From 6a9ffb10941a31fc24935af36709f2e333f6fb09 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Wookey Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 17:33:45 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Add descent article (draft) --- years/2011/descentarticle.html | 415 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 415 insertions(+) create mode 100644 years/2011/descentarticle.html diff --git a/years/2011/descentarticle.html b/years/2011/descentarticle.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000..7ea236807 --- /dev/null +++ b/years/2011/descentarticle.html @@ -0,0 +1,415 @@ + + + + + + + + + + + +

+Kaninchenhöhle, +Steinbrückenhöhle and Tunnockschacht: a brief history

+

+
+

+

+Kaninchenhöhle was CUCC's +primary project throughout the 1990s, following its discovery in +1988, eventually reaching 22km length and 500m depth. In 1999 +Steinbrückenhöhle was discovered a km or so to the North, and (not +least because it had a really nice bivi site), because the main +focus. Over the next decade, nearly 17km of passages were explored +there with a vertical range of over 600m. The cave has several +levels, lined up with the dip of the limestone plateau, separated +from one another by pitch series, and has potential to connect to +both Kaninchenhöhle ('KH') and Tunnockschacht, as it lies between +them, and by the end of 2010 quite close to both, although the KH +nearest approach point had been checked carefully and found hopeless +from both sides. +

+

+
+

+

+Tunnocks was first found in +2005 And over the next few years, provided over 7km of surveyed +passage with a vertical range of 256m. +

+

+During the previous +expedition, CUCC had descended an impressive 80m pitch ‘String +Theory’, and had discovered a number of leads at the bottom, one of +which being a tantalising 20m away from Steinbrückenhöhle. +

+

+Hopes for a connection +between and Tunnocks were high, but we've thought connections were +'likely' before and been wrong...

+

+
+

+

+2011 saw a relatively large +and strong team so the decision to work in all three major caves was +taken, with most of the Steinbrücken work being done from an +underground camp at -400m. The 1980s tradition of having UBSS members +along was revived this year, which worked well as they had some +actual students who were able to come, and supplied the first ever +expo-leader-not-based-in-Cambridge in the form of Chris Smith. +

+

+
+

+

+The character of the 3 +caves is quite different, which keeps things interesting for +expo-goers. Tunnocks has mostly steep bedding-controlled passages, +interupted by occaisional large shafts, with a large partly +snow-filled entrance shaft. Steinbrücken has a tediously tiny +entrance and a lot of annoying stoopy passage leading to the 300m +shaft series of Gaffered to The Walls, with extensive horizontal +soil-filled development at the bottom. KH is largely walking passage, +some of it enormous, with as much up as down on this year's route. +

+

+
+

+

+Steinbrückenhohle

+

+
+

+

+This year, members of CUCC +decided to return to one of the horizontal levels, Subsoil. The team +had two main goals: to continue pushing new passages into blank +space, and to search for the potential connection with +Tunnockschacht, whose closest point was only a few dozen tantalising +metres away from Steinbrückenhöhle.

+

+
+

+

+To cut down on the amount +of time spent 'commuting', Edvin Deadman, Niall Peters, Djuke +Veldhuis, Jess Stirrups and Kathryn Hopkins set up an underground +camp at about -400m. A few years previously, a large sandy-floored +chamber with a nearby water supply had been found. This made a +perfect campsite. After a couple of rigging and carrying trips at the +beginning of the expedition, the Butlins Holiday Camp was born! With +only three sleeping bags (and a tent inner, to keep off the draughts) +they would be caving in shifts and 'hot bedding', in two long trips +of three or four days at a time. The camping was organised with (very +unusual) military precision, including laminated time-charts of when +each shift was caving or in bed, and none of the cavers involved had +camped underground before. Overall it was deemed a great success in +enabling a lot of work in the deeper reaches, but the hot-bedding +proved somewhat miserable for the night shift.

+

+
+

+

+Much of the camper’s time +was spent in a race against the Tunnockschacht team to find the +elusive connection between the two caves. They were convinced that a +strongly draughting pitch series that they found, called 'Bird on a +Wire', would lead them to glory. However, after running out of both +time and rope, with the pitches still going, it was decided to turn +their attention to other more horizontal leads. +

+

+
+

+

+The other main find was +very close to the campsite, where a sketchy climb up the side of a +chamber led to several hundred metres of large phreatic development: +'A Grand Day Out', which is heading into blank space.

+

+After two successful +camping trips, about 1km of new cave was found in Steinbrückenhöhle, +and it is now 17.7km long. A fair amount of time was spent checking +out leads in the probable 'connection zone', but they were all ticked +off without finding a way into Tunnocks. There is no shortage of +other leads to keep us occupied for many more expeditions; many +heading off into blank space on the survey. However, the connection +had still not been found, and the campsite was derigged, so it was +down to the Tunnocks team to keep pushing.

