Ducks on Ice

Since 2014, the ice plug at the bottom of the entrance pitch has been sufficiently low that there has been a gap between the ice plug and the ceiling that allows one to double back under the general trend of the entrance rift. This route - Ducks on Ice - provides a more convenient route to the rest of the cave than was available previously. The 2015 rig comprised a rebelay on the lip of the ceiling that protects an initial descent of the ice slope, followed by a further rebelay part way down the ice slope on the right hand wall. In 2015, a large ice stalactite had developed here which had to be removed for safety. At the bottom of the ice slope is a blind pit - bolts on the left hand wall protect a traverse around this pit. At the end of the traverse, a steep downhill-sloping phreatic passage to the west is Boulder Surfer that is the main route to the rest of the cave. A passage to the north is the continuation of Stone Monkey.