| 258 - a b | Tunnockschacht | 2 ?? |
|---|
The route starts from the stone bridge and takes about 20 minutes. It is cairned all the way. Head to the 204e entrance and continue up the gully. The route rises over the broken area known as the Quarries and then heads over the brow of the hill. It then crosses the top of the large broken gully mentioned in the old route below to reach a traverse across a steeply-sloping incised slab. A climb up a gully then reaches a small col where a small path can be followed through the bunde to the left, via a small vegetated bowl, to emerge at the 258b entrance. This entrance is a shaft surrounded by bunde on three sides. The 258a entrance is in the obvious adjacent shakehole.
From the stone bridge, follow the cairns towards 204e entrance. Upon reaching the final gully, where the path turns up to the right towards that entrance, continue straight across and then work to the right, traversing around the rear lip of a hole. This leads to the bottom of a loose climb, which is ascended to reach another level. A prominent Christmas tree style fir marks the point where another climb is made to the next level up. It is then necessary to ascend to the next level above this, either by a short traverse and then a narrow climb between two blocks, or by heading right and then heading back up to the left. Having done this, a short ascent on small loose stones brings one to the uppermost level, marked by a prominent cairn (visible from the stone bridge).
Follow the cairns around to the left, descending slightly at first and then maintaining the same level, to eventually reach a cairned point overlooking a large broken gully running from right to left. Descend into the gully (passing the shaft of 2004-18) and cross to the other side where an obvious level ascends upwards and to the right. Having reached the top, follow the cairns to the right to arrive quickly at an area with a hole to each side. The shakehole to the left, containing a cairn originally some two feet high, contains the 258a entrance; the 258b entrance is the other hole.
Warning: Beware of loose rocks.
The shaft of the 258b entrance, rigged with an initial belay, deviation and Y-hang just below the lip, gives onto the main entrance shaft just above a single bolt rebelay also accessible from the 258a entrance. A hang of around 10 metres from this single bolt lands on a flat floor where there is sometimes a snow plug. (The 258a entrance, no longer used, was rigged with a thread in the bottom of the shakehole and a bolt on the left wall under the dripline. This enabled a descent of several metres to a small ledge, where working around to the right gained a rebelay, succeeded by the single bolt rebelay mentioned above.) A bolt on the left wall (looking down the pitch) may be used to reanchor the rope here. Upslope leads to an alcove. The rear of this alcove opens onto the top of a pitch that appears to be of quite some depth [2006-258-1-B] which may connect with Stone Monkey below.
Following the left wall, a traverse leads to a low bolt, which is succeeded by a scruffy descent of only two metres to another rebelay on a flat wall. The descent continues down the side, or on top of, a large snow plug to a lip where two bolts in the ceiling (ring hangers essential) provide a high Y-belay for the next stage of the pitch. (The original route used in 2006 did not use this Y-belay, and instead descended via an undercut rift to the left known as The Col.) A deviation helps slightly to alleviate rope rub on the lip and is succeeded by a further ledge. There is sometimes a snow plug here, and upslope, a rift leads off (under The Col) which could maybe lead to further passage [2006-258-3-B].
The rope is rebelayed at the ledge, and after a further rebelay from a nose, drops for a few metres to the head of a large snow slope. The descent is continued from the same belay all the way to the bottom of the slope. There is a possible way on to the side of the snow plug on the left wall [2006-258-4-C]. Passing under an arch the slope terminates with ice stalactites in alcoves to either side and (depending on the year) an ice lake or pile of snow. The ice stal in the alcove to the left could be ascended with ice and/or climbing equipment to reach a passage [2006-258-5-C].
[Description needed 2006-258-2-B is missing - Dave Loeffler or Aaron Curtis or Mark Shinwell]
The main way on from the bottom of the snow slope is a hole at floor level that leads into a chamber. This chamber is on occasion occupied by a large ice stalactite and accompanying ice floor. A small hole to the right gives access to Bauernkrapfen Passage, a well-formed sloping crawl debouching into a large rift chamber, Three Fried Mice. Following the chamber around to the left leads to a choke at the bottom of a slope, although before this it is possible to climb up the wall and through a hole under boulders to gain a higher level, with a view over the chamber before Bauernkrapfen Passage but no other ways on.
Following the rift around to the right from the end of Bauernkrapfen Passage, passing some small faulted phreatic tubes in the left wall, leads to an opening in the right wall. The succeeding phreatic passage, Strudel Crawl, sucks strongly and continues sloping down past a delicate traverse over a hole [2006-258-12-C] to eventually arrive at a further hole in the floor [2006-258-13-B]. A traverse line is required to cross this. Shortly after the traverse, there is an eyehole in the right-hand wall (facing downslope), which leads to the large passage of Ribs with Knödel. Strudel Crawl may also be followed down without going through the eyehole to reach the same point, although this route is not recommended for descent, due to a drop underneath.
[Description needed 2006-258-6-X, 2006-258-7-X, 2006-258-8-X, 2006-258-9-X, 2006-258-10-D, 2006-258-11-C is missing from below - Dave Loeffler or Aaron Curtis or Mark Shinwell]
[Description needed Flapjack choke does this mean that 2006-258-13B has been completed? If so tunnel and qm list need ammending - Steve Jones or Serena Povia or Becka Lawson]
One exits Strudel Crawl to find the large passage of Ribs with Knödel sloping down to the right. In this direction, a hole in the floor is passed, before a much larger hole right across the passage is reached. A rope belayed to bolts on the left side of the passage enables a descent to be made to a point where it is possible to climb down, behind and around a rock pillar to complete the crossing of the hole. A further passage leads off from behind this pillar [QM ?].
After the hole, a sloping traverse is crossed; water enters from the roof here. This is followed by a long ramp downwards. A rope belayed to a large thread over towards the left, well back from the lip, enables a descent towards the right wall to reach the traverse of Caramel Catharsis. This follows the right wall, still sloping down and passing a hole into Stone Monkey, to a pitch of a few metres landing on a sandy floor in an impressive chamber. Continuing northwards past the taped floor leads to the Littoral North and the main part of the cave. The other obvious exit leads to Secret Squirrel.
[more needed]
[Description needed - Tom Handford or Dave Loeffler] [2006-258-14-C] [2006-258-15-C] [2006-258-16-B] [2006-258-17-C] [2006-258-18-C] [2006-258-40-C]
More to deal with: misc