+

+
+

+

+
+

+

+
+

+

+Tunnockschaft

+

+
+

+

+After dropping the 80m +‘String Theory’ pitch and exploring leads last year, Neil Pacey +and Andy Chapman had eventually been stopped by a small pitch leading +upwards into black space and only approximately 20 metres away from +Steinbrückenhöhle. Plans were made, equipment purchased, and Neil, +Andy and some newly recruited team members were ready for a rematch.

+

+
+

+

+However, just getting to +the current limit proved difficult going. An excessively hot summer +had caused much of the snow-ramps in the entrance series to melt, +meaning even the tallest expedition members struggled to reach the +hanger placements. A period of re-rigging ensued, with extra hangers +placed within reach of the height challenged and also to avoid some +newly formed, precarious crevices.

+

+
+

+

+A team consisting of Andy, +Noel Snape and Rob Adams continued rigging, narrowly avoiding Noel +meeting an untimely end after a boulder fell onto a traverse line +over a large pot, leaving him spreadeagled on a very tight rope over +a large drop. The now decidedly shaky team carried on to the head of +String Theory but felt it wise to pass on rigging for that day.

+

+
+

+

+Eventually, the rigging was +completed and the final survey station reached in the newly +christened Leaky chamber. Andy began aid climbing the small pitch, +eventually reaching the top. Neil followed and continued to the next +obstacle, another pitch leading upwards. Neil quickly free climbed +this and another small pitch afterwards, finishing at a ledge with a +small, muddy tube going leftwards and a 10m pitch continuing up.

+

+
+

+

+As all the static rope had +been used rigging the previous pitches, Neil and Andy thought they’d +better survey the small tube and head back home. However, the tube +increased from hands and knees crawling to walking until a large +window was reached. Dangling out, over the pitch head, we could see +down into a big chamber with a massive pitch heading down past this +which was promptly christened ‘The Beast‘. Two excited cavers +headed out, looking forward to the next pushing trip.

+

+
+

+

+<Somewhere in here we +should mention the occaision where Becka dropped a small pitch, found +a survey station and though the connection was made, but turned out +to be wrong. Adds a bit of tension to the real connection>

+

+
+

+

+A larger team were back the +next day. Noel rigged down to the chamber and Neil, Rob and Andy +followed down to check out Above and Beyond chamber. Numerous leads +led off from the chamber but Noel seemed to think the climb up the +tottering pile of shale, in the left hand side of the chamber offered +most potential. Whilst Noel and Neil surveyed the chamber, Andy +climbed the precarious climb whilst Rob helped haul gear up and +offered much needed words of support.

+

+
+

+

+After rigging the climb, +Andy continued exploration, finding the onwards passage led to the +enormous pitch seen from the window above. A team consisting of +Neil, Noel, Emma Wilson and Gareth Phillips surveyed this and Noel +happened to notice a phreatic tube above the pitch head. Access was +gained via a bolt and hair-raising climb and the heavily draughting +tube was gained. This was pushed to a 20 metre pitch (Eh bah Gum) +which led into the bottom of a rift with numerous leads going off.

+

+
+

+

+Holly, Noel, Wookey and +Becka Lawson headed back for a rematch the following day. Noel and +Wookey decided to go for glory and headed into the unknownm rigging a +traverse that didn't go, then a pitch found at the bottom of Eh Bah +Gum whilst Holly and Becka completed the job of surveying down Eh Bah +Gum. Having done the surveying the team found Noel and Wookey still +faffing with rigging so they went back to the unexiting job of +surveying a small rift at the bottom of the pitch. +

+

+The team started down the +rift and soon discovered it popped out onto the ‘Beast’ pitch but +a wide ledge could be climbed onto. Continuing surveying a tube in +the wall, Becka noticed footprints on a mud bank. +

+

+“Holly, have you climbed +on this?”

+

+“No. I think I might +recognise this though...”

+

+“Where is it?”

+

+“I think it’s the Wares +in Steinbrücken!”

+

+Two happy cavers connected +to a survey station located on the opposite wall and hurried back to +tell the good news to the rigging party.

+

+Having connected Tunnocks +to Steinbrücken producing a combined cave length of 27km and +completing one of the expedition objectives, other leads in Tunnocks +were also pushed. An upper level passage leading off from Starfish +junction provided over ……m of passage, ending extremely close to +the surface.

