| 204 | Steinbrückenhöhle | 4/S x |
|---|
Mid-level passages (including Wolpertinger Way)
Summary: The mid-level series is a network of phreatic passages
formed in a bed around 15m lower than the Near End
series. The trunk passage of Wolpertinger Way slopes down from the bottom of
Thread Pitch towards an area of interconnecting passages around the foot of
Pendulum Pitch. From here one can descend into the Ariston Series, or follow passages into the Millennium Dome area, or via No Pain No Gain to the northern parts of the cave.
Thread Pitch and Stitch This from the Near End series land at
the top of a large 6-8m diameter phreatic passage, Wolpertinger Way.
This heads downhill, past some ice formations on the left hand side, for 35m to
a junction. To the left Recycled Rabbit leads
off, which was for a long time not noted. Straight ahead is a steep gully
leading to a 6.5m diameter circular shaft with aven above - You're So Veined. There is a traverse round the right hand
side of the gully on an increasingly narrow ledge.
To the right from the top of the gully, passing over a hole in the floor
through dangerous boulders [C1999-204-09 C], reaches a junction. Right is a passage,
which quickly chokes, straight ahead leads into 110 A
Day, whilst left is the main route.
More sandy crawling leads to a crossroads, where left leads to
the ledge overlooking the pitch, and right is a short crawl leading
to the main passage part of the way down Pendulum Pitch, the easiest route to the White Elephant Series.
Straight ahead leads to a further junction. Left is a ledge, from which one can
descend onto a bridge of boulders between You're So Veined and Pot-U-Like, the current trade route into the
Ariston Series. Alternatively, traversing along the ledge leads towards Bunny's Bowel.
Right at the junction is a short passage to a blind pit. Traversing around
this to the right gives an alternative route to Pendulum
Pitch. Traversing around to the left leads a rift that leads initially
upwards, where a passage leads of to the right; continuing along down the rift
leads to an undescended pitch [C2001-204-67
B]. A passage on the opposite side of the pitch can be accessed from the
top of You're So Veined. The passage leading of to the right of the rift
quickly enters a small chamber. To the left leads to the undescended pitch [C2001-204-67 B]; straight on leads to a
junction, with both ways on being too tight. To right from the small chamber
leads to the passage between Pendulum Pitch the Millennium Dome area.
Traversing towards the right at the head of You're So
Veined leads to a boulder floored passage. A window looks out to the left
to the head of an undescended pitch [C2001-204-66 C]. Carrying on leads to the previously
described undescended pitch [C2001-204-67 B]; looking across this passages are
visible, one of which is the link between Wolpertinger Way and the Pendulum
Pitch route. To the left a climb leads to a short passage to Bunny's
Bowel, a small chamber. A passage doubling back leads underneath the
previous passage to the undescended pitch [C2001-204-67 B]. In Bunny's Bowel, a climb to
the right leads to a drop into the passage from Pendulum
Pitch to Millennium Dome. A window
to the right leads to a 3m climb (rigged with a handline) to a muddy chamber
with a 3m deep hole in the floor, with ways on that were too tight. Back in
Bunny's Bowel, to the left the passage goes past an undescended 8m pitch [C2001-204-65 C], then
finishes in a mud choke.
Near the southern end of Wolpertinger Way, on the left of the passage as one
descends, is a small low crawling-size passage leading off at right angles. The
passage continues for 65m, climbing slightly and remaining approximately the
same diameter throughout its length. The passage ends too tight but on the
right there is an impassable (at present) connection with a moderately sized
chamber - but the use of plug and feather may enlarge the connection to allow
passage. [C2001-204-73
C]
110 A Day is a long, dusty passage which varies between stooping and
crawling for 110m. Immediately after the start is a sharp right hand bend with
a crawl straight ahead to 110 Bidet. About halfway along is a
crossroads, where low passages lead off to the left to 110 Bidet and to
the right [C1999-204-13
C]. At the terminus reached in 1999, the passage splits into two. Each
branch immediately becomes tight, but could be pushed further with a little
determination and effort [C1999-204-14 C and C1999-204-15 C]. In the left hand branch, just before
the passage becomes tighter, is a pitch of perhaps 20m; all the ways on at the
base of this are too tight.
110 Bidet is a stooping size passage which runs parallel to 110 A Day. It can be accessed via a crawl about 1m up that
carries straight on from where 110 A Day starts with a sharp right hand turn.
The crawl emerges into larger passage; to the left after 5m is Pendulum Pitch. Going right leads to a hole in the floor
among boulders, Marble Run. To the left here is a low passage leading to
No Pain No Gain, whilst 110 Bidet
carries straight on. Continuing on, the passage turns right, followed shortly
by a crossroads with a crawly passage. To the right is a dead end; to the left
is Upwards at 45°. Straight on emerges into 110 A Day about half way along its length.
Up at 45 degrees starts as a strongly drafting crawl off 110 Bidet, which soon leads to a small chamber, with a
pit in the floor that can be traversed around to the left, to continuing
passage. This soon leads to a major fork. To the left, a junction is
reached, where things get a little complicated as the passage is moderately low
and wide with a number of pillars. To the left here becomes too tight, whilst
to the right rejoins the other main fork, and straight on leads to the base of
a chamber, whoose floor is a sloped pile of boulders. Near the top of this
pile, holes through the bolders reveal a chamber beneath. This can be reached
by a crawl to the left, followed by a free climb down. This lower chamber,
which also has a boulder floor, has three narrow rifts leading off, whoose
floors are some distance below. Two of these rifts are at the far end of the
chamber [C2002-204-09 C]
[C2002-204-10 C], whilst
the third heads back under the upper chamber [C2002-204-11 C]. To the right at the first fork
leads steadily upwards, passing a phreatic tube up and to the right which
joins back to the chamber at the start of up at 45 degrees and various
small crawls to the left, which join together and lead to the left hand
branch. A boulder is reached which needs to be climbed upon, up to some
rather critically angled boulder floor, which eventually ends in a drippy
chamber with a tight way on to the right [C2002-204-14 C].
Marble Run runs along a fault line that created a small passable
phreatic tube, which has subsequently been intersected by a tight rifty stream
way. 20m along the rift bears to the right and is too tight to pass, whilst
the phreatic passage continues on to a small chamber. Here the passage doubles
back over itself to continue above the original passage. The passage does this
once more to end in an earth blockage.
Pendulum Pitch is in a large rift. The first section is a loose
boulder slope (care required) to a rebelay, then a descent of 23m via a
deviation off the far wall below a large wedged boulder. There may be a passage
on the far side of the rift accessible with difficulty from this boulder [C1999-204-17 C]. From the
base of the pitch, two rift passages lead off which very quickly become too
tight.
The main route on is reached by swinging off after 16m into a 6m wide
passage. Two passages in the left hand wall are quickly encountered. The first
quickly becomes too tight, the second is a short crawl leading into the network
of sandy crawls at the bottom of Wolpertinger Way, and is
the best route from here to the Ariston
Series. Continuing down the main passage, passing either side of a huge
boulder, reaches a blind pit in the floor, with two ways on.
A loose and slightly precarious traverse round the blind pit leads to a
short passage on the left, emerging at the head of You're So
Veined. A rift visible at the opposite side of the pit has an audible
connection to You're so Veined.
To the right at the blind pit is a draughting phreatic tube leading towards
the Millennium Dome area.
