2007 saw a big push with several old lags teaming up with new blood to try and +finally bottom the bastard. From the bottom of Buttered Scones, a climb down and a short, +muddy passage reaches the head of a pair of spacious pitches, Left +Zipper (p12) and Right Zipper (p12). In flood +conditions the stream re-enters from a window [C2007-204-?? C] part-way down Left Zipper +and makes Right Zipper extremely wet. A short section of comfortable walking passage +heading almost due north inevitably gives way to more rifty thrutching, passing an +inlet on the right [C2007-204-?? B] where the stream re-enters. This marks a return +to the previous south-westerly line of the passage. After a few metres, a climb down +at a corner if followed by a squeeze to reach the head of +The Holy Hand Grenade (p3), an irritating little pitch with an awkward pitch-head. +8 metres further on are a pair of short, splashy pitches separated by a wet ledge: +Unicum (p7) and Zwack (p5). The next +100m of passage is a ruler-straight muddy rift running to the south-west. After some +narrow sections it is possible to climb up into a large roof tube, which gradually +descends to a balcony overlooking the final sump, Now Be +Thankful. Here the wind from Razordance goes up a large aven above the sump +[C2007-204-?? X], while a long bolted traverse, mostly on the left-hand wall, gains +access to The Silk Road.
+ +A slippery climb down from the traverse over the sump (an extra bolt would be +a good idea) gains a keyhole-shaped inlet passage with an elliptical roof tube +and narrow floor trench. Like Razordance, the passage draughts towards the +sump. The passage runs south-east along the strike for about 30m before +turning north-east and heading up-dip in a series of steep meanders for a +short distance. An unpleasant 3m climb up marks a return to south-easterly +progress. The passage briefly splits, with the stream flowing through a pool +in a low section while a large oxbow to the left provides a trivial bypass. +Just beyond the oxbow is a junction. Straight ahead, going upstream, 40m +of stooping and crawling over muddy cobbles leads to a chamber where the +stream emerges from a tight inlet [C2007-204-?? C] with an obvious passage +visible 7m above (which can be reached from beyond Carry-on +up the Khyber).
+ +Back at the junction, the left turn leads up an abandoned series of dry +cascades, Carry-on up the Khyber. Ten climbs of +varying difficulty and ranging in height between 2 and 4 metres pass a lead +on the left [C2007-204-?? ?] to reach a relatively well decorated section of +walking passage. This becomes a sandy crawl which branches; to the left is +unexplored [C2007-204-?? C], straight ahead reaches a hole overlooking the +continuation of The Silk Road, while to the right quickly reaches a loose +2m climb down into the same place. Right here is a 3m climb down followed +by a short section of passage to the head of a 7m pitch back to the inlet at +the foot of Carry-on up the Khyber. To the left, The Silk Road continues as +4m wide passage with a rocky floor, passing a stooping-height passage on the +left [C2007-204-?? A]. After 60m, a gap between boulders leads into a 30m-wide +chamber, The Forbidden City.