Online edit of logbookentry 2025-07-17c

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@@ -1102,17 +1102,27 @@ Shortly after we swiftly headed out, leaving Ned to replace the pulses with thro
 <div class="trippeople"><u>Charlotte</u>, Lara, Russell</div>
 <div class="triptitle">KH - Redemption with the Enniskillen Toad Series</div>
 It was finally time for both mine and Russell’s final trips of the expedition, and we had at last reached the pushing front at the end of Natural Ways on our previous trip with Becka and Ash after six trips of rebolting to get that far. This hadn’t turned out to be quite the ‘walking, draughting A lead’ promised and motivation wasn’t high as we packed kit on yet another cold, wet morning at top camp. Lara decided to come with us after the wet weather put her off her original plans to visit Gruffalo. Our plan was to try and kill the leads along Natural Way, and then probably derig as we made our way back out.
+<p>
 Eventually we rallied ourselves to get moving, and headed out in dry weather which predictably turned to pouring rain about halfway there. We met Ash looking soggy and unimpressed on his way back, hunting for a welly lost by Hamish en route to KH for their trip. Disappointed that we hadn’t spotted it, he continued to retrace their steps back to top camp while we carried on to the cave. Soon after, we bumped into Hamish also heading back in search of the welly which coincidentally was right next to where we met. Hamish carried on back to try and catch Ash after we failed to get his attention by whistling and we continued to the entrance feeling rather damp already.
+<p>
 We got changed at the entrance and donned our macs to descend the drippy entrance pitch, with Lara wearing her surface waterproof after forgetting her gimp mac. We gathered here at about 14:00 and started heading towards the pushing front, ready for some surveying at last! The trip to Natural Ways was uneventful, we stopped for a quick photoshoot with the Kordas rope and Lara ‘enjoyed’ the Three Wise Men traverse. 
+<p>
 At the top of the Natural Ways traverse we stopped to layer up and have a snack, it was already about 18:00 but the plan was mostly killing leads so we weren’t too concerned. We split up into two teams – myself and Lara planning to work on the B and C leads in that section whilst Russell started bolting the A lead pitch. Lara was feeling a bit ill so we took a few minutes to sit in a shelter then started scrambling about in the rift above Russell, trying to see if there were any other options for the way on. This proved to be unsuccessful, and we were just starting to think about heading back to look at some other B and C leads when Russell called me to check on how he was doing. 
+<p>
 He had realised that the pitch was actually a short vertical drop followed by a steeply descending continuation of muddy rifty slope, rather than a big vertical drop which we definitely wouldn’t have enough rope for. Russell started heading down the pitch while I followed behind to check everything was okay, and he continued bolting until reaching the end of the pitch (later named the Drinks Shelf – it’s a slippery slope). There was an obvious continuing passage going on from here, and our hopes were beginning to rise! We waited excitedly for Lara to follow down behind us, surveying the pitch as she went.
 Once Lara reached the bottom of the pitch, Russell was assigned to shooting the SAP (which he was immediately unnervingly good at) and I started on nail polish. A few metres along, we found a short crumbly climb down at a T junction, with the way straight on looking unlikely and a short pitch to the left. I regretted my enthusiasm to come down the pitch earlier which meant I forgot the final short rope left in my tackle sack at the top of the pitch, and headed back up to fetch this while Russell and Lara continued to survey and started putting bolts in for the pitch. 
+<p>
 I returned as quickly as possible with the rope, which was then rigged for Russell to drop down the pitch first. He reached a hole in the floor which he initially traversed over and started poking around the exciting looking chamber (Floordrobe), which was covered in a coating of the same black layer we had seen in other parts of KH. Directly opposite we could see a ramp up to a window heading off into black space, and Russell shouted excitedly that there was a big continuing passage to the left as well! I followed down the pitch, and then Lara came last. While Russell continued checking out the chamber, Lara and I surveyed the pitch and she dropped straight through the hole in the floor to see if it led anywhere else. This turned out to be better than the sloping ramp into  the chamber, as it looped around into the main, large passage leading off. 
+<p>
 By this point our excitement at the discoveries was exceptionally high, and all thoughts of the planned 10pm turn around time abandoned. We surveyed along the large passage, trying our best to stick to one set of footprints across the untouched floor. This led us into a large chamber (MEAT SOFA), and it felt like all the hard work had paid off at last! Lara very patiently put up with mine and Russell’s overexcitement and continued surveying the chamber. There was a particularly inviting train tunnel sized phreatic tube coming into the wall of the chamber, teasing us as access looked like just a 3 or 4 bolt traverse but we had run out of rope. There was also another A lead from the far end of the chamber, and a perfect aven on the right hand side. This aven could be accessed via a loose scramble down, and the name of cutlery drawer seemed very appropriate given the noise as Russell climbed out from it. 
 Once surveying the chamber and recording the various A and B leads was complete, we headed back to look at another lead off the side of the major chamber. Just round the corner, this turned out to be yet more walking passage and excitement built again. Lara kindly continued surveying, complaining reasonably about ending up with three overlapping levels. The passage turned right and continued heading off into blank space, with a very inviting draught. We decided we really were going to turn around at 1am and followed this until reaching an apparent dead end. 
+<p>
 Sticking our heads up over a climb on the left wall, the walking passage obviously continued even further. We fashioned a footloop using slings from a natural to get up into this passage and carried on, following the draught past more walking A leads and some very pleasant formations. At the end of this passage, at survey station 51 we finally reached our end point for the day at a huge, echoing and very draughty wet aven. The survey phone was down to only 8% battery, and finally daring to look at the time showed that it was almost 2am, definitely past our home time. 
+<p>
 This was definitely the hardest trip I’ve ever had to turn around from but the 8am callout was beginning to loom and the walking A leads have hopefully set up some promising future trips. We headed back to the top of the Natural Ways traverse together to delayer and discuss the plan for our exit. It was 3am by the time we gathered here, and none of us feeling especially energetic for a speedy exit, particularly when we realised that the dry bag with food had been forgotten somewhere along the surveyed passage.
+<p>
 To avoid causing concern by cutting things too fine with our callout, I decided to head out in front and extend the callout for the other two to midday. I turned on some music to distract from the strange water noises and kept heading out, for my last time through KH for the year. After a very slow prussik up the entrance  pitches, I reached the surface at 5:45am, just in time for sunrise as I walked back. Returning to top camp at 6:30am, I overlapped with Harry, Hannah and Luke all getting up to prepare for their trips for the day. Unsure quite what to do with myself but not feeling particularly sleepy, I had breakfast then started wandering back to the entrance with the other group to meet Russell and Lara on their return at about 8:30. 
+<p>
 Overall, getting the final pay off for all the effort that went into rebolting was excellent, almost made even better by the low expectations we had had after our first look at the lead. We got a total of 450m surveyed, for which lots of credit should definitely go to Lara for her excellent surveying skills, we would have been very lost without her!
 <div class="timeug">T/U: 16.0 hours</div>
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