,and just went hell for lesthor prussicking out, leaving George behind to also exit the cave alone. Not a clever +move since Nathan was supposedly leading the trip. I came third with Elliott close behind, he being faster than me. In the end, we +were all up on the surface by 7.30pm, where we found the wether a bit grim and claggy. That was the reason the second camping group +hadn't come underground, and indeed lower Procrastination had been a bit drippier than usual.</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 33 hrs</div> <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-16b">2016-07-16</div> -<div class="trippeople">Olly, Jenny</div> -<div class="triptitle">2016-JB-01</div> -<p>Callout book entry. UTM 33T 0410646 5281563</p> -<div class="callout">20:00</div> +<div class="trippeople">Olly, <u>Jenny</u></div> +<div class="triptitle">2016-JB-01 Hopeless</div> +<p>Walked up in the morning, having had a tooth extracted the previous day - I promised the dentist that I would avoid +strenuous activities for a few days and also not cave if it was raining (he was very concerned that we might underestimate +the flooding risk underground!).</p> +<p>Went to look at the remaining lead in 16-JB-01. This time we had a rope so started it on the ledge overlooking the chossy +chamber, avoiding the dodgy climb, I put a bolt in and Olly went through the slot while I fetched the survey kit. Olly got +down with a natural rebelay to a small aven/chamber. This led to a second connected similar aven/chamber, but no train +tunnel passage sadly. We each climbed up in different places, my climb from the 2nd chamber looked to connect with the second +slot near the pitch head. Olly's from where the chambers join became an inlet.</p> +<p>Surveyed and derigged out. I carried gear up the climbs, while Olly had a final look in the chossy chamber, and found us +another lead for the next trip.</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 4 hrs</div> <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-16c">2016-07-16</div> <div class="trippeople">Rob, Peachey, Martin</div> @@ -807,6 +987,32 @@ we were past the Tap Room and Keg Series, so had an uneventful exit.</p> <p>Callout book entry.</p> <div class="callout">22:00</div> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-17a">2016-07-17</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Jenny</u></div> +<div class="triptitle">Tagging Jobs</div> +<p>It rained and rained some more, so enthusiasm was low for going underground and getting wet. It brightend up +in the afternoon (ie was claggy not actually raining) so Olly made up some cave tags and we changed the Bivi +cave (2004-01) to 269, then I walked to Cairn Cave and tagged it (2006-70) and finally retagged 1987-02 as 267.</p> + +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-17b">2016-07-17</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Rob</u>, Luke</div> +<div class="triptitle">Hilti a Plenty - Pushing and Evening Breakthrough</div> +<p>After a morning of grim rain delayed the campers from camping, myself and Luke became bored of shit-talking and card games +and headed to off into Balcony in the mist to see what could be found. In quickly and soon I was bolting one of the three pots +that me and George found in "Lets be Appalling" last time in. After a wee while, and one rogue bolt which decided to fall out +along with some of the wall while I was setting it, we were down. It was pretty draughty and seemed quite promising. We could +see a shit looking immature rift in the floor below where we had hopped off the rope with some water in it. Not so promising. +An upper continuation of the rift with a big draft into ran left - I believe it links in with the most northerly pitch of the +3 we found in "Lets be Appalling". To the south of the pitch was a significant warren of nice sandy floored passage ramping +down - great leads! After a quick scoop, we got on with surveying as much as we could. We pushed some large passage to a pitch +head which we left for another team to probe. We then headed south to find the dripping most southerly pitch in "Lets be Appalling" +- traverse across still to be done but not as promising as the pitch from earlier. At the bottom a small streamway flowed out, +culminating in a too tight passage with what appeared to be a mud sump at the end. We then went uphill on the ramp rather than +downhill and found a promising horizontal B lead - continuation of the ramp - and a climb up a phreatic tube in which the sound +of water could be heard. Exciting stuff, and judging by the survey heading off in an as yet unexplored direction - an excellent +prospect for next year!</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 6 hours.</div> + <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-18a">2016-07-18</div> <div class="trippeople"><u>Rob<u>, Ash, Anthony</div> <div class="triptitle">Long Drop - final push, survey & Derig</div> @@ -827,7 +1033,68 @@ and despite an extremely antisocial double fishermans right below a rebelay we g out and it ran pretty smoothly. At the top it was 10:15 & we were pushing callout, so I headed out while the others sorted things out. Back at Top Camp for 11:25, our midnight callout was made. Great success!</p> -<div class="timeug">T/U 11.5 hours (Rob) 12.5 hours (Ash and Anthony).</div> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 11.5 hours (Rob) 12.5 hours (Ash and Anthony).