| 76 - main a b | Eislufthöhle | 5/S/E + |
|---|
The Test Tubes are reached by a short exposed roped climb up from The Ledge in Plugged Shaft. Crawling forward a few metres reaches a widening where SRT kits can be removed; further crawling and a sharp right and then left hand bend reaches about 40m of rift passage. A short way along this, the passage to Lovers Leap doubles back on the right. Towards the end of the rift, a low wriggle gains a junction, the main rift continues. A solution tube above is C2004-76-04C and the rift on the left is C2004-76-05C, the crawling passage on right soon becomes narrower and C2004-76-42C doubles back on the right, the now small passage continues to formations, and appears to continue beyond, C2004-76-41C. At the end of the main rift, the passage turns sharply right to become a hand and knees crawl along a phreatic tube. 25 metres later this pops out near the top of a much larger vadose passage, Brave New World.
Southeast (left when entering from The Test Tubes) goes for about 50m to a boulder choke, passing on the right 3 small passages, which join and lead to an undescended pitch (C2004-76-43B).
Northwest (right), along Brave New World soon leads to a pitch (A*) and a complicated junction, the first passage off on the left is full of loose blocks, in the process of falling out of the ceiling, C2004-76-25C. There is an unexplored passage on the right, above the pitch, C2004-76-26B. The remaining passages are best reached by a roped traverse round the left wall, and into the next passage on the left. The continuation of Brave New World, Overhanded Tactics continues beyond the pitch and is gained by a passage on the right (bringing one back to A* pitch), and another roped traverse across the pitch. After 30m, this walking size rift passage becomes choked, and a low crawl on the right leads to The Boiling Tubes (a hands and knees crawl along a strongly drafting phreatic tube). After 20m The Boiling Tubes get smaller, and most of the draft goes up a small choked aven, passages also branch off to the left (C2004-76-64C) and right (C2004-76-63C), whilst straight ahead continues, but is smaller (C2004-76-62B).
Back at the complicated junction above A* pitch, the main passage to the SW gradually descends and leads after about 30m to a four way junction with B* passage. Turning left (E), along B* passage first passes a small passage on the left where the small trickle of water enters (C2004-76-31 C) and then a climb to a possible higher passage (C2004-76-30V). B* passage ends at an aven on the left, the main way on appears to be up this (C2004-76-29V), ahead is a small inlet (C2004-76-28X) and on the right is a small passage (C2004-76-27C).
Doubling back under the original passage (at the junction with B* passage) is a meandering canyon, Canyon, which soon reaches an un-descended pitch (C2004-76-40A).
Turning right along B* passage soon arrives at an un-descended pitch (C2004-76-22A) and four way junction, straight on (C2004-76-23A) and right (C2004-76-24A) can only be reached by crossing the pitch. Left is reached by carefully traversing round the pitch, and after 30m of walking passage, reaches another un-descended pitch (C2004-76-18A) and multi-way junction, Hidden Promise. Left is small (C2004-76-21C), straight on would be reached by traversing over the pitch (C2004-76-19B), as would the roof tube above this (C2004-76-20C). Right (Branch Line) soon becomes walking size and bends right (two small passages head off on the left here, C2004-76-44C and C2004-76-45C). After a total of 50m of passage (occasionally decorated with straws in the roof) it becomes choked. Two very low passages on the left lead into No Ways Chamber, another low passage leaves this on the right, at the bottom of a slope to Ol's Squeeze (C2004-76-56C), a climb up may lead to more passage at the SW of the chamber (C2004-76-55V). The main way on is through an initially low crawl on the SE (left) into a walking size rift passage, Back on Track. 50m later this reaches another chamber, All-ways Chamber with two currently unexplored leads, C2004-76-53V is up the 4m climb (steep, but with big holds) and C2004-76-54C is the small drafting passage to the north. The rift to the SE, gained by a 6m climb very shortly becomes too small.
A* pitch is 17m; rigged with a boulder-backup, pitch head bolts and deviation bolt. To the west of the pitch head is an unexplored passage heading south (C2004-76-39C), below the pitch head is an unexplored inlet (C2004-76-37C), and near the bottom of a pitch is a window in the NW wall (C2004-76-38B) At the bottom of A* there are two small unexplored passages (C2004-76-35C and C2004-76-36C) the main passage heads of the other way and is a high rift, after about 15m this bends to the right, with an explored, but very low, passage on the left, at ground level C2004-76-34 C. A few meters further on is an aven/inlet on the left (C2004-76-32 X), approximately 10m Fault Pitch is reached. Fault pitch continues above (C2004-76-33 X), and whilst normal only slightly drippy is very noises with water when it rains. A traverse round to the right of the pitch reaches a big passage Forward to the Past, initially phreatic, then a high rift which joins Plugged Shaft about ½ way down is final pitch.
Fault Pitch follows down a fault (with ~1m offset); a rebelay and deviation near a rock bridge at -7m are followed by a 13m pitch to a large ledge. From here a passage leads SW to a loose 8m pitch and rubble slope to a choke. Above this loose pitch, a ramp leads up (C2004-76-57B). Continuing down the Fault Pitch Series, a 26m pitch is rigged from a y-hang, some of the way down the pitch a small rift appears to head off in two directions (C2004-76-61B and C2004-76-59C), the pitch lands on a ledge, which can be traversed to where things get smaller and two choices lead off. The first is a rift (C2004-76-58C) and the second is the next pitch in the series, this looks much smaller than those above, is un-descended and is perhaps not a place to be in rain (C2004-76-60B).
The passage leaving the Test Tube soon reaches the Lovers Leap Pitch; the passage appears to continue over pitch (C2004-76-12C), and it looks like there's a higher level to the passage you reach the pitch head from (C2004-76-11C). The 6m pitch drops into a high rift, at the upstream end an aven leads up (C2004-76-10X), and after a further 6m pitch the rift becomes narrower. It looks like it would be too narrow to pass, but suitably small rocks drop a long way if thrown right and looking at survey data this is premused to rejoin Plugged Shaft. A likely candidate crack in the wall of Plugged Shaft has been noted.