+

+
+

+

+Kaninchenhöhle

+

+
+

+

+In 2009 Andrew Atkinson had +spotted a hole 25m up in the ceiling of Repton II Chamber, and +reached it via a bolt climb and necky 20m traverse. This was the last +trip of expo so he and Wookey were only able to explore 100m of very +windy passage before going home. The small 2010 expo did not go back +to KH, so this top-class lead ('Irony of Time') remained for team +'vintage' in the form of Wookey and Anthony Day to head for, assisted +by Rob Adams on his last trip. +

+

+
+

+

+The nearest entrance to the +bivi is 161g, which is a technical 1hr walk over and down the back of +the main ridge under which the system is developed. As with Tunnocks +snow levels were the lowest ever and a large snowfield that gets down +several rock steps had completely melted so a new route had to be +found and cairned. The entrance immediately has a fine 50m pitch, +then miles of traipsing until the massive trunk phreas of 'Triassic +Park' is reached, leading to a series of huge collapse chambers, then +back up dip to 'Strange Downfall/Upfall/Acrossfall'. This is a big +space passed by a p38 then a p25 back up again or a very airy +tyrolean.

+

+
+

+

+At the pushing front the +surveying was down easy walking passage with a very encouraging wind, +and after only 50m it broke out into big phreas going both North and +South and still windy. Following the wind northwards round a +corner it widened to 15m and huge grins broke out as they realised +what a top-class find they had sauntered into. Rob was amazed at his +good luck. 300M of trunk passage was explored before a pitch stopped +the fun for the day. The find was named 'Country for Old Men' after +the very easy going. +

+

+
+

+

+The passage was heading +directly North towards Steinbrücken but whilst the gap had been +dramatically reduced from 420m to 250m that's still not the sort of +gap that gets closed in one expo. 3 further trips including some +international co-operation with the German Group ARGE who sent two +cavers along found another km (check) of passage and narrowed the gap +to 170m. The Strange Acrossfall Tyrolean was also rigged, providing +much entertainment as cavers unused to tyroleans starting at hanging +rebelays got themselves strung up.

+

+
+

+

+As the gap to Steinbrücken +shrank an attempt was made to rig Brian's Phat Shaft, in +Steinbrücken, the quickest way into the 'Catty Puns' area of the +cave which was the closest approach at the right level. This is a +100m shaft, starting 100m deep but not too far from 204e. A large +pile of gear and students was despatched, who made a valiant attempt +but the weather had been terrible so the shaft was very wet and +almost devoid of bolts, so after some hours of scary, damp and +miserable dangling, a retreat was called, and vows made not to +return. A more experienced caver was persuaded to take a look, which +got the pitch re-bolted down to -80m before running out of time and +derigging, so no progress from this end, but the way prepared for +2012. +

+

+
+

+

+Back in KH, the Country for +Old Men trunk passage shrank to a small rifty pitch but with a +monstrous gale issuing from it. Despite this it was hard to find +willing potholers as the end of expo was approaching so people were +going home and there was a party/dinner with the Germans as +alternative entertainment. Wookey managed to dragoon 2 UBSS students +(Catherine Hulse and Adam Henry) into a trip. Rigging the pitch +(christened 'Mordor') was a deeply miserable experience as it was +absolutely freezing and confusing as to the way on, with wind +everywhere, and after a while it became clear the conditions were +about to produce a mutiny, so some '70s rigging' was employed to make +rapid progress. It dropped into more huge passage heading off again +so another long night of big grins ensued despite the cold, and two +more cavers were inducted into 'expedition fever', escaping at 4am to +an extraordinary view of mist in the valley below, illuminated by the +moonlight.

+

+
+

+

+The next trip (Olly Madge +and Emma Wilson) pushed on over the traverse to find another 150m of +passage ending at big shaft needing a proper bolt traverse, and +leaving the gap to Steinbrücken's 'Fat Cat' series at less than 30m. +In theory this connection could have been pushed further but drill +logistics, and derigging requirements menat it had to be left for +2012. Two final trips (Julian Todd, Andrew Atkinson, Cat Hulse) +looked the other way down one of the many A-leads, found a devious +way past a big hole and romped into almost 1km of large and varied +passage, following a massive gale, and ending at a pitch which is +certain to connect back to the northern end of YAPATE, and should +provide a much easier route to the far end, avoiding the comedy +tyrolean.

+

+
+

+

+Summary

+

+
+

+

+So as is often the case the +expedition ended on a high, with a monstrous list of leads for next +year, and what looks like an almost certain connection between the +62km Schwartzmooskogelhöhlensystem and the 27km of Steinbrücken + +Tunnockshacht.

+ + \ No newline at end of file