</div> + +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-18b">2016-07-18 to 19</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Katey</u>, Elaine, Fleur, Peachey</div> +<div class="triptitle">Camp Kraken - Song of the Earth + Derig (Downstream)</div> +<p>To be read in conjunction with Fleur's report...</p> +<p>While Fleur and Peachey headed to the uphill lead, Elaine and I went down to the lead advertised as being +a 2m wide rift with a howling draft, reached by a massive chamber with a mountain in it! Wow! As it turns out, +the chamber was similar dimensions to the rest of the preceeding passage... okay. The sandy crawl was rather +less drafty than advertised, but drafts are fickle, right? Three survey legs later we reached the end for that +day. A 6m climb up lead to an upward sloping phreatic passage with a mud/water channel in the floor. The climb +was a bit neeky for -900m and Elaine didn't fancy it, so I marked the final station and climbed down. The continuing +passage we called a QMB and it will likely need some bolting to progress - steep incline + slippery mud = sadness. +The climb up will also need bolting for any handline/rope. That done, and slightly disappointed, we headed out to +meet Fleur and Peachey.</p> + +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-18c">2016-07-18 to 19</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Fleur</u>, Katy, Elaine, Ian</div> +<div class="triptitle">Song of the Earth and Camp Derig</div> +<p>It was supposed to be a 2 night camp starting on Sunday. But on Sunday we woke up and it had been raining in the +night and continued to rain. So we deferred to avoid starting off cold and wet. Instead an "alpine start" was called +for and I got everyone up at 6am on Monday. We were underground by 8am and down at camp for a late lunch. The idea was +to try and make some good going leads in Song of the Earth. Elaine and Katy went to the downstream limit, supposedly +drafting and blowing sediment in your face. Meanwhile I agreed to belay Ian up the upstream lead.</p> +<p>As we left camp I was impressed with Chris and Anthony finding the way on via Tentacle traverse - now a very +slippery beast indeed! Luke's Pitch down into Song of the Earth was much bigger than I expected, and perhaps a tad +underbolted.</p> +<p>As we entered the master cave, Ian and I went "upstream" via the bouldery awfulness eventually arriving at the +limit of exploration. Ian was certainly correct that it was a promising location - howling gale going uphill and the +??? appearing to continue in a ramp translated higher up. However, it was a long way up!</p> +<p>Ian was efficient though, climbing up around 10-15 metres until the rope drap was too much, while I went through +my song repetoire. He then rigged a pitch for the first section while I took some photos. Then, after chocolate, we both +went up to the belay so Ian could climb the next section. This was mostly a ramp as opposed to a true pitch. Although Ian +was efficient again (another 15+m ascended) I got very cold tied off to the belay. Unfortunately at the top of the pitch +the passage got smaller, continuing as an upstream canyon with trickle of water, before finishing at an aven. Time to go +home to Kraken.</p> +<p>By this time Elaine and Katy had appeared so it was a quick survey before departure. The others had not had much luck +"downstream" so it was decided to derig the master cave. I was very tired (+ Elaine very cold) so Ian and Katy did this +while Elaine and I took the drill, etc back to camp. We arrived back about 11pm after 15 hours caving. The other two were +about an hour to 90 mins behind us.</p> +<p>The campsite was great, and we had a comfy night, oversleeping and not getting up until almost 10am.</p> +<p>It took around 3 hours to get breakfasted and pack up camp. We sent Elaine out first. Then me and Katy. Ian derigged +Kraken and we three paelled up the master cave ropes in the base of Inferno. [Note - Octopussy, Tentacle, Luke's pitch etc +all left in situ]</p> +<p>I left the base of the Inferno pitch around 5pm. Half an hour later Ian was shouting up about something catching. He and +Katy ended up derigging a little more. Meanwhile I prussicked on, catching Elaine up at the top of String Theory. We did the +last section together and exited around 11pm.</p> +<p>Ian and Katy returned to Steinbrucken about one hour after us.</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 39 hrs</div> + +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-18d">2016-07-18</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Jenny</u>, Olly</div> +<div class="triptitle">16-JB-01 Dirty Snow</div> +<p>Weather wasn't great, so we had quite a slow start. Headed back to 16-JB-01 to look at Olly's new lead. Again we +started the rope at the ledge, but went down further along, then Olly went to the northen end of the cheesey chamber +and over a rock bridge to a rift. The end of this dropped down to a very dirty snow cone, with deep drip holes. +Firstly all looked south, and saw two tight rifts dropping in (the ones we were the top side of on the 9th). To the +East was a short passage heading off which quickly ended. Traversed round the west of the snow, underneath is a layered +snow plug, so presumably it has been here for many years. Passage continued to the north through a squeeze, through some +rocks and up a climb. Although there were a lot of boulders and collapse it felt fairly solid. Decided that we couldn't +get further without gear. Surveyed out.</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 4 hrs</div> <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-19a">2016-07-19</div> <div class="trippeople"><u>Mark</u>, David, Ashley</div> @@ -843,6 +1110,38 @@ more conveniently done via the crawl, rather than going all the way round, which slightly dodgy pitch and a couple of traverses.</p> <div class="timeug">T/U 8 hours.</div> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-19b">2016-07-19</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Pete</u>, Aiden, Elliott, Martin, Rob (guide - went off to Long Drop after guiding us)</div> +<div class="triptitle">"Just Keeps Giving" and "Water Torture" (Below Hilti-a-Plenty)</div> + +<p>The team kept pushing the lead below Hilti-a-Plenty rigged by Rob and Luke on 17/7/2016 (Evening Breakthrough). Rob +kindly showed the rest of the team to the right place. Aiden and Pete surveyed upwards from T-junction up a steeping +phreatic tube that was muddy but relatively easy to climb. The passage had the sound of water (mmmmm) and a draft (mmm) +but the muddy phreatic tubes choked. The noise came from a squeeze on right into a tight meandering rift. Pete squirmed +down rift for 5m to small stream. It was too tight upstream and would need a lump hammer to make progress down stream +-although it seems to widen a bit after approx 5m. I wonder if this is the same stream heard at bottom of pitch rigged +by Rob and Luke the day before.</p> +<p>Meanwhile, Elliott had rigged and dropped a nice 15-20m pitch from the end of Rob and Lukes far point. This is very +promising and goes into a bigish chamber with two ways on. But the two ways on may be going to the same place. They both +have a good cold draft. The first way involves scrambling easily around a big jammed boulder to the low point in the chamber. +Elliott climbed down sketchily for approx 7m to see two possible pitches that are probable 10-15m deep?</p> +<p>The second way on from main chamber is a 15m traverse from the jammed block into a large descending phreatic tube. Nicely +rigged by Martin from a bolt and various naturals/slings. It then goes to a blind aven, but there is also a 10-15m pitch +down with good draft.</p> +<p>Overall, these are A leads with a draft.</p> + +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-19c">2016-07-19</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Jenny</u>, Olly</div> +<div class="triptitle">76 Derig</div> + +<p>Decided to derig 76 whilst it wasn't raining, and to free up rope for 16-JB-01. Last year I masterminded a very efficient +derig of 107 with 3 people and 6 bags of gear. This year we had 2 people for 76, 4 bags, and 6 bags worth of gear. I went down to +Keg series to derig that. I met Olly at the Tap Room, from there I shuttled bags out the cave while Olly derigged.</p> +<p>5 hours after entering the cave, after much miscommunication, shouting and inefficiency, we had 3 and a half bags out +and everything derigged to the Ledge Below the Ledge.</p> +<p>Went back in for another 2 hours of derigging (Olly) and bag shuttling (me). Now we never need return!</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U 7 hours.</div> + <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-20a">2016-07-20</div> <div class="trippeople"><u>Olly</u>, Jenny</div> <div class="triptitle">16-JB-01: Hohle der Guten Hoffnung</div> @@ -854,6 +1153,29 @@ the previous survey, briefly hampered by Jenny taking out a survey station which to the boulder it was on than it appeared to be.</p> <div class="timeug">T/U 6 hours 5 Minutes.</div> +<div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-20b">2016-07-20</div> +<div class="trippeople"><u>Anthony</u>, Elliott, David, Mark, Rob</div> +<div class="triptitle">Tunnocks derig, Upper Kraken to String Theory</div> + +<p> The objective of this trip was to derig at least as far as the top of the flood-prone Procrastination pitch. The +intention was to use the PAELLA (Pull An Extremely Long Length Altogether) technique which, a practice run in Long Drop +apart, none of us had really done before. A planning session the day meant we had a good idea of what we wanted to +do on each pitch, which made for a pretty slick operation. The previous camping team had also done us a massive +favour by tackling the Kraken pitch and the bottom hang of Inferno so we only had to go two thirds of the way down +Inferno.</p> +<p>The paella proceeded as follows: (diagrams)</p> +<p>AT the top of Procrastination, the timely arrival of reinforcements in the shape of Pete, Ash and Aidan allowed us +to paella and derig up String Theory by means of brute force.</p> +<p>At the top 9 tacklesacks were waiting, so all the rope (approx 1200m of it) was bagged and ferried out of the cave. A +most satisfying and effective detackling trip and a good, solid effort from all concerned.<p> +<p>Other events of note:</p> +<p>When prussicking up the bottom part of Widow Twankees, Rob managed to pull a TV sized boulder off that caught him a +glancing blow on his helmet and shoulder, smashing the glass on his Duo. He walked away shaken but substantially unhurt. +It could have been a lot worse - care required!</p> +<p>When derigging String Theory, Elliott left his personal bag at the bottom so had to put a couple of bolts back in to +go down and retrieve it. This news was greeted by sympathetic laughter at the top.</p> +<div class="timeug">T/U: 14 - 15 hrs.</div> + <div class="tripdate" id="t2016-07-21a">2016-07-21</div> <div class="trippeople"><u>Jenny</u>, Olly</div> <div class="triptitle">16-JB-01: Nervous Breakdown</div>