| 234 - a b (2000-09) | Hauchhöhle | 3/S/W x |
|---|
Wowoland is a new horizontal level discovered and partly surveyed in 2005. It is reached via the Pie Series pitches.
The initial 3m climb is free-climbable but in view of the drop beyond it is advisable to rig from the spit in the ceiling, which may be backed up to a thread back on the right. At the bottom is a wide ledge, with a narrow crawl leading off to the left [C2004-234-20 B]. Ahead is the head of the first pitch, Steak (21m), rigged from a Y-hang in the ceiling and a deviation from the left-hand wall around 5m down. There is a sizeable aven above the pitch [C2004-234-32 X]. The landing is on a boulder floor, a few metres away from the head of the next pitch, Kidney (17m); this is rigged with a traverse bolt on the left-hand wall followed by a Y-hang across the rift. It is a fine shaft with a kidney-shaped cross-section; it is possible that in very wet conditions it might need a deviation to stay out of the drips, but it has been drip-free on all trips so far. The landing is on another boulder-strewn floor; at the far side of the chamber is a narrow slot in the floor, Who Ate All The Pies, which was blocked by a large boulder in 2004.
Around 5m from the floor of Kidney, a side passage, Crust leads off; after passing a puddle of water it turns to the right and slopes steeply upwards. At the top of the slope the continuation is a mud-floored, body-sized tube, which was explored for some distance but was becoming increasingly tedious; shortly beyond the furthest survey station it opens out into a small chamber (just big enough to turn round in) after which it closes in horizontally to a narrow high slot, which may be passable for small people [C2004-234-22 C].
The boulder at Who Ate All The Pies was removed by capping in 2005, revealing a pitch of 3m or so to a short section of sloping rift, opening out onto a further pitch. This is rigged from a bolt on the LH wall and lands on a wide, drippy ledge on the side of a substantial shaft, with an aven above. Traversing along a ledge on the right-hand wall (2 or 3 spits) leads to a wide Y-hang for the next pitch. This passes a large undercut ledge, landing 2m further down on a sloping, frequently spray-lashed rock floor. From here, stepping through a window leads to a handline climb of around 3m (which can get rather damp) down into Wowoland.
The bottom of the handline climb is a small chamber with numerous exits. Two passages in the left-hand wall part-way down the climb are the route into Three Cookies Chamber. Further on on the left is a hole in the floor [C2004-234-08 A]. Straight on is a narrow trench, carrying the water from Pie Series; here one can climb up into Lost Gloves Chamber, while the trench doubles back round to the left and continues as a low crawl [C2004-234-03 C].
The two tubes in the wall lead into a compact knot of small crawls, within which is an unpushed lead [05-05]. Keeping to the left, one emerges in Three Cookies Chamber, a wedge-shaped chamber with a mud floor. Here there are three ways on. Straight on has not been pushed [05-06], while on the left a wide passage with a narrow slot in the floor reaches a T-junction. Right ends quickly, while left leads to an up-climb and short pitch into the base of a drippy aven, Weeweeland, which is directly underneath Cess Pot in the upper levels. The drips disappear into a narrow winding passage in the floor in sharp rock [05-07]. The main way out of Three Cookies is under an arch on the right, leading to an upwards-sloping stooping passage floored with powdery mud. Soon a junction is reached, where a passage leads off to the right but ends in a mud blockage. Straight on up the slope leads to a section of crawling over deeply eroded potholes, passing a narrow passage on the right [05-09] before a short flat-out section, emerging in Monster's Lair.
Monster's Lair is a small round mud-floored chamber, with formations on the ceiling. From here a climb up leads to a steeply inclined section of rift, sloping upwards, with a T-shaped cross-section. Soon this levels out, with a small hole in the floor [05-10]. Shortly beyond this, the rift opens out, and a shaft, Monster Munch, descends. This can be rigged from a thread in the roof, a traverse bolt in the left-hand wall and a Y-hang across the shaft, although there is scope for improvement, as the current rig places the Y-hang very low down. 5m down is a constriction, with an immense thread providing a convenient rebelay, below which the shaft widens dramatically. A large ledge marks the limit of exploration in 2005; stones thrown from here fall clean for up to four seconds [05-12].
Traversing over the top of Monster Munch leads to a wide ledge. Here, a passage in the far wall leads to a network of phreas, which was not surveyed in 2005 owing to lack of time [05-11].
Lost Gloves Chamber is a smallish ovoid chamber floored with boulders, sloping slightly. At the top of the slope, in one wall is a body-sized tube leading back into Three Cookies, while on the opposite side is another tube [05-04]. At the other end is the climb down to connect with the bottom of Pie Series, while climbing up above this to the left leads to a horizontal stooping/crawling sized passage, Pie R Squared (or Pie Arse Squared). A little way in is an opening on the left [05-02], missed by the original explorers. Other than this, Pie Arse Squared continues in fine style for a considerable distance with no side branches or junctions; part-way along is a section with fine moonmilk deposits, and beyond this is a muddy wallow. Eventually one emerges in a flat, wide chamber, where there are two ways on. On the right is a climb down [05-01], which may or may not be reversible without a rope. On the left is a passage leading off at floor level, which contains some fine flowstone formations and straws; unfortunately, these soon conspire to completely block the